Defiler of Tombs

Kormak the Guardian #2

by William King

To the world at large, he is a mercenary and assassin, a brutal killer with a deadly blade. In reality Kormak is a Guardian, one of an ancient order sworn to protect humanity from the servants of the gathering darkness.

An open tomb, a dead child and an unleashed ancient horror send Kormak on a path of vengeance through the haunted northlands of Taurea. He seeks Morghael, a necromancer with a plan for resurrecting the dark empire of Kharon and the power to bring the dead swarming back to life.

Defiler of Tombs is the second thrilling installment of the Kormak saga. Buy it now and join Kormak on his terrifying quest to stop the return of an ancient evil.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it had its moments, this story was not as satisfying as book one. There was just too much traveling through barren lands, fighting the same sort of undead over and over for my tastes. Plus we didn’t get any new lore or cool world building or exciting personal revelations about Kormak to overcome the repetitive sword and sorcery plot. Hopefully, book three will bring something new to the table.

[Éric Kasprak · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really pains me to say that this second book in the Kormak series was only OK. You see the Kormak series as, in theory, everything for me to absolutely love it: it's a pure sword and sorcery story (stylistically and by it's length), the author list all the classics as his influence, the main character is a stoic hunter of evil doers and the world of Kormak is filled with ghouls, undead, sorcerers etc. But in practice I barely was able to finish the story and found it underwhelming and flat. The action scenes are few and far between and when they happen they are brief and not exciting enough, the pacing (remember that those are novella length stories) felt slow and plodding, the writing simple with mainly short phrases. I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the book (series) but with all the ingredients present in this series, I really don't know why I don't love these books. So let's just say that the author writing style and story composition/layout is really not for me.

[MegaSolipsist · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't actually finish this book, which is a shame, because the first one was moderately fun and William King has done good books before.
Kormak has all the personality of a brick, so the author (in true Conan style) tries to make him more appealing by repeatedly having beautiful women throw themselves at him, but it is just baffling as to why.

[Cal Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a great as the first, but it is a steady and well-written story. I enjoyed how the first book was a series of shorter stories that told a longer story. But, this is a fine Sword and Sorcery style tale about the battle against a necromancer.

William King has a fine way of pulling you into an adventure and having his hero guide you through the tale from beginning to end.

[Robert Vazquez-Pacheco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

Usually the main character in a series of books develops as you read the series. Unfortunately the second novel of the Normal saga was essentially the first novel with some superficial changes: a different villain, a different supporting cast with the same goal: saving the world. But at the end of Defiled of Tombs, I had learned nothing new about the main character. No twists, no new developments. I couldn't find any reason to continue reading a longish adventure series that was already repetitive after the second novel.

[Ismael García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empieza la historia en media res. Un túmulo profanado, una criatura desatada, unos niños secuestrados para alimentar a los muertos... Muy bien narrado, los temores de los campesinos, la soledad del guardián, los horrores de la cripta... el arranque es perfecto.
Tal vez por eso, luego decepciona. Ni la dinámica con sus compañeros de aventuras resulta interesante. Ni el antagonista, ausente y distante, resulta atractivo. Una pena, pero se me antoja un tanto descafeinado.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I found this series. It’s another dark and moody adventure with Kormak hunting down a necromancer looking to cast a powerful spell to unleash the dark sun. This time Kormak has some friends helping him out.

I preferred book one but I still liked this enough to want to keep reading the series so I will be reviewing the third book soon.

[Alex Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, but Kormak is still cool. Killin liches and necromancers is always dope.

[Kati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nápad dobrý, ale emocionální reakce mě jako čtenáře nulová. Celá ta kniha je prostě emocionálně hluchá, prožitek veškerý žádný, jako by autor prostě bruslil po povrchu a odškrtával si ze seznamu věci, které by podle něj měly ve fantasy textu být.

[Reader73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice part 2, bring on the next one :)

[Susana789 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Veľmi jednoduché a jednoducho podané. Rýchločítanie do dopravného prostriedku, typická výplň času, ktorý človek trávi presunom. Možno niekoho nadchne, ale je to schematické, lineárne a nenápadité.

[Jakub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple fantasy tales with ultimate heroe. Great for relaxation.