Latest review — by Susan, August 7, 2024: R.E. (Ron) Costello's book, "Darkness They Could Not See, Columbus 1492, First Voyage", is a touching yet fast moving adventure based on the first voyage of Christopher Columbus (aka Cristobal Colon, aka The Admiral). It is told by three alternating narrators, one of whom is Columbus himself (brilliant but full of self-deceiving bombast), Pedro, his cabin boy (a fast-thinking, street smart survivor), and Bloodwoman, a Taino (Haitian) princess (who is more beautiful, smarter, and more resourceful than everyone else put together. Her true name is Higuemoto, but her titled name, Bloodwoman, is a tribute to her lineage and her innate personal power and presence).

The shifting points of view help to keep the story moving forward and allow the author to give us a sense of the inner qualities of each character by reflecting back to us how the others interpret and see each of them compared to their own self descriptions. It is a daunting authorial challenge but it serves the story well. Costello has done extensive research to back up his tightrope walk between the history, mystery, and majesty of the Columbus story. He clearly loves all of his "narrators" but his deep affection for Higuemoto the Bloodwoman wins the day, and it's impossible not to fall in love with this innocent yet charismatic beauty, as does Pedro, who is clearly the stand-in for the author so, of course, we can't help but root for their romance as the drama and danger unfolds.

As a writer who is in the early stages of his career, I've enjoyed watching Costello continue to develop his story-telling craft through the earlier books of his that I've read. He has a natural instinct for creating memorable supporting characters (such as, in this case, the native Tainian forest dweller, Dancing Dogs, with his loyal troop of dozens of highly trained canine soldiers, and the instinctively dangerous rival enemy Carib chieftain, Naguu, as well as a whole crew of superstitious uneducated Spanish sailors and stowaways), along with tension-filled dramatic page-turning chapters that draw me in each time. When I finished "Darkness They Could Not See,"

 

I immediately tried to order the second volume of this series but discovered it isn't out yet. Volume One, of course, leaves us with a cliffhanger, so I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next to all of these characters for whom we've grown to care. The author's love of history, mingled with his equal passion for imaginative story-telling, makes for a terrific adventure in speculative history, and I expect each future Costello book, whether it is part of his "On the Hill" series set in 1960's Belmont Hills, or his other Philly-based adventures, or his explorations in pre and post Columbian, long-past eras, will continue to display the evolution of a writer with great promise.