The Time of the Dark
core novel 1982 Darwath
Record
| First published | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.98 (5,731 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780345296696 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Time of the Dark opens the Darwath trilogy in the mystical realm of Darwath, which lies across the Void from our own world. The wizard Ingold Inglorion crosses into our reality seeking help against an existential threat and recruits two ordinary people, motorcycle mechanic Rudy Solis and graduate student Gil Patterson, to return with him and help hold back the Dark, an ancient and powerful race bent on enslaving or destroying humanity. Once in Darwath, Rudy and Gil must adjust quickly to a civilization already collapsing under the Dark's assault, as cities fall and survivors scramble for safety. Rudy finds himself drawn to Minalde, who turns out to be the realm's queen, while both newcomers are swept into a desperate flight toward the fortress known as the Keep of Dare, one of the only strongholds still believed capable of withstanding the Dark's advance.
Where it sits
- Universe: Darwath
- Series: Darwath core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Barbara Hambly
Notes
- From the series record (Darwath): The original, complete, self-contained Darwath trilogy. Hambly later added 2 further novels (Icefalcon's Quest 1995, Mother of Winter 1996) plus several 2015-2018 novelettes set in the same world -- deliberately not researched or registered, out of scope for now.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Darwath: position 1 of 3: next The Walls of Air (1983)
- Internal chronology, within Darwath: position 1 of 8: next The Walls of Air (1983)
Sources
← Darwath dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.