Ashurek, Medrian and Estarinel are seeking a way to destroy the evil serpent M'gulfn, a demon who is systematically laying waste to the earth. With the help of the mystical inhabitants of the Blue Plane, H'tebhmella they journey forth to find the Silver Staff, the only weapon capable of destroying the serpent.

Granted a brief sojourn back to his home land of Forluin, Estarinel travels there to see his friends and family one more time before he heads off to face the serpent and risk death. Accompanied by Medrian he returns home to find that his family have all been killed and Forluin is being destroyed by the serpent's venom. During their stay Estarinel discovers the reason for Medrian's silence and realises that when they eventually confront M'gulfn he may be forced to make a very painful, difficult decision.

But before they can face the demon they must first get past the evil sorceror-priestess Arlenmia. Her ability to command the obedience of a large number of demons makes her virtually untouchable.

As the party get closer to their goal it becomes clear that they must all be prepared to make huge personal sacrifices if they are to save the world. When the time comes, will they be able to put their personal feelings aside for the greater good?

A Blackbird In Darkness is the sequel to A Blackbird in Silver and provides the conclusion to the first book's story. In this novel we discover the truth about Medrian and Arlenmia and follow the main characters as they get closer to the demon serpent.

Darkness picks up exactly where Silver left off, with the three main characters staying on the Blue Plane, H'tebhmella, before going off to face the serpent and risk their lives to save the world. As we realise the truth about Medrian we become more aware of the conflict within her and wonder if Estarinel will have the strength of character to do what is necessary.

Although there are further Blackbird books in the series (A Blackbird in Amber, A Blackbird in Twilight, Darker than the Storm) the first two books do form one complete story so it is wholly possible to read them as stand-alone (although to not then go on and read the rest would seem rather a waste of good writing).

As with A Blackbird In Silver, I first read A Blackbird in Darkness nearly 20 years ago. However, having re-read the first volume recently (following the Immanion Press recent revised re-issue) I knew that I would not be disappointed reading one of the books I remembered loving as a teenager.

If anything I enjoyed it more the second time around as I waited for the characters to discover facts that I already knew – rather like reading a spoiler zone in a well known SF magazine [SFX - Steve]then watching the episode waiting for things to happen.

Absolutely superb – a good excuse to read a favourite book. I'm so looking forward to the remaining volumes of the series being re-issued.