Into the Dying Light: The Age of Darkness, Book 3
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Katy Rose Pool's Into the Dying Light is the final book in a fantasy trilogy for mature teens about prophets, kingdoms, magic, and possible end times. Six characters trade off narrating, two of them gay men who account for the main love story in the series. Expect some kissing and innuendo, gay and straight, but less than the second book -- this being the finale, everyone is pretty busy trying to stop the end of the world. Main characters feel helpless as they watch cities fall to plague and earthquakes and volcanoes and one city's river even runs with blood. A few characters important to the story also die violently, one by stabbing, one is burned to death, another is run through with a sword, and another taken out in a magic burst of light. One character is tortured with a hot poker and another is beaten in prison. Expect some drinking, mostly among 20-year-old characters, and rare uses of bad language ("f—k" is said once). In the face of all the destruction, readers will find a reminder of humanity's greatest strength: our capacity to love. And love wins out over power and greed. One of the main characters, Ephyra, embraces the power of mercy and it begins to transform her life.
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What's the Story?
In INTO THE DYING LIGHT, sisters Beru and Ephyra are both captives of the Hierophant and forced to do his bidding. Because Beru has a god barely contained inside her, the Hierophant uses its power to strip the Graced of their magic and transplant it into his own fanatic followers. Jude, Hassan, and Hector, meanwhile, are hiding in another city awaiting news of how they can save the sisters. Jude finally makes contact with someone from the Lost Rose who offers the men a ship and a rescue plan. But more than anything Jude wants to find Anton, who disappeared after Prince Hassan's kingdom fell. All Jude's attempts at scrying (divination) for him fail, but he knows Anton, the last prophet and the only hope of destroying the vengeful god in Beru, is still alive somewhere. In fact, as the god grows stronger and Beru grows weaker, it will take all of them together to contain it and stop the end of humanity.
Is It Any Good?
This sweeping finale with end-times excitement sometimes lacks solid pacing and clarity, but always keeps love as its focal point. And after two other books in the series where you're not sure whose love story will dominate, now there's no doubt this is Anton and Jude's show. The couple has incredibly difficult choices to make, a deadly prophesy to fulfill if all goes awry (and it almost does, many times) and a wrathful god to defeat. While whole cities fall and rivers run with blood -- about as ominous as it gets -- this romance holds the crumbling world and the book together. Another spot of hope is Ephyra's story. She's a killer turned healer who learns the power of mercy and redemption.
It's helpful to have all these personal, grounding moments because at times Into the Dying Light gets too caught up in the chaos. There are so many kingdoms and religious orders and secret societies and prophets and zealots and holy artifacts to keep track of. And there are moments that build -- like a nearly endless trip through the mountains -- and then deliver too swift a disappointment. And there are many changes of plans on this quest. While these changes slow down the story in the middle, they actually work well in the end to keep readers guessing whether the world will fall or love and humanity will survive.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the vengeful god in Into the Dying Light. How do real-life religions see God or gods and the idea of the end times? What ideas are borrowed for this story and which ones are new? How many fantasies do you read that have a religious element?
The main love story of this series belongs to Anton and Jude, two men, and the straight love stories are secondary. How often does this happen in the books you read? Which love story were you rooting for the most? Why?
Would you read more about these characters in another series? Which ones?
Book Details
- Author: Katy Rose Pool
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More, Adventures, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
- Publication date: September 21, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 18
- Number of pages: 512
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: September 9, 2021
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