Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Realms Thereunder
    The Realms Thereunder
    The Realms Thereunder
    Ebook437 pages9 hours

    The Realms Thereunder

    By Ross Lawhead

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Ancient legend tells of an army of knights that will remain sleeping until the last days.

    The knights are waking up.

    A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

    Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

    But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality—a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.

    Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits . . . in The Realms Thereunder.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateSep 5, 2011
    ISBN9781401686604

    Read more from Ross Lawhead

    Related to The Realms Thereunder

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Stiperstones

      Jan 26, 2024

      The Stiperstones
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Recipe For Murder

      Oct 5, 2023

      A Recipe For Murder
      4 min read

    • Article

      Stop Hating on Adjectives!

      Jun 12, 2019

      A common admonition in creative writing pedagogy is, “Cut as many adjectives as possible.” I propose that this rule springs from mere prejudice. The post Stop Hating on Adjectives! appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Pagan Crazy

      Sep 20, 2019

      Pagan Crazy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Tangled Up In The Blues

      Dec 14, 2022

      Tangled Up In The Blues
      3 min read

    • Article

      Warden Of The Coast

      Feb 21, 2023

      Warden Of The Coast
      6 min read

    • Article

      Hook, Line And Sinker

      Oct 18, 2018

      Hook, Line And Sinker
      4 min read

    • Article

      10 Literary Witches To Hex Trump

      Mar 24, 2017

      In case you hadn’t heard, witches across America—including Lana Del Rey—are uniting to take down Trump via a binding spell, which calls on the spirits to keep the President from doing harm (it already seems to be working). Covens, communities, and so

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Sinking City

      Sep 17, 2019

      The Sinking City
      2 min read

    • Article

      Warden Of The Coast

      Feb 2, 2023

      Warden Of The Coast
      6 min read

    • Article

      The God Delusion

      Mar 25, 2020

      The God Delusion
      9 min read

    • Article

      Perfect Prose II

      May 15, 2020

      Perfect Prose II
      4 min read

    • Article

      “The Old Ones Are The Best…”

      Dec 1, 2022

      When the festive season rolls round and Slade vocalist Noddy Holder for the umpteenth time barks “Does your granny always tell ya, that the old songs are the best” from his band’s 1973 hit Merry Xmas Everybody, I like to paraphrase such lyrics and ap

      6 min read

    • Article

      Warden Of The Coast

      Feb 2, 2023

      Warden Of The Coast
      6 min read

    • Article

      Who’s There?: Every Story Is a Ghost Story

      Aug 18, 2021

      Not all writing is cursed, but surely all of it is haunted. Literature is a catacomb of past readers, past writers, past books. Traces of those who are responsible for creation linger among the words on a page. The post Who’s There?: Every Story Is a

      16 min read

    • Article

      Lord Of The Dance

      Apr 9, 2020

      Lord Of The Dance
      12 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Knausgaard, Davies, North, and More

      Jan 5, 2021

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Karl Ove Knausgaard, Nnedi Okorafor, and Mateo Askaripour—that are publishing this week. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Knausgaard, Davies, North, and More appeared first on The Mi

      6 min read

    • Article

      Richard Dawson

      Oct 13, 2022

      Richard Dawson
      3 min read

    • Article

      Commonplace Book

      Dec 2, 2019

      Is not January the hardest month to get through? When you have weathered that, you get into the gulf-stream of winter, nearer the shores of spring. —Henry David Thoreau, Journal, February 2, 1854 [T]he pure luxury of a cloudless sky designed not to

      4 min read

    • Article

      Lady In The Water

      Jun 17, 2020

      Lady In The Water
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Realms Thereunder

