[Review] Free the Darkness - Kel Kade

Titel: Free the Darkness

Series: Kings Dark Tidings

Author: Kel Kade

Publisher:Podium Publishing

First Published: 30.08.2016
Format: Audio, english, 17h

Synopsis: GoodReads

Review: 4*, GoodReads, Amazon

Raised and trained in complete seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bequeathed to him by a dead king, the young warrior relentlessly pursues his only lead. A single elite warrior escaped during the battle and may have knowledge of who Rezkin is and who is responsible for the slaughter at the young man’s home.

Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence. His last orders, spoken on the lips of his dying Master, were to "Kill with conscience" and "Protect and honor your friends." Living in isolation from the outworld under a strict regimen of training and education, the young warrior has no understanding of a conscience or friends. Determined to adhere to his last orders, Rezkin extends his protection to an unlikely assortment of individuals he meets along the way, often leading to humorous and poignant incidents.

As if pursuing an elite warrior across a kingdom, figuring out who he is and why everyone he knows is dead, and attempting to find these so-called friends and protect them is not enough, strange things are happening in the kingdom. New dangers begin to arise that threaten not only Rezkin and his friends, but possibly everyone in Ashai.

->GoodReads

I just finished listening to ‘Free the Darkness‘ by Kade Kale, and I don’t think I have ever finished an audiobook as quickly as this one, maybe with the exception of ‘ACOMAF’. That I even found this book was pure chance, as it was recommended to be by audible when I was looking for something new to listen after having finished ‘Words of Radiance’. It sounded interesting, so I got it and started listening and just never stopped. In fact I started with the second book in the series right after having finished this one.

To be honest, this review will sound pretty negative. That’s because I can see quite a lot of problems with it, but I can’t really tell you why I enjoyed this book so much.

The worldbuilding fell pretty flat, we hardly learned anything about this world and all the descriptions were reserved for our protagonist. Still I didn’t really feel like I was missing any necessary details. I would have preferred to learn more about this world, but there weren’t any gaping holes either.

The main character, Rezkin, on the other hand was described in minute detail. Again and again and again. He is described to be almost superhuman, with skills no other person possesses, and a body to die for. All of that is fine with me, as I honestly don’t mind someone with unbelievable skills, and who doesn’t like a perfectly sculpted main character? Thing is this is repeated over and over again, and no one else is described as detailed as him.

There are other things that are repeated over and over again, to the point that it was quite annoying and I can’t see the relevance to the plot.

In this story Rezkin, our hero, is thrown right into the midst of a gigantic conspiracy theory, with no knowledge of who he can trust and who is true enemy is. While this is a pretty standard idea, the fact that Rezkin has been raised away from society and only knows about the ‘Outworld’ from what he  was told, makes it very interesting. While Rezkin is very well informed about the goings on in the world, and about etiquette etc, he has no knowledge of concepts like friendship or concience.  

His lack of knowledge in things like that and his perfect manners and adherence to the code he follows lead to some very amusing moments.

The characters, with the exception, of Rezkin are all pretty flat and I can’t see any kind of character development. Everyone seems to solely exist to underline some part of Rezkins ‘amazingness’.

And yet.. And yet I loved listening to this book. Despite all the more negative aspects I liked the story and I can’t wait to see what happens to Rez and who is behind everything.

In the end I rated this book 4 stars and I’m looking forward to the next installments.