Dark Solus: An Assassin's Tale

By David Andrew Crawford

General Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Young Adult

Language: English Not Rated (NR)

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Overview Ratings & Reviews

Dark Solus, An Assassin's Tale is a dark, science fiction fantasy novel about one of the deadliest assassins on the planet Eorth. The evil wizard Kalifen, along with the ruthless leaders of the Assassins, Thieves and Halflings guilds, murdered Dark Solus' parents when he was only a child. Haunted by their merciless execution, he now waits and prepares to exact his revenge on all those responsible for their demise. Dark is transformed and trained by the Styg, the warden of the Stygian depths, and his grandfather Mephistopheles, an ancient silver dragon. Twelve years later, Dark is now ready to travel to the City of Duergar, the home of his enemies. Trained in the skills of assassination, and armed with lethal magic devices and knowledge of the dark arts, he has set himself only one mission.....to kill them all! This action-packed book comes alive with ancient imagery, in a time before solid boundaries formed between the mystical kingdoms of Faërie and the mortal world of man.

The Story Behind This Book

This book is about a character, Dark Solus, I played as a youth in the game of Dungeons and Dragons. In the story Dark's parents are murdered when he was young and he wants revenge but in order to seek it, Dark must have training and magical items to help him. This first book in the Dark Saga series tells of how Dark gets the magical items he needs and how he is helped by his grandfather, a polymorphing dragon and The Styg.

Praise and Reviews

Demonically Good

My first thought on reading this book was: I wish I could park my car as easily as the main characters in the story "park" their rides, whether horse or flying ship. My second thought was: what an imagination this writer has.

In Dark Solus: An Assassin's Tale, David Andrew Crawford has crafted a story full of horror, tragedy, revenge, and magic. Or at least partially, but more on that later. Protagonist Dark Solus is the offspring of a demon father and an elf mother, and is being raised accordingly --in a magical environment with lessons in stealth and self-defense from his father, a skilled warrior, with summers spent at the home of his grandfather (and WHAT a grandfather), a deep cave in the land of fairies. Sadly for young Dark, this idyllic childhood is destroyed when his parents are killed by enemies that the boy never knew existed. At the age of thirteen, Dark vows to seek out and kill those who murdered his mother and father.

Thus, Dark begins a long and rigorous journey, first as a student learning the art of assassination using every weapon known to man, demon, and very dark magic. Then when his training is complete, he embarks on several quests to obtain a series of talismans necessary for him to fulfill his vow of revenge.

It is at this point that Crawford's imagination "makes the jump into hyperspace," to borrow a phrase. Paying homage to Tolkien and borrowing elements of more than one ancient mythology, from the Greeks to the Norse to the Celts, the author sends his characters on a whirlwind tour of ageless cautionary fables (read: horrific fairy tales) in a sort of video game smashes into Bulfinch, or perhaps a version of When Vengeful Heroes Go Completely DARK.

And then the book ends. No kidding. Crawford didn't partially craft a story as I had mentioned earlier, he actually only partially shared it. I realized as I was racing through the last 20 pages that the dwindling amount of book left did not bode well for my learning the outcome of the entire story. Maybe the author thought I needed a break to get my breath back? Perhaps he was being as devilish as his half-demon main character? Whatever the reason, anyone reading this book will be tempted to turn up on the author's doorstep and demand to know what happens next.

So, Mr. Crawford, to prevent uninvited visitors, I'll ask here and now: What DOES happen next? And how soon can we find out?

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