cover image Against a Darkening Sky

Against a Darkening Sky

Lauren B. Davis. ChiZine (Diamond, U.S. dist.; PGC/Raincoast, Canadian dist.), $16.99 trade paper (311p) ISBN 978-1-77148-318-6

Davis (Our Daily Bread) takes readers to seventh-century Northumbria as great change sweeps the land and long-held pagan traditions are threatened by the arrival of Christianity. In the village of Ad Gefrin, this tension is depicted through the eyes of Wilona, a strong-willed apprentice seithkona (or "spell woman"), and Egan, a zealous but good-hearted Christian monk. Despite their opposing faiths, there are many parallels between Wilona and Egan, as both were led to their spirituality at a young age, and both honor their beliefs with a conviction that many others cannot understand. However, while Wilona is trained by Touilt, the village seithkona, to heal with plants and runes, recite sacred charms, and commune with the elemental spirits, Egan studies Latin, meditates upon Christian prayer, and prostrates himself to feel closer to God. When Egan arrives in Ad Gefrin to promote the Christian mission, Wilona and Touilt come up against growing distrust from their once-loyal neighbors and intensifying pressure to join in forsaking their ancestral gods. Set against an otherworldly, intimate backdrop, Davis's tale vividly brings to life a near-mythic period of British history while speaking to universal human experience. Agent: David Forrer, Inkwell Management. (May)