Hidden Realm (Legends of Lightning, Book One)

Characters

Of all the characters involved, this review will focus on the following three: Esther, Oisin, and The Crimson Shadow.

Esther Wan works at her local library and loves delving into books to briefly become someone other than herself. She seeks to escape from her everyday world, to ‘find her true place in the world.’ Esther is dedicated to her work, however, strange nightmares have been plaguing her as of late, growing ever more surreal. Before long she finds herself in another realm as the next realm walker, a position of enormous responsibility. Over the course of the story, Esther demonstrates great courage and determination while fighting to save citizens of this other realm from an army of insidious creatures. Esther is essentially thrown into the deep end, knowing nothing of her role as realm walker. Gradually, we see her transform, from a timid librarian, to a fierce and stubborn warrior who always does what she thinks is right, even if it’s extremely risky. I found myself admiring Esther’s character greatly due to the sheer amount of change she undergoes and how she puts the safety of others before her own.

Oisin, a huntsman, proves to be strong yet kind and acts as Esthers protector right from the start. At first, he appeared to be quite mysterious, hiding his face with his hood at all times. It is only later that we learn he has a heavily scarred face which he dislikes showing others and a tragic backstory to accompany it. He shuts people out due to past trauma in his life, something which had me empathising greatly with his character. As Esther’s sworn protector, he was always loyal to her, trying to keep her safe, even if she took big risks in order to try and save others. Overall, Oisin proved to be a steadfast friend and a courageous man, who would do anything to protect his beloved realm walker.

Finally, we come to The Crimson Shadow, here nicknamed because of the blood red cloak they wear and how they move stealthily like a shadow in the night. When first introduced in the story, we see them only as a mysterious red-caped figure who commands misshapen creatures known only as the wolves. These terrible monsters do their bidding, savaging citizens all across the realms. However, as time goes on, we become privy to the backstory of this heinous villain, learning about their difficult and often traumatic life, which they have fought hard to overcome. Reading about their dire childhood, I came to both fear and admire them for the sheer strength of will they have cultivated. Although you’re often supposed to root against the villain of a story, I actually ended up empathizing with their plight and found it hard to dislike them overall, finally coming to understand their rationale for committing such terrible acts.