Dominion Trilogy, Part II

Title: Fearless

Series: Dominion Trilogy #2

Author: Robin Parrish

Genre: Supernatural Suspense

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Fearless:

Grant Borrows awoke on the ground.

A sharp yelp roused him, and Grant was instantly aware of three things. First, he was flat on his back, staring into the black snout of an imposing bronze horse statue, which sneered down at him from above. Second, the sky behind the statue was a dismal gray while in his periphery he saw the vivid greenery of trees on all sides. Third, what startled him awake was that he was holding someone’s wrist.

Someone’s wrist that didn’t belong.

Rolling his neck to the left, Grant came face-to-face with a boy who couldn’t have been more than fifteen. Bright eyes offset shaggy blonde locks, which framed his oval face in a messy sort of way. A faded polo shirt was untucked over a pair of jeans that looked like their best days were long behind them.

“You are him!” the boy exclaimed, eyes as wide with wonder as they were with fear.

A superhero seeks out a secret society to stop his part in an ancient prophecy.

The Writing: The writing of Fearless is much like that of Relentless. The eclectic cast of characters grows larger, each character with very individual personalities, motivations, and goals, and the interactions between these characters create interesting—if not explosive—situations.

The plot remains fast-paced, without hardly any time to gain bearings. And even if you should put together where the story is going and what will happen, the twists and turns fly so thick that they make you question your own judgments.

The major flaw in Fearless, as in Relentless, is the tendency to head-hop from one character’s perspective to another’s within the same scene. Sometimes it’s not too noticeable, but at others it becomes a big distraction.

The Story: The unpredictability of Fearless makes for a great read—and for difficult analysis.

As in Relentless, we have an entertaining read that lacks any preachiness. But at what cost? Maybe nothing. Maybe much. It is hard to tell at this point.

Of course, like most second books of trilogies, the content of Fearless has taken a darker turn than the first book. Death and destruction prevails, but are necessary to the story.

However, the increasing depiction that the rings are evil being used for good amplifies my concerns whether this is a variation of white magic. On top of that, the ending is very unsettling. That’s not all bad, and I won’t offer extra details in fear of spoiling the end. However, Mr. Parrish has set up a difficult reconciliation between a reader’s sense of justice (good versus evil) and the desire for triumph.

Summary: The writing is excellent; the content raises concerns. It is my hope that Mr. Parrish will pull off a resolution that can satisfy all of the reader’s demands, not impossible with the writing prowess Mr. Parrish has already demonstrated. But until I can verify that with the final book, Merciless, I must currently recommend caution.

Rating: TBD

Still interested in Fearless? Order it here.

(Book 1 reviewed here and find book 3's review here.)