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The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles #2
Dust Walkers: Nine Realms Saga
When newly minted vigil Gavin Randall is summoned to a small town in New Mexico, the last thing he’s expecting is to have to fight a cartel of necromancers. Their undead horde tests the limits of his powers and shows him just how vulnerable he really is…and that’s not the worst of it.
His enemies have spent centuries preparing for a war no one within the Archive has foreseen, and he has yet to learn to control his abilities or figure out his place in this ancient conflict. With time running out, will he be able to forge the alliances he needs to survive the coming storm?
His enemies have spent centuries preparing for a war no one within the Archive has foreseen, and he has yet to learn to control his abilities or figure out his place in this ancient conflict. With time running out, will he be able to forge the alliances he needs to survive the coming storm?
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2018
195 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Ken Lange
40 books48 followersKen Lange is a current resident of the 'Big Easy', along with his partner and evil yet loving cats. Any delay, typo or missed edit can and will be blamed on the latter's interference.
He arrived at this career a little later in life and his work reflects it. Most of his characters won't be in their twenties and they aren't always warm and fuzzy. He is of the opinion, that middle aged adults are woefully underrepresented in fiction and has made it his mission to plug that gap.
Translation, he's middle aged and crotchety.
He arrived at this career a little later in life and his work reflects it. Most of his characters won't be in their twenties and they aren't always warm and fuzzy. He is of the opinion, that middle aged adults are woefully underrepresented in fiction and has made it his mission to plug that gap.
Translation, he's middle aged and crotchety.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 31, 2018
This should have been a graphic novel. Everytime the hero is confronted by a tougher villain he pulls another Super trick out of his super Magical ass. When he and his super magical sidekicks look to be overwhelmed another super magical friend shows up to save the day. We even have a god who steps in when it looks like All Is Lost. Oh, and zombies too.
February 21, 2018
Another wonderful novel in the Stone Born annals.
Readers of SF&F - this author is good. No, that's wrong; he's great. It's been a long time since I've appreciated a new author. This one has created a wonder filled universe of delight. Though some of the themes have been used before - werefolk, sorcerers, and necromancers, they haven't been used this way before. Gavin, the main character, the Vigiles, is a combination Law Enforcement Officer + Special Forces + Superman. His special abilities certainly encompass this new world we're introduced to in these novels. Gavin is certainly a Stud with a capital S, but there's absolutely no sex at all in this book. Personally, I kept waiting for Gavin to get it on with someone, female or male it don't matter, I want this he-man to have some fun in his life. Though I think Gavin has a future with Hayden, they are two sides of the same coin, it might just be with someone else.
Any who, this is another fine tale of Gavin fighting the bad guys, as he discovers more about his own life and Destiny. We are given hints of the future and I won't give anything away. But future books in this series, either Viktor or Gavin stories, will flesh out the remainder of this very interesting world.
I highly recommend these novels. Not are they an interesting story with amazing characters, they're all written very well. The author's Editor is IMHO, one of the best. Grammatical errors ? None. Spelling errors? None. And extraneous material that doesn't move the story forward? Again - none. That makes this, as well as the author's other novels, a pure pleasure to read.
Try these books, but read in the correct order.
Readers of SF&F - this author is good. No, that's wrong; he's great. It's been a long time since I've appreciated a new author. This one has created a wonder filled universe of delight. Though some of the themes have been used before - werefolk, sorcerers, and necromancers, they haven't been used this way before. Gavin, the main character, the Vigiles, is a combination Law Enforcement Officer + Special Forces + Superman. His special abilities certainly encompass this new world we're introduced to in these novels. Gavin is certainly a Stud with a capital S, but there's absolutely no sex at all in this book. Personally, I kept waiting for Gavin to get it on with someone, female or male it don't matter, I want this he-man to have some fun in his life. Though I think Gavin has a future with Hayden, they are two sides of the same coin, it might just be with someone else.
Any who, this is another fine tale of Gavin fighting the bad guys, as he discovers more about his own life and Destiny. We are given hints of the future and I won't give anything away. But future books in this series, either Viktor or Gavin stories, will flesh out the remainder of this very interesting world.
