Book Review | Dark Moon, Shallow Sea

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton weaves a dark coastal fantasy about knights, heretics, and a fallen god.

First off, I really liked the dual narrative, cat-and-mouse game here! On one hand, there's a scholar of Phoebe on the run, trying to avenge his dead goddess, and, on the other hand, we have a knight of Hyperion who's hunting down Phoebe's followers while grappling with his own faith.

However, for a theocracy, I really wish we could have gotten more of the mythos and history of the gods. For instance, Hyperion knights are destroying anything related to Phoebe without letting readers know why the sibling gods turned on each other. We're not even told that the gods are siblings until a third of the way in ... which seems like to pretty basic, important information that should have been brought up earlier to me. We're also repeatedly told that a mysterious man must be returned to his box without any clues as to why for almost half of the novel.

Heck, even lies would have been better than vagueness.

I think the withholding of information was supposed to have added a mystery component, but, in this case, I think introducing background information earlier on would have helped readers understand the stakes at hand and the characters' motivations--making for a more compelling read.

Overall, I feel like the story had an interesting premise and characters, but I wish the world itself had been fleshed out more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : October 31, 2023

Publisher : ‎Blackstone Publishing

ISBN: 1668030624

Pages : 360

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