Customer Reviews

The Blood King (Chronicles of the Necromancer, Book 2)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Following the events in The Summoner, Tris has been training his magical skills and has tried to remain hidden from his brother, Jared, the usurper of his father's throne. Tris and his growing number of friends and supporters devise a plan to stand against Jared and his dark mage Arontala. But Tris must make sure he's strong enough to overcome Arontala, for the dark mage plans to release the Obsidian King. And if the Obsidian King were to take control of Tris, a summoner, the evil king would be unstoppable.

The Blood King is an exciting sequel. Most of the novel revolves around the adventures of Tris and his party gathering more support and just staying alive. With colorful characters (alive, dead, and undead) and truly evil bad guys, Martin has created a wonderful world of magic and wonder. At a daunting, 624 pages, I was surprised how quickly I read this riveting story. And I was truly disappointed that it had to end.

First off, I very much enjoyed the first book and was hoping to see the characters grow more, the fledgling romances flourish, the supporting characters coming into their own, and -- of course -- an epic battle to overthrow the evil king and his mage. Well. All of that happens... It just seems to happen with new characters.

~ Tris is more solemn and brooding. That's pretty much the extent of his personality now. Oh, and he loves Kiara. Deeply and passionately (well, as passionately as Matris Drayke, Lord of Dreariness, can). He may be no simple youth when it comes to magic or statecraft, but it's a regular Romeo & Juliet romance. And, just think, they've known each other for less than six months and they've never spent any time alone! For all that (supposed) depth and passion, however, it's a very sanitary, settled kind of love. And apparently no sexual tension whatsoever -- we all known teens and early 20s have no sex drive, so this is completely believable... right?

~ Kiara has lost most of her spunk. When you see her (which is rare), she's basically worrying about or taking care of Tris, making a (as in one) quippy line, training with Jonmarc, gushing over how much she loves Tris, or being made into a victim that Tris needs to save. She becomes the most boring support character in the book. Tragic.

~ Jonmarc/Vahanian*, again, has become distressingly tame. His wry/sharp humor is still there (occasionally), but he rarely does anything. It's like that whole war between "self-service" and "noble cause" has evaporated entirely -- he has no inner turmoil or resolve now. He's just there. The sharp-tongued jack of all trades has become a bland right-hand man who moons over Carina.

~ Carina... honestly, what the hell. Why even bother establishing strong females if you're just going to turn them into mush when they start having feelings? Carina gets more screen time than Kiara, but her character has been washed out even more. She now becomes flustered at the least little challenge, uncertain in her personal life, and overall vague in personality. Going by presence, you would say she's a main character, but there's not enough personality to really merit that appellation.

~ Ban Soterius* at least is enough in the background that you can excuse his lack of development. The thing that aggravated me the most about Ban's treatment in this book is that you couldn't even believe he and Tris were basically best friends. There was no indication of that other than 1) Tris calling him that once, and 2) Carroway's story about them all frolicking together back in the good old days when Jared was still Jared, but at least not King Jared.

~ Carroway isn't bad. Probably the only character who gets to show up for any length of time who hasn't turned into a completely different person. Granted, he hasn't really developed from that at all either, but at least he was consistently flirtatious, talented, and handsome. Kind of hard to screw that up, now that I think about it.

~ Harrtuck who? Seriously, he's mentioned like 5 times and has basically become "that fighting guy...I think he took up with the mercenaries at some point."

~ Gabriel/Mikhail are basically the same person. They may have different backstories and (angelic-inspired) names, but there is nothing whatsoever that differentiates them here. There are 2 scenes in the book where I could definitively tell you which vayash moru it was, and that's because it's tied directly to their backstories. When it concerned only the present, they were interchangeable.

* Okay, there is a reason why people get called by one name, and there are usually few exceptions. It bugs the hell out of me that the narrator (and some of the characters) call these two men by one name, while the rest of the characters call them by another (oh, and sometimes the characters usually referring to them by the other name will call them by this one too). This is so logically/realistically inconsistent that it distracts me. First name, last name, I don't care. Just have everyone pick a name and stick with it, with exceptions actually being exceptions and not rules. And have the narration use the most frequently used name. If he feels like Soterius/Vahanian to the narrator, he'd probably feel like that to the other characters too.

Examples:
[quote] Tris shrugged. [...] He looked at Vahanian. "How is Jonmarc?"
[quote] She slipped the cloak over Vahanian, who was already asleep. [...] On one hand, she felt relief. [...] Jonmarc was alive.
[quote] A little more than a week later [...] time to see Soterius and Mikhail off [...] "Now that Ban's an outlaw hero [...]" [...] The group was still chuckling at the off-color ballad he'd dedicated to the high points of Soterius's upcoming ride [...]

