The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea
By David R. Slayton
Black Stone Books, 2023
Five stars

Darkness and light, physical power and intellectual strength, faith and curiosity. This epic journey in a mythical world contains a powerful metaphor. David Slayton has mixed in enough classical reference to make his world feel familiar and, as I read it, I felt that there was a distinct tie to the world in which we live today.

We are presented with the land of Agea, once ruled by two gods: Hyperion, the Sun, and Phoebe, the Moon—day and night. Then the Hierarch of Hyperion declared that the darkness was evil, and sent his knights to eradicate the darkness from the world. To do so, they destroyed Phoebe’s temple and killed all her followers, trapping Phoebe in the underworld.

The unanticipated consequence of that destruction was that the souls of the dead now had nowhere to go, and remained on earth, haunting the living. At night, without a moon to guide them, the dead souls formed a gathering shadow in the world, known collectively as the Grief.

Raef is a survivor of the destruction of Phoebe’s temple, living on his wits in the underbelly of Agea’s major city-state, Versinae, over which the golden dome of Hyperion’s temple looms. Early in the story he encounters a young knight named Seth, whose golden hair and flaming sword make him Raef’s enemy. Seth is guarding a mysterious box, brought to the crypt in Hyperion’s temple. Raef is a thief, hiding in the shadows, waiting for any opportunity. But he is not a killer.

“The priests of Hyperion preached their god’s mercy, but Raef had never seen it.”

The entire plot of this captivating book centers on this paradox, over-zealous protectors of a mythical goodness, lost in blind faith and the hunger for power, committing acts of cruelty and injustice in the name of goodness. And doesn’t THAT ring a bell?

Raef and Seth’s paths continue to cross as their respective journeys take them across the world on a quest neither of them quite understands. Their quests bring them knowledge, and with that comes the heavy burden of acting on the truths they have discovered.

I’m speaking in such broad strokes because I don’t want to spoil the pleasure of discovery in following the adventures of these two young men in chapters titled alternately, “Sun” and “Moon.” Slayton creates an intensely vivid world, full of imagery and action, seasoned with characters who amplify the contradictions and complexities of the world he’s created. There are plenty of familiar motifs—religious intolerance, economic inequity, class division—to draw the reader in; but ultimately it is Raef and Seth who hold our attention. Every epic needs its heroes, and these unlikely young men don’t even know that this is their role in the tale.

This was an enthralling read, and unlike any other fantasy I’ve read.