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The Dark Heart of Redemption
"Some secrets are best left undiscovered."
Pyramid, the great heart of Redemption, lies under siege by tribal invaders that threaten to destroy the very civilization that the Dominions have created. The Engineer, Actaeon, leads a force of Raedelleans from the south, where they pause to investigate the secrets of abandoned Travail in search of aid for the battle to come. At the same time, the new Princess of Raedelle, Eisandre, sails down the River of Arches with her Thyrian allies to attack from the Great Sea to the west.
Travail's secrets are darker than expected, and the reason behind the Loresworn evacuation may soon spread to the rest of the city. Meanwhile, far to the north, Ajman and Shield fight over the lands of Czeryn, left desolate by an artifact that just might extinguish all life in the city at the hands of an unseen enemy known only as the Veiled One.
In his quest to save Redemption, will Actaeon be able to overcome the old enmity between the Dominions to unite against these threats? Or will all civilization fall, just as the Ancients had ages ago?
One thing is certain: in Redemption, everything comes with a cost.
Pyramid, the great heart of Redemption, lies under siege by tribal invaders that threaten to destroy the very civilization that the Dominions have created. The Engineer, Actaeon, leads a force of Raedelleans from the south, where they pause to investigate the secrets of abandoned Travail in search of aid for the battle to come. At the same time, the new Princess of Raedelle, Eisandre, sails down the River of Arches with her Thyrian allies to attack from the Great Sea to the west.
Travail's secrets are darker than expected, and the reason behind the Loresworn evacuation may soon spread to the rest of the city. Meanwhile, far to the north, Ajman and Shield fight over the lands of Czeryn, left desolate by an artifact that just might extinguish all life in the city at the hands of an unseen enemy known only as the Veiled One.
In his quest to save Redemption, will Actaeon be able to overcome the old enmity between the Dominions to unite against these threats? Or will all civilization fall, just as the Ancients had ages ago?
One thing is certain: in Redemption, everything comes with a cost.
640 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2022
3 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Darran M. Handshaw
4 books84 followersDarran M. Handshaw is the author of The Engineer and The Dark Heart of Redemption. In addition to writing, Darran works as an R&D Engineer at a technology company. There he invents and designs new products. He holds more than 70 patents in data capture, vision systems, and emergency services. Darran also volunteers as a firefighter and EMT with his local fire department, where he serves as the Chief of Department. Darran hails from Long Island, NY, where he lives with his wife, Stefanie, and son, Corwin, who fill his life with love, wisdom, and endless adventures.
You can follow Darran below:
On Amazon: amazon.com/author/engineer
On Facebook: facebook.com/ActaeonRellios
On Twitter: twitter.com/Engineer7601
You can follow Darran below:
On Amazon: amazon.com/author/engineer
On Facebook: facebook.com/ActaeonRellios
On Twitter: twitter.com/Engineer7601
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 24, 2022
4.5/5.
I really enjoyed coming back to this world. The book exceeded my expectations and also took me by surprise with the change In tone and pacing. Dark heart starts of with a military style story with a much darker and brutal approach than its predecessor.
I have to disagree with the authors statement that this can be read as a stand alone. Please do not do this. You technically can but you handicap the story by doing so. Through reading the engineer you come to love these characters understand how and why they interact with each I. The style that they do. And the rivalries and advisories are grown and developed in the Engineer and expounded on here In dark hear of redemption.
If you liked the Engineer then you will love Dark Heart of Redemption. However, there is a bluntness and an abruptness to the authors style that does taking some getting used to. Conversations are matter of fact and then move on. Character deaths are sudden and jarring and portrayed with a sense of realism. Overall I loved the evolution of the world, theme, characters and action.
A lot of fun!!! Well worth the wait
I really enjoyed coming back to this world. The book exceeded my expectations and also took me by surprise with the change In tone and pacing. Dark heart starts of with a military style story with a much darker and brutal approach than its predecessor.