    3.5/5

    8 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I am a big fan of Stephen Lawhead's books, so I was really looking forward to reading his son's book The Realms Thereunder. I was not disappointed. This book was so gripping. I loved the mix of fantasy and present day. The characters were well developed and compelling. I didn't want to set this book down, but sadly I have already finished it and now must wait for the sequel. I will absolutely be reading more by Ross Lawhead!
    • 3/5
      Ross Lawhead has taken his first step in fulfilling a fantasy-genre fictional based storyline that I will no doubt have to read the next book called The Fearful Gates according to the advertisement at the conclusion of this book, even though his blog site states that The Hero's Throne is book 2 so on that part I am a bit unclear which will come out first.In The Realms Thereunder, the first book in the Ancient Earth series, he has a great storyline that you can relate to regarding a secret history of England and the sleeping Knights who protect the realms of ancient Earth before, during and after of any evil doing. I found myself immersed in this book for the first few chapters. I found the characters of Freya and Daniel to be compelling and well written. However, after the first 4 to 5 chapters I found myself being confused on the storyline where Freya is once in a chapter with Daniel and 2 other knights, then is all of a sudden pregnant and has a different story line altogether. I found myself disconnected with how it switched from past to present, one realm to a different realm and one story to another very distracting! I found myself being very confused between which part of the story line I was at and had to skip either back or forward to find myself figuring out where I should be.Better time frame negotiation and chapter development should be given to better straighten out the story as most readers I feel would be very confused in this book. I feel like Ross who although has a great storyline, needs to define the chapters and stories within stories to better give understanding of where each character is at. I think that while he definitely has a great premise for storytelling, I was let down on many occasions trying to figure out where the characters were going or coming from. Chapter formatting and development needs to be well written and chronological instead of fragmented the way this book is structurally put together haphazardly.Now don't get my wrong, some readers may love the way this book is written but since I process my thoughts logically, I found myself getting lost in what was happening several times through this book and had to go back and re-read sections to see where I might have missed something.I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars for The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead.For Ross’s first book however, he has a strong writing ability that will hopefully bring more fluidity and structure to his next series of books to come. It's also difficult to not be compared to your father's books and writing styles when you are just starting out as an author. Yet he has been published and I am quite confident that his books will only get better as he continues to write. I received this book compliments of Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy for my honest review.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to like this book- I really did. I love fantasy and urban fantasy typically. I just couldn't get into this book and I couldn't finish it. I feel terrible about it, but it really just wasn't my kind of book. It reads like a mystery novel (a genre I dislike) and didn't feel like a fantasy novel as much as a fantasy suspense novel.I wasn't a fan of the "chapters within a chapter". I felt like they were unnecessary and confusing for the reader. I think that fans of suspense books, shows like supernatural, or other urban fantasy novels should give this a try- just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that you won't. (And there are plenty positive reviews out there).
    • 3/5
      The back-cover description for The Realms Thereunder is not a very clear depiction of what this debut novel is all about. I can see why it struggled to encapsulate the essence of this story though, it is truly here, there and everywhere, with adventures into different worlds, flashbacks to the past, illusions, deception, underground travels, and even more than that.When Daniel and Freya were schoolchildren in England they went inexplicably missing for a month or so. What they encountered during that time was passed off as hallucination – encounters with creatures of darkness and a hidden world under the earth. This story of their shared past unfolds alongside the story of their lives as adults, some eight-years-later, as they are drawn inexorably back into the conflict between good and evil.I’m a fan of Christian fantasy novels (as long as they don’t contain ‘good’ magic-doers), but at this point in the series it’s a bit unclear how God comes into the swirling morass that Ross Lawhead