The KEEPER OF THE KING

Lord Richard, Vampire #1

by Bennett & elrod, P.N. Elrod

Centuries after serving the king of England as his vampire protector, Richard, now a highly paid anti-terrorist consultant to the Canadian government, is drawn into a deadly race to save his creator, the Lady Ardis, and with her all humanity.

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Alternate History

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[DJ Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forces greater than even the magic of Merlin granted him his dark immortality. Over a thousand years ago he was Richard d'Orleans, undefeated champion of Normandy, then he was Lancelot du Lac, Arthur's greatest knight. Now he is Richard Dun, security specialist in modern Toronto, but still he hears the irresistible summons of the old ways and...answers them. To save the woman he loves above all else, he must do the impossible. Once more, the last defender of Camelot must begin anew his quest for the grail...and this time to succeed - or die forever.

Nigel Bennett played Lucien LaCroix in the television show Forever Knight. In the show Lucien LaCroix is the vampire who brought Nick Knight over. Throughout the almost eight hundred years of their association, he has continuously meddled in Nick's life in the effort to persuade him to live the vampire life in the style that LaCroix approves. I loved the character so much that I named my youngest son after him.

Needless to say, I am biased when it comes to anything Nigel Bennett, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Josh Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without giving too much away, Keeper of the King is, to date, the only story I have come across that throws Vampires into the Arthurian Legend and it does so brilliantly. But don't expect too much about the knights of the round table as this is set in the 1990's.
As with all good modern tales of the Nosferatu Bennett throws in something extra to change the way the reader thinks about Vampires while maintaining a few blood sucking essentials to ensure the characters are still unmistakably our favourite undead creatures of the night. This combined with a bit of sex, romance, and a quest for a certain golden chalice keeps the reader's eyes adhered to the page long after the eyelids want to close for the night.

[Sally Bisbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collaboration with Nigel Bennett and P.N. Elrod and another winner. These books are few and far between. I highly recommend them.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I don't remember if I liked this or not. It was ages ago and I only bought it because of the connection to Forever Knight.

[Brooke]

I'm not rating this since I only made it 25% in before giving up.

I grabbed a bag with 3 mystery books all supposedly in the paranormal romance genre and my friend grabbed another bag labeled "horror mystery". Turned out none of them were PNR, who ever packaged these at the used bookstore obviously just went with the book cover. This is NOT my normal read and it didn't catch my interest in the allotted pages I so generously gave it. It was set in "modern day 1990's Canada..." Um...no thanks.

I felt in the little that I read, but the author kept trying to express how very very manly the main character was And look at how manly this book is, MAN THINGS, BEEPERS, MORE MAN THINGS LEATHER JACKETS ARE SO MANLY. Not for me. The cover of this book makes me honestly laugh out loud. I love Bufffy the Vampire Slayer and can't stop calling cover guy "sad sad Spike"

[Tamara aka SoMysteriousLee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a good time reading all of these, they are just fun and easy, fast and clever.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it, with Nigel Bennet co writing both novels, his character felt very much drawn from his Forever Knight 'LaCroix' character, but that isn't a problem. I had so much trouble obtaining a copy of this book, I tried three times before I nearly gave up on ever obtaining a copy just to read, people I purchased from kept sending me the wrong books. So frustrating! But worth the wait. Better than you might think, but it does help if you happen to love FK as much as I do. :D LaCroix lives again! (as if he'd ever actually die?) Get a copy if you're an FK fan, or a Nigel Bennett fan or a P.N. Elrod fan, any or all of the above will likely give you a biased view but opinions are just that anyway and nobody with half a brain really should put store by another other than one's own self.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was just slightly more sex going on than necessary; nothing like a Laurell K. Hamilton novel. If you need lots of deep thinking, really good reasons why characters do things, then this might not be the book for you. I found the plot different and interesting, liked the book a lot. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending. I was really confused about what actually went down, the significance of things. I think I know, but I'm going to check out others' reviews to see if anyone had the same conclusion.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeper of the King by Nigel Bennett and P.N. Elrod is the first book in the "Ethical Vampire" series. I really wanted to like this book, but the book seems surprisingly lame. As an avid reader and fan of the genre, it just didn't grab me. In fact, I struggled to finish it. I am a big fan of vampire novels and urban fantasy but, sad to say, this one just didn't do it for me.

[Sara Kreps · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, and quick. Had a few sex scenes that were jarring, interrupting the story's flow and perfunctory. Thankfully they were also brief.

[Louise Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeper of the King, A Review

A great story, complex plot, rich in detail and ancient lore. Characters interesting and well developed, generous portions of action and conflict.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethical Vampires trilogy # 1 'Keeper of the King' was a brilliant read if you like vampires, and I most defiantly do. The characters are believable as is the plot. Storyline is fast paced and the suspense constant right to the end. Cannot wait to read the next book in this trilogy # 2 'His Father's Son' .

[Pam Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in the Lord Richard Vampire series, this is a great read. He's "lived" over a thousand years, a knight of Normandy, and of Camelot, but now a security agent in Toronto, still an ethical vampire goes again in search of the Holy Grail. A very satisfying read.

[Terri Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written with P.N. Elrod

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really odd. It started slow for me, then got rather good, then began to lag. It just seemed to drag on toward the end.