“This is for our wives and children. This is for the people whose lives will be ravaged if we fail to stop Ubel’s brothers. But most of all, we fight for our King—to advance his purposes and to bring him glory. Today, good will triumph over evil. Be strong and of good courage, trust your sword, show no fear. Resist! And win!”
The Dark Kingdom by Jerry Ross is the fifth book in the Stay in the Castle series. It advances the stories of the characters we know and expands both the conflict and the world.
Table of Contents
Plot
The seven years since Ubel’s death have seen much change. Rinc and Vala are settling down in their new home—a castle built in the heart of the Dark Kingdom, spreading light to those around. Kids have grown up, new talents have been discovered, new innovations have been made. Life is moving on for the King’s warriors.
But the dragon’s horde never rests, and the days of peace are about to end. Ubel’s four brothers, thirsty for revenge, have brought an army four hundred strong from across the sea to retake the Dark Kingdom and stop their brother’s killer. They leave destruction in their wake, pillaging and burning every village they pass.
Rinc and Vala’s castle is woefully unprepared for such a large assault, and by the time they discover this army, it’s too late for any neighboring friends to reinforce them. Unless a miracle happens, the few defenders will be quickly overrun, and the castle will become a fortress of evil.
With each book of this series I read, I’m continually impressed by how Ross has taken the story of the first book, Stay in the Castle, and expanded it into a full saga with a large cast of characters and an ever-expanding world. Sure, it doesn’t have the depth of The Wingfeather Saga, but with the entire series fitting within the cover of a single Wingfeather book, it’s not much of a comparison.
Even with its sparse page count, The Dark Kingdom delivers both an engaging story and Biblical themes. And it’s all packed into an afternoon’s worth of reading.
Characters
This book skips forward seven years, and during that time all the characters have aged. With some, the differences are minimal. Rinc and Vala are still the same people, though they’re now married with children. But others, like Twain, Gemma, and Risa, have become grown adults.
It’s a challenge to pinpoint the main characters of this book, as we see many familiar faces. Rinc, Vala, Angus, Pem, Twain, Risa, and Gemma are all prominent. A handful of background characters also appear in scenes. Some new characters arrive, spicing up the cast even more. Gemma and Pem are especially developed in this book, with the story taking time to show how their lives have changed over the past years.
Theme & Content Warnings
Courage, determination, and faith are the central themes of this book. The residents of the castle must hold their own against an impossible force, praying that the King will deliver them. Perhaps it was just me, but the message of this book didn’t seem as overt as in previous books.
Content warnings here are limited to violence, and these are just simple statements without depictions of blood or gore. A lady’s eyes are removed in one scene. One enemy soldier is beheaded; another, shot in the neck with an arrow; and yet another stabbed in the heart. Soldiers die in battle. Ross does not go into detail about these things, and their occurrences barely use more description than I did in the list.
A couple of new romances spring up between characters, but they’re just as appropriate as the relationships in previous books.
Overall
The Dark Kingdom is the kind of story I’ve come to expect from this series in the best possible way. Building the world, fleshing out the characters, and illustrating timeless truths, the book is a great read for fans of adventure or fantasy stories. And with content warnings at a bare minimum, it’s suitable for anyone to read.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll write you in the next one!
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