has penned in this novel. There is also a wizard…of sorts. There isn’t really enough detail given for me to draw a firm conclusion on this fellow yet.Actually, I’m not sure where I come down on this novel, it is more of a very extended prologue that only serves to draw our characters into the action, while revealing their past involvement. It is an interesting premise – intertwining many legends of Great Britain’s past with bits of Celtic mythology thrown in as well. I appreciate that many mythological figures are clearly pointed out as forces of darkness and not idolized, or made good in any way, as I was wondering how the author was going to include them.I’ll have to read more of the series before I cast my final vote either way, so you’ll have to check back with me then! I can tell you that it certainly keeps your interest piqued with al the twists and turns.Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book for free.Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com
    • 5/5
      Beneath Great Britian lies a sleeping army ready and waiting for the great battle between good and evil. Daniel Tully and Freya Reynolds are normal school children. Until they accidentally discover, and awaken, two of the sleeping knights in that army. Thus begins their adventures in the realms thereunder. Knights, immortal and ancient wise men, trolls, gnomes, dragons, and an evil wizard seem to be in only the beginning in this enjoyable series. Reading The Realms Thereunder felt like a return to an older style of fantasy novel. It comes from a time when confused youths with swords could become heroes, a time when fantasy still had an element of the fairy tale, and it is well done. While maintaining the ambiguity of the human soul, the deceitful shadows of evil, and the reality of our confusing and often sorrowful life on earth Lawhead manages to pull the reader into a different world. If you can't tell, let me say it plainly: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What you have here is a good, old-fashioned, yarn. You won't be disappointed. Of course you may not like this if you don't like fantasy. And if you are stuck on only reading fantasy which follows the likes of Martin then you also may have issues. After all, we apparently live in a time when gritty fantasy is the way to go. But if you are open to some classic fantasy, look no further. Conclusion: 4.5 Stars. Recommended. Great book, super fun.
    • 3/5
      I do not know how many people liked the character Freya Reynolds, but I do know that I absolutely was annoyed by her at almost every turn throughout this book. I mean, I can understand why she is the way that she is, or at least I think I understand it, but still...UGH!! At times she could be so brave, very rare times, but the rest of the time she was HIDING UNDER A BED! Okay, so that only happened once, and she exaggerated about her reasoning behind it later in the book, but...I just can't even talk about her without groaning and moaning in almost excruciating pain.Whew. Glad that is out of the way. With all that being said, I actually enjoyed the premise of the story. It was actually kind of fascinating. I loved the past/present aspect of it, and I loved seeing how both characters have grown since their experience as children.One of the most fascinating parts of this book to me, as much as it kills me to admit, did star Freya. It was when she was experiencing a sort of accelerated ageing process. Eventually it was revealed that it was all in her head, but every single time this part came up I was excited to see what new stage in her life she had reached. And then when she started rebelling against the outside force keeping her in her head, it became even more fascinating to see how she would escape.I guess looking back on my reading experience with this book, I thought I understood the reason the older versions of the characters were the way they were. But finishing it, I don't think I understand at all. I mean, it kind of eludes me how Freya can be so paranoid, unless she begins to believe what she did not want to believe when it was happening. Guilt also could have been eating away at her. And Daniel, I guess I kind of understand why he is how he is, I mean I understand why he is homeless, but he acts as if all along he knew the evil of the underworld they found themselves in as children would seep into the human world. But with the ending given, it kind of doesn't make sense. He was told the evil had been vanquished. I would have loved a part that kind of explained this. His experience with the creature that brought back his knowledge that the evil had not been defeated after all and was growing stronger.All in all, this was an okay read. I account part of that to the fact that this is the first book in a continuing story. Mostly this was just a retelling of past events and instilling in the main characters that they have a job to finish. There wasn't much story development, but I am going to read the second just to see what happens next.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    The Realms Thereunder - Ross Lawhead