As for the book as a whole, the pace just felt off. It starts well and ends okay, but the rest of the book seems like you're drifting over the events. You get a high-flying overview, with periodic stops to check in on the characters for a little bit of action. I never really felt how much time passed, since all of the events bled together. There were some really interesting concepts being used, but in the end it felt like there were too many ideas -- the sheer number made it impossible to spend meaningful time on any of them. The character swap was probably the most frustrating thing I've ever encountered. I hope that the original cast made it back in the third book, but I won't know for awhile. This one hasn't really inspired me to rush out and pick it up.

I had high hopes for this series, but now I'm feeling really lukewarm. There were some clear writing issues. The repetition between scenes was getting on my nerves -- I don't need to be reminded 10 pages later that this one thing happened. Actually, repetition in general seemed to be a problem here -- I really hope there are no more Eastmark kicks in the rest of the series, because I think Tris has done enough of them in The Blood King to last a lifetime... It's the only fighting move he knows, apparently. That, and channeling his will through that sword.

In the end, don't hope for any surprises because there aren't any. Everything goes exactly as it should for the good guys, albeit they get a few beatings here and there. It does basically have the feel of a children's book (The prince and his party started off...they did this and this and this, while the bad guys did that. Then there was a skirmish, and everyone lived (mostly) happily ever after. The end!), which is disappointing when you consider the first. Hopefully they get better again, but I'm not getting my hopes up again.

After a promising start in the first book (Summoner), the ebook version of the second book was very disappointing. The document was not formatted and checked properly, there were too many ampersand (&) characters scattered through out the book. It also left a bad taste with poor proof reading, using were instead of where etc.

All this combined to make it a very hard to read in kindle version of the book.

Margolan, so prosperous and peaceful under King Bricen's rule, has been reduced to starvation in less than a year. Everyone knows of the usurpation of the crown of Margolan by "Jared the Tyrant". He and his fire mage, Foor Arontala, have also broken the truce with the Blood Council and are hunting down all vayash moru (vampires). Things are going from bad to worse as the night of the Hawthorn Moon approaches. On that night, half a year from now, Jared and Arontala plan to feed all the souls captured in the Soulcatcher orb to the Obsidian King. Once accomplished, the Obsidian King will have the power needed to break free of the prison, which the Summoner named Bava K'aa had thrown him into, and evil will claim the entire Winter Kingdom.

He is Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke, son of Bricen of Margolan, Summoner and mage-heir of Bava K'aa. However, anyone looking at him would never imagine that he was more than a simple peasant enduring hard times, just like everyone else. The Sisterhood grudgingly agree to train Tris for his upcoming battles, but there is no guarantee that he will survive the training. Arontala is not only a strong fire mage, but is using blood magic (via sacrifices) to increase his power. Arontala will also draw power from the Obsidian King once he is freed.

Tris may very well be the strongest Summoner since Bava K'aa, but it is still going to be a royal battle indeed.

***** I thought this was going to be a trilogy or series, but the author may very well stop the adventure right here. The two books together are absolutely perfect. However, if she so chooses, Gail Z. Martin may continue the tale in another part of the kingdom. She could use the same characters or some of the secondary characters or even have completely new ones. I eagerly await this author's next title to see if the Winter Kingdom's story continues or not. As for the story itself, The Summoner and The Blood King may very well be the best fantasy story I have had the pleasure of reading in quite awhile. I do not doubt that the author, Gail Martin, will become a huge success in her chosen field. I foresee awards in her future and a large group (gaggle?) of fans, of which I now rank among. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I read the first book in this series by Gail Martin, and thought 'eh, this is ok. It will do in a pinch.' So I read the second book cause it kills me inside to NOT know how a story ends. Well, not knowing almost seems like a fair trade for not having read this. Its a very sophmoric romance set in a Bland fantasy realm.
First - the author uses description to cover vast amounts of time. She'll cover weeks in the story with 'Tris spent the next couple weeks with his training blah, blah.' Why write this book if you don't want to tell the story.
Second - This book seems like a massive excuse to dwell on the authors vampire obssession. The vampires do not play a key part in the plot, but in this book take up almost as much time as the key players. Its pretty week.
Third - Gail Martin writes her Male characters as bland archtypes who fullfil her ideal of what men should be. This requires that they are 2 dimentional and unrealistic. Alot of female authors seem to have trouble writting in a convincing male voice. Gale Martin seems like shes not even trying. In the real world sometimes people make the right decicision for the wrong reason. Or Maybe even the Wrong decision for the right reason. Whereas the men in this book simply make the decisions that Gale Martin tells them to. and you can't really says she wrong because the characters aren't fleshed out enough to say that any of there actions Do or Do Not fit the character.