I have to disagree with the authors statement that this can be read as a stand alone. Please do not do this. You technically can but you handicap the story by doing so. Through reading the engineer you come to love these characters understand how and why they interact with each I. The style that they do. And the rivalries and advisories are grown and developed in the Engineer and expounded on here In dark hear of redemption.
If you liked the Engineer then you will love Dark Heart of Redemption. However, there is a bluntness and an abruptness to the authors style that does taking some getting used to. Conversations are matter of fact and then move on. Character deaths are sudden and jarring and portrayed with a sense of realism. Overall I loved the evolution of the world, theme, characters and action.
A lot of fun!!! Well worth the wait
October 23, 2024
I received a copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
When I learned about this book, and decided to read it, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I didn't know if I was going to get a fantasy or a sci-fi tale. I am more of a sci-fi fan than and less of fantasy, but now and then, I must step out of my comfort zone and try something different. In the case of this book, I am happy to say I was enthralled by it!
The Dark Heart of Redemption (Dark Heart) is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale that is utterly satisfying to people like me, who enjoy lots of action, colorful descriptions, amazing characters, and epic battles. This tale has it all. It runs a full gauntlet of emotions and is so well written, there is one point at which I would recommend the reader keep a box of tissues handy.
Dark Heart is the second in a (so far) series of two books. The first being The Engineer. I only wish I had read the first book in the series before reading this one.
It took me a few chapters to get into the story. While the author included a conspectus - a summary of the events from The Engineer - I still didn't know the characters of the previous novel. But after just a few chapters, this book captured and held my attention the rest of the way through. I lost track of time while reading.
A structure in Redemption has come under siege by tribal invaders who would be happy to destroy the entire Dominions' civilization. Prince Engineer Actaeon Rellios Caliburn, his wife, Princess Eisander Rellios Caliburn of Raedell, and several of their friends take on the challenge of keeping Redemption free from oppression under forces who work against them at every turn. There is no rest for Actaeon and his friends, as there is one attack after another, and the body count rises to staggering numbers. As the author states in his blurb...
"Everything comes with a cost."
The story is told from Actaeon's point of view. He is an intelligent man and uses his skills as an engineer to craft useful items in his lab. Actaeon is not only a great engineer, but he also is well versed in the ways of science, light medicine, and war. He is a compassionate character who thinks things through before he acts. Act, as he is known to his friends - he doesn't care to be referred to by his title - is very thoughtful and treats everyone as his equal. He is someone I wouldn't mind getting to know and spending time with. But when he gets his ire up, watch out! He can be a very effective adversary to those who choose to cross him.
The Princess Eisander is a beautiful young woman, but not one to be dismissed. She has some ire of her own. She and Act make a great pair of leaders in their battles. The Princess is tough and well trained to fight her own battles. She and Act are eternally devoted to each other, and they are loved and respected by those they fight for.
My favorite characters are a pair of mercenaries, Wave and Trench, who have become associates of Actaeon. They have devoted themself to the cause of saving Redemption and are fiercely loyal to Act, Eisander, and to their cause. Trench is a giant of a man who can hand out as much punishment as he can take while wielding his huge maul. Wave, on the other hand, is the smaller of the two, but can deal some deadly blows with his own rapier. The best part of reading these two characters is their banter. They constantly pick at each other, but are the closest of friends, and one would have no second thoughts about laying down their lives for the other.
There is a plethora of other characters to keep track of, but Darran has written them so well, each has their own characteristics and mannerisms, making them easy for the reader to know. The good guys are all endearing. Their enemies are the stuff of nightmares.
My favorite plot point in Dark Heart is the descriptions of the several battles. They are detailed and sometimes disturbing to read. There is death and destruction at every turn, and not just for the antagonists; many of the heroic figures also sacrifice themselves to save others. One instance made me set the book aside for a bit until I could work through a character's heroic death scene. It brought tears to my eyes.
Another plot point I appreciated was how Actaeon was able to come up with solutions to problems through reason. He was successful most of the time, but sometimes his solutions don’t work as planned, which is also the mark of a great character. Nobody's perfect, after all.