    cbook_preview_excerpt.html}rGds1cV@zxA$0I5 Mʨ|XZG.gw\?="3 `ب|ǏG}_<~z,wggMBm.Wv[ڻ3colxe[Wƕ!4U2Իn}U1S־fkwV}=?< ЅO>kj뇢}q|8p7:\ЌqYPmn݌CV6s;p%uF)Zvu7<9ͮ>+^rYuCvۅt|r;ٕuy2mkqSdC 3˜l/Kr0<'-;^]_]{s*~ُ?|;zqk΋?{%{mG^C Y7a;Yd3l]1B:G'dX5 濗:62ELy\^$///on/޽={w=Vg8(B)qkja?B-GEdDÚ 뇦;,dUv A'!?@va퇽f3z}~|yq~u \^]Z{yy6;?n/޿%>?fߝ?*;Ϯd3=\\ɮ>\:o]7ӯ믾o|_Ÿ@+{ӧ]7}t#JhHIe)e}~k }릹*w>w|x6숇 ʬ?VlЉ2WaX\!;K f%m WxhfӴMb1<5'5b:ѷl2& ByyQ3,:A 8yKPd/D40*Cz8B`yv}+$[;Vlp |͵BʪⷞY>SZ91R[-hu[Z/y5־S߆]% /+m|mjCk fbMyx+Ӛ G^;dùY^]] z:ÿ>\\ޞgoW\"@뛇czsx*ߊ_K0(== :k*~?F%mxpDdww;1-$s[ՈHq݄OfWЯ>s ϽGS#KLUTz]%0]na1nĤw+WFdo7K{~>?|.aІtfe]0&|3 =WKH|)PO9*'P{<.ؔLĽ~#Pc.7k/]vNbwk@̽l1 jLJ ވ gC@x1xN\)/E~Ey2N^@c:Xd.u^VC1`F-UM+FPc=0XL"c_4t Q:h"x $Ha?{JᆢV8 )3s Aٜ݂T2D0.oCp" ݲESQɾ>.e>1X. a/2Fկc.\ O[C5D,'CdDyc72;#:QgB|K[>`P H0O UO'^|/"Bk{ٍ2օ;#C`oFWe[QWUTޗڜlk|vlH.;9|.BF/;5"B>KlBKH C.[~DU>@8;Ї"jtMSYXһ}7IË G˚] y,>`Pwx%TXp]ya)o%@#l0J: xapϯPQ l)80)yieQ)Q>Q22DŽ!8š"~XF8>b+dO~ͩxbOҥjkt0DrA< ?%"/%#tꔓ '1l /qUcvԇٯHf}`>Z'[kb&S7Z=Tl~e]o$Vd+XXqg `B&ۉ-0<Sb7G":ݨD[;V; Śl6mu0wѫ2,krshG+Y\v)֫ܝYVl<m!T=E`,N߅kۯdee(*]!!ΈFAo V[6~oUњBGub^JfwI0e %;W`@Ȑe \3qE0p%<)\ $'/37d췁4z{P#2"=<+?SNrj“VT#rʑ> уB^q-e,;TDP 2VhEM)r@J뵈锠 F i``bpeI"Usm9HܡiiOO0m( ;9Äs];n$E*U﹝Ś!ӽ $t}M(MQ5dHtTq 0UeI= ںǧǕ4?1{$ҰH xj $Ψ1beu>*$ss"huVBiaL|zv43eeh$*bp 3< 89=|K`02^J%JCV٠qQYy]SЧ8!sGEad99aïp sz)2jlVSv1 f|kd4nR+-Fu E,RFӫ"@#vF9VgL7\#Y֜.W,PYٍ[|eQ7PdsC՝% Vg"c8bc7i70(Q+2N 3; BҖ"i\qC`$Pc.`KKMrXZKY dbF-tTEyif܃tM^ܐSBY:V`UMoszT0x6iDvp30{?%ٛ;0{Bؑҕq}<_Jr!,z%SΜ1˛:ښhm4JTE`eAY>^vdՐ5WeENE p~(Cldz*q^e/o몹XK ){ycM5E8tt6>d HHov8 iD1BGI&2-9jn-#Us[#,OK}zXB _: -.>d8~a 5 aBXwqۿ>|#PE\NG'FL6S  6lRZCR z|jѭǃy5/w2أ-piBYkp8b%6%cJ&Rw,:YG:zF)*-لڭ1ԯ`+[QĦ ad[ǟ1m5y0G"H]a $H3f~EAmc)1Kr~D{vd*c@`o& /")~sm]Kۭ|{ =9kcIH#҄L3t}nE0S~3̺QCO`9l U:/1`kGL 8~4v@.%DAmy: @Zӏ#le!Fxс%W _2*Gi$_$48tܺQ`e+sL }(s<>Naе?N3i'p,E8..