Into the Darkness

By A.M. Rycroft

An epic fantasy and horror novel for fans of swords and sorcery, dark themes, and characters you'll want to follow forever.

Long ago, a dying adventurer placed a curse on the Black Caverns of Cathell to guard the treasures he sealed within them.

Sell-sword Aeryn Ravane, seeking to complete a quest started by her father, holds the key to ending the infamous curse. She soon finds she is not alone in trying to unseal the caverns: a young thief named Theo needs their treasures to buy her brother's freedom.

What neither of them knows is that the Black Caverns hold more than just treasure. An ancient evil awaits the one with the power to free it from its prison – someone just like Aeryn. The fates of the sell-sword and the thief become uncertain as they race to destroy the terrible evil that reawakens in the caverns, before it swallows all of Cathell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mighty Quill Books
• Release date: May 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9780986088414

A.M. Rycroft

A.M. Rycroft is the award-winning author of two sword and sorcery dark fantasy series and several horror short stories. Born and raised in the quiet suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa, she took an early interest in horror and fantasy tales as an escape from the ordinary. She wrote her first horror short when she was just nine years old, to the horror of her teachers and her parents. No matter how many times her teachers told her "serious" writers don't write genre fiction, she just kept at it. Rycroft was accepted as a member of the Horror Writers Association in early 2017 and won back-to-back awards for the third book in her dark fantasy Cathell series, The Joy Thief.

Reviews for Into the Darkness

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sell-sword Aeryn Ravane is determined to fulfill her late father’s dream and enter the cave of Tynan Selvantyr, a legendary adventurer who, upon his death long ago, not only sealed the cave but placed a curse on it. Unfortunately, she is not the only one seeking entry into the cave and, inside she meets Theo, a young thief as well as Tynan’s ghost. When the curse is triggered, the three are forced to flee the cave and find themselves hunted by those who want what Aeryn has found and they will stop at nothing to recover it. Into the Darkness by author A M Rycroft is reminiscent of early sword & sorcery tales or perhaps more accurately, Dungeons & Dragons RPGs. We’ve got a sell-sword, a thief, a sorcerer, cleric, and ranger. There is also a vampire but she fills more the role of fighter than bloodsucker. However, Rycroft manages to flesh them out, making them more than just simple one-dimensional stock characters. There is also some impressive world-building and battle scenes. There were times when the story dragged but, fortunately, there is enough action leading to the final battle to keep the reader’s attention. Overall, a satisfying read closing off enough storylines so that the reader doesn’t feel frustrated while leaving it open to a sequel, one I look forward to reading.