The Dharkan
Timelessness, Book 2
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The Dharkan
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Kempton
About this listen
The enemy is defeated.
The gods strike a truce.
And the Dharkan strike against the gods.
Victory has cost both gods and mortals dearly. The veil between life and death in Niflheim is thinner than ever. Try as they might, the gods are powerless against the influence of Time, and their past mistakes threaten not only their future but their very existence.
Now the fate of eternity rests in the unlikely alliance between the goddess of the soul and a soulless Dharkan, as they must work together to achieve peace between the living and the dead in Aegea. And although their goals may seem similar, the motivations behind them couldn’t be more at odds with each other.
Meanwhile, a greater enemy approaches. Or maybe it’s already here...
©2020 Susana Imaginário (P)2021 Susana ImaginárioWhat listeners say about The Dharkan
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 06-10-2023
A compelling, unique sequel with a twisty end!
This is the second novel in the Timelessness series, which is a four books (plus a novella) series. It is as good as the first one, yet it brings a new flavour and uniqueness that the first one (Wyrd Gods) didn't have.
Like with the first book, this is not a YA story -- this is an adult, dark storyline. It is not a retelling or rehash of any mix; like the first one, I would describe it as the author imagining what the deities of yore are doing outside of Earth and this human-centric world of ours. I think that describing it as "a continuation of mythology" would be more accurate.
That said, my guess is that The Darkhan would resonate more with readers that are keen with not having everything explained in a very guided way. If you have read Abercrombie, you know what I mean -- you end up following characters that are minions so low in the power-chain, that they know nothing of what is actually going on; e.g., they don't know the overarching schemes, or even who is behind it. This is mostly what you get on The Darkhan, albeit throughout the entire book (and following that twist-ending first book, Wyrd Gods) the reader gets a feeling of dread all the time. I was reading and constantly thinking 'okay, but what is he/her planning?'... yet the book doesn't tell you; it hints at it, and I find that so compelling.
The Darkhan is similarly structured to the first book. Regarding narrators, we have Butterfly (view spoiler), who continues to narrate in first person. Second, now in addition to her (and as the title and blurb of the book indicates) we have the Darkhan "prince", namely Aiden, also narrating in first person. If you are listening to the audiobook, this is spectacular because the narrator (Sarah Kempton) actually changes the narration voice and it feels so immersive.
Like before, there are interludes and chapters in which the reader finds out the whereabouts of a variety of deities. These are all narrated in a limited third person -- yet they are all so unique! Some of them only appear for a brief chapter, yet the author managed to bring them to life in a way they feel natural and with depth. Let me try to explain that -- because the narrator is the character, the way it is written keeps the style, but changes the presentation of events and, more importantly, how the character sees or thinks about those events. You can see very clearly how something is very important to one character, and not so much to another... and through that implied information, it is up to the reader to start forming their opinion of the actual events.
After all, all PoVs in this book are very unrealiable narrators who are:
a) unwilling pawns in the manipulations of someone else (and thus don't know that much of the events), or
b) deities who believe to have an understanding of what is happening, only for the reader to later learn that these deities' knowledge is actually just a bunch of guesses or outdated information.
So, what can you find in this book? There are certainly elements of whodunit, but don't expect a mystery -- it is just that you can feel that a big plot is at play, but you don't have it explained. There are also clear elements of question (Butterfly and the Darkhan are sent to fetch someone), and a lot of scheming, plotting deities vying for their own interests... which often collide. You will read depictions of blood and murder (come on, this is a dark fantasy about ancient gods!), there are no sex scenes in this one but there are mentions of having had sex. Then, there is also a bit of dryads-vs-humans not liking each other, but this is very passing.
TL;DR: Overall, it is a really interesting and unique book, written with an exquisite prose that blends simplicity and ease of reading with a compelling style. The characters feel so real and well-shaped, there are plenty of opposing interests and, like in the first book -- there is a huge twist at the end that will let you screaming for the third book. Thankfully, the third book is out already.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 11-09-2021
A World you become invested it.
Sarah Kempton provides a wonderful narrative to a story I just get enough off, Susanna Imaginario is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, do yourself a favour and invest in this series, you won't regret it!
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