I’ve just finished Against the Darkening Sky and I just loved it. Davis writes beautifully and she thinks beautifully as well. This story is of two miscast people, of different and opposing faiths, but it is also about belonging, ostracism, loss, love, and change. I thoroughly enjoyed her depiction of Northumbria at the time of its Christianisation, the intimate detail of so much of life, especially of the monk on the one hand and the two seithkona, or wise women, who listen to the gods, make sacrifices, and care for the villagers' physical and spiritual health. I loved the fervent Irish hermit, his foolishness and his wisdom and his love of everyone.

I think the most surprising thing about this book is it’s lack of prejudice toward either native or the incoming face. Very refreshing! ( )

Historical fantasy set against the background of 7th century Northumbria, with the coming of Christianity, replacing the old pagan religion. Egan, a devout monk, maybe even TOO devout, comes to that area, ostensibly as a translator, and his path and that of Wilona, a young priestess-prophetess-healer entwine. He's an example of a Christian really living Christ's message and she is the last in the village of Ad Gefrin, clinging to her beliefs in spite of hostile opposition from her lord, other villagers, and most of the Christian clergy.

As the author states, "beyond the research, this is a work of imagination." She feels this is what life may have been like at that time. The writing was gorgeous, especially almost poetic descriptions of nature, and deep character studies. I felt immersed in that era.

Most highly recommended. ( )

Phillipians 2:12 “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”

In Against a Darkening Sky, Lauren B. Davis gifts readers with another fine and passionate work The story takes place during the 7th century Anglo-Saxon period when England is divided into seven warring kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex. To add to the upheaval, Christianity is replacing the ancient polytheistic practices honoring Woden and various other deities. Touilt, the village seithkona (priestess/shaman), rescues Wilona, the child sole survivor of a village ravaged by the plague, and raises her to become a seithkona. This is the journey of Wilona’s soul. As a devoted follower of the nature deities, she refuses to be baptized a Christian, causing conflict with her ruler, her lover, and with the Christian priest named Egan, who himself is conflicted by the disparity between his divine visions and the church. Sickness and violence come to the village of Ad Gefrin, causing Wilona to question her belief systems. This is a wonderful portrait of someone who begins dogmatic, but then is moved and changes.
Most impressive is the way Davis is able to make the period come alive with sights, sounds, and practices, the herbal remedies, the shelters, the gardens, the affinity for and physical closeness between humans and animals. Every character primary or secondary is fully realized. This is a greas read, especially for reader’s who liked Mistress of Death by Ariana Franklin and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. ( )

Egan is a devout young Christian monk - perhaps a bit too devout. Wilona is apprentice to the seithkona (a priestess/medicine woman) of her village, and utterly committed to her people's indigenous religion.

In this vision of 7th-century Northumbria, events will lead these two lives to intersect. Through this collision, Davis explores questions of belief & humanity.

Historical fiction purists will likely be annoyed by some of the ahistoricity of the book. Davis is not attempting to create a wholly accurate depiction of 7th century life on the British Isles. Rather, she uses our current popular concepts of what the time of religious transition was like to explore her fictional characters' lives and emotions.

Although it's not explicitly 'fantastic' (I'd say, it's about as 'fantastic' as some of Guy Gavriel Kay's books), I'd recommend this for fans of thoughtful, character-driven fantasy. It's somewhere between Kay and 'The Mists of Avalon.' Pagans will likely enjoy the story as well, with its vivid, sympathetic depictions of pre-Christian religion (although Christianity is portrayed in a way which could be interpreted as a compatible spirituality.) As a non-religious person, I still enjoyed the exploration of why & how people cling to things, and how two seemingly mortal opponents could actually have more in common with each other than not.

This is not a fast-paced, action-oriented book, although it's not 'gentle' either. Dire events are treated with realism and sensitivity. The writing is lovely.

Many thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy for this very worthwhile book. As always, my opinions are solely my own.



( )

I’d been looking forward to this book ever since I knew it was coming (Lauren is my writing teacher), because it’s such a departure from her novels with contemporary settings. Davis is a distinguished Canadian author, and I wanted to see how she’d conjure and portray events of 1300 years ago. Now I know. Masterfully.
626 A.D. is a restless time in the medieval Anglian kingdom of Northumbria (now northern England and southeast Scotland). The traditional polytheistic world of augury and healers is about to be displaced by the sweep of Christianity, and the king is constantly threatened by a more powerful rival from the Midlands. These large currents also wash over the small village of Ad Gelfin, where the novel is set.
In the middle of this maelstrom are the traditional spell women, the seithkona—Touilt and her apprentice Wilona—powerful, vulnerable. They use medicinal herbs and tinctures, pray to the pagan gods, and are the closest to healers the community has. The beliefs they espouse are part and parcel of every aspect of daily life and involve the animals and spirits inherent to their place. When Christianity comes to their small village in great pomp, with it straggles a young monk, Egan. His faith is strong, but in many ways he’s a misfit, most particularly because he sees good in the seithkona, while others simply want to destroy them. Whether the two young people, Egan and Wilona, can find their life paths in increasingly harsh circumstances is the plot of the book, whereas its many meanings—about the persistence of faith, about the quest for dignity and belonging—are universal.
Davis’s enormous accomplishment is in creating a world for Wilona, Touilt, Egan, and a compelling array of secondary characters that is consistent, believable, and true. She’s described the several shelves of reading she did in order to learn enough about that period to write about it authentically, and the care of her research had paid off for her readers. Wilona is especially compelling as a translator and defender of the pagan belief system, grounded in nature and the world around them.. Confronting Christianity, which depends on extrinsic religious authority, changes the game utterly. It’s top-down versus bottom-up wisdom.
Pulitzer-Prize winning author Robert Olen Butler says Davis “brilliantly achieves the ideal for a dark, historical fantasy: period and milieu seem utterly inextricable from character and theme.” Those are its remarkable literary qualities; but from the reader’s perspective, it’s also a fascinating immersive adventure! ( )