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Lords of Darkness #1
The Soulless
I was once the consort of queens, advisor to kings, and a prince among men. I sat to the right of each throne from the earliest, Scorpion King, to cleopatra VII, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. After the fall of the Egyptian Empire, I remained undisturbed, feeding off the countless dead buried beneath the shifting sands, until now. I have been awakened by a half-born vampyre, Morderd Soulis. He is not pure, but a mixed breed of both mortal and immortal. I am told he is to be the savior of all mankind. He will champion the cause of humans in the centuries ahead. For now, he is no more than a young pup, and one sorely in need of much education on the way of the undead. He tries my patience, refuses to listen to my words, and asks more questions than there are stars in the sky, but he also amuses me. And so, I will reveal to him that whcih he longs to know. But you should always take care in what you wish for. the knowledge I bestow upon this impure creature could help him, or harm him. Only the endless march of time will tell!
387 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 24, 2016
This book starts out amazing. The first 70 pages or so are perfect, I'm not even kidding. There's this super macho warrior fighting for the crusades who becomes a vampire and then the Knights Templar is basically covering it up, and oh, yeah, this warrior dude is also going to save all of humanity? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, after the first 100 pages it gets... less good, we'll say. I personally didn't like Mordred's lack of confidence as a theme. I understand that he has to be afraid and whatever to show his "human" side, but here's the deal--he wasn't afraid as a human. He proves pretty strongly that fear is not a human quality in the first part of the book, only to be full of fear for most of the rest of the book. To me, the move to fill Mordred with fear made him come off as being whiny and annoying.
I also was kind of surprised by the lack of action, and also the clear plot holes when there was action. Most of the book is mainly this giant macho undead warrior going "I can't do that oh my god," and his mentors going "yes you can you're perfect but also you know nothing." And the plot holes??? Like?? At one point, for example, Vlad threatens that Mordred will either have to physically give him information, or he'll just take it out of his head--but then he doesn't just read Mordred's mind the way LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER DOES (WHICH WAS SO ANNOYING, TO THE POINT OF QUESTIONING IF THE AUTHOR WAS JUST TOO LAZY TO HIT THE QUOTE SYMBOL WHEN HE WAS WRITING).
And finally, I really, really disliked that the main antagonist, who's a ressurected demon/human from the otherworld/Jerusalem bent on destroying all humanity is named Vlad. I couldn't take that seriously. Clearly he's not some white bread noble from Romania. None of the characters are remotely anywhere near Romania. And the book takes place before the historic Vlad the Impaler even existed?? I know this is just a pet peeve but literally every time I read Vlad's name it yanked me the hell out of the story.
So, yeah. This book. It started out great and then it went all over the place. Read at your own risk.
Unfortunately, after the first 100 pages it gets... less good, we'll say. I personally didn't like Mordred's lack of confidence as a theme. I understand that he has to be afraid and whatever to show his "human" side, but here's the deal--he wasn't afraid as a human. He proves pretty strongly that fear is not a human quality in the first part of the book, only to be full of fear for most of the rest of the book. To me, the move to fill Mordred with fear made him come off as being whiny and annoying.
I also was kind of surprised by the lack of action, and also the clear plot holes when there was action. Most of the book is mainly this giant macho undead warrior going "I can't do that oh my god," and his mentors going "yes you can you're perfect but also you know nothing." And the plot holes??? Like?? At one point, for example, Vlad threatens that Mordred will either have to physically give him information, or he'll just take it out of his head--but then he doesn't just read Mordred's mind the way LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER DOES (WHICH WAS SO ANNOYING, TO THE POINT OF QUESTIONING IF THE AUTHOR WAS JUST TOO LAZY TO HIT THE QUOTE SYMBOL WHEN HE WAS WRITING).
And finally, I really, really disliked that the main antagonist, who's a ressurected demon/human from the otherworld/Jerusalem bent on destroying all humanity is named Vlad. I couldn't take that seriously. Clearly he's not some white bread noble from Romania. None of the characters are remotely anywhere near Romania. And the book takes place before the historic Vlad the Impaler even existed?? I know this is just a pet peeve but literally every time I read Vlad's name it yanked me the hell out of the story.
So, yeah. This book. It started out great and then it went all over the place. Read at your own risk.
January 29, 2010
When I first picked this up I expected it to be filled with blood, guts, horror, etc. I was not disappointed. However, I also found deeper literary connections to the writers reflections of the human spirit and classic motifs of "a savior for mankind"
I know, I know, these type of "fun reads" are supposed to be only that "fun" with no social message or intellectual connection. After all this is a "horror" book. How can we have blood and guts and a message for mankind?
Seriously? Blood and guts don't go with mankind? That's a stretch you say? To say that mankind is without the blood and guts is the real fallacy.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think this book will insight political change but I do think that the author has done a great job tapping into the archetypal theme of humankind's damnation and their salvation hinging one one person. Either by accident or genius, using the Jesus motif in a vampire/paranormal book is a fun take on a classic theme.
I know, I know, these type of "fun reads" are supposed to be only that "fun" with no social message or intellectual connection. After all this is a "horror" book. How can we have blood and guts and a message for mankind?
Seriously? Blood and guts don't go with mankind? That's a stretch you say? To say that mankind is without the blood and guts is the real fallacy.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think this book will insight political change but I do think that the author has done a great job tapping into the archetypal theme of humankind's damnation and their salvation hinging one one person. Either by accident or genius, using the Jesus motif in a vampire/paranormal book is a fun take on a classic theme.
October 27, 2009
pretty good for a vampire novel.
February 1, 2014
Although it took me a while to get into...the latter half of the book is a good read. Definitely left me wanting to read the follow-up.
October 1, 2013
Interesting but it kinda leaves you hanging just waiting that you find the second tome
April 17, 2014
This book was pretty good. however I wouldn't classify it as a horror novel. more vampire adventure. I do plan to read #2.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews