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Review: A Dagger in the Dark (Pillars of Peace #0.5) by Tom Dumbrell

February 4, 2024 by C. J. Daley (CJDsCurrentRead) Leave a Comment

Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis

Twenty years before the events of The Look of a King, in a world on the cusp of change, a young man dreams of a life far from the one he has known.

Is he a captain in the making, or out of his depth?

The stakes are high, and only time will tell if the spoils are worth the gamble. . .

Review

The author surprise attacked us with this novella’s release, but I ain’t mad at it, and I’ll certainly be requiring more stories in this world now. This is the first review for this author that I am sharing on FanFi, so for those that do not know, this author was one of the first Indies to contact me, make a connection, and offer me a copy of their story for my enjoyment. It really sparked this entire indie journey I’ve been on with reviews, and we still speak quite frequently. I also happen to love his writing, which certainly helps, but all of my reviews are honest first.

This is a prequel novella that takes place 20 years before the events of The Look of a King. It follows a much younger Roscoe, who fans will remember from the trilogy itself, and his journey to becoming a pirate/semi-King’s man that we know him as. 

This novella is witty, well written, and filled with wise cracks. I will say that I do wish that we got a bit more of the gritty side, as they are pirates, but the story is just as enjoyable without it. This one features the typical Dumbrell twist, but it was once again one that I thought worked well with the scenes that were set. I do think this one offers slightly less than the trilogy, but it is an intro prequel story, a novella, so it most definitely is still a great piece of writing.

I would like to be reading side stories from this world for years to come. Let’s go to new places, see new faces, and find new favorites. I’m still longing for more.

Filed Under: Adventure Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical, Nautical fantasy, Novella, Reviews, Self Published Tagged With: #ADaggerintheDark, #PillarsofPeace, #Prequel, #TomDumbrell

About C. J. Daley (CJDsCurrentRead)

I was an avid player of Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Lord of the Rings Edition. When the millions turned out to be fake, and answering that ‘Athelas’ was another name for ‘Kingsfoil‘ grew tiresome, I retired. Now I'm a horror author and an avid reader of all things sci-fi/fantasy/horror/mystery.

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