Shattered Fears by Ulff Lehmann

Blurb

Epic Fantasy filled with grim reality.

His defenses lowered, mercenary Drangar Ralgon has been taken over by the Fiend. As the monster butchers its way through a village, Drangar’s mentor tries to help him regain control. They must return to their mission and draw the invading High General’s attention from the last free city of Danastaer.

The elven mage Lloreanthoran is caught in a web of intrigue. To hold back a demonic incursion, he must rescue a doomed man and unite the factions of a shattered order.

The price of failure is high, and the fate of not only Danastaer hangs in the balance. Will their efforts be enough?

Personal notes

I’ve got an ARC copy from the author, Ulff Lehmann in exchange of an honest review.

Song of the Book

I looked up what song I used for the previous book, which was War Over Me by Papa Roach and decided to stick with the band. Partly because they are a damn good band, and partly because some of their songs accompany really well this series.

Review

Shattered Fears is the third installment in the Light in the Dark series by Ulff Lehmann. I’ve been following this series every since I had become a blogger and thus it had grown close to my heart. Even though I’m trying to take a step away from epic fantasy, when I opened it up and started to read I felt right at home. You know that feeling when after a long time you arrive home and wrap your favorite comforter around yourself? I felt something similar when I looked upon the first few pages of Shattered Fears. It was good to be back in this world. Pro tip: before you plunge in, reread the last few chapters of Shattered Hopes as Shattered Fears starts where the previous book left off.

Dunthiochagh is under siege, but winter is coming. Mireyhn is running out of time, if he wants to wait out the spring in the city. The citizens of Duntiochagh however doesn’t give their home away so easily. But war is ugly and not without sacrifices. Be prepared to say some goodbyes by the time you finish reading the book.

I’d rather not talk much about the plot so I wouldn’t spoil anything for those who haven’t read the first two books yet. Let me just say, all the important characters will be back and some questions will be answered about Drangar’s past and the dangers the world faces with the return of an evil force. But before he and his friends can deal with it, they have to come a long way. Drangar still keeps battling his own demons and depression, though this time around he gets an anchor to help him get out of the worst of it, and earn his big boy pants. Personally, my favorite part of Shattered Fears was Drangar’s arc. It was interesting to see him getting out of the hole he pushed himself in, to open up and start to really deal with whataver is going on with him. As he finally started to let people in and accept their help or start to see things from their point of view, accepting that he might have been wrong. Well, not exactly wrong, but that maybe even though he had good intentions, the consequences probably didn’t make his actions worth it.

On the other hand, Llorentharoan finds himself in the middle of chaos which thrives in the Eye. 3 warring factions try to get the upper hand over the others, making any hope of being united impossible. The elf has to learn to deal with it and has to make some choices himself.

I probably would have liked if Anne got more spotlight, but I’m pretty sure her time will come. Another small bit of criticism would be that their stop by Dragonhold was a bit too brief for my liking.

Lehmann’s writing keeps improving as the series continues. The characters keep changing and growing as time goes by and things are keep happening. Which is great because they don’t get boring and there is always something to throw them off course so they have to adapt. And even though Shattered Fears is the third book of a series it doesn’t seem like it’ll drop in quality anytime soon. In fact, based on the end of the book, I’m pretty sure the fourth book will be a blast. As the previous books it ends a bit abruptly, but honestly it just makes me want to keep reading on.

What Lehmann excels at is weaving an intricate, multilayered story, with complex characters who feel like they could walk out of the pages anytime. Shattered Fears is about battling your demons whether they are real or just in your head. Or are they?