The Shield of Daqan: A Descent: Journeys in the Dark Novel

The Shield of Daqan: A Descent: Journeys in the Dark Novel

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  • Create Date：2021-05-01 10:52:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David Guymer
  • ISBN：1839080299
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Summary

Mighty warriors fight to save the realm from blood magic and evil， in this battle-soaked epic fantasy novel， from the hugely popular Descent games

The once-glorious Barony of Kell is a ruin of its former self， assailed by banditry and famine; its noble Baron Frederic is caught between saving his people and defending his borders。 Yet worse is to come… for a new Darkness is rising。 Sadistic warrior-priestess， Ne’Krul， spying an opportunity to wreak bloody vengeance on behalf of her demonic masters， leads her Uthuk warband into a brutal invasion。 Kell’s only hope lies in holy warrior， Andira Runehand， and legendary hero， Trenloe the Strong， both drawn to Kell to defeat an alliance of evil unprecedented in Terrinoth。 They must not fail。

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Reviews

dia ，

（I received a free eARC of this book via Netgalley！）This is a hard review to write because in the first part of the book I wasn't feeling the story at all and planned on dropping it， but then by the 2nd half I was a lot more interested， and I'm really glad I didn't dnf it。 The Shield of Daqan is an epic dark high fantasy with a world that's probably more developed in the Descent games， which I don't know， so at first I was a bit lost with so many events happening and so many different different （I received a free eARC of this book via Netgalley！）This is a hard review to write because in the first part of the book I wasn't feeling the story at all and planned on dropping it， but then by the 2nd half I was a lot more interested， and I'm really glad I didn't dnf it。 The Shield of Daqan is an epic dark high fantasy with a world that's probably more developed in the Descent games， which I don't know， so at first I was a bit lost with so many events happening and so many different different points of views and characters。When I got used to the world and the characters' names， my enjoyment went up by a lot。 While this wasn't really the kind of book I'm used to reading， and I didn't get the emotional attachment to the characters as I hoped for， I did enjoy it。 David Guymer's writing is so good， and his descriptions of battles were so good I could almost feel like I was watching a movie in my head， with everything really clear。 The characters were charismatic too， and by the end I was cheering for the good guys， even if I didn't see much backstory or development to them through the novel。The plot felt kinda simple， since it's really just good guys vs evil guys all the time， without any depth to the villains， but I enjoyed the progress of the story and the interactions between characters too。 Maybe it's because Andira and Treloe grew on me - even if I didn't get to know them as much as I wanted to， probably because this is part of a bigger story in this universe， I guess。 I'm giving it 3。5 stars （rounded up to 4） because while it wasn't really my kind of thing， I could really feel the quality of the writing and I think others （knowing the original source or not） that like this kind of long fantasy， with battles to death with evil enemies to save the world， will probably enjoy a lot！！！ 。。。more

Tomcat ，

Great potential， almost there。Terrynoth is a Fantasy world where acclaimed Tabletop games Descent and Genesys: Terrynoth are based on。 This world is rich in lore and very well described。 For people that never played or read anything about this fantastic world is going to be really hard to follow this book。 The author could have had this in mind， and made this story kore approachable for beginners。 The second problem is the writing style was complicated and many times felt rushed。 Too many great Great potential， almost there。Terrynoth is a Fantasy world where acclaimed Tabletop games Descent and Genesys: Terrynoth are based on。 This world is rich in lore and very well described。 For people that never played or read anything about this fantastic world is going to be really hard to follow this book。 The author could have had this in mind， and made this story kore approachable for beginners。 The second problem is the writing style was complicated and many times felt rushed。 Too many great adventures with so many great character in so few pages was meant to be confusing and disappointing from the start。 Each of the stories or arc should have its own book （at least Archerax and Ne’Krul）， the battle scenes are describe wonderfully， but the end are just disappointing。 The side characters are also great but then just taken away poorly。 A great potential for a trilogy， but ruined in this format。 。。。more

Rowena Andrews ，

This was a fun read， and although I hadn’t played the game or been familiar with the world previously， the book does an absolutely fantastic job of drawing you into the world。 There was a lot packed into The Shield of Daqan， and it pulls you into the story through some fantastically written characters that really brought the story to life along with plenty of action， and I devoured this book in a couple of sessions and I’ve been left wanting more （and needing to play the game）。

