The Power of Dark

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THE POWER OF DARK
The Power of Dark cover.jpg
Author Robin Jarvis
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children
Publisher Egmont Publishing
Publication date
30 June 2016
Media typePrint
Pages288
ISBN 9781405280235

The Power of Dark is the first in a series by children's author Robin Jarvis known as The Witching Legacy. The series returns to the coastal town of Whitby, the setting of Jarvis' supernatural children's fantasy trilogy, The Whitby Witches . [1] The series will consist of four novels. The Power of Dark was first published in June 2016. The second novel, The Devil's Paintbox, was published in March 2017. [2] A third volume, Time of Blood, is expected to be published later in 2017. [3]

Contents

Plot

Whitby is a coastal town in Yorkshire, which has many gothic associations, not least Dracula. Cherry Cerise is the last of the Whitby Witches and it is left to her to defend the town from supernatural attacks. Best friends Lil and Verne have grown up in Whitby where Lil's parents keep the local witchcraft shop, Whitby Gothic, but they are sceptical about the existence of witches.

When a terrible storm threatens the town, Cherry is convinced that ancient evil forces are at work. The legend goes that the Nimius was created by magician Melchior Pyke, with the assistance of a young witch known as Scaur Annie. But they were both betrayed by Pyke's villainous manservant, Mister Dark, causing a feud that has survived even beyond death.

Now Mister Dark is back with a malevolent plan to destroy Whitby. Cherry cannot stop him alone and must enlist the help of Lil and Verne who do not even believe in magic.

Inspiration

Robin Jarvis has long been drawn to the coastal town of Whitby for its historic and Gothic associations and he decided to revisit it for another supernatural series, 'I've felt the lure to return to those narrow cobbled streets on the East Cliff, climb the 199 steps up to the gale beaten graveyard and look back over the town. Whitby is a place that won't let you go and strange, unearthly stories are waiting to be scratched out of the sand and soil.' [4] He was also keen to explore how Whitby had changed in the intervening years and was particularly interested in the expansion of the Goth culture. Whitby has become a place of pilgrimage for Goths, and the book explores the economic and cultural influence through Lil's parents' shop, Whitby Gothic, and references Whitby's popular Goth Weekend.

Reception

Review coverage has been positive with readers delighted by Jarvis' return to his former setting of Whitby. A reviewer for The Bookbag said, "this is an entertaining and imaginative story, and I look forward to the sequels". [5] The Strange Alliances blog said, "Expect a highly imaginative story (bizarre inventions meet old magical entities) with terrific atmosphere (Whitby at its most storm lashed) scary bits (anything to do with Mr Dark) and lots of and great characters (the flamboyant witch Cherry Cerise)," [6] while the Books for Keeps newsletter said, "The characters really come alive and you build a connection to them and what they are going through in this fast paced, exciting and at times very dark tale of magic and murder." [7] The Power of Dark was also selected for Amazon's summer reading list. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name refers to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goth subculture</span> Contemporary subculture

Goth is a music-based subculture that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was developed by fans of gothic rock, an offshoot of the post-punk music genre. Post-punk artists who presaged the gothic rock genre and helped develop and shape the subculture include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, the Cure, and Joy Division.

Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby</span> Coastal town in North Yorkshire, England

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk. It has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship and, coincidentally, where his vessel to explore the southern ocean, The Endeavour was built. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.

<i>Witch Hunter Robin</i> Japanese anime television series

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Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British Young-Adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a monumental malevolence with the help of its last supernatural guardian (The Witching Legacy), a diminutive race of Werglers (shape shifters) pitched against the evil might of the faerie hordes (The Hagwood Trilogy), a sinister "world-switching" dystopian future, triggered by a sinister and hypnotic book (Dancing Jax), Norse Fates, Glastonbury crow-demons and a time travelling, wise-cracking teddy bear. (The Wyrd Museum series), dark powers, a forgotten race and ancient evils on the North Yorkshire coast (The Whitby Witches trilogy), epic medieval adventure (The Oaken Throne) and science-fiction dramatising the "nefarious intrigue" within an alternate Tudor realm, peopled by personalities of the time, automata servants and animals known as Mechanicals and ruled by Queen Elizabeth I. (Deathscent).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Gothic</span> Subgenre of Gothic fiction

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klarion the Witch Boy</span> Comic book supervillain

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References

  1. O'Connell, Alex. "The Power of Dark by Robin Jarvis". The Times. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  2. The Devil's Paintbox at Fantastic Fiction
  3. Time of Blood at Fantastic Fiction
  4. "The Witching Legacy". www.robinjarvis.com. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. "The Power of Dark". The Bookbag. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  6. "The Power of Dark by Robin Jarvis. Book Review". Strange Alliances. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  7. "The Power of Dark". Books for Keeps. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. "Children's Summer Reading". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2016.