After reading the first book in this series, I was very excited with this new author and the way she developed the world and characters in the Chronicles of the Necromancer. But once I bought the second book with much enthusiasm, I was extremely let down after reading the first 3-4 chapters.
It seems she wrote this book in less than a year, and it really does show, how quickly things move along and also the interaction between the characters. It all became so cliche, that it almost seems she forgot how she wrote the characters in the first book, or either just didn't want to spend that much time putting the effort into making it enjoyable for the reader.

So I have sold my copies of the first and second book, and have not even bothered to read the third. I only read Trilogies, and it really saddens me that this series started off with such amazing tenacity, and then fell into the pit of "been there, done that" books.

Unfortunately, I have to finish every series I start. I HOPE I have finished this one! This book was utter crap. There was nothing fresh or original about it. Formulaic would be an apt description.

Handsome bard who has a close relationship with the royal family and throws (guess what?!) knives!
Check.

Bitter Captain of the guard.
Check.

Young prince who becomes the most powerful mage in the world over the course of ONE year...actually about 6 weeks of intense training.
Check.

Evil mage who is surprisingly inept.
Check.

Evil Usurper who is a sadist and has NO redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Check.

Beautiful warrior princess.
Check.

I could go on, but if I think about this book anymore I'm going to have someone "eastmark" kick me in the balls just to dull the pain.

It should have been an evening of the feasting an merriment. But on the night of the Feast of the Departed, nineteen year-old Prince Martris Drayke Life is changed forever when his half brother Jared, kills their father and seizes the throne, Aided by his dark mage, Foor Arontala,Jared the Royal family- all except Martris who barely escapes with the help of a handful of friends who are Ban Soterius, Carroway and Harrtuck. Tris now an out land, hunted by Jared's assassins. As danger and grief push Tris to his limits, he discovers that he is the mage heir of his sorcerer grandmother Bava K'aa, a powerful sorceress whose spirit magic made her a Summoner, able to intercede among the living, dead, and undead. In a world where ghost walk freely and and where the undead vayash moru "another word for vampires" walk the night. The wild and powerful magic may be the advantage Tris needs to win back the throne- if he can keep his new found power from destroying him first.

On the road, Tris meets Kiara, daughter of King Donelan of Isencroft, who has gone on a dangerous coming-of-age Journey to evade a long ago arranged betrothal to Jared of Margolam. Kiara believes that Arontala is behind the wasting spell that is killing her father. She pledges herself to Tirs cause and their They fall in love. Tris learns form the Sisterhood that Arontala has stolen the orb in which Bava K'aa Tirs's grandmother once trapped the soul of the Obsidian King, a dark and powerful Summoner who nearly destroyed the Winter Kingdoms fifty years ago during the cataclysmic Mage Wars. Arontala plans to free the spirit of the Obsidian King on the night of the summer solstice the Hawthorn Moon and permit it to possess him, making the ancient evil incarnate and Jared's power over Margolan and the entire realm of the winter Kingdoms.

Tris must find a way to take back the throne from Jared and defeat Arontala in order to free Margolan and keep the dark mage of the Obsidian King form rising again.

I give This book two stars. I thought that the book was an intresting story to read, when i was reading the Amazon Summaries. But this books is very slow to get to the point. The book is based on Tris and figuring out his magic as a summoner. Half of the book, Tirs and his friends are in the woods fight off monsters and summoning ghost, and sending some ghost to their rest. Almost at the end of the chapters the book started to get a little intresting. Tris finally defeats King Jared and His dark mage Arontala, and King Obsidian killing them.

I read believe that this book should have been shorter and to the point. Maybe the book should have been 1 whole book including the book "the summoner" and the this book called "The Blood King"

I really hope the the Next book "Dark Haven" and "Dark Lady" are better that the first two books.

Very poorly written. It's not the worst thing I have read, but close. If you take it for what it is, an amatuer fantasy story that personifies the "fantasy cliche", it is okay. Seriously, it is so bad, it is almost as if she did it as a joke, and oh my gosh, she has a third one coming out in January 2009. The story will pass the time if you are in a car riding cross country. Don't think this will satisfy you after reading the LOTR trilogy though. Martin's writing ability can't even re-stock Tolkiens toilet paper. Don't but it new, get it used. It is probably worth it for a buck or two.

After reading the excellent debut "The Summoner", this book just seemed "too rushed" for its own good, but yet it did open up some excellent storylines that would unfold in the following books of the series.