Michael Botterill ，

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Descent: Journeys in the Dark book The Shield of Daqan written by David Guymer and published by Aconyte Books， so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book。So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first。 I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions。 Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher。Secondly I am a frie I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Descent: Journeys in the Dark book The Shield of Daqan written by David Guymer and published by Aconyte Books， so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book。So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first。 I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions。 Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher。Secondly I am a friend of Davidon Facebook， and whilst we aren’t best buds， we do interact with each other on occasion and I consider him a class person。I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review， but I accept that subconsciously it might。What’s is Descent: Journeys in the DarkSimply put Descent: Journeys in the Dark is good old fashioned dungeon crawler whose linage goes all the way back to Heroquest。Based very much on the Doom board game published by Fantasy Flight Games， you can see influences from across the gaming hobby， with bits from Space Hulk and Lord of the Rings being identifiable。It’s set in the world of Terrinoth， a setting shared with Runewars， Runeage and a few other games and RPGs published by Fantasty Flight Games。It’s a high fantasy universe and you will recognise many of the tropes and races seen in other similar fantasy style settings。 It’s not particularly unique， but it is fairly well developed and interesting。Descent is the dungeon crawler game in that universe， with one player being the evil overlord of the dungeon and the others taking in the tiles of the hero’s。For a dungeon crawler， let’s be honest it’s one of the best out there， and the only reason it’s not in my collection is that Lindsay and Megan aren’t as enthusiastic about high fantasy as I am！The StoryThis book is honestly a real page turner， I devoured it in two sittings， it really is that good。Told from multiple points of view like the Song of Ice and Fire books， this really is a engrossing and wonderful book to read， my favourite of Aconytes books thus far。The book tells the story of the invasion of the Barony of Kell， once the last bastion against the evil from beyond the veil， and now is a shadow of its former self， assailed by bandits and famine。 The noble Baron is a leader who cares for his people and he has found himself caught between the trap of feeding his people or defending them， without the manpower to do both。 The Barony now faces an invasion of the barbarous Uthuk， led by vile Ne’Krul whose purpose is to bring her demonic masters into reality。We have the legendary Trenloe the Strong and his Companions of Trenloe， a group of mercenaries， dedicated to protecting the people of the realm， and we are introduced to them as they escort refugees to safety。 And the other hero， the holy warrior Andira Runehand， and her band of pious pilgrims， come to confront demons and stop them from entering the mortal plane。These two heroes find themselves becoming the last hope of Kell， and through separate journeys play a part in an epic and desperate battle to save the world。ConclusionIts fun， its exciting， its literally dripping with personality， and what’s more， you need absolutely zero knowledge of the setting。 This is a perfect franchise genre novel in my opinion。Its absolutely character driven and not one scene in the book feels forced， everything feels like its there to drive the characters more， to give more insight to them。 The first sitting， I literally devoured 65% of the book because I simply couldn’t put it down， and I only stopped because I actually feel asleep at 4am！I cannot highly recommend this book enough， the only slight negative， is that this very much feels like the start of an epic series， and I am now desperate for the next book， so David， get writing post haste！ 。。。more

