Dark Rise

the only other work of the author's i'd read was the Fence comics which i liked but i was still nervous going into Dark Rise. but this was so fast-paced, not a moment or scene was wasted. the first 40% or so is pretty cliche in terms of light vs. dark and a chosen one destined to save the world, but it was unique enough in its world building and characters that i was still very interested. but once it passed that mark, the story completely came into its own. i had various predictions that i was so sure were right, only for me to be completely surprised by multiple plot twists, character decisions, and reveals. the tension i felt during some of the discussions in here was so intense, i just kept rereading certain interactions bc of how excited yet anxious they made me feel. there were also some character arcs that i didn't originally see myself getting attached to but definitely did, which resulted in a number of characters being surprise favorites for me. i absolutely adored this.