Vox Nova At The Library: Darkling Fields of Arvon

Last updated on: November 12, 2010 at 9:25 am by Henry Karlson

Vox Nova At The Library: Darkling Fields of Arvon 2010-11-12T09:25:23-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Darkling Fields of Arvon. Legacy of the Stone Harp: Book Two. By James G. Anderson and Mark Sebanc. Wake Forest, NC: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2010. 424 pp.

Review of Book One.

As this is the second volume of a series, readers coming into the book are expected to have read the first volume. This, here, is an asset, because the first volume set up the world of Ahn Norvys, and to do that, it required a considerable amount of exposition and pauses in the story which are not needed in this volume. Because of this, Darkling Fields of Arvon is a much smoother, easier read. While we are introduced to new, and important, characters (with the most important being Bethsefra, daughter and heir to Uferian, King of the Oakapple Isles, who probably will play a great role in Kalaquinn [Kal] Wright’s future), the action and pace of the book is much quicker, which better suits the desperation that Kal and his kinsmen find themselves in. What many would have seen as a weakness in the first volume, its pacing, therefore has been overcome, making for a much better, and therefore, more interesting read. However, one must read the first volume to properly appreciate the characters and the situations they find themselves in. There is some exposition of what previously happened, as Kalaquinn writes into the sacred books of his people, relating his experiences in them, but this happens later in the volume, and so does not really serve as an introduction to the characters and the setting as much as help the reader see the events through the eyes of Kalaquinn as well as to see him slowly taking on the position of authority which has been thrust onto him.

There are several themes to this book which are worthy of reflection – but to talk about them requires a kind of spoiler warning. Writing reviews on books such as this, where the authors seek to provide interesting twists and turns, makes it difficult to discuss the books without giving some kind of spoiler. While I am going to try to keep such spoilers down to a bare minimum, nonetheless, if you do not want to know anything more about the book, stop now.

There are two themes which I find most of interest in this work. The first is how things are not always as they seem to be, requiring one to quickly adapt to situations as they reveal themselves to be different from what you would expect them to be. This is an important theme for life. One must go into new situations with caution, and one can and will have various preconceived notions as one engages new people; this is fine. It is what one does afterward, how open one is to overcoming one’s preconceived notions, that is important. Connected to this, is what one will do who has been misjudged: how one will treat others who, in their caution, initially misjudged you, is something we must ponder in life. Will we be understanding to them? Will we show them mercy, or even help them, once the misconceptions have been overcome, or will we abuse them and never give them a chance to make amends?

Kal shows us the kind of spirit we should have with others. Yes, sometimes such openness can be abused, and cause us pain – as we see does happen for Kal. But we are expected to be people of mercy, to show mercy, as we would like to receive it ourselves. Even if others do not, in the end, act with such mercy toward us, we must continue to show mercy to them, to give them every opportunity for reformation. In the book, we find examples where Kal’s mercy towards others backfires, where he is willing to show mercy to people who are willing to take the opportunity as a way to stab at him once again. But we also see this merciful spirit gives Kal the ability to befriend many people and to make many important allies – and perhaps, with Bethsefra, someone who will be much more than a mere ally. Kal, indeed, shows us a heroic sense of mercy and willingness to forgive others, and it brings out the strong, virtuous character he had been raised to have and why he is going to be able to bring balance back to Ahn Norvys. He is consistently mistaken by one group or another as being a possible enemy, only to be shown to be their friend and ally. He does not take it out on those who treated him with suspicion, even if there was some abuse involved thrown his way – he rather shows the higher, noble path, the more difficult path which we should all seek to follow. This is a good theme, and one which I always find pleasing (as when I see books where former foes become allies for the greater good, becoming good friends in the process – something I hope will happen in this series, and think it is possible as Kal’s adventures go forward).

The second theme is that of death, and how we deal with it. This has become something personal for me. I read the book during the time my father was in the hospital, suffering from leukemia; soon after I finished the novel, he died. Kal also has to face the death of his father; unlike for me, Kal was not there to see the final end of his father, but like me, his spiritual background allowed him to handle it in a way which many might find unusual. It is not that there is no sorrow, for there is – it is, however, the knowledge that one can encounter death and see it not as the end, but as the beginning of something new, as a “second birth” that will determine how one handles death when one has to deal with the death of a loved one. Philosophy and theology alike have helped mold me in my own ability to accept death. Socrates taught us that philosophy was, in its way, the preparation for death; theology teaches us that we must come to accept death, to see it is the proper end of human existence so that we can become something greater:

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:42- 56 RSV).

Memorials of death remind us that all of us will have to face death, to be transformed. Sin caused death to be a thing of pain and suffering; through Christ, death has been reworked, so that through death we can encounter God in glory. Now, of course, in Darkling Fields of Arvon, there is no Christ; but nonetheless, there is a spiritual awareness which allows Kal to overcome his grief and to find the strength to carry on in a time of worldly travail and not falter because of the death of his father. He had been guided, by his father (in a dream) and his friends to accept what happened, to know his father had found peace and so he was able to find that peace himself – and it is because of his strong spiritual strength, he readily accepts this answer. When it is time for someone to die, one should not fret about it, should not be concerned as to what one might have done to try to stop it; rather, one must take the time one had with them, remember them in those times, and move on. Anything else would be a disservice to their memory: they want the best for us, even as we want the best for them; they have done what they needed to do in life, while we still have more to do. If we were to stop our lives and do nothing because of our sorrow, we would dishonor them. This message Kal takes to heart – and it is one which we should all take to heart. Accept death when it comes, helping the dead find their peace (prayers for the dead), while we continue on, doing what we have been called to do in our life. Yes, we should remember the dead, we should honor them, and indeed, never forget them. We should know they continue, death is not the end, but only a beginning. And thus we should honor them by being the ones they would want us to be, the people we have been called to be by God. This is exactly what Kal finds himself doing, and showing it in a story reminds us all how we must not let the sorrow of death overcome life. We might not have a heroic quest before us, but we still have life ever before us. Let us take that time to both remember the time we had with our loved ones, as well as to find joy and happiness in the life which remains, for this is exactly what they would want for us.

I have tried to be as vague about how these themes fit the book as possible, so as not to spoil their execution. Knowing Kal’s father dies is indeed a spoiler, but how it happens, and the adventures it causes still lie before you, and they show full well the spirit of the words I have said above. Much good happens in the wake of the death, and indeed, because of it. From sorrow, can come happiness; it is not the same, it is not meant to be the same. But it shows how life can, and should carry on. And, by the time one is finished with the book, because of how the end is a series of exciting events, events which show the kind of power and authority growing within Kal, one does want to see what is to happen next.

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Henry Karlson

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