Darklands Trilogy

Last updated

Darklands Trilogy
Darklands Trilogy, by Athony Eaton.png
The Covers of each book in the trilogy: Nightpeople, Skyfall, and Daywards respectively.
Nightpeople
Skyfall
Daywards
Author Anthony Eaton
Cover artistGreg Bridges
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genre fantasy action
Publisher University of Queensland Press
Published2005 – 2010
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)

The Darklands trilogy is a series of books by Australian author Anthony Eaton. University of Queensland Press published all three books. [1] [2] [3] The series is set over 1000 years in a future in which the human race has polluted the world and now, in part, living in sealed environments and part in an exposed but walled wasteland known as the Darklands. The books centre on Saria, a darklander (Nightpeople), Larinan Mann of Port City (Skyfall), and Dara, Saria's granddaughter (Daywards).

Contents

Books

Reception

Nightpeople

Sally Murphy at Aussie Reviews.com commended the book as "a well-woven, absorbing tale". [4] It was shortlisted in "Best Adult Fantasy" and "Best Young Adult Fantasy" category of the 2006 Aurealis Awards [5]

Skyfall

Sally Murphy of Aussie Reviews.com commends the book as "challenging and absorbing". She also comments that "The world is alien enough to intrigue, but familiar enough for readers to connect with. The action is fast paced and the characters both diverse and believable". [6] Skyfall was the winner of the 2007 Aurealis Award for "Best Young Adult Fantasy" category. [5] It was also shortlisted for the 2007 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards for "Literature - Young Adult" Category. [7]

Daywards

The highly anticipated conclusion to the trilogy was received well overall with paper reviews dubbing it "a great read". [3] However this book is yet to either receive, or even be shortlisted for, any awards. Readers found Daywards "the least convincing" of the trilogy but "a fantastic end to a well-received and talked about trilogy". [8] [9]

The World of the Darklands Trilogy

Geography

In the world of the Darklands Trilogy, the surface of the earth is split into two areas.

  • Darklands - Huge walled expanses of land designed to contain environmental and genetic defects
  • Literally everything else - This land has virtually no population, with the vast, vast majority of humanity living in the dome cities.

Civilization within the Darklands

Towns

There were once many towns dotted across the huge expanse of the Darklands, but there are now only a few. This is because some towns got smaller, then some people wanting to escape their failing towns moved to the larger settlements, and then their original towns really did die off. The remaining towns are nothing more than collections of ramshackle huts, made from rusted corrugated tin, and propped up with whatever was available.
List of Known Towns:

Woormra

This is probably the largest town and is home to the Council of Dreamers.

Olympic

This town is smaller than Woormra, although its people are more aggressive, dangerous, and paranoid, as they even built a defensive wall out of sharp branches around their town.

Mooka

This town is also smaller than Woormra, and is unremarkable, other than being significantly closer to the Darkedge than any other town.

The Valley

The valley, also known as Ma's Valley, was a secret valley far away from all other pockets of civilization, and was known only to a select few. Its only permanent occupant was Ma, an aging woman who took care of children sent to her. Over the years, a number of children were sent there for protection. None were ever found and the valley was never discovered.

Ruins of the Shifting House

The shifting house is a decaying structure left over from before the shifting. It is avoided by most Darklanders. It is renowned by most people within the Darklands, for its air of death, destruction and mystery, and because it sits in a circle of ruined, acrid ground. The Shifting House is implied to be a former nuclear power station.

Civilization outside of the Darklands

Dome Cities

These were the pinnacle achievement of generations before; eternal containers of society, made of near impervious permacrete and clearcrete, two materials that revolutionized construction, and along with the invention of the Governors (Massive Computers that controlled every aspect of life within the domes) enabled the building of the Dome Cities. One of the Dome Cities ('Port') is featured on the cover of 'Skyfall'.

The Underworld

The underworld is what's left over from a thousand years ago. Endless fields of decaying skyscrapers and apartment blocks, all abandoned for a thousand years or more. It is unknown how many people if any live down here.

Transport (In and out of the Darklands)

In the Darklands

  • Walking
  • Riding Camels

Fliers

Flyers are aerial vehicles that are used for travel between the dome cities, as well as research trips into the Darklands. A large variety of fliers exist, although the most famous ones belong to DGAP (Darklands Genetic Adaption Program) and resemble a squat bug. These fliers have three seats (Pilot, Co-Pilot and Commander/Observer) in the cockpit (The Front Dome) arranged in a triangle (Pilot Front-Left, Co-Pilot Front-Right and Commander/Observer Rear-Center), as well as space behind the front dome. This space includes an equipment rack for suits and helmets.

