Moria and Ashyn are the Seeker and the Keeper, the bastions against the unquiet spirits of the damned, who dwell in the Forest of the Dead. Each year Ashyn must perform the ritual which keeps the sprits in their own realm, while Moria is tasked to keep the village safe. Finally, this year the two girls are of an age to perform the task themselves, but when Ashyn enters the forest things are not as they should be...

Sea of Shadows: Age of Legends is the first part of a new fantasy trilogy from Kelly Armstrong, Canadian writer, who has previously published, amongst others, the Women of the Otherworld and Darkest Powers series.

Armstrong has gone for the usual faux medieval world found so often in fantasy novels, however, rather than fill her book with incomprehensible fabricated names and places, she has kept things simple and concentrated her skills on creating a compulsive story.

Most of the characters are in their late teens, so I’m guessing that the book is predominantly aimed at the young adult market, but even an old codger, like me, found enough in the novel to enjoy.

The central characters of Moria and Ashyn are twins and in the Empire this leads only to one of two outcomes: Either they pass the night with companion creatures and come out alive, making them a Seeker or Keeper, or they are killed. The majority die in the attempt.

Moria the Keeper is strong willed and feisty, handy with a dagger, whereas her sister, Ashyn is more introverted and thoughtful, but no less resourceful. What should have been a normal blessing takes a tragic turn when Ashyn’s party are killed by Shadow Stalkers, creatures out of myth, which should not exist. Dazed, confused the survivors make their way back to the village to discover that the adult population has either been killed or turned into Stalkers.

Armstrong keeps thing moving by having fairly short chapters and by separating the girls, giving the reader two adventures to follow. The pacing drops only in a couple of places, otherwise the journey is well constructed.

The girls do get reunited, which is given away on the book's jacket, so that ruins some of the suspense, especially when their fates are uncertain. Each of the girls is given a male companion, both with dubious pasts, which allows another added layer which is slowly peeled back through the book.

Keeping it simple, and by that I mean not filling the book with fantasy frippery, allows the story to come through. It also allows those aspect of the book, which are pure fantasy, to be grounded in a believable world.

There are enough fantasy elements to appeal to fans of that genre, but the strong story and characters should give the book a much broader appeal. I certainly enjoyed it enough to want to know where the story will be taken in the next two books.

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Charles Packer