Synopsis:
“God-killing seemed a lofty ambition. Then again, is that not what we’re here to do in our hunt for the Dweller in Darkness?”
All of Cassius Marius’ life has been spent in service to the Pale King. Ever since his birth sixteen years ago on the night the Hero of Hathur died, his mother prepared him to join the Lightbringers: seven young men selected every equinox by the Church of the Pale King to descend underground to hunt and destroy the Dweller in Darkness, a chthonic entity the Church names as source of an unnatural blight ravaging Hathur and beyond, year after year.
Cassius has known since he could speak that he was destined to destroy the great evil poisoning his home. His inevitable confrontation with the Dweller on his holy descent changes him inside and out and puts him on a collision course with the Pale King he once worshipped. With his world and body crumbling around him, Cassius must choose between loyalty and honor, family and humanity, not to save his home. But to destroy it.
The sequel to The Mystery of the Pale King and conclusion of the Deadlights Duology, Dweller in Darkness traverses a doomed empire polluted by corruption to ask if the world was ending, what would you save? And what would you leave behind?
Review:
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s a difficult task to write a sequel, and even more so to write one that’s even better than the first. But Dweller in Darkness accomplished that. It’s one of the best novellas I’ve read in a very long time.
It’s written in the style of journal entries, mostly from the perspective of Cassius Marius. He’s young (I believe seventeen?) when he’s chosen to become one of the next wave of Lightbringers. The position is supposed to be an honor, but very few ever return after they’re sent off to combat the Rot. Those who do are irrevocably changed. But the danger Cassius will face isn’t something he’s concerned with when he’s first named to the post. He’s more interested in his sister’s friend, Serena, and what he’ll do after he returns.
Once Cassius and the other chosen Lightbringers begin their mission, it isn’t long before they all realize how much danger they’re in. And the more Cassius learns, the more he’s certain that there’s only one path to ending the Rot—and it’s not a path the others will agree to tread.
While this book is fantasy, it has a lot of horror elements too, and I think it would appeal to readers of both genres. Dweller in Darkness is the sequel to The Mystery of the Pale King, which is set quite a few years prior to the sequel. It helps to read the first novella to understand the history of the Pale King, the Deadlights, and the Rot, but I do think Dweller in Darkness could also be read as a standalone.
I really enjoyed both novellas, and this second one was absolutely fantastic.
Dweller in Darkness is available for preorder and will release September 22, 2026.
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