The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

Ancient legend tells of an army of knights that will remain sleeping until the last days.



The knights are waking up.


A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.


But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality—a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.


Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits . . . in The Realms Thereunder.

My review:
I have never read many books of this type, but I read one of Stephen Lawhead's books - this author's father - over the summer and really enjoyed it, so I decided to give this one a try.

I was not disappointed. The story is a bit complicated. It isn't one where you can zoom through it without thinking much about what you're reading - but it is a gripping read. I liked the characters in the book, the setting, and the legend part. I do enjoy reading and hearing about myths and legends and this book involved one.

It is evident that the author put a lot of research and thought into. The result is a believable story, though fantasy. I did read through the book fairly quickly, even though I had to slow myself down a bit on this one. A very enjoyable read.

About the author:

Ross Lawhead comes from a literary household and has written since he could hold a crayon. He has collaborated with his father on a trilogy of speculative fiction, written and illustrated a graphic novel, and published two volumes of "awful" poetry in a series called "The Colour Papers." He lives in Oxford and this is his first full-length novel. For more on Ross' musings on comics, movies, books and culture, visit www.rosslawhead.com/blog/

The Realms Thereunder is available from Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

Check out a sample of the book below:

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