Lightfall: The Dark Times Review by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: Lightfall: The Dark Times
Author and Illustrator: Tim Probert
Series Info: book 3 of 3 in Lightfall
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Genres: Graphic novel; action/adventure
Reading Age: 10+ (suitable to read to younger kids)
Pages: 256
Warnings: There is mild danger and some scary creatures. The story takes place in a dark world, and that is seen in the graphic.
Brief Summary of Lightfall Series
To recap: Bea lives with her adopted grandfather, the pig wizard, and are the keepers of the Endless Flame. One day Bea meets the last surviving Galdurian, Cad, who is seeking her grandfather. When they arrive home, however, the pig-wizard has left. Together they set out to find her grandfather.
Their world, Irpa, has no sun. The sun was destroyed by a bird-like being named Kest. Large lights are spaced at intervals. Kest, once imprisoned, has begun to destroy these.
As Bea and Cad move through Irpa they meet new friends and find her grandfather. As we come to the end of book two, we discover that Kest not only destroyed the sun – he also created it. In a final conflict, Kest is slain, but all of the lights are destroyed, plunging Irpa into darkness.
Lightfall: The Dark Times Review (contains spoilers)
Bea and Cad, with their companions, set out to find the Citadel of Knowledge, hoping to find answers there to restore the sun to Irpa.
Along the way they face shadow hounds (servants of Kest) and a new threat – the Mire. But they finally find where the sun may be. And (major spoiler) they find that Kest, along with some other supernatural/angelic/god-like beings, did create much of Irpa (but not its inhabitants). It was human greed and the desire for power that led to these beings generally leaving Irpa and the destruction of the sun.
While it is not essential to read the first two in the series, the story makes more sense, and the characters are more developed, if you read all three. The artwork is unique. There are lots of contrasts of light and dark, of course. And this is turning into a very interesting world.
Lightfall: The Dark Times Discussion Questions
Themes to Discuss: Friendship, Loyalty, Discernment
- We were introduced to the possibility that Cad and Bea were mistaken in what they thought in the second book. Here we find for certain they were. Have you ever been very mistaken? How do you correct that?
- The ultimate problem is greed and the desire for more power. Where do you see those happening today?
- After three books, Bea and Cad are both still struggling, in different ways, to define who they are. How does this affect them? How do you and the people around you struggle with this?
- Who is your favorite secondary character? (mine is Soot!)
- Why was the real story of the past lost?
Favorite Lightfall: The Dark Times Quotes
“The world’s at rock bottom, and things can only go up from here.”
“It could be a trap.” “You think everything’s a trap.”
“Everything we’ve read is wrong.”
Thanks for reading our Lightfall: The Dark Times Review! Check out our related content here:
-Got your own copy of Lightfall: The Dark Times here!
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–Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird Review
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