The Great Darken Realm Saga Continues

Bruce Von Stiers

J. Schimschal has written a couple of really good fantasy sci-fi novels. These were the first two novels in a series called Darken Realms. Now Schimschal is back with the third installment of the series. The title for this new adventure is Iron Messiah. It, like the other two novels in the series, was published by Fossil Ridge Books.

The back-story for the series is that Earth is basically in ruins. Almost all of the other continents are void of life and what was formerly known as North America is pretty much a vast wasteland.

There are four main characters in the series. They are also the main characters in this new novel. These people are Tani, Jared, Banion and Mineera. Tani and Jared are two young men who were sent on a journey into the wilderness as a test for adulthood and tribal leadership. Banion is a gunslinger, once retired, but forced back into a world of violence with the slaughter of his family and desecration of their properties. Mineera is kind of a witch with psychic powers. She was a member of a force trying to conquer the world, but had a change of heart and betrayed her masters.

At the end of the second novel, the four main characters were sanctioned to work as a team known as Nova 7. This team was to seek out and secure a nuclear warhead to stop the evil Reaper Kai.

In this new novel, Nova 7 is well into the trek to find the nuclear warhead. They encounter all kinds of problems. There are marauding troops of a couple different factions of tribes they encounter that are trying to survive in the post apocalyptic environment that Earth has become.

Schimschal has a whole set of unusual characters in this series, especially in this novel. One is named Lavosi. He is the head of a tribe of rat-like creatures. The reader also finds out later in the novel that Lavosi holds the key to the location of the nuclear warhead. Then there is Globulus, a giant hippo, who is the heir to one of the various kingdoms on Earth.

The Reaper Kai are the mortal enemies of all peace loving people on Earth. They are hell-bent on overthrowing all governments, taking over and destroying the entire Earth. Their troops are sort of bastardized cyborgs. The way they are described in the novels kind of remind me of the Borg in the Star Trek sagas. They are all led by Brother Feral who assimilates the tortured souls of people and demons alike. He is helped greatly by Sister Nightshade, who as royalty betrayed her own people and sacrificed them to side with the Reaper Kai. Aside from the robotic troops, the Reaper Kai also has Goat Minions who do the bidding of the high priests. Yes, the novels do have spiritual overtones, but aren’t really faith based fictions.

Nova 7 interacts with two different factions on what is probably the West Coast on fresh water generators. One side has a working one and the other wants to steal parts from it for their own equipment. The scenario that unfolds involving Nova 7 in this conflict is well thought out and interesting.

As with the previous novels in the series, the author leaves this one open ended. That is fine for me, as I have really enjoyed reading this entire series.

Iron Messiah is a nice addition to the Darken Realms series. The author moves the story along at a moderate pace that is about right. He introduces new characters and plot lines while keeping the main characters and plot in place and focused.

You can get a copy of Iron Messiah through venues like Barnes & Noble, bookmasters.com and amazon.com.

Check out the author’s web site to learn more about Iron Messiah and the other two novels in the Darken Realm series. The site is www.darkenrealm.com.

Back