Customer Reviews

Child of a Dead God: A Novel of the Noble Dead (Series One, Bk. 6)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have eagerly devoured each entry in the Noble Dead Saga since Dhampir (Noble Dead) was published. The half vampire/half human heroine is complex and exciting. Through each novel, pieces of her history have unravelled and her path became more clear. Until this installment. The entire saga has been something of a quest: in book four we visited her homeland, and learned more about the mysterious Chap; in book five, Lessil's history was exposed and there was a lot of action as he fought to find his mother. So, I thought that this book, the conclusion of the first series, would provide some answers about Magiere herself. Instead, it was a long quest, with little action, to find a mysterious artifact. They find it - the end. No questions answered, no real obstacles overcome.

The last book ended with our band setting out from the Elven nation to find the artifact. Magiere's dreams of black coils and "Sister of the Dead lead on" are pushing her south. Readers follow her South. Welstiel follows her South. A group of Elven assassins follows Welstiel, following Magiere south. Everyone planning to steal the orb from Magiere once she retrieves it. They travel by boat, by land, they fight the elements. It was actually kind've boring, with a climax that was anything but climactic.

I'm guessing Magiere's destiny will be an overarching plot for all 12 books. But, overall, I felt cheated. After following her for 6 books, I expected SOME resolution. That said, I do enjoy the characters very much, and the growing devotion between Magiere and Leesil was worth reading. Wynn has finally grown to be more than a whining tagalong, into a able companion who contributes to the group. So, despite my reservations about her being the protagonist for the next series, I ordered book one, "In Shade and Shadow" anyway.

But, overall this book left me wanting - without the promise that the next book would continue her story. When will we finally learn the truth about Magiere? Just not as good as the previous books. And though I have Wynn's book, I haven't felt any great urge to read it.

This is supposedly the last book in the Noble Dead Series. The events in the book take place after Magiere and Leesil rescue Leesil's mother from her imprisonment in the Elven Territories. Disturbed by dreams guiding her to a mysterious castle, Magiere leads Leesil, Wynn, Chap, and their Elven protectors south. Her dreams have told her little else. On their trail is Magiere's half-brother, Welstiel, a vampire desperate to be freed from his bloodlust. For Welstiel, Magiere is the one who can guide him to this artifact.

The action was good and the description of the events was excellent. The ending was open for another adventure of Magiere and Leesil.

If you haven't read the other five books in the series, you will be confused about what is going on since the authors do not go into any real details of what happened in the previous five books. My biggest complaint about this book was that it seemed like every time you turned around there was a reminder that Welstiel was Magiere's half-brother.

Magiere, Leesil, Wynn, and Chap leave elven lands for the South. Magiere has been having disturbing dreams driving her to an artifact in that direction. But she is not the only person after the artifact. Her evil half-brother and one of the Noble Dead, is following Magiere hoping to get his hands on it. And a group of elf assassins will do anything to bring the artifact back to their own lands.

Knowing this is an end of sorts (a spin-off series is planned for next year) to my favorite vampire fantasy series, I began reading this with a little sadness and higher-than-average expectations. Each installment has gotten a little more dark and violent. The character development has gotten more in-depth as well, to the point where I've actually found myself attached to some of the darker vampire characters. The Hendee's have become true masters of character and world building. This is a fast-paced, action and adventure-filled dark fantasy. The vampires are cunning, the elves are deceptive, and Magiere doesn't even know what the object she's searching for is supposed to do.

While some of the plot lines that have arced over the entire series have been tied up in this sixth novel, the ending has definitely been left open for the coming spin-off series. I'm looking forward to seeing which characters this new series will follow, and more of the fabulous dark fantasy world that the Hendee's have created.