Related Research Articles

Ian Irvine is an Australian fantasy and eco-thriller author and marine scientist. To date Irvine has written 27 novels, including fantasy, eco-thrillers and books for children. He has had books published in at least 12 countries and continues to write full-time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isobelle Carmody</span> Australian writer

Isobelle Jane Carmody is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature. She is recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trudi Canavan</span> Australian writer of fantasy novels

Trudi Canavan is an Australian writer of fantasy novels, best known for her best-selling fantasy trilogies The Black Magician and Age of the Five. While establishing her writing career she worked as a graphic designer. She completed her third trilogy, The Traitor Spy trilogy, in August 2012 with The Traitor Queen. Subsequently, Canavan has written a series called Millennium's Rule, with a completely new setting consisting of multiple worlds which characters can cross between. Though originally planned as a trilogy, a fourth and final book in the Millennium's Rule series was published.

Jaclyn Moriarty is an Australian novelist, most known for her young adult literature. She is a recipient of the Davitt Award and the Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction.

Carmelina Marchetta is an Australian writer and teacher. Marchetta is best known as the author of teen novels, Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca and On the Jellicoe Road. She has twice been awarded the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers, in 1993 and 2004. For Jellicoe Road she won the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association, recognizing the year's best book for young adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Larbalestier</span> Australian author (born 1967)

Justine Larbalestier is an Australian writer of young adult fiction best known for her 2009 novel, Liar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Goodman</span> Australian writer

Alison Goodman is an Australian writer of books for young adults.

Martin Livings is an Australian author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. He has been writing short stories since 1990 and has been nominated for both the Ditmar Award and Aurealis Award. Livings resides in Perth, Western Australia.

Jack Heath is an Australian writer of fiction for children and adults who is best known for the Danger, Scream, Liars and Timothy Blake series. He has been shortlisted for the ACT Book of the Year Award, CBCA Notable Book Award, Nottinghamshire Brilliant Book Award, the Aurealis Sci-Fi book of the Year, the National Year of Reading "Our Story" Collection, a Young Australians Best Book Award, a Kids Own Australian Literature Award and the Australian of the Year Award. He lives in Gungahlin, Canberra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Freeman</span> Australian writer (born 1960)

Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for both adults and children. Most of her work is fantasy but she has also written mystery stories, science fiction, family dramas and non-fiction. Her first adult series, the Castings Trilogy is published globally by Orbit Books. She is best known in Australia for the junior novel Victor’s Quest and an associated series, the Floramonde books, and for The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop’s Early Years, which won the NSW Premier's History Prize in 2006.

Nike Sulway is an Australian novelist.

Anthony Eaton is an Australian writer of fantasy and young adult fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Rogers</span> Australian writer of speculative fiction (born 1972)

Cameron Rogers is an Australian writer of speculative fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Murphy</span> Australian childrens author and poet (born 1968)

Sally Murphy is an Australian children's author and poet. Her works include verse novels, picture books, and educational titles.

Angela Slatter is a writer based in Brisbane, Australia. Primarily working in the field of speculative fiction, she has focused on short stories since deciding to pursue writing in 2005, when she undertook a Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing. Since then she has written a number of short stories, many of which were included in her two compilations, Sourdough and Other Stories (2010) and The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Rose</span> Australian author

Heather Rose is an Australian author born in Hobart, Tasmania. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here. She is best known for her novels The Museum of Modern Love, which won the 2017 Stella Prize and the Christina Stead Prize, and Bruny (2019), which won Best General Fiction in the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards. She has also worked in advertising, business, and the arts.

Jay Kristoff is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction novels. As of 2022, he has published 16 novels, both for adult readers and young adults. He currently resides in Melbourne.

<i>Black Juice</i> Collected short stories by Margo Lanagan

Black Juice is the first collection of short stories by Australian writer Margo Lanagan. It was released in paperback by Allen and Unwin in 2004, and features the author's widely anthologised short story "Singing My Sister Down", which won the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story.

Amie Kaufman is an Australian author. She has authored New York Times bestselling and internationally bestselling science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the Starbound Trilogy and Unearthed, which she co-authored with Meagan Spooner; for her series The Illuminae Files, co-authored with Jay Kristoff; and for her solo series, Elementals. Her books have been published in over 35 countries.

Thoraiya Dyer is an Australian writer of fantasy, speculative and science fiction. As of June 2024, she has won five Aurealis Awards and four Ditmar Awards, each of the latter in different categories.

References

  1. ↑ "Nightpeople". University of Queensland Press Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Skyfall". University of Queensland Press. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  3. 1 2 "Daywards". University of Queensland Press. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Sally. "YA Book Review: Nightpeople, by Anthony Eaton". Aussie Reviews.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  5. 1 2 "Aurealis Awards, Previous Years' Results" (PDF). Aurealis Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  6. ↑ Murphy, Sally. "YA Book Review: Skyfall, by Anthony Eaton". Aussie Reviews.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  7. ↑ "Western Australian Premier's Book Awards - 2007 Shortlist". State Library of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 31 October 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  8. ↑ MacLeod, Crisetta. "Blogspot Book Review: Daywards by Anthony Eaton" aurealisxpress.com. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Daywards: Book three of the Darklands Trilogy". Penguin Books Australia. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.