Aaron ，

I'm rarely this official with any book reviews I cobble together， but for the sake of transparency， I'll let you know that Aconyte Books sent me a review copy of The Shield of Daqan by David Guymer for an unbiased review， and so thanks to them and David。***I feel like I've read a fair number of David Guymer books at this point。 As a pretty avid Black Library reader I think that's to be expected， it was bound to happen， he's got a few of them by now。 And I bring this up in the discussion of a non I'm rarely this official with any book reviews I cobble together， but for the sake of transparency， I'll let you know that Aconyte Books sent me a review copy of The Shield of Daqan by David Guymer for an unbiased review， and so thanks to them and David。***I feel like I've read a fair number of David Guymer books at this point。 As a pretty avid Black Library reader I think that's to be expected， it was bound to happen， he's got a few of them by now。 And I bring this up in the discussion of a non-Black Library story to first get across the notion that I believe that we have an understanding， he and I。 An unspoken one， sure， and a heretofore unacknowledged and one-sided one， but an understanding nonetheless - he writes books that I like and I， in turn， read those books。 Simple in both it's conception and execution， it's an understanding that has served…at least me， personally on this side…well。 So at the very least now you know that this book had that going for it coming into this。The thought crossed my mind at some point， and maybe it crossed yours too， that perhaps my affection for the writings of Mr。 Guymer historically stem from my enthusiasm for the settings in which he writes， and that plucking him from the worlds of Warhammer and plopping him in what ends up being a similar but decidedly lighter setting wouldn't quite translate to the same degree。 Now I've dabbled in Terrinoth （the setting in which The Shield of Daqan takes place） previously， played a few rounds of Descent， skimmed the Realms of Terrinoth RPG book on my shelf， but by no means have I been as steeped in this setting as I'm normally used to when I pick up one of Guymer's stories。 I wondered if that would hold this book back， if it would remove some necessary part of enjoying it。Hey， you guys， I don't think it did！ Turns out Guymer writes pretty darn good wherever his books take place。 That's a relief， right？ I was worried。The Shield of Daqan is yet another great example of a Guymer story， which means that it's fun， that's it's exciting， that it has characters with personality （more on that in a moment）， that it moves rapidly - taking you to interesting places to see interesting things。 This story that he's written here actually almost mirrors the setting of Terrinoth and Descent， in a sense， in that they both take something familiar and shine just enough of a new perspective on it to make it interesting again。 Terrinoth is itself just enough of a variation on classical medieval kingdoms to be both familiar yet refreshing， and so too Guymer gives just enough of his own take on a classic "knights defending a realm" story to keep you both comfortable yet on the edge of your seat。 Familiar yet foreign at the same time。Speaking of refreshing， and maybe this says something more about me than it does anything else， but I can't remember the last time I read a book with such legitimately heroic heroes。 It's something I didn't know I was missing， but I was thrilled， and at times relieved， honestly， whenever I got to follow along with characters who were just trying to do some good in the world。 The "good" side of this "good vs。 evil" story just brightened the experience， and I'm sure they way it struck me had nothing to do with the real-life state of the world while I was reading it。 Anyways。As I'm mulling this one over， I think I'm a point where I can say that this was one of my favorite David Guymer books （that doesn't feature a character who eats bears）， and I wouldn't have expected that。 But at the end of the day it was very well-written， very enjoyable book， and if he finds himself writing more stories in Terrinoth， I believe our "understanding" will remain in place。 。。。more

TheDigressiveApproach ，

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All the opinions expressed in this review are my own。---Wow！ While I have never had the fortune of playing the game upon which this story is based， I was eager to give this one a try regardless。 And boy am I glad I did。The Shield of Daqan is a suprisingly quick read。 I say surprising because with the sheer amount of character development packed into one book alone you wouldn't think it wou Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 All the opinions expressed in this review are my own。---Wow！ While I have never had the fortune of playing the game upon which this story is based， I was eager to give this one a try regardless。 And boy am I glad I did。The Shield of Daqan is a suprisingly quick read。 I say surprising because with the sheer amount of character development packed into one book alone you wouldn't think it would be possible。The pacing is smooth， the world-building is refreshingly strategic in its placement and detail and the characters are unforgettable。This is probably one of my favourite depictions of well-rounded and inherently good characters。The Shield of Daqan is definitely one of my favourite books of this year！ And I'm really hoping to see the story continued。Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars 。。。more

Paul Sparks ，

I am big fan of David Guymer having read most of his Black Library books and enjoying most of not all of them， this was a nice change not being in either in the grim dark future or the Age of Sigmar， I am not familiar with the background that this book takes places in but to be honest it made no difference， the book was exciting and intriguing with action， suspense and drama in the right places， a jolly good read

