Fantasy Book Critic: Book review: Blacklight Born by Alexander Darwin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alexander Darwin is an author living in Boston with his wife and three daughters. Outside of writing, he teaches and trains martial arts (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). He’s inspired by old-school Hong Kong action flicks, jRPGs, underdog stories and bibimbap bowls.

Outside of writing fiction, Alexander has written for publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine. His latest piece, The Lost Diary of Anthony Bourdain, was a featured piece in Rolling Stone’s January 2022 Issue.

Publisher: Orbit (December 3, 2024) Page count: 411 pages Formats: all

Alexander Darwin closes out The Combat Codes trilogy with Blacklight Born, and it’s a worthy finale. It has everything fans of the series enjoyed - martial arts duels, high-stakes politics, and sibling drama.

We’re back in a world where nations settle disputes via one-on-one combat. The story flips between Murray Pearson’s perspective and Cego’s, who’s fresh from prison and now running with his long-lost brother Silas, aka the Slayer. Murray is determined to save Cego from the hyper-violent, morally murky path Silas is leading him down. He’s also preparing his young fighters for placement trials.

Cego, on the other hand, changed a lot. His time in prison, painful discoveries about his past, and Silas’s mentorship has left him questioning his identity and purpose. The shift is bold, and Darwin doesn’t shy away from showing how trauma can reshape a person. It’s good, but also make Cego harder to root for.

Darwin’s fight scenes are the standout. The final battle is absolutely jaw-dropping, and if you’re listening to the audiobook, it’s hard not to shadowbox. I liked how the worldbuilding expanded - we got more tech, more political nuance, and more insights into Daimyos.

Where Blacklight Born stumbles is pacing. The book packs enough plot for two novels, and the "jump-forward-then-explain" structure sometimes makes the story feel rushed. Big developments, especially around Cego’s return to the Lyceum and certain political consequences, happen so quickly you might get whiplash. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it leaves a few dangling threads.

Still, the trilogy ends on a high note. It’s action-packed, heartfelt, and unafraid to mix big moral questions with bone-crunching fight choreography. If you’ve been along for the ride since The Combat Codes, chances are you’ll find this conclusion satisfying and bittersweet.