Publisher: Roc
Date published: May 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0451463005
Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Library
A curse has affected the people of Minhorne for centuries. The blind Darkborn cannot handle the light while the Lightborn will perish in the darkness. For doctor Balthasar Hearne, his peaceful life with his wife, the Lady Telmaine Hearne who is magically gifted Darkborn, is torn into chaos when his brother’s former flame, Tercelle Amberley shows up at his door ready to give birth to illegitimate children, who amazingly enough are Lightborn. What ensues after the delivery and Tercelle’s escape back to her home will thrust Balthasar and Telmaine into a mystery that will force them to find out who may be rousing the Lightborn and Darkborn against one another. For a force stronger than both people will cause utter chaos as politics, murder and more engulf their world.
I found DARKBORN purely by chance. What I found when I opened this book was a story so enthralling it left me aching for more. The writing was tight, the story flowed nicely and the characters very well written. DARKBORN had a few twists that had me gaping in shock as well as eager to see what would happen next. The story was so enthralling, it was hard to put down…even to sleep. Ms. Sinclair left me reeling with her well written story of politics, thriller and mystery amid magic and non-magical people with a hint of a regency world as well.
Meet the inhabitants of Minhorne; a world where two sets of people live and breathe side by side, never interacting with one another, due to a curse set upon them centuries ago. The Darkborn live in a world of darkness for any light will kill them and they hate magic of any kind. The Lightborn live in the light and one whiff of darkness will destroy them as they embrace magic with all their being. When the world of Minhorne finds itself under attack, the world as they know it changes in a blink of an eye. What intrigued me more than anything about DARKBORN was it wasn’t just one person’s point of view going on; it was a few select main characters (Telmaine, Balthasar among others) who helped keep the story flowing smoothly. The secondary characters were enjoyable and just as descriptive as the main ones which had me enthralled even more. It’s rare to read a well written book where all the characters are well defined.
DARKBORN is a wonderful introduction into a fantasy world where magical and non-magical users live side by side, political mechanizations and a bit of a romance amid the pages. It left me eager to read the final two books in the trilogy immediately. Alison Sinclair is a wonderful voice in the fantasy genre and one author you need to check out very soon. I look forward to seeing more of Ms. Sinclair’s work in this genre and hope we won’t have to wait too long.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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