Tim Lebbon, Dawn

Dawn

Tim Lebbon

Bantam, Apr 2007, $12.00

ISBN 0553383655

Everyone believes the land of Noreela is dead especially since the savior, former farm boy Rafe Baburn, was killed by the Mage with his body given to Angel. A second age of dark magic has begun to cast a shadow over the realm as Angel, the S'Hivez, and the Red Mages have avenged their stunning loss during the Cataclysmic War.

There is no hope with the savior vanquished. His compatriots, who fought to keep him safe, feel the devastating impact of gloom, doom, and disappointment even more deeply than the commoners. Hope the witch, Alishia of the books, Kosar the thief and Trey of the enigmatic yellow eyes know they failed on their quest. Yet Alishia believes they still have a chance to insure the ancient prophecy of rebirth by an unborn can happen. She demands they not quit, but valiantly continue the mission as she feels she contains an essence of Rafe that might prove enough to begin a resurrection if they can make it to the city of Kang Kang. The Mages are on mop up duty to prevent their success.

Though Alishia is a solid heroine, she lacks the freshness that Rafe brought to DUSK, as that tale was also a coming of age saga. She and her three comrades make DAWN an exhilarating, action-packed, horror fantasy though the enemy also lacks that signature villain such as the initial Red Mage who massacred the villagers of Trengborne in DUSK. Still, this is a top-quality tale that provides a staying alive adventure that makes it much more than a middle filler thriller as DAWN can be read without the previous story though reading DUSK first enhances the understanding of how much the death of Rafe impacts his world and casts a gloomy spell on his teammates.

Harriet Klausner