Jenn ，

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of The Shield of Daqan by Aconyte Books in return for an unbiased review。 My thanks go to both Aconyte Books for sending me a copy and to author David Guymer for reaching out。 As such， my review doesn’t take into account any spelling or grammatical errors – not that I tend to pick up on these in other reviews， but I thought it worth mentioning。---The Shield of Daqan is quite honestly， one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure to read this year – which is som I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of The Shield of Daqan by Aconyte Books in return for an unbiased review。 My thanks go to both Aconyte Books for sending me a copy and to author David Guymer for reaching out。 As such， my review doesn’t take into account any spelling or grammatical errors – not that I tend to pick up on these in other reviews， but I thought it worth mentioning。---The Shield of Daqan is quite honestly， one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure to read this year – which is something of a bold statement considering some of the delights that I’ve had the good fortune to devour！ Set in the same world as the hugely popular world of Descent: Journeys in the Dark – The Shield of Daqan is， at it’s very core， a story of good vs evil; heroes against demonic hordes。Too explain the plot in such simple terms however， is doing the story a great disservice as there is so much more than ‘the basics。’The heroes all have their own different flavours to them。 We’re initially introduced to one called Trenloe the Strong and his roving band of mercenaries called The Companions （of Trenloe） as they’re escorting a band of refuges from their bandit ridden homes to the sanctuary of Kell – a more prosperous neighbouring county。 In no time at all， we’re given a display of why Trenloe is known as ‘the Strong。’ He is an instantly likeable central character and is easy to root for。 Although not the brightest spark his heart is in the right place and he tends to do what is right for the people around him; despite the attempts to reign him in by his Dwarven partner Dremmin。 Another fantastically written character in her own right。 The balance of these two characters sets The Shield of Daqan off to a captivating start， Trenloes optimism and cheer is off-set by Dremmins more cynical approach to situations。 Right from the first Chapter I felt a strong （pun intended） connection to these central characters， at every step I was eager to know what was going to happen to them。Then， there is Andira Runehand， another legendary hero。 If Trenloe the Strong is easy to get along with， Andira is almost the opposite; she is much more complicated to relate too but there is something fascinating about her。 Her separate tale is captivating。 She is cold and aloof and yet has scores of pilgrim followers that have flocked to her banner and worship her。 The decisions she makes throughout The Shield of Daqan are driven by a single purpose; stop the Ynfernael。 Whatever the cost。 There are times when I was reeling about the choices that she made and the consequences they had for the other characters that have ‘allied’ with her; the Greyfox， Sarb， Sir Brodun and even the world weary Kurt – who I adored。Alongside these heroes and their companions are a more human element to the population。 The Barony of Kell， where the crux of the story happens， is run by Frederic and it is he and his homeland that bears the brunt of the Ynfernaels sinister plans。I am always impressed when an author can convey different personalities of the characters within a book and this is something that I recall David Guymer doing in expert fashion in The Court of the Blind King。 I am thrilled that he has been able to bring the magic of each of these characters to life。 As they all have their own parts to play in The Shield of Daqan and each characters story is well weaved into the over-arching plot， nothing happens ‘for the sake of it’。 The Shield of Daqan is very much a character driven story and each chapter is dedicated not only to a singular character and their plight but also the effect that they have on the ever advancing story。The pacing of The Shield of Daqan is fast！ To use the time-tested cliche， there is never a dull moment。 The plot is driven forward through a series of smaller conflicts right to epic， large scale battles。 Each situation is met by one of the heroes and solved （or not） in their own way。 There’s even dragons to fight along the way！ It’s an epic tale of sword and sorcery set in a captivating new world to explore。Alongside the chapters from the heroes and companions perspective there is also insightful chapters with a focus on the traditional ‘bad-guy’ roles。 In this case， Ne’Krul the Warrior Sorceress and Archerax。 These are rarer than the hero chapters， but just as impressive in both characterful content and plot drive。Considering The Shield of Daqan is a tie-in with the board game （Of which I’ve never had the pleasure of playing） I don’t know exactly how much world-building had already been done prior to this book。 What we are given here seems to be a small section of a much broader world。 The vast majority of the book is written in the Barony of Kell， but there are other areas of the world mentioned， giving the impression that the world is much bigger than just what we’re shown。 What is written in The Shield of Daqan is richly described and leaves a vivid impression in the readers mind; the world setting is as wonderfully rendered as the characters personalities。 A glorious treat to have such a fantastic cast playing within an incredibly written world。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Shield of Daqan: A Descent: Journeys in the Dark Novel

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Shield of Daqan: A Descent: Journeys in the Dark Novel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Shield of Daqan: A Descent: Journeys in the Dark Novel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0