Customer Reviews

Adept: Death of an Adept

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In every one of Ms. Kurtz's "Adept" books, there comes a moment of such overwhelming mythic beauty that I get watery-eyed, or cry. "The Death of An Adept" is no exception, and for me, it is when the young psychic artist Peregrine finally gains his wings as a magical adept in his own right. Every book in this series is a fine successor to the occult fiction of Dion Fortune, combining hermetic principles effectively with skillful and dramatic storytelling and a high moral sense. Here, as previously, we see that evil is its own punishment, and that a good heart, and one annealed by self-discipline and fine training, can overcome many (supernatural) obstacles.

DEATH OF AN ADEPT is the fifth, the latest,(and thus far, the last) volume in THE ADEPT series. Hopefully, authors Kurtz and Turner Harris will reincarnate the series at some point in the future, as it is engaging and highly enjoyable. DEATH OF AN ADEPT, moreover, moves the series in new directions.

DEATH OF AN ADEPT finally sees Sir Adam Sinclair marry his lady love, Dr. Ximena Lockhart. The two settle into married domesticity at Strathmourne House where they are soon under attack by The Lodge of The Lynx, their nemesis throughout the series.

Several Adepts do die in the course of the story, and in some particularly unpleasant ways. It appears that Kurtz and Turner Harris have finally realized that mere self-centered selfishness such as we've seen before in the series does not equate with real evil, and have redrawn their bad guys, particularly Francis Raeburn, as corrupt and sociopathic---in a word, vile.

Peregrine Lovat and his wife Julia are almost overcome by an occult device known as a "Hand of Glory" made from the body parts of a gibbeted criminal. Sir Adam himself is captured by Raeburn and used as the sacrificial victim in a particularly detailed and gruesome Black Mass. Raeburn reanimates the spirit of the nefarious William de Soulis, a Scottish sorcerer of the 1700s who wreaks havoc in his new incarnation.

DEATH OF AN ADEPT is a tale noir far more than any of its predecessor novels. There are even a few four-letter words sprinkled into the dialogue, something that hasn't happened before in this series, which always had the quaint and proper air of the drawing room about it.

DEATH OF AN ADEPT is both a modern murder mystery and a gothic horror tale. Kurtz and Turner Harris do a fine job here. It's a shame they haven't continued the series as of yet, because here, embryonically, we have a syncretic "Profiler Meets Dracula" theme which opens up all kinds of fascinating possibilities for this already well-established series and its characters.

I started reading the Adept because K. Kurtz wrote it and I liked her Deryni series. I had no idea how good it was. Since that first book, I have continued to read and be impressed. Death of an Adept keeps the standard of the Adept series has high as ever. It is a fitting end to the series of events that started in book 1. I loved it. I usually get bored with book series after awhile, but The Adept is proving to be the exception. I can't wait for the next book. Here's hoping that The Adept series continues to hit new heights.

In Death of an Adept, Kurtz and Harris take the Adept Series to new heights. In my opinion, it's the best of the series. Loose ends from previous books are tied up, with a new wrinkle that will probably confront the Hunting Lodge in the future. A must read

I picked up "The Adept" on a lark several years ago, and found it to be one of the most enjoyable books I'd read in a long time. Kurtz and Harris have maintained a consistent level of excellence and faithfulness to their characters throughout the series. While the subject matter is often complex -- Masonic rituals, Druidic references, and so on-- the writing style is clear and conversational, so you almost don't realize the rate at which you're turning the pages. The characters are well-rounded and far from stereotypical

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It tied up some loose ends from previous books and contains enough information to fill in the blanks for those with no prior experience with the Adept series. I didn't want to put it down until I was finished!

I was delighted when I saw a new book in the Adept series was out. I am one of the people who's hoped since the second book that Adam and Ximena would eventually marry. The relationship between the two of them is beautifully drawn.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book doesn't hold up. The mystic elements have gone from original and intriguing to repetitive and boring. If you've read the previous books, you can predict what mystic events will occur in this one.

I really wish I could give this book a higher rating. The series started out with so much potential. Hopefully, if further books in the Adept series come out, the authors will be able to break this tired formula.

The "Adept" series by Kurtz and Harris combines all the worst features of formula romance novels, Extruded Fantasy Product, and pseudohistorical conspiracy theories. The prose is tepid, the dialogue stilted, and the characters one-dimensional (at best). Plot complications are carefully piled up, only to be resolved miraculously at the last moment by a wave of the hand.

So why do I keep reading them, and checking to see if a new one is out? The same reason I eat Twinkies, I suppose -- they may be content-free fluff, but they're *definitive* content-free fluff. Sometimes it's fun to turn the brain off.

If you like romance novels, ritual magic, secret societies, and the city of Edinburgh, you might very well enjoy these books a lot. If you require plot, characterization, command of the language, or important themes from your reading, don't bother.