Patricia C. Wrede is an accomplished fantasy author, and it is a treat to have a new title from her. The Dark Lord’s Daughter wastes no time in whisking away the protagonist, her mother, and her brother to a fantasy world. It is a little novel to have a parent along for the journey, but the interactions between Kayla and her mom feel authentic and add plausibility to the situation. (If one accepts that being whisked away to a fantasy world by magic is a plausible event.)
The spoken dialogue is strong, and Kayla’s mental asides are spot-on, adding some wry commentary. Kayla’s view as an outsider looking at a different culture and traditions and not “getting it” provides for some humorous interactions between groups of people. Because Kayla doesn’t just go with the expected traditions, it sets up some interesting situations. There is plenty of magic, but not a ton of action. Most of the plot progresses through dialogue and character interactions
Particularly charming, are the “excerpts” from the book The Dark Traditions. These little gems are advice to Dark Lords on consolidating their position as they come into their power. Written in complete seriousness, they will put a smile on the reader’s lips.
.Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy provided by Random House Books for Young Readers
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 2 religious profanities.
Violence/Gore: Magic shocks creatures who fall from sky (death implied); creature killed with sword (no details); severely injured person found, passing mention of blood; person briefly relates being attacked by creature; many times throughout the book individuals state or assume that they are going to be killed as a result of a leader’s whim/wrath; passing references to past Dark Lord’s and how they dealt with their enemies and minions that disappointed them, started wars, hunted and used creatures for their evil ends; each chapter starts with advice to a new dark lord and sometimes this advice includes killing people (written in a humorous, but matter-of-fact style); characters cook and eat creatures (birds) for dinner; people thrown forcefully against a wall by magic; recommendation to perform a ritual to remove heart for safe-keeping (protagonist disregards this advice); character can’t take the suspense and asked to be killed (protagonist disregards this request); explosion resulting in destruction of property; verbal threats; challenge for position that results in a character being restrained.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Banishment, politics, conflicts between differing ideologies, enslavement of spirits, death of a parent, adoption, cancer.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
None
