Summary:
A plague of monsters. A deadly conspiracy. A truth that will shatter the world.
Isyr. Stronger, brighter, more beautiful than other metals. Once the most desirable thing in Ellasia, now it is priceless, the pure Isyrium needed to produce it mined to exhaustion. What’s left is controlled by the powerful mining syndicates, and such is the demand for their Isyrium that even kings do their bidding. Yet just as the beauty of Isyr hides a deadly secret, so too do the syndicates.
A terrifying enemy is spreading a plague across the land, a sickness that kills or transforms everything it touches. Unable to contain the outbreaks, the King of Lankara begs the aid of the disgraced former Duke of Agrathon, Alyas-Raine Sera, a man who has spent years fighting syndicate expansion and whose resentment over his exile makes him an unpredictable, dangerous ally in the power struggle between the rulers of Ellasia and the mining companies.
Attached to the envoy to recall the duke, the apprentice surgeon Brivar finds his skills and loyalty tested as his service to his new patron uncovers secrets about Isyr and the plague that link it to the mining of Isyrium – and threaten the life of the man it is his duty to safeguard.
In their own separate ways, Alyas and Brivar must take on the might of the syndicates and confront the greed, murder, betrayal and impossible choices of a crisis that has been decades in the making – and the price of their failure could be everyone and everything.
Review:
The Many Shades of Midnight by C.M. Debell is a standalone tale that is both riveting and unexpected. Set against a larger plot, this story instead focused on the close, intimate moments of a smaller cast (I’ll try to do this justice below).
Not gonna lie, the book I read was not the book I was expecting and I believe that successfully worked out well. The opening chapters led us to believe we would be fighting a plague of monsters, and while we did see that happen, that didn’t end up being the plot at all. Instead, we got a political intrigue story with lots of plots and betrayals, a series of events playing out one way only to come crashing down differently.
Reflecting a bit, this story is almost a conclusion rather than the beginning, if that makes sense. Without spoiling anything, the main protagonist of this story (not main POV mind you) Alyas is asked to return to a kingdom he was exiled from fifteen years prior to the story. And while he is brought back to help fight this spreading plague of monsters, his arc is tied mainly to the seeds which his ouster was sown. And I quite liked that concept. Sure, Alyas had to deal with the present, but a lot of what he deals with is the aftermath of the decisions made fifteen years prior, both by his king, his betrothed, and by him. This was an incredibly brave choice made by Ms. Debell, and one that I feel turned out excellent.
But for that choice to work, the cast has to be perfect and I’m here to say, yes, the cast was great. Especially the fact that the main POVs were not your typical stoic heroes. And I loved the fact that even though Alyas is our main protagonist, he only has a small amount of time as a POV. This was such a great decision because it allowed the rest of the cast to try and stand on their own, as well as help build the mystery of the story.
Our first POV is Brivar and he is a surgeon’s apprentice and the way he begins to unravel the cause of the plague was excellent. He was a quiet hero, one that I truly enjoyed following. I also liked his naivety and just overall integration into the group of exiled characters. Esar Cantrell is your normal warrior POV but he is such a worrywart over Alyas’ actions/conditions, that it was a breath of fresh air to have this soldier constantly on the verge of anxiety. His love for his adoptive brother was endearing but also his heartbreak as the plot unfolded was quite emotional, one that made me feel for the big guy. We also get some other characters who range from truly bad to truly just kinda there (aka Alyas’ former betrothed (she really didn’t play much of a role other than to be a POV for some worldbuilding scenes and one good one at the end)). But as I said, the star of this book is Alyas. I liked how Alyas was the pinnacle of a reluctant hero, a man beset on all sides. His arc was extremely satisfying. I also loved how he outmaneuvered everyone, even his own brother Esar.
The idea of Isyr was a neat concept. Essentially it is an ore that can do a number of things, like speed up healing/hallucinations/death or, in combination of other factors, can turn people into monsters, but it also serves as a fuel source. So it is extremely valuable. It was great to see how this simple object could be the source of such conflict. In a very real-world relation to oil, we see how the syndicates essentially rule (and ruin) everything. Greed and control runs rampant in this world and while it might not be the most original concept ever, I truly enjoyed watching Alyas work to break them. And I just loved every scene Alyas (as seen through the other POVs’ eyes and preconceived notion on how he would act) totally just outplay the syndicate leaders.
And that ending, man, what a great ending. Triumph via sacrifice (not how you think either!). The ending was completely satisfying.
All in all, this was a great standalone story. The Many Shades of Midnight was an enjoyable read. Highly recommend.