I'm glad I waited for the paperback. This is largely another traveling novel where 90% of the book is spent getting Magiere where she needs to go. I can deal with that. The climax is anti-climactic with absolutely nothing explained. I found myself wondering why on earth Magiere does what she does and why she doesn't just slap a bow on the thing and send it to the tree-dwelling evil Yoda clone. Maybe we're supposed to find out in subsequent sagas, but some clue as to the significance of the doodad the characters have obsessed over for six books would have been nice. No, scratch that. Necessary. I feel slightly cheated, actually. Decent enough story, but I like the first few books a lot better. Perhaps Wynn will figure it out in the next book, but I'm not waiting around for her. I wish her luck and all, but if I read the next book, it'll be borrowed from the library when I can't find anything else.

This is the sixth (and supposedly last) novel in The Noble Dead series by Barb and JC Hendee. It was about what you would expect given the fourth novel.

I would have given this four stars except that the ending really ruined everything for me.

In this book Magiere and crew continue their journey to the castle Magiere keeps seeing in her dreams and to the supposed artifact there. The story of their journey there is twisted with that of the Most Aged Father and the small rebel group of elves run by Leesil's mother.

While it was good to finally make some progress towards the artifact I was disappointed in the story progress of this book. We never really found out what the artifact did or what exactly was guarding it. We also never really found out what the Most Aged Father wanted with the artifact or what the rebel group of elves was trying to accomplish with Leesil.

Given all the above I don't understand how this could be the last book in the series. In fact the book basically ended with all of the characters at the start of a new adventure.

On top of that, the characters' journey home seemed rushed compared to the deliberate journey they took to the castle. It really seemed like the authors suddenly realized the book was getting too long and that they had to quickly tie up some loose ends and get the characters sent home quickly. The ending of the book really did not match the style or pacing of the beginning of the book.

If there is yet another book added to this series, I don't plan on reading it. The last couple books of this series have just been too much of a disappointment and a struggle for me to get through.
karissabooks.blogspot.com

Magiere, Leesil, Wynn and Chap are off on another grueling undead infested journey. Barb and JC Hendee do such a wonderful job at world building that even though we've been on the road with these characters for many books there are still delightful discoveries and surprising revelations in the pages. The elven ships were one such marvel. There is now a stage sized cast of rich characters to keep track of. I found the frequent point of view shifts a little distracting but it was interesting (not to mention shocking) to know what was going on with those devious antagonists. I'm glad we made it out of the Pock Peaks to a wonderful homey touch, because I was afraid my toes would get frostbite...

Another good entry in the Noble Dead series. If you haven't read the previous books in the series, you'll want to go back to Dhampir (Noble Dead) and start from there.

This time out, our protagonists journey to their ultimate destination, in search of the mysterious object which has driven them, and the cruel Welsteil, from the start. As with some of the other Noble Dead books, I found the pacing a bit off-kilter: the first part seemed slow-going, but it eventually picked up steam. The authors, in this book, often use a narrative style that rapidly switches points of view, moving from one character's perspective to another in brief scenes that last only a few paragraphs. The intent was probably to heighten the feeling of action and suspense, and sometimes it works, but sometimes it is distracting and slightly confusing.

This book is the last in the series, and I was disappointed when some of the big questions went unresolved. However, I now understand that this series is part of what the authors are calling a saga, and future series in the saga will address the hanging threads left behind, albeit without all the same characters.

I never 100% fell in love with this series, but I sure liked it a lot, and I'll probably pick up the first book of the next series once it is published.

Child of a Dead God by Barb and J.C. Hendee is the sixth book in the Noble Dead Saga. The preceeding books are; Dhampir (Noble Dead), Thief of Lives (Noble Dead), Sister of the Dead (The Noble Dead), Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead), and Rebel Fay (Noble Dead). This novel marks the end of the first Noble Dead series, however the authors have already started a second series oddly titled The Noble Dead II. As a reader, I wish they would have titled the new series differently to cut back on confusion by newer readers. At any rate, here are my thoughts on this novel.

