“THE DEATH BLEAK – For centuries he has haunted the nations, taking the blood gain further than any before him
THE PYRE – His storied stronghold deep in the Forrest of Naeethe, its glory forgotten, its ancient purposes abandoned
AND I, EMBER – Sent by the Lights to stop him from becoming the one thing that all nations fear the most.”
–Beth Brower, The Beast of Ten
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read this book and I was curious to see how the story would unfold. On the surface, this book is quite a bit different from Beth Brower’s other books, particularly her Emma M. Lion series. But on closer inspection, there are several similarities–beautiful writing, profound philosophical and religious underpinnings, and a remarkable story. While the tale is based very loosely on Beauty and the Beast, it is much more a story of contrasts–light and dark, questions and answers, imprisonment and freedom, fear and love, selfishness and sacrifice, damnation and redemption. Light is the foundation of the book and the ten in the title refers to the ten lines of light within each person.
Over the centuries the Death Bleak has slowly been eliminating his light lines which has taken a terrible toll on him. Think of Lord Voldemort with his horcruxes in Harry Potter and you get a little bit of the picture. Ember has been sent to stop him from taking the final step of eliminating the tenth line and becoming a monster that will terrorize all the world around him. What could possibly go wrong? She has no idea what she’s doing. She must somehow avoid being killed by the Death Bleak. If by some miracle she succeeds, there are a whole host of other villains ready and waiting to kill her. It is a tall task but in a dark world, even a tiny ember of light and hope can make all the difference.
This is a book with many layers and gives much food for thought. I enjoyed it and hope you do too.
Content Advisory: Violence, murder