Review: The Light Must Hold by Kriss Gallom
Blurb:
In a world without stars, divine crystals shield the folk of Esiaga from fiends that prowl the darkness.
When Lior, a priest who communes with the crystals, prays to the deities and asks for their guidance, he is met only with silence. Guidance is something he yearns for as he watches his convent brothers either fall to creatures that lurk in the shadows or lose their minds trying to harness the power of the crystals’ light.
That is, at least, until travelers arrive on behalf of the Queen. Sworn to come to their kingdom’s aid in times of need, Lior and his convent brothers must make the hazardous pilgrimage to the capital, Bangol. The guidance Lior has always sought comes in the form of Elouan, the paladin sworn to guide the convent’s caravan. Where Elouan leads Lior, however, deviates from the known path.
The Light Must Hold — a classic dark fantasy adventure that combines fanciful prose and sisyphean struggles.
Review:
From the very first page to the last, The Light Must Hold was an intense read that definitely caught me in its clutches. The world that Gallom was able to create and describe, especially with it being a world of darkness, definitely kept me hooked and wanting more.
The story takes place in a dark, haunting world where divine crystals protect the people from the darkness, political struggles, and even monsters! Seriously, I was in awe of this world from the moment I entered it.
The story follows Lior and his brothers in the same fate. They are all… monks, I want to say? Priests. It did give off a bit of a cult-y vibe, but not necessarily in a bad way. They worship the divine crystal that gives them light, to the point where they put shards of that crystal in their bodies!! And they talk to the higher deities - even if Lior himself seems to have issues with the latter. When the abbey gets surprising visitors, Lior and his brothers learn that they have to leave for their own safety.
This pilgrimage, because I think there is no better word to describe their journey, is one that makes me question as the reader what was safer - stay in their abbey and figure out the dangers on home ground, as it were, or see the unexpected on this extremely dangerous journey. A few times, while they were travelling, I wanted to urge them all to go back. I am not a horror reader, I wanted to jump at every scare and run away, so when they kept going for me it was a “WHY!?!?!” Followed shortly by “oh, that’s why” - Sheldon style. All of the hiccups along the way add an epic layer of suspense and (that dreaded) horror to the story that makes me want to keep flipping pages just to get to a scene where I can calm down.
Those unexpected visitors? We have Airi and Elouan, and as cool as Airi is - Elouan steals the show. He is… not what you’d expect from a paladin. At all. And the reason why he is so different is linked back to the same religion and customs that Lior and his brothers follow and perform.
I also think the writing style is very appropriate for the story and the world. It is lyrical, deep, vivid, and I felt like I could paint every scene as a picture in my head. Then there is the general theme of light versus dark, where the dark is the literal lack of light everywhere around them, and I love how Gallom explores these in a way that ties in with everything else that’s happening in the story.
Lior, an elf and our main character, seems to react in ways that seem the most realistic - running away when he’s not strong enough and asking for help - which only makes him more likeable in my eyes. Elouan, as mentioned, is the best. Ever. He is unique in both his creation and his motivation, I feel. And while we have a lot of other characters, all of them are unique. From the leader of their troupe, to the wizened father-figure, from Lior’s boyfriend, to the bully - every character has their own voice and Gallom was able to capture that so clearly!
I don’t want to spoil anything but a quick note - when you learn more about the Bonded in this world, I hope you get the same sense of morbid fascination about them as I did. They are such an eerie and interesting twist to the plot.
What makes The Light Must Hold truly stand out is its ability to balance despair with hope. Despite the novel’s bleak and almost depressing moments, there are threads of hope that were almost like a light at the end of the tunnel or striking a match - that tiny bit of extra light that was just enough to make you eager to read more and see if it will grow into a bonfire or get extinguished. The ending, in particular, is both shocking and intriguing, setting the stage for potential future adventures - which I am waiting on with baited breath!!
If you’re a fan of dark fantasy that excludes your typical stalkers, has a touch of horror and a compelling plot, along with truly beautiful world building and epic characters, then this book is for you.
Summary:
Romance: barely worth a mention
Spice: none
Tropes: found family, dark and gritty, horror-vibes, light magic, crystal magic
POVs: third
Tense: past