The plot of this books picks up where Rebel Fey ended. Magiere, Leesil, Wynn and Chap are following a path that is little more then a feeling of Magiere's. They are seeking a mysterious artifact. They have little to go on aside from her dreams. Welstiel and Chane are trying to stop Mariere's group for several different reasons. There are also a couple of sub plots added in such as, Chane's wavering feelings about Welstiel and their new found group, Magiere and Leesil's relationship. Magiere's heritage, and finally Chap's role in the entire thing. While it does sound like there is quite a bit included in this book, for the most part I was bored and disappointed while reading it. It seems, much like the last book, there is a lot of traveling a little action, then more traveling. Don't get me wrong, I like it when authors include the smaller things in novels, yet at the same time too much of a good thing can ruin it and to me that is the case with this book. I found myself wanting to skip ahead and read about something different, rather then traveling and the like. By the end of the book the only plot line I really cared about anymore was that involving Chane. The rest just lost my interest and never recovered.

The characters in this book are largely the same as those from the previos books; Magiere, Leesil, Wynn, Chap, Chane, and Welstiel to name a few. In the first few books these characters were fantastic, three dimensional, witty, and `real'. Yet, much like the plot, in this book the characters (excluding Chane) became two dimensional and flat. They no longer had the extra spark that made them special, they are average or even below average characters. There are also times when it feels as though the Hendee's lost a character or two partly because of how many characters they decided to put into a given scene. There are a couple scenes in particular where a character pops in says a couple lines, then seems to disappear again. The dialogue seems to be the same as in the previous books, but again, I felt something lacking in the dialogue. Where in the past Magiere's musings added to the story and character development, this time around it comes across as more whining and grates on the nerves. I wish I could pinpoint exactly what changed in this book, and to a small degree Rebel Fey, to lessen my enjoyment of the books but I can not. The easiest way to say it is, for me, the characters didn't work nearly as well as they did in the past.

A couple criticisms about this novel:

1 - Too much traveling. For the most part, the book is divided up into two groups of people. Magiere's and Chane's and both groups do extensive traveling. So much so that as a reader I craved something else. I understand the need to show some traveling in a book, but I think it was way overdone here.

2 - The lack of any real character development (aside from Chane). For the most part how the characters end in book five is the same as they end in this novel. For the culmination of a six book series, I was rather disappointed by that. I expected there to be a great deal of development and progression, and sadly that is not the case.

3 - The ending. Without giving away too much about the end of this book, let me say that it is very anti-climatic. For a series to build up to this moment, and then for that moment to be merely brushed aside because the authors want to continue with the series (ala Nobled Dead Saga II) is very disappointing. It makes it feel as though reading the six books wasn't worth it.

A couple positives about this book:

1 - Much like the previous books there is that one comedic scene that really works. Fans of this series may recall the sausage scene with Chap in a previous book. In this one there is a particular scene where Wynn tries to brush Chap. Funny stuff.

2 - Chane. I know Chane could be considered a secondary character, but in my opinion the majority of the scenes he was in he stole. He was far and away the best character in this novel. The most developed, sincere, and real.

I really wanted to like this book. I have long recommended Dhampir to people looking for something new to read. Yet, in so many ways it seems that the authors went away from what worked in the past, keeping it a relatively small scope and focusing on character conflicts. Maybe they simply tried to do too much with this novel and as a result nothing seemed to mesh together very well. It seemed almost everything I liked about the previous books was missing, or changed dramatically. The end result is a book that I simply could not wait to end. I would have enjoyed extolling this book, and series, but I simply can not. I will still recommend Dhampir, and most likely the next three books as well beyond that I will suggest readers enter at their own risk as they end up as disappointed as I am.

I always feel sentimental when i finish a good book, but this one was special. Eight years, six books, and 4000 pages, including re-reads, don't sum up the experience. Thanks Hendee's, for a world I got lost in and one I won't forget.

I don't see how the Hendees could have messed up much more than they did with this effort. Where previous books, especially the first, second, third, and fifth, featured lots of action, dialogue, and suspense, this atrociously written finale features lots of elven dialect, whining, and sitting and waiting for something to happen. And then there's more waiting.

Around page 50 some action finally occurs! By the time the 2nd paragraph is done we return to boredom. It was a struggle to read this entire book, and skimming proved necessary. I can't say I will ever read another book by the Hendees, and think it's a shame that the last book in this series left such a bad taste.