I highly recommend these novels. Not are they an interesting story with amazing characters, they're all written very well. The author's Editor is IMHO, one of the best. Grammatical errors ? None. Spelling errors? None. And extraneous material that doesn't move the story forward? Again - none. That makes this, as well as the author's other novels, a pure pleasure to read.
Try these books, but read in the correct order.
December 9, 2018
I rarely find myself saying this about most of the books I read, but I wish this series would slow down a bit.
I loved the first book and thought it was a huge amount of fun, but if I had one criticism it was that things were going by a little fast. Everything was progressing with breakneck speed to the point where things were starting to feel underdeveloped.
This book suffers from the same problem and unfortunately, the compound effect of both novels doing this was really noticeable. This is still an enjoyable read, but I wish the author would just take a breath and give his characters and world chance to get more grounded, fleshed out and cemented in the reader's mind before jumping on to the next idea.
I'm still enjoying this series, but this one was a step in the wrong direction.
I loved the first book and thought it was a huge amount of fun, but if I had one criticism it was that things were going by a little fast. Everything was progressing with breakneck speed to the point where things were starting to feel underdeveloped.
This book suffers from the same problem and unfortunately, the compound effect of both novels doing this was really noticeable. This is still an enjoyable read, but I wish the author would just take a breath and give his characters and world chance to get more grounded, fleshed out and cemented in the reader's mind before jumping on to the next idea.
I'm still enjoying this series, but this one was a step in the wrong direction.
June 9, 2018
True Grit blended with Lord of the Rings
This is number two in the series but don't worry if you have missed the first book. Or the storm bringer series either. Yes it's part of a fantastic world building cosmic clash. It's also however a damned good adventure story. Villains. Heroes. Heroines and beasties.
This is Aragorn on holiday in Mexico. Or John Wayne wielding a wand instead of six gun.
I'm sold. What about you?
This is number two in the series but don't worry if you have missed the first book. Or the storm bringer series either. Yes it's part of a fantastic world building cosmic clash. It's also however a damned good adventure story. Villains. Heroes. Heroines and beasties.
This is Aragorn on holiday in Mexico. Or John Wayne wielding a wand instead of six gun.
I'm sold. What about you?
January 7, 2019
A nice read!
This was a nice read and a good continuation of the series. The story still flows well and there are little to no grammar issues. The characters are interesting if somewhat unrealistic. Read this!
This was a nice read and a good continuation of the series. The story still flows well and there are little to no grammar issues. The characters are interesting if somewhat unrealistic. Read this!
January 24, 2019
The further I get into this series the more it boggles my mind on how the supernatural can be just as prickly as the human world can be. You have assholes just the same. It was nice to see a bit of Native American woven into this tale.
January 13, 2019
Great book
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this book to anyone
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this book to anyone
March 12, 2022
⭐️3.5⭐️
February 14, 2022
⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
October 12, 2019
Excellent series so far. Look forward to reading book 3.
February 10, 2019
Its a good hero story with a few problems.
For the record, I like Gavin and I love that he has life experience. Why don't we see more of it reflected in act i in? Even though he's not making his history public, it could come out in his narrative, more that the occasional "I make things blow up." Even those few hints are not consistent.
This book has a cast of thousands. There are several people introduced who don't add much to the plot; they're expendible in more ways than one. Add in references to events in (I presume) another series, and there's a lot to keep track of.
What started out as a complex world of supernatural beings and their system of governance it becoming murkier by the second with multiple mythologies being added to the mix.
Finally, thanks for calling my part of the country a shithole. It's got as much history as your hometown, but in a harsher climate and with a much different attitude from the government for the last century and a half. Way to alienate a reader.
For the record, I like Gavin and I love that he has life experience. Why don't we see more of it reflected in act i in? Even though he's not making his history public, it could come out in his narrative, more that the occasional "I make things blow up." Even those few hints are not consistent.
This book has a cast of thousands. There are several people introduced who don't add much to the plot; they're expendible in more ways than one. Add in references to events in (I presume) another series, and there's a lot to keep track of.
What started out as a complex world of supernatural beings and their system of governance it becoming murkier by the second with multiple mythologies being added to the mix.
Finally, thanks for calling my part of the country a shithole. It's got as much history as your hometown, but in a harsher climate and with a much different attitude from the government for the last century and a half. Way to alienate a reader.
January 29, 2023
Meh - a series that is pretty shallow and has not a lot of thought gone into much of anything. Example: why is a 15,000-year-old woman acting like a 20-year-old girl and having issues with a man gawking at her? You've been alive when women were considered property, you'd know how to handle the situation or be numb to it.
Another guy over 1k years old, he's not going to be shy on the phone and make awkward pauses like the waiter you were giving your order to.
Seems like MC is usually the smartest or makes the best plans, even though he's a new hire who doesn't know how to use his powers at all and the others have been working 100 years at the job.
Very very shallow but still entertaining, would be much better if some effort was put into it. Don't think i'll continue it.
Another guy over 1k years old, he's not going to be shy on the phone and make awkward pauses like the waiter you were giving your order to.
Seems like MC is usually the smartest or makes the best plans, even though he's a new hire who doesn't know how to use his powers at all and the others have been working 100 years at the job.
Very very shallow but still entertaining, would be much better if some effort was put into it. Don't think i'll continue it.
March 4, 2019
Mhew. The first book set a high bar.
This time it seems like it was stuck in one place for most of the time and when it did move it was in circles. There was no continuity with the first book either. It had a very different feel and it seemed like when he didn't know he would just make up stuff and yes, all fiction is made up, but it should at least make sense. Having truly enjoyed the first book it's disappointing. I hope he finds his stride in book 3, which I am only going to read because of book 1.
This time it seems like it was stuck in one place for most of the time and when it did move it was in circles. There was no continuity with the first book either. It had a very different feel and it seemed like when he didn't know he would just make up stuff and yes, all fiction is made up, but it should at least make sense. Having truly enjoyed the first book it's disappointing. I hope he finds his stride in book 3, which I am only going to read because of book 1.
March 7, 2019
This series keeps getting better and better! It crosses over nicely with the author's other series, Warden Global. Ken Lange does an excellent job creating this awesome world of magic and myth with each series. The more I get into it, the more I realize that each series is just a small part of a much bigger story. I can't wait to see where this goes!
February 23, 2019
Great Series
The characters are new and unlike any other urban fantasy. The main character is learning his new abilities as he better understands incidents from the past and his new ties to the future of the world order.
The characters are new and unlike any other urban fantasy. The main character is learning his new abilities as he better understands incidents from the past and his new ties to the future of the world order.
November 29, 2020
Wonderful read
This second book of the series was not as well written as the first. It was still a great read and continued the story well. If you like near immortals and gods of old being rehashed with new ideas, this series will delight and entertain you.
This second book of the series was not as well written as the first. It was still a great read and continued the story well. If you like near immortals and gods of old being rehashed with new ideas, this series will delight and entertain you.
January 8, 2019
Great book 2
So solid book to a lot of information a lot of tighten up a loose ends I really liked this book you should probably read it
So solid book to a lot of information a lot of tighten up a loose ends I really liked this book you should probably read it
January 16, 2021
Kickass
Great read! I love the characters, and the way they are developing. Viktor and him both take a beating but keep going to crush their enemies.
Great read! I love the characters, and the way they are developing. Viktor and him both take a beating but keep going to crush their enemies.
March 7, 2021
Gavin just keeps getting new powers. It must be nice.
At least we discovered a couple of weaknesses as well... maybe.
At least we discovered a couple of weaknesses as well... maybe.
July 8, 2018
This is a science fiction/urban fantasy with a retired military problem solver brought in to solve the supernatural world’s serious problems. This book has no sex, no graphic violence (there is violence just not described in blood soaking detail-just a little ick) and no cliffhanger. There is a little swearing, but it’s just normal every day stuff. The romance that we read about in book 1, Accession of the Stone Born, is briefly touched on, but was not a focal point in this book.
To prepare, I re-read the new and improved version of Accession of the Stone Born and literally jumped into Dust Walkers.
