'I don't know, lassie. I wish I did. And I wish you didn't have tae hide it.'
The Dominion is cursed. Years ago, the Emperor and his Necromancer stole all the colour from the world. Now they keep it for themselves, enjoying its life-giving power while everyone else must exist in cold shades of grey.
That is until a miracle baby is born - a little girl who lives in brilliant colour. But the child's life is in danger from her first breath. Soon the Emperor's murderous ripper dogs and black coats come hunting. A drifter mage, Sandy Burns, intervenes, hiding the wee miracle in the forest, raising her as his own. Rumour of ‘the rainbow child’ spreads, giving hope to those who had lost it ... but bringing danger and adventure to Sandy and his daughter.
In the Dominion, a young prince is born without colour. Growing up isolated and lonely, he is easily swayed by his necromancer aunt, and when he suddenly becomes Emperor, he allows her to steal the colour from everything in the world. His people live in shades of grey. Children grow up never knowing colour - except in whispers, secrets told in the dead of night, and one night, one boy makes a wish that changes everything...
This is one of those ideas that should never work - how would a black and white world even exist? - but Ross's writing is so good that you are very quickly swept up and it all starts to seem perfectly natural. I would love to see this on TV - I think it could be done nowadays and it would be amazing.
The story never dragged or slowed, no mean feat for a story taking place over a stretch of a little more than twelve years. I won't give any spoilers, but I loved the resolution of the revolution storyline. The ending of the whole thing was perfect as well; if Ross is so inclined, I'd love to read more, but if not this was a wonderful ending.
I really enjoyed this, and I look forward to seeing it on sale next year.
The Colour of Hope publishes on the 5th of May, 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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