Rites of Spring: The Last Paladin 4

The Last Paladin

by Vaughn R. Demont

Facing the weakening of his liege, Lennox embarks on a quest to find Persephone, the goddess of spring, but quickly finds there is more at stake than simply ending the long winter that has gripped the City. When Lennox is ordered to call off his search, he must face a difficult choice. He can break his vows and save the damsel in distress, or remain a paladin and let a goddess die. The Rites of Spring is the sequel to the Last Paladin Chaser series.

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Magic, Demons, Paranormal

Nook

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Writer, Scorpio, and self-professed waffle-addict, Vaughn R. Demont received his Bachelor of Arts from Oswego State University, and his Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College, where he studied Creative Writing and being poor. He has published several novelettes and novellas, including The Last Paladin series, House of Stone, the Broken Mirrors series, and the new Blackwarren Heists series.

Vaughn currently lives in Central New York, where he is working on his next novel.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved every book I've picked up of Mr. Demont's, though I've loved some better than others. This novella doesn't really have any romance in it (a positive for me), though the series does. This whole series needs to be proofed again for typos, but I only found, like, four, in this part. Overall, I felt this series didn't have the kind of plot-oomph that he manages in his subsequent works, but this 4th installment was certainly a climax for the Paladin series. Not sure I enjoyed it as much as 1-3, though, since I felt like those plots were a little more sensibly executed.

Specifically, I felt that there was a little too much deus ex machina going on in order to allow the Paladin to continue serving. We know almost none of the rules, which makes him breaking them a little...random. There are rules that must be followed! You don't know what they are! You did the right thing, it broke rules! You can't be a paladin anymore! Oh...Mom says it's okay, so I guess it's okay. I can't say how it would have been better, though, because I want another installment, and the only thing that would have felt real to me would have been for him to no longer be a Paladin.

But until the end, my only other complaint was that I did not feel the dance. I mean, we didn't see it either, but I did not feel that there was enough time for Lennox and Karden to get past their anger with one another in order to properly feel a happy dance. Make-up sex would have worked for me no problem, and a dance after that, sure. But the way it was, just felt like a plot point that had to be met and not enough time to meet it in.

I really enjoyed the story regardless--the characters and the interesting way Greek mythology was intertwined with modern ideas of godhood and religion, and integrated into the City. I honestly can't wait for Mr. Demont to come out with his new novel (also set in the City), since I haven't found anyone else whose stuff has just the mixture of plot, great characters, m/m, and a great setting, that I crave.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this when I read it last year, but I decided to read through Demont's "Last Paladin" series again, and this review is more for the series than just LP4.

A criticism I often levy at Demont is that you never really know what kind of story he's trying to write, his plots constantly jumping between gay urban fantasy and M/M. While most writers in the M/M genre luxuriate in the relationship between the male leads, I sometimes get the feeling that Demont is just trying to get the relationship done and established so he can return to the urban fantasy plot. He either does this well (as in House of Stone), or not so well (as with The Vampire Fred).

Given that The Last Paladin is a series of novellas, I wanted to see if that same issue could be seen in his earlier work. My opinion? Not really.

While the first book in the series "A Squire's Vow" can definitely be seen as M/M romance, I got the sense that Lennox's story was more about him finding his faith again and discovering his life's purpose than having well-written ritual sex with a satyr.

The rest of the series continues like this, and the Urban Fantasy and M/M is much better blended than it is in his later work (particularly The Vampire Fred). His plots become more complex and page-turning while still keeping in the M/M scenes that drew many readers in the first place. By the time you reach "The Rites of Spring", though, there's no question that The Last Paladin is an urban fantasy series with occasional gay erotic content. It becomes much more about Lennox's journey to become a paladin than two or three attractive guys having sex, which in my opinion is what makes the series worth returning to. Only Demont would know if LP4 is the final book of the series, but here's hoping there will be one more Lennox adventure.

Series rating: 4 stars

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series was going along perfectly when the author took a wild swing into mythology that took the entire emphasis away from Pan. The story floundered along with Lennox bouncing along from one god to another in a quest to bring about the return of Spring. I found the ending to be confusing and frustrating with other gods tying up the loose ends. It read like there will be a book five which I may just skip. The page count on Goodreads was way off with the story really having 136 pages rather than 71.

[Merith · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, where's the 5th book? I need an ending.

[Indigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to say ? I am a sucker for greek mythology.