The thing that stood out for me the most was how willing many of the characters were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the others. Many paid the ultimate price. As we all know, this is not a new concept, but it reminded me of this takeaway from the Bible...
"There is no greater love than this - that a man should lay down his life for his friends."
And this from Sir Winston Churchill...
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few."
The Dark Heart of Redemption is a masterpiece by an author that bears watching. He has created characters that will make a reader laugh and cry. But they will also bring out a full spectrum of emotions in a reader. The world-building is great and there are swerves in this tale that will have one on the edge of their seat. It is just an all-around great book, and I look forward to reading Darran's future work. He has numerous projects in the works, and I have it on good authority, there will be yet another book in the Chronicles of Actaeon series.
I give my highest recommendations for Dark Heart as a fine example of Sci-Fi/Fantasy to stimulate the imagination!
When I learned about this book, and decided to read it, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I didn't know if I was going to get a fantasy or a sci-fi tale. I am more of a sci-fi fan than and less of fantasy, but now and then, I must step out of my comfort zone and try something different. In the case of this book, I am happy to say I was enthralled by it!
The Dark Heart of Redemption (Dark Heart) is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale that is utterly satisfying to people like me, who enjoy lots of action, colorful descriptions, amazing characters, and epic battles. This tale has it all. It runs a full gauntlet of emotions and is so well written, there is one point at which I would recommend the reader keep a box of tissues handy.
Dark Heart is the second in a (so far) series of two books. The first being The Engineer. I only wish I had read the first book in the series before reading this one.
It took me a few chapters to get into the story. While the author included a conspectus - a summary of the events from The Engineer - I still didn't know the characters of the previous novel. But after just a few chapters, this book captured and held my attention the rest of the way through. I lost track of time while reading.
A structure in Redemption has come under siege by tribal invaders who would be happy to destroy the entire Dominions' civilization. Prince Engineer Actaeon Rellios Caliburn, his wife, Princess Eisander Rellios Caliburn of Raedell, and several of their friends take on the challenge of keeping Redemption free from oppression under forces who work against them at every turn. There is no rest for Actaeon and his friends, as there is one attack after another, and the body count rises to staggering numbers. As the author states in his blurb...
"Everything comes with a cost."
The story is told from Actaeon's point of view. He is an intelligent man and uses his skills as an engineer to craft useful items in his lab. Actaeon is not only a great engineer, but he also is well versed in the ways of science, light medicine, and war. He is a compassionate character who thinks things through before he acts. Act, as he is known to his friends - he doesn't care to be referred to by his title - is very thoughtful and treats everyone as his equal. He is someone I wouldn't mind getting to know and spending time with. But when he gets his ire up, watch out! He can be a very effective adversary to those who choose to cross him.
The Princess Eisander is a beautiful young woman, but not one to be dismissed. She has some ire of her own. She and Act make a great pair of leaders in their battles. The Princess is tough and well trained to fight her own battles. She and Act are eternally devoted to each other, and they are loved and respected by those they fight for.
My favorite characters are a pair of mercenaries, Wave and Trench, who have become associates of Actaeon. They have devoted themself to the cause of saving Redemption and are fiercely loyal to Act, Eisander, and to their cause. Trench is a giant of a man who can hand out as much punishment as he can take while wielding his huge maul. Wave, on the other hand, is the smaller of the two, but can deal some deadly blows with his own rapier. The best part of reading these two characters is their banter. They constantly pick at each other, but are the closest of friends, and one would have no second thoughts about laying down their lives for the other.
There is a plethora of other characters to keep track of, but Darran has written them so well, each has their own characteristics and mannerisms, making them easy for the reader to know. The good guys are all endearing. Their enemies are the stuff of nightmares.
My favorite plot point in Dark Heart is the descriptions of the several battles. They are detailed and sometimes disturbing to read. There is death and destruction at every turn, and not just for the antagonists; many of the heroic figures also sacrifice themselves to save others. One instance made me set the book aside for a bit until I could work through a character's heroic death scene. It brought tears to my eyes.
