Shining Ones

Hines’ (Stealth Moves, 2015) latest explores the world of modern Fair Folk and their struggle for supremacy against their longtime enemies, the Formorians.

When 16-year-old Cory sees his girlfriend, Lia, walk into a cave and vanish, he is better prepared than most teenagers—because Cory is a Danann, a descendant of the Shining Ones, the Fair Folk of Irish legend. Cory calls his aunt Tessa, a police detective (also a Danann), and the two plunge into the same passageway that took Lia; they then find themselves in Ireland. Lia’s father, Sam; Cory’s mom, Maggie; and Maggie’s brother Kevin follow by normal means (i.e., a plane) and the group soon discovers that they are on a sacred quest ordained by the eldest Danann and the Shining Ones. The Formorians, who kidnapped Lia, plan to use her power to disrupt a sacred Danann ceremony and steal the gift of immortality from their entire race, transferring it to the Formorians instead. Tessa, Cory, and the others have to find the ancient Danann artifacts of power and use them to contact Danu, the mother of their race, in order to stop the Formorians from defeating them once and for all. Sam and Lia—neither of whom has even heard of the Danann—have to come to terms with the idea that the world is very different from what they believed; they accept the existence of magic and faeries with incredible aplomb. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine that an ordinary person dropped into such circumstances would handle it so calmly. That issue aside, Hines deftly weaves a fascinating tale wrapped around a wide range of strong characters. She gamely portrays characters on both sides of the conflict; they’re not evil, but driven by what they think is right, however questionable their justifications may be.

An entertaining, well-crafted story with unusually complex and entrancing characters.