The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

This novel toggles between past and present. In the past, the story’s protagonists, Daniel and Freya, went missing during a school trip. They appear a month later after going to one of the many worlds in the multiverse. They find themselves part of an eternal struggle where a group of knights are being guarded as they are in a deep sleep and will only rise when they are needed, which is just in time for an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. Daniel and Freya, being the only mortals in this realm, are tasked with an important mission. In present time, they are being drawn back in to the ongoing conflict.


I enjoyed the story’s setting in modern day UK and a realm that borrows from ancient England. The story is steeped in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon lore, and I liked the whole vibe of the story (the flow, the style, and those intangibles that can make or break a story). There was strong world building in this novel, and the mission in the past part of the story with the main characters and the knights who befriend them was fascinating. The flashbacks resonated more strongly than the present setting, but the going back and forth between past and present made for interesting story telling. Generally speaking, the characterization was quite strong, although I enjoyed the side characters like Alex, Ecgybryt, Swidgar, and Ealdstan more than the two main protagonists. The prose was professional, and the storytelling technique was admirable. All in all, this was a fun, enjoyable novel. There was good build up, and I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the trilogy.