★★★★☆ Lada the Impaleress

And I Darken

Kiersten White

Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad III of Wallachia, was the Voivode (ruler) of Wallachia (a part of what is now Romania) between 1448 and 1477. He was a contemporary of Mehmed the Conqueror, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire (which became Turkiye) who eventually conquered Constantinople (now Istanbul, as They Might be Giants reminds us), ending the Byzantine Empire.

It was an exciting time in Asia Minor and Eastern Europe! A historical novel about Vlad and Mehmed thus seems like a great idea. What we have here, however, is close to, but not exactly that. Kiersten White's Conqueror's Saga, of which And I Darken is the first book, is an alternative history version of that time and place. The "alternative" part comes in the shape of Ladislav (that's a feminine form of "Vlad"). In And I Darken the first child of Vlad II (who in the real world was the father of Vlad III) is a daughter, whom he names Ladislav. She, her brother Radu, and the sultan Mehmed are the central characters of And I Darken. Ladislav, known through most of the book by the nickname Lada, is the focus.

The premise of And I Darken is thus similar in concept to Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, in which the first Ming Emperor of China is a woman. I enjoyed And I Darken more. It seemed more real to me, for reasons personal (I am more familiar with the history of this part of the world) and of story-telling. And I Darken is not a fantasy -- there is no magic -- and it is, as far as I can determine, more true to the actual history on which it is based, except of course for the sex of the protagonist.

Lada, who has all of Vlad Dracula's ability, brutality, and ruthlessness, is a splendid character. Radu and Mehmed are also well drawn, but they feel ordinary compared to Lada. I enjoyed this, and am looking forward to continuing the series.

And I Darken on Amazon

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