Another plot point I appreciated was how Actaeon was able to come up with solutions to problems through reason. He was successful most of the time, but sometimes his solutions don’t work as planned, which is also the mark of a great character. Nobody's perfect, after all.
The thing that stood out for me the most was how willing many of the characters were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the others. Many paid the ultimate price. As we all know, this is not a new concept, but it reminded me of this takeaway from the Bible...
"There is no greater love than this - that a man should lay down his life for his friends."
And this from Sir Winston Churchill...
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few."
The Dark Heart of Redemption is a masterpiece by an author that bears watching. He has created characters that will make a reader laugh and cry. But they will also bring out a full spectrum of emotions in a reader. The world-building is great and there are swerves in this tale that will have one on the edge of their seat. It is just an all-around great book, and I look forward to reading Darran's future work. He has numerous projects in the works, and I have it on good authority, there will be yet another book in the Chronicles of Actaeon series.
I give my highest recommendations for Dark Heart as a fine example of Sci-Fi/Fantasy to stimulate the imagination!
September 3, 2022
The Dark Heart of Redemption is the sequel to The Engineer, the post-apocalyptic exploration and engineering novel by Darran Handshaw. A lot happened in The Engineer, and Dark Heart picks up not too long after the first book - Actaeon and Eis are now royalty, but haven't had any rest - Pyramid is under siege, and a huge artifact has destroyed most of the northern provinces.
I enjoyed Dark Heart, and it was good to get back with the characters that we'd got to know and love in The Engineer. Act, Eis, Trench and Wave are all back and doing their thing, although royalty seems to have made Act slightly less wordy, without losing his trademark chatter and curiosity, which I appreciated!
The first half of the book essentially concerns raising the siege of Pyramid, which I both enjoyed and was impressed by - there's a lot of books that talk about people enduring a siege, but not many the other way around, and Darran makes it a compelling and well-paced read.
It's definitely a more adult book than the first, with frequent sex, death, injury and mind-control, so be warned if those aren't your things. My only real critique was that it does definitely help if you've read The Engineer fairly recently - there's a theme in the last third that carries over from the first book, but is easy to forget about, and really quite important in this one! I won't say anything more to avoid spoiling it, and all in all, it's a great tour de force, with a lot to like about it, including complex, intriguing characters discovering new technology - and hopefully more to come!
I enjoyed Dark Heart, and it was good to get back with the characters that we'd got to know and love in The Engineer. Act, Eis, Trench and Wave are all back and doing their thing, although royalty seems to have made Act slightly less wordy, without losing his trademark chatter and curiosity, which I appreciated!
The first half of the book essentially concerns raising the siege of Pyramid, which I both enjoyed and was impressed by - there's a lot of books that talk about people enduring a siege, but not many the other way around, and Darran makes it a compelling and well-paced read.
It's definitely a more adult book than the first, with frequent sex, death, injury and mind-control, so be warned if those aren't your things. My only real critique was that it does definitely help if you've read The Engineer fairly recently - there's a theme in the last third that carries over from the first book, but is easy to forget about, and really quite important in this one! I won't say anything more to avoid spoiling it, and all in all, it's a great tour de force, with a lot to like about it, including complex, intriguing characters discovering new technology - and hopefully more to come!
September 11, 2022
In the Dark Heart of Redemption we revisit many of the endearing characters from The Engineer. Unlike the Engineer, however, there is no immediate collection of interesting and assorted problems for the Engineer to solve. Rather, the characters (and therefore the reader) are thrust into the midst of an extended and extremely bloody war. The numerous battles (and siege) have enough creative variety to keep a reader engaged if they are into fantasy military strategy and gore, but I am not, and therefore I found it a bit of a struggle to get through all the graphic violence and death.
I must emphasize, however, that, even though the first part of the book was not my cup of tea, for what it was, I still found it to be extremely well written and absolutely worth persevering to reach what was (for me) a much more enjoyable middle and end, filled with more of the sorts of invention and adventure that I adore in this author's style.
