May CSFF Blog Tour, Day 1: By Darkness Hid, by Jill Williamson

Er’Rets is a land of contrasts. Lavish wealth exists alongside abject poverty. Half the realm lives in the sunlight, and the other half lies under a mystical darkness that breeds evil and insanity. Its king is dead, and a temporary council rules until the heir comes of age.

Achan is the lowest of the low, a Stray without family, station, or skills, regarded as barely human, cleaning up after animals and hauling garbage under the stern gaze of an abusive guardian.

Meanwhile, Vrell, daughter of a noble house, is in hiding, disguised as a Stray boy to avoid a forced marriage to the cruel Prince Gidon. Though she’s treated well, she lives in constant fear that someone will see through her disguise and betray her.

The fortunes of these two young people are about to change forever, and it’s not at all clear that it will be a change for the better. Each of them has a special gift that sets them apart from the ordinary, and powerful people want to use it to control the future of Er’Rets.

There’s a larger force at work in Er’Rets, though–an ancient, invisible power seeking to heal the divided land and dispel the darkness, and Achan and Vrell are part of that plan, though they don’t yet understand it.

By Darkness Hid is Jill Williamson’s debut novel, the beginning of an epic fantasy tale of courage and adventure that drew me in immediately, kept me turning pages, and left me eager for the next volume.

More about the story tomorrow. In the meantime, please visit the other sites on this month’s CSFF Blog Tour:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R.L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Purchase By Darkness Hid: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982104952
Jill Williamson’s Website and Blog: http://jillwilliamson.wordpress.com/

10 thoughts on “May CSFF Blog Tour, Day 1: By Darkness Hid, by Jill Williamson”

  1. Good intro to the book, Fred. I like how you’ve laid it out. There’s lots to like about this book.

    BTW, I’m on the blog tour but not listed in your links. I think you aren’t using the most recent list where I’m added in, came a couple days ago. Might want to check into that.

    http://blog.rlcopple.com

    Thanks!

    1. Thanks, Rick. Yeah, there are always a couple of links that get added the night before that I have to add in later. Sorry about that. Fixed now.

  2. Very nice intro, Fred. I love the fact that this book also seemed to cross the gender divide. Jill said she wrote it because she didn’t see a lot out there for boys, but so far the women on the tour are giving it good reviews, too.

    I’ll be eager to hear what else you have to say.

    Becky

    1. As I’ll discuss tomorrow, I thought Jill did a great job with her characters, and I thought Vrell’s story was just as strong as Achan’s. Definitely a book that can appeal to just about anybody.

  4. I was going to say, “Great summary!” but I see Phyllis did already. Nonetheless, I did enjoy your recap and I look forward to seeing what you have to say tomorrow. 🙂

Leave a comment