The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer

Cate Baumer’s new fantasy novel The Faithful Dark is the first of a planned “Brilliant Soul” duology set in a world in which religion has replaced the actual existence of a deity, known as Asten, and angels who all vanished at the same time as banishing demons from the world. The delicate balance that remains is kept in place by a holy city called Sligard, the church that sits in the middle of it and its clergy. But that balance is crumbling and, as The Faithful Dark opens, areas of the country are in revolt and a series of bizarre murders in the city point to dark designs.

The Faithful Dark focusses on two characters. Csilla is one of the most common fantasy characters – a foundling, raised by the church and training to be a healer. Csilla is unique in this world in that she does not have a soul. In Baumer’s world not only do people have souls but their goodness or otherwise can be measured by the response of holy objects. Csilla is given an opportunity to join the church but the price is that she commit a murder, something that the church believes she can carry out due to her soulessness. The other main character is Ilan, an Inquisitor, who shrives the populace with what can only be called holy torture. Ilan’s failure to make progress in the investigation of the strange deaths in Sligard put him in the church’s crosshairs.

There is a lot going on in The Faithful Dark, particularly revolving around a third character Mihály, a human descendant of angels. Mihály has his own powers and the church sees him as a threat to their dominance. But Baumer manages to keep all of her balls in the air, constantly shifting the balance between Csilla, Ilan and Mihály as the situation in Sligard deteriorates. And as she does so, Baumer takes readers deep into her darkly fascinating gothic-inspired world.

Baumer manages to end The Faithful Dark in a satisfying way – the central mysteries are explained and the characters have reached a natural place to pause. But that resolution still leaves the big questions unresolved and opens up a much bigger story which will take them out into the broader world. Making this a great set-up for a dark and complex conclusion

The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer

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8.0/10