In my experience as a reader, the end of a novel is really the part that can make or break the whole experience for me. So, in this case, I feel compelled to note here that the conclusion of The Dark Heart of Redemption is absolutely spectacular. Through masterful narrative, the scenes play out like the ending of an epic sci-fi/fantasy movie that you will never forget, in every way thrilling and deliciously satisfying.
Because of the graphic war scenes, for me, this is a 4 star novel, but, for you, it may just be 5.
I must emphasize, however, that, even though the first part of the book was not my cup of tea, for what it was, I still found it to be extremely well written and absolutely worth persevering to reach what was (for me) a much more enjoyable middle and end, filled with more of the sorts of invention and adventure that I adore in this author's style.
In my experience as a reader, the end of a novel is really the part that can make or break the whole experience for me. So, in this case, I feel compelled to note here that the conclusion of The Dark Heart of Redemption is absolutely spectacular. Through masterful narrative, the scenes play out like the ending of an epic sci-fi/fantasy movie that you will never forget, in every way thrilling and deliciously satisfying.
Because of the graphic war scenes, for me, this is a 4 star novel, but, for you, it may just be 5.
February 8, 2023
This book is dark, as the title suggests, but not without moments of light. If anything, the unwavering determination, love and hope for a better future are all the more poignant when set against that darkness.
And there is a lot of darkness, almost too much at times. Don't get too attached to anyone because people die. A lot. In varied, gruesomely detailed ways. I thought I'd become desensitised to it all, and then a certain death had me in tears. Right to the end, I could never be sure who would make it out safely.
Military scenes aren't my favourite, but I enjoyed how Actaeon, now Prince Engineer and husband to Eisandre, found clever ways out of often seemingly hopeless situations. But not without the help of his friends. Honestly, the cast of characters has some real gems, like his apprentice Lauryn, Yanelle, and of course Trench and Wave.
I gave the first book a re-read before getting into this one, without that I think a lot of the nuances of lore and character relationships would have been lost.
And there is a lot of darkness, almost too much at times. Don't get too attached to anyone because people die. A lot. In varied, gruesomely detailed ways. I thought I'd become desensitised to it all, and then a certain death had me in tears. Right to the end, I could never be sure who would make it out safely.
Military scenes aren't my favourite, but I enjoyed how Actaeon, now Prince Engineer and husband to Eisandre, found clever ways out of often seemingly hopeless situations. But not without the help of his friends. Honestly, the cast of characters has some real gems, like his apprentice Lauryn, Yanelle, and of course Trench and Wave.
I gave the first book a re-read before getting into this one, without that I think a lot of the nuances of lore and character relationships would have been lost.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
January 4, 2024This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBO9 contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
This starts with forceful immediacy, in stark contrast to my previous read. Beginning on dialogue in the midst of an execution is fantastically powerful. And the dialogue leaps to life.
The narrative feels effortlessly immersed in its setting. There are many evocative names of official roles and offices that characters hold. This is active and exciting and yet subtle.
There is an implicit mystery of a princess’s accession to the throne even though she was not first in line. An unusual marriage, now this execution for treason…
This author has a deft hand for story so far. I find myself pulled irresistibly into the next chapter. And only 7 ratings? Surely that won’t last. I’m in!
This starts with forceful immediacy, in stark contrast to my previous read. Beginning on dialogue in the midst of an execution is fantastically powerful. And the dialogue leaps to life.
The narrative feels effortlessly immersed in its setting. There are many evocative names of official roles and offices that characters hold. This is active and exciting and yet subtle.
There is an implicit mystery of a princess’s accession to the throne even though she was not first in line. An unusual marriage, now this execution for treason…
This author has a deft hand for story so far. I find myself pulled irresistibly into the next chapter. And only 7 ratings? Surely that won’t last. I’m in!
March 20, 2023
A solid four burst of flame for The Dark Heart of Redemption; a thrilling sequel that delivers on all the promise from the original and more!
See the full review here!
See the full review here!
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