$B`% ["9OIuQ4-aD@)*gG,ԎzOy}czx:38 9&:~܋Q~;@ 8L9JrUQnяA)L! OVVZqq*zS=&jt/W784,Be|ܵMO?ϴDDT+yoR0Z`c} 8;K<Bd9ܷh/䕥q?t!;\7H;d0!F?UKt>[G" _& (G*X0?!C98s" XY?~J|y5.,gٮd5蘺ŭlPnך@o`B!Ծ{-ϛIFDku E S~NF){4_*I8 Gdʒ#o8[ SKJE-biB']*$Y$}.SA#j²Ph@D#;qT'V`UcQ࢞X`rEu0嬚 ݐ$o("*0+S)6 3DY=bd趓f@m]YGbUu1}r"ddJR$dhޱ…rbJ`(! ߙ]4ܰo v{hh"fVЯdt4,Ra11bVlx @!KD\yTNC!ڭ_+ Pk^bu? p|k b׭rd 3xaAdޕ]1GRiyYF(*Xj4s.͘vYG )Ed"ԃ', g4RՏ1<{:tm.νC4zTlW FlXå=,J3!;$b[kQxs"m"R&T4+c{ -MTKPnDXY)%&M\ȿA ~Ӹa&#oZu[6$KhL0?(QO@0g.@\MƩA_XRYcNkP6/4AݧcZyCD}6Fϖ'|!BwXq6WA@b?q41:1rɢ UdXlڝk$U*C~Hbiop<\iuM=uT) ̛(M)=j -<嚻~~b?b430@^(f! >sL cdȏu݊N@zI}5q)X T|6i `|@hP㽅H9J vВVQ﫧qFhU w;s b>dMv!@MPXx9ALcŁvYn.! z ňViMxX1\i9Vx9-;sG>1*goc8ꚟo̠!Ol2oXAnv,a0'fM9|TvNE5VX =ȻK</1!d,(DJں.x6|5w&d ` XV6Ru]-)o`ӿ,FMeĮ(ue5fnnݐ0QRH:]FQ˜K 0ݭ9&m_Յ=y9K-yLNh$^ ܊vwF̪f߼Bti\ʮd_%%CWCGzŃuK#gt3͆~+3gWW F{ՠA+s,Oō Nԝ&;~? A(zwa%z$hEZ+x2ήlh"D͝[S/x~#.b5 UjE'X*%ύ)e ߭(٢jtgZy2^GC+Dv HTg3IJrOa?J?}!PL.*&DZ8jG9K^N8Ffxy}2V ء\Dv :uWDPOwszܫ匨:{2mUp,"Ѐh׃Xzw/bl'aji(΋KEʂO#;6kkwm)u%O'CS&J>]͙[ى$G|OD; yd 15v/Db?2F p(i}#/`{5SXDAV[a 5Xkn8L2:$dQ84Q&ɝO~p,̇`KmS2?鰚 ;@{ge+otJ( yx|b=7 1O`$YZANDmVF8Rúm|[S\V] ̲D0f;%YʎbUI1Dz,'mB `d`hcqJXWf b3.TLHtŽ6&;Ճ9g`Q Ɨ8FÊʡȫu軱cZ %[*P^LЖLO'2P 炽sP6ļbf R9l #ioFލv@;ì=X^S#x<7[2ZC) 1zvnuaz8UHNlU)1=a=_f= ܈]nzVEnvhGZ` AC̒(r2><0|=̓8XU?o\=Ngx':^D?A[:fn%;~Ҡ+2(8r$ Y8~k8# ,7R;>f(:S&.M-n<_TmIRnf[ Sx"gU{XWN糃H-1$cCT(,L*%Q\XsBl%Fw[Ciͼ#ڎI҂k0X۰$Y, Q,Y4,'*Z3v!h^ ~6]r<*fB- O~$?cN1gpMP,R[\k: ݴ3,¹,290m=92=1</h]QhT2>LOt͂Yƙ舣z&V\Mj<& ʵq?˱ZTk?֧4Y݂pMQsZlϿL(ycخ)t[DZQ-FZ{`,9Z)뫡~ ?qt0O?kE4z޸#Y*$ִ0 N S1vf;Ui:i4JEgqEgc}4?p7K׬Yg3~nQPZQvgop?̷xˡ >OZ+~cZ=:#v}!e>}Zi$yb:ǭ|oFBlҲdbE%-S.V:lp@e.xs,\§4D,֒eZ6-y0z踎'ڣIR^JEFΟ;S 0Sվ*Cܧ$<|덉%ziY)F) `}T5~^OBu<6:5kKu/]wyraQG;#{:|_(f?>? .7:#3ௐ&7@ǓŞf)3}XD1oxpZB$O&^bAi0V"$(sɣvBْ/ RaWd?m)=&!ehSRWWT{~TCGz(GQ fO>xMk'EaoS !/@i{DLy[d(>;
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1