The Fae Of Darkwood by Ben McQueeney

My first introduction to the author’s fantasy world of Tellusm, but definitely not my last.

Rehan is a barber, which means he also performs minor medical procedures and is more or less a doctor. Due to his interest in healing, he dissects bodies to learn more about them. When he hears about some fresh specimens, he sets off to collect samples, but he gets more than he bargained on in the Darkwood.

This is the sort of fantasy I love. The world building is solid, but introduced subtly into the plot and still easy enough to understand. The characters are believable, and I particularly liked Rehan’s interest in dissection. There is magic and different races, but handled in a realistic way that shows that this is just how things are in this world.

Rehan is a great character and has a strong arc. I would love to read about his further adventures.

Another thing that appealed to me about this story was the horror element. With some marvelous descriptions and a very creepy scene in the woods, it worked well at combining the fantasy and horror genres.

Unfortunately, while the first half is well paced and balanced with dialogue versus action, I found the second half rushed. I didn’t feel as deeply immersed in the story as I had been, which was disappointing, as what had gone before was so good.

I award The Fae of Darkwood…

The Fae of Darkwood is available for $1.23 ebook on Amazon.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.