Aeliana is a young sorceress who has just narrowly avoided execution. She has escaped from her burning village, seeking refuge from the murderous King Lucius of Asgoth, who wants to kill as many magicians as he can. Aeliana is kidnapped by a band of undead Lumaria, and taken to Bloodthorne Castle in Asgoth. The king condemns her to death – but it seems that his wife has other plans. Queen … Queen Callisto falls in love with the young sorceress, saves her from death, and runs away with her.
Armed with her own magic, Callisto plans to fight against Lucius. Just yesterday, though, she was queen of Asgoth. Today she is an outlaw with no one but her lover, and her crazy old aunt, to aid her.
Will Callisto and Aeliana find a way to escape Lucius’s wrath?
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Aeliana Sempronia is a bewitching, young sorceress in Asgoth, a rebel and a woman on the run in the aptly named “Dark Dreams” novel Bloodthorne. “Bloodthorne was a black castle larger than the palaces of the Titans. Its design was simple, consisting of sharp, cruel lines and dark, heavy stone.”
She has lost her people and her home to a cruel and especially vicious king named Lucius. A man who not only lusted for control of everything around him, but also desired dark magic beyond what he had or was able to create on his own.
This part becomes an interesting look at narcissism where he wants the most powerful sorceress to love him so they can rule together and somehow meld their powers into a super-being that would elevate him even more, but as in a reality many of us know it isn’t possible to have it all. The most powerful and feared person in the world (King Lucius) secretly wished for romantic love from Queen Callisto, but it was elusive to him no matter what else he accomplished.
There are some scenes that are very graphic and bloody when the king hands down his wrath on anyone who gets in his way. Although I believe this was written before the popular TV series Game of Thrones, it feels much like it in tone and darkness, especially when we are in the POV of the king, and it remains very true to the genre of fantasy with an Iron Age/Medieval type setting.
“There were crystal balls, cauldrons and strange mirrors. All held protectively inside the glass cases. One of these crystal balls, and one of these mirrors, belonged to the sorceress Ariella. Lucius confiscated them when he overran Zóar, and gave them to his wife as a special present. “
“The queen’s name was Callisto. She hailed from the highest noble house in Asgoth. Her father was Albus. Many women of Asgoth feared her. Some ached for her. But Callisto ached for no one. She was just hungry, hungry all the time, and nothing ever seemed to help.”
This is not only a lead in to a serious relationship with another woman, as in Aeilana, but a look at how dangerous life was for even the wealthiest in the land. They were all bored with life to the extent that all they wanted to do was copulate, destroy or control. There was no satisfaction, until there actually was love. It was between two women, both born with magical abilities, and it speaks on the truth in life that none of us choose whom we love. It simply happens and we either accept this gift or we don’t.
There were many complex characters that defined this story, Albus a man perhaps who held back so much that he became the quiet man whose feelings and worth was pushed aside by more voracious humans such as Drusilla, Calistos’s mother and Lucius.
Drusilla as a jealous and deceitful woman was written very well. She wants what she can’t have as well, but she uses manipulation and lies to achieve her goals. It isn’t all darkness in this story; there is an ironic and witty humor when it comes to some of the dialogue and the way Pliny is portrayed. I won’t give this one away. It was delightful and gave exuberance to the scenes that helped lighten the mood.
“Lucius raised his fist to strike her, but as his arm was coming down, he got a proper look at her in the gentle glow of the flickering candlelight. She had never looked more beautiful to him. Her hair shone like the black waves of the sea beneath the moon; her skin glistened like frost against a clear windowpane. Her eyes were large, dark portals to places he could only dream about.”
The story concludes in a classic way with the next generation standing at a crossroads. Will they choose darkness or light? Love or fury?
This author has a verdant imagination and a deep range of writing capabilities, for everything from contemporary fiction to fantasy. This is the second novel I have read of her’s and this year I plan to read everything she’s written. The imagery in this novel was my favorite part, but the philosophical questions behind what drove the plot and characters held me captive until the very end.
“The Snowy Mountains were covered with a vast amount of woodland: high trees that stretched their massive roots through the rock, down to the fertile soil that lay beneath. These trees had no name. The forest had no name. It simply was. But it was beautiful.”
“But that just leaves the question – who gets to decide who lives, and who dies?” “Whoever has the power,” Callisto said firmly.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. If you enjoy reading fantasy, tales of sorcery and a dark backdrop, you will love Bloodthorne.