One Dark Window: Pleasant Enough

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

If I’d checked Amazon, probably I would have learned everything I needed to know about Rachel Gillig’s 2022 fantasy novel One Dark Window. It was a BookTok sensation. I can probably stop there.

One Dark Window is the first of a Duology, the SHEPHERD KING series, a second-world fantasy, or romantasy, actually, since much of our protagonist Elspeth’s time is spent wondering if Ravyn, the grouchy nephew of the king, really likes her, and if she really likes him.

To be fair, Elspeth has plenty of other things to worry about. She is infected with magic, a fact that has been hidden from the king and the king’s enforcers, the Destriers, of which Ravyn is the leader. Infection is a death sentence in the country of Blunder—not merely a slow death from the magic, but execution, if an infected person is discovered.

My favorite part of this series was the magical system and the use of illustrated Providence cards, a cross between Tarot cards and trading cards, to harness and control magic. There are seventy-eight cards in total, bargained for and created by the Shepherd King five hundred years ago. Each card holds a certain kind of magic, which can be activated by the card’s holder. Most cards are multiples—there is one singleton, the Two Alders. With an entire set, including the elusive Two Alders, a person could end the infection for everyone, but no one has found that card.

The mist that steadily infiltrates blunder is filled with magic, and people who linger in it can become infected with illegal magic. They manifest powers but pay a terrible price. In Elspeth’s case, she can see Providence cards, even if they’re physically hidden, by the “glow” of the card. She also absorbs the magic of any card she touches. When she was a child, she touched one of the two Nightmare cards, and the Nightmare in it now shares her headspace. Nightmare is a monster, but a complicated one.

Ravyn is the leader of the group who identifies and rounds up infected people; he is also a criminal, a highwayman, dedicated to collecting the whole set of Providence cards, which means stealing them. With the complete set, his family can cure Ravyn’s younger brother Emory. Of course this means finding the Two Alders, which no one’s been able to do for five hundred years. No one had Elspeth and Nightmare before, either, though.

I like the interaction between Nightmare and Elspeth, and I really liked Ione, Elspeth’s cousin. Ione’s story arc, as she goes under the influence of the Maiden card, was more interesting to me than the conspiracies, schemes, and bickering of two royal families. While the stakes seem pretty high, a few scenes read more to me like Elspeth sat down at the Popular Kids’ table in the school cafeteria by mistake. Lush visual descriptions were a bonus, and forays into the forest at night as Elspeth and Ravyn plan to steal Providence cards (why do groups with valuables travel through the deadly forest at night? I don’t know,) were heady and atmospheric.

It’s clear I’m not the intended audience for this story, but it was pleasant enough, and I liked it enough to buy the sequel, Two Twisted Crowns, which came out in October, 2023. Romantasy readers and RPGers will probably love the vibe of these books.