This book has a few of the same characters as in the first book, but other than that it’s completely different. Gavin is now what you might call a supernatural law enforcement officer. He got this honor in the first book when he was chosen as vigil. With that in mind, he goes where people need help. Not us ordinary people, the people that are supernaturally based. Shape shifters, vampires, mages, witches…you get the idea.
There seems to be a problem with people disappearing in New Mexico and Gavin wants to figure it out. You’d think it would be a simple missing persons case, but you’d be wrong. It’s a lot more than that. I met a lot of new characters. I thought I’d be sad that only a couple of the regulars in book 1 made an appearance in book 2, but there was some big critical “dust up” in NoLA so those characters couldn’t help Gavin. With all that going on, Gavin was basically on his own with his own supernatural “dust up” with the Dust Walkers
Besides solving several missing persons cases, he has to solve his own mystery involving his developing powers. He has Grim and he is a Vigil. That’s a heavy load. He stumbles and falls a few times, but when push comes to shove, he nails it. There are questions from book 1 that are answered in book 2 and then more questions that come up in book 2 that will have to wait til book 3. The over arc is progressing along as more paths open up.
I really liked this second installment of this Gavin’s story. The over arc had some “make ya wanna say hmmmm…” moments when I discovered a couple of cool things. It mostly made me want to re-read The Wanderer Awakens, book 1 of Warden Global, to find more hints and suggestions to help put the puzzle pieces of the over arc together. These two series are bound together so even though you can read one and not the other, I wouldn’t advise it. It’s much more satisfying to have the whole picture painted.
This story was also serious. No, we don’t have a zombie hoard running through our town or anything, but it does show that prejudice is still alive and well. Not only supernatural vs. mundane but all kinds discrimination. It frustrates me that in this day and age, whether this world or a fantasy world, there are still those that are singled out because of one reason or another. That single mindedness is impeded because Gavin is a decent human being (relatively speaking human) and stands behind his friends no matter the situation. It’s also a bonus for me when the black hats get a taste of their own medicine.
To prepare, I re-read the new and improved version of Accession of the Stone Born and literally jumped into Dust Walkers.
This book has a few of the same characters as in the first book, but other than that it’s completely different. Gavin is now what you might call a supernatural law enforcement officer. He got this honor in the first book when he was chosen as vigil. With that in mind, he goes where people need help. Not us ordinary people, the people that are supernaturally based. Shape shifters, vampires, mages, witches…you get the idea.
There seems to be a problem with people disappearing in New Mexico and Gavin wants to figure it out. You’d think it would be a simple missing persons case, but you’d be wrong. It’s a lot more than that. I met a lot of new characters. I thought I’d be sad that only a couple of the regulars in book 1 made an appearance in book 2, but there was some big critical “dust up” in NoLA so those characters couldn’t help Gavin. With all that going on, Gavin was basically on his own with his own supernatural “dust up” with the Dust Walkers
Besides solving several missing persons cases, he has to solve his own mystery involving his developing powers. He has Grim and he is a Vigil. That’s a heavy load. He stumbles and falls a few times, but when push comes to shove, he nails it. There are questions from book 1 that are answered in book 2 and then more questions that come up in book 2 that will have to wait til book 3. The over arc is progressing along as more paths open up.
I really liked this second installment of this Gavin’s story. The over arc had some “make ya wanna say hmmmm…” moments when I discovered a couple of cool things. It mostly made me want to re-read The Wanderer Awakens, book 1 of Warden Global, to find more hints and suggestions to help put the puzzle pieces of the over arc together. These two series are bound together so even though you can read one and not the other, I wouldn’t advise it. It’s much more satisfying to have the whole picture painted.
This story was also serious. No, we don’t have a zombie hoard running through our town or anything, but it does show that prejudice is still alive and well. Not only supernatural vs. mundane but all kinds discrimination. It frustrates me that in this day and age, whether this world or a fantasy world, there are still those that are singled out because of one reason or another. That single mindedness is impeded because Gavin is a decent human being (relatively speaking human) and stands behind his friends no matter the situation. It’s also a bonus for me when the black hats get a taste of their own medicine.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews