“Long live the King.”
Title: One Dark Window
Author: Rachel Gillig
Pages: 399
Published by: Little, Brown Book Group (2022)
One Dark Window is the first part in a Romantasy(ish) duology — The Shepherd King series. Rachel Gillig. Gillig’s debut novel owes a lot of its success thanks to the incredibly passionate BookTok community, which has launched a number of careers.
Tales from Absurdia is not (currently) on TikTok (you can find me on Instagram primarily), but this novel was recommended by word of mouth over lunch with a very good friend — and I’m delighted to say that it’s easily one of the best fiction novels I read in 2024.
The heart of the cards
This is a book about multiple groups of people competing to complete a deck of magical cards — with each card possessing its own unique and fascinating powers. A cataclysmic event has triggered the Kingdom of Blunder to be shrouded in killer mist, and it’s up to our veritable heroes (and villains) to claim the cards for themselves and decide a future for the Kingdom.
It goes without saying that the ‘catch ‘em all’ appeal is strong from the outset — and many video games, movies, and novels have achieved enormous success with this concept.
However, what makes One Dark Window so brilliant is that it simply gets all of the basics right. The writing is very, very good; even beautiful in parts. Gillig has a lovely way with words, capturing the lushness of her world in a way that will appeal to some of the more ‘literary’ readers, whilst remaining accessible and friendly to all.
The characters too, though they feel familiar, are curious people with strong and (crucially) believable motivations. And the world’s unique lore is thoughtfully explained, steering clear of the common fantasy pitfall of overwhelming readers with abstract, unpronounceable names.
One Dark Window’s world is also quite small. Everything takes place in Blunder, a fairly diminutive Kingdom, and this works in the novel’s favour. It’s clean, concise, and guarantees that the narrative scope doesn’t get out of hand. It’s refreshing to read a fantasy series that doesn’t ‘get good after the fifth book’, nor wastes its reader’s time.
Romantasy and fantasy
It’s worth pointing out that some of the more critical takes on the One Dark Window appear to circle around whether it is ‘true’ Romantasy, or question whether it’s sufficiently ‘smutty’ or ‘spicy’ enough for some readers.
From my perspective, this is a fantasy novel with a very strong romantic thread running through it. It’s also fairly sex-positive, so I’d argue that it is Romantasy by definition. However, readers looking for something on the scoville scale of smut may be disappointed. One Dark Window feels romantic in a more traditional sense, where the sex is passionate and driven by both love and lust.
Regardless, Romantasy books live or die by a believable relationship — and Elspeth and Rayvyn’s almost Austen-esque adversarial relationship works well and reads in an authentic manner.
Is One Dark Window worth your time?
If you’re looking for a well-rounded fantasy novel with a strong protagonist, and even better supporting cast, featuring a unique lore and magic system, you can’t do much better than One Dark Window.
Fantasy is a broad genre, and readers like different things, but what Rachel Gillig brings to the table in this first of two novels, is simplicity told via an excellent yarn. And at just over 430 pages, it’s also not a long book by fantasy standards.
Check out a couple of other opinions on it too. Dark Side of the Word has written positively on the novel, whilst The BiblioSanctum offers a more critical view. Either way, let me know your opinions in the comments below if you’ve read One Dark Window — just try to keep it spoiler-free for new readers.