Author: Antony Johnston
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributors
Rating: WORTHY!
Illustrated by John Rauch and Christopher Mitten
DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration for this review.
Umbral tells a great story - a bit derivative of Greek mythology and a bit of Lord of the Rings while at the same time coming up with an original concept and a majorly kick-ass female main character. I fell in love with Rascal pretty much as soon as she opened her mouth!
Set in a fantasy kingdom, this story begins with Rascal, who was raised by thieves and smugglers, conspiring with her highly unlikely friend, the prince of the realm. They plan to steal a royal gem, the oculus, on the day when everyone's attention will be on an eclipse and the attendant celbrations, but instead what they witness is the slaughter of the king and queen by underworld creatures aka the Umbral (plural, the Umbral...).
The problem is, who will believe a thief like her? Her situation progressively deteriorates, but she manages, by the skin of her teeth to stay ahead of the underworld creatures even as she learns they can shape-shift to emulate humans.
Fortunately, there is a wizard at hand, and he informs a disbelieving Rascal that she has both a history and a destiny, something which the Umbral already seem to know....
This was a first class romp and I recommend it highly.
