During WWII, Nora arrives in Cornwall from the U.S. to live with her mother, her new stepfather Charles, and their son Sam. After her stepfather Charles gets very drunk, he crashes their car, injures himself and Nora, and kills Sam. Both Charles and Nora's mother are devastated, but her mother falls under the spell of a strange man, Olaf Winter, who claims he will help her get past her grief. Nora is highly skeptical, and wonders at the man's obsession with arcane and occult books and symbols, and is convinced he is responsible for the accident. She also meets a strange and captivating girl called Tressa, who may be more than she seems.

After time spent shuttling between Charles' care and her parents' friends, Nora suddenly realizes more tragedy has occurred, and she sets out on a journey to the Land of the dead, where she encounters souls, faeries, giants and homunculi, and goes before the Dark King in an effort to get her half-brother back for her mother.


Author Robert G. Penner creates s weird, increasingly trippy experience as twelve-year-old Nora spends time, post-Sam's death, with a strange girl while her mother's current marriage is falling apart, has vivid, odd dreams, and is seemingly mature beyond her years. She's a little selfish and cruel, and looks for answers amongst the strange, messed up adults she's surround by. Then she goes on a decidedly bizarre journey, braving all sorts of things.

I could appreciate parts of this story up till Nora started on her journey, at which point, all I wanted was for this story to have been at least 150 pages shorter. I think it would have packed a bigger punch for me then.

Also, I know there was a much bigger presence of the British war effort in Cornwall than appears here. In fact, it's almost as if the war is happening very far away, as there seems to be no military or RAF activity at all. No one is affected by rationing, and why are there so many conscription-aged men, other than the farmers, still in the area? Is Penner's Cornwall meant to be an alternate version of the country and history, where the war has only a very minimal effect?

I wish this book had resonated more strongly with me; I had loved the concept, and though there were several interesting moments, it was a little too slow for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Literary Press Group of Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Big THANKS to NetGalley and Literary Press Group of Canada for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Dark King Shallows the World follows a 12 year old girl named Nora on a fanciful journey to find her brother Sam, who was killed in a car accident. Nora meets many interesting characters, both human and fantasy characters.

This book is written beautifully. There is so much imagery and the language used expertly steers you through the world as Nora makes her way to the underworld to confront The Dark King.

However, reading this book made me question how characters came to be. No main characters were likeable for most of the novel, and any interesting character had fleeting parts. Nora is supposed to portrayed as a 12 year old girl, but lacks any sense of child wonderment. Her lack of interest while meeting giants and faeries left me feeling bored and me care less and less for the story.

It felt like there was almost no research done. I do not know too much about WWII, but taking place in England, and having these characters living these large lives as if a war in not going on, took away a lot of the realism that should have been presented along side the fantasy elements. I also felt like there was not an understanding of a 12 year, and instead, felt like an adult pretending to be a child.

I cannot stress enough that this book is so beautifully written. The writing, with the right story, could be an absolute 5☆ in a heart beat. The story itself, however, was not right for me.

This uses the World War 2 element perfectly, it had that concept that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel in the genre. The characters felt like they were supposed to and worked with the story being told. I enjoyed the way Robert G. Penner wrote this and can’t wait for more.

*The Dark King Swallows the World* is a fun iteration of the hero’s journey trope with fantastical elements, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

After losing her half-brother in a fatal car crash, Nora suspects that her mother starts a relationship with Mr. Winter, an occultist in cahoots with the Dark Lord, due to her grief. In the midst of World War II era, our twelve-year-old heroine must make the journey filled with fairies, giants, and a magical fox to save her family from the Dark Lord.

Now, onto the aspects that I personally did not enjoy; i feel like this book has a lot of potential with a great mix of ingredients, but the execution does not stick the landing. Starting with the characters, it is hard to connect with any of them. Nora felt like a puzzle that I could not solve; she is meant to be twelve, but often acts much older and more mature than the adults around her. Being an avid reader and daydreamer, I expect Nora to marvel at fantasy creatures and magic, but she often has no reaction at all, which personally brings down my own excitement while reading. For the antagonists and side characters, I find myself being intrigued by each, but it was hard to either like or dislike them because the reader does not spend a lot of character-defining time with them (especially Mr. Winter and the Dark Lord).

In regards to the plot, there were many points while reading where I paused and questioned the significance of the current scene. After reading, I personally believe you could cut out many portions of the book (potentially whole chapters) without disrupting the integrity of the over-arching plot. As well, I noticed some plot holes or inconsistencies in the narrative that create confusion; Nora is meant to be a twelve-year-old girl on the quest to save her family, so I expect her actions, reactions, and thoughts to be in line with that information. However, some plot points felt forced for the sake of needing a villain, a quest, or a new location without a smooth and logical transition. I think shortening the book and putting a heavier emphasis on the second half of the plot (e.g. spend more time in unique settings or with antagonists) would help with the inconsistent pacing.

Let’s end with the positive! In my opinion, the prose is the strongest aspect of this novel; it is filled with vibrant imagery and solid writing that fills the reader with either serenity or dread, when appropriate. Especially during moments when the tension is high and the creepy vibes are even higher, Penner does a great job of making the blood and gore in a scene carry the feeling of dread. While the use of stream of consciousness and run-on sentences are used a lot, the writing style is definitely my favorite part of the book.

In all, I give this book a rating of two stars - the characters, plot, and pacing were difficult to follow, but the writing is strong enough to still finish the book. Thank you the NetGalley and Literary Press Group of Canada for an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review!

I actually thought this book was going to be a lot different than what I had intended. It’s not my type of book to read, but it’s definitely something somebody else would like in general. This isn’t my typical genre either. It took me a little bit, but honestly, it wasn’t that bad before something that I don’t normally read