Book Review: The Gift of Dark Hollow by Kieran Larwood (The Five Realms #2)

 

Let's take a look at book two. Spoilers ahead.

Podkin and his siblings Paz and Pook return in this new adventure. The siblings and a few others, under the leadership of Krum, go on a new quest to find a legendary hammer which should be able to aid them against the Grom. But other parties are seeking out the hammer as well.

I just really like the Five Realms books so far. They just have this cozy and whimsical storybook feel to them which I don't often find in other books. Yes, the story also has darker aspects, but in the end this is still a neat little story to read with strong themes of family and growth. 

I still like the characters as well. Podkin is a fine protagonist, and I especially found myself liking Rue and the elderly bard from the framing device in this book. Their story makes for a nice change of pace between the Podkin chapters from time to time. My favorite characters are probably Zarza and Krum, though, and I also am growing to like Paz more and more. The characters usually aren't the most complex, but they're still written really likable and you do grow to care for them.

One thing in this book I wasn't too into however was that the whole involvement of the children in this plot is starting to feel a bit forced. In most children's/YA books there'll at least be a proper reason for the child protagonists to be involved in a heavy conflict like this, but in this installment it really felt like Podkin and his siblings only went along on the mission because the plot demands they do, not for any genuine reason. 

The literal reason they go is because one rabbit insists it has been foretold. Which is just a paper-thin excuse to get them on this journey which otherwise would be unfit for them. Yes, in the end they do prove useful, but the book still doesn't provide a good reason why they should be on this journey to begin with. This especially applies to Pook, who is a toddler and can't even form coherent sentences yet. A rabbit like him should not be going on a life-or-death mission like this. Same applies to Podkin and Paz, they're useful sometimes but in the end we're just not given enough of a reason of why they are on this journey to begin with.

It's still overall a nice read if you can get behind this slight leap in logic, though. It's an enjoyable book with two stories (the one of Podkin and to a lesser extent that of the old bard and Rue) which are sure to keep the reader hooked.

Rating: 4/5