The Dark Horse

Rating:
Summary: The Dark Horse
Review: The Dark HorseThe Dark Horse is a fictional story of ancient magic and betrayal which takes place in ancient Britain. The book begins with 16-year old Sigurd who is a male native of a Northern Coastal tribe called the Storn. The Storn Tribe have been basically isolated all of their lives, except for a few traders from afar. The story revolves around Sig and Mouse being the main characters of The Dark Horse. While on a Wolf Hunt, Sig bravely rescues a small timid girl who they named Mouse. He adopts and raises her as part of his family until an ancient horse-riding people bring death and war to their quiet village.

Sedgwick carefully develops the sibling relationship between Sig and Mouse. Years later, an unexpected stranger with white hair and black palms, Ragnald, arrives on the beach. He ends up spying on the Storn Tribe and causes havoc. Mouse's identity and past is then questioned. The timid little girl once found, turns out to be more mysterious and amazing than ever. Her unusual and amazing powers are all part of her secret past. Sig's shocking discovery of Mouse's past brings heartache and terror to the Storn Tribe and himself A gruesome war is inevitable and the existence of Sig's family and tribe is in jeopardy.

The writing of Marcus Sedgwick was very detailed and descriptive. His main characters were both weak and strong, good and evil. The author writes with simplicity and clearly paints a detailed picture in the readers' mind. Throughout the book, Sedgwick constantly reverts back and forth from the present to the past in a third person narration. I found this feature somewhat confusing. One chapter is told from the main character Sig looking back in time, but the next chapter tells the story as actual events unfold. Then they both come together in time farther into the story.

Marcus Sedgwick is not a shy author. His writing is sometimes blunt and a little bit too real at times. For example, when Sig's brave friend, Longshank, was killed by the evil enemy. As he fought in battle..."he buried his sword deep into the horseman's ribs." I did notice however that the chapters in the book were shorter than most of the books I've read. But the plot moved quickly and kept my interest to read on. I sometimes found myself lost or confused but as I read on the puzzle pieces started to fit.

I found the book "The Dark Horse" very exciting and adventurous. It was a book that would keep you up all night reading it. I would recommend the book to people who like action, adventure and mysteries. In conclusion, I think the author, Marcus Sedgwick should write a second book of The Dark Horse. The second book should continue to be about Sig and his live after the surprise ending of the book. A sequel to The Dark Horse would sell fast!