Death's Keep by Sommer Nectarhoff

This is a story of Gods and mortals, of life and death, of a world where fate has no master.

This is the Book of Lokk:

The city of Kartos is a dark, cruel place, and its winding streets lie within the Black Temple’s great shadow. The Devout, the priests of the temple, rarely leave its towering walls, but when they do it is only to collect the dead or to lead the city’s condemned back to the dungeons. 

And those who enter do not return. 


It is common knowledge among the Kartosi that the Temple is to be avoided at all costs, and even the corrupt upper caste of the city bows to its will. Lokk, a young thief oblivious to the machinations of the Temple and its puppets, is about to enter a world where evil knows no bounds.

The Book of Lokk: Death's Keep tells the story of a young thief. Lokk lives in Kartos, a bustling city that lies beneath the shadow of the Dark Temple. The priests rarely pass beyond its high walls, and when they do, it is only to collect the dead and escort the condemned to the dungeons. It is a cruel, harsh life, and Lokk somehow manages to survive from day to day...

It was the book’s description that attracted me to The Book of Lokk: Death’s Keep and I wasn’t disappointed. It begins with a very short prologue, which I didn’t feel aided me in any way. The story would begin just as well without it – the first chapter is where this story begins.

The reader is orientated with the story as early as page one, with scene descriptions and character introductions taking place as Lokk does what Lokk does best. Everything is told from the protagonist’s perspective, guiding the reader into the story at a steady pace, without overwhelming them with a stream of unusual names of people and places. Every paragraph moves the story forward with a good balance of action, internal thoughts and descriptions.

I found Lokk to be a very likable and well developed character, a feeling that strengthened as the story progressed. Without giving any of the story away, I did find some of the scenes quite vivid (I must have missed the ‘horror‘ part of the genre listing). It is a dark story, and it is a very good read. There is an ample supply of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The writing is of a high standard and has been very well edited.

The narrative voice entices the reader to engage with the story. The level of foreshadowing is very good and I able to work out where the story was going just prior to it being revealed. There was one sudden surprise that I don’t believe was foreshadowed, but it didn’t spoil the book as a whole. Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable read, and fully intend to buy the second book: The Book of Lokk: Sons of Stone: 2