The Damned (Vampire Huntress Legend) [Paperback]

L. A. Banks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Vampire Huntress Legend | Publication Date: January 24, 2006

Lilith, the consort of the Unnamed One, has released the Damned, tortured souls from all levels of Hell, to walk the streets as the living dead. A dark chaos leaks onto Earth, taking the form of a deadly contagion that not even the Neteru team can handle. One touch from these deadly creatures infects a human, driving him to madness, death…and worse.

This time, Damali Richards, the Vampire Huntress (aka the millennium Neteru), Carlos, and the Guardians cannot effectively close ranks. The infection spreads to key team members and threatens to wipe out the entire squad. Even the Covenant is infected. They must track down the Chairman before members of the Neteru-Guardian team are lost and the team implodes. The only antidote is to behead Lilith. But first they must find her.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

All hell breaks loose—literally—in the complex sixth installment of Banks's scorchingly hot-blooded vampire series (after 2005's The Forbidden). Banks gets down with her multicultural cast, as deeply concerned with their relationships as she is with their sacred mission: to vanquish evil and keep hell in hell and not messing with earth folks. The intimacy issues of her African-American diva heroine, Damali, with Carlos, a former vamp, can be as involving as the multilayered plot. At times, though, Damali's brooding over Carlos slows the pace. Thankfully, the action picks up once Carlos sets out to retrieve The Book of the Damned before the big war kicks off to free the lost souls who've escaped from hell, thanks to the evil Lilith, to infect humans and turn them into demons. The stunning climax shows that trying to shut hell's gates can be righteous. (Feb.)
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Review

Praise for L. A. Banks and the Vampire Huntress Series
"L. A. Banks writes a killer vamp series."
---Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Each book in this...series gets harder and harder to put down. This fifth entry features amazing imagination and a story that is touching and packed with drama from beginning to end."
---Romantic Times

"Gripping."
---Kirkus Reviews on The Forbidden

"Banks spins a head-bendingly complex tale of passion, mythology, war, and love that lasts till the grave---and beyond.... Devoted fans should relish this new chapter in a promising series."
---Publishers Weekly on The Forbidden

"A terrifying roller-coaster ride of a book."
---Charlaine Harris on The Hunted

"A spellbinding thrill ride."
---Zane on The Hunted

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (January 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312336241
• ISBN-13: 978-0312336240
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Me, I'm a bit out there, I guess you can tell by the books:) I like keeping some things close to the vest--my favorite things to do among them... guess it's that whole mysterious author groove, LOL... but I like the good guys to win in the end.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well I'll be Damned! (APOOO 4.5), February 14, 2006

By 

K. Kimbrough "kkimbr7" (Bakersfield, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Damned (Vampire Huntress Legend) (Paperback)

Damali and Carlos are back in L.A. Bank's Vampire Huntress Series, "The Damned." In this sixth installment, Damali and Carlos are cooling off from the major fight in Philiadelphia (Philly) with the Chairman's step-mother, Lilith, where they experienced their new power as Neteru soulmates. However, the fire has burned out and they find themselves in the Arizona desert, out of sync. Damali senses something is not right with Carlos as he is pulling away and Carlos longs for the power that he had on the darkside as a master vampire. No matter how they try to communicate, it all gets messed up in translation. To make matters worse, when they disposed of Lilith in Philly, there were some portals to Hell left unsealed and the damned souls began to emerge topside, infecting humans with darkness and calling on a premature Armageddon. Adding salt to the wound the team becomes infected, affecting all rational thought and unity, and begs the question; will they be able to save the world this time?

Ms. Banks' ability to take her readers through every emotion--sorrow, joy, eroticism, and wrath-- is overwhelming. Vivid pictures are painted, allowing the reader to experience a world unlike their own, yet strangely familiar. Her portrayal of Carlos' struggle with the light and darkness within him, is one that everyone can relate to, and ironically brings to mind a biblical scripture, Romans 7:15 "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do." His spiritual struggle sits at everyone's feet no matter what religious persuasion.

My only complaint is that Ms. Banks gives information that does not directly deal with the story being told. I suspect, because it is a series, she makes references to past books to bring parts of the story into context or she may be foreshadowing for what is to come. Whatever the reason, this reader found it a bit disconcerting because once it was introduced I wanted more details.

Ms Banks has me completely hooked with her Vampire Huntress series and there is no turning back. I am in it until the end and The Damned only brings out the "blood lust" or rather I should say "book lust" for the next installment.


Kotanya
APOOO BookClub

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tempers and libidos flare!, February 9, 2006

By 

Raquel B. (Mount Vernon, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Damned (Vampire Huntress Legend) (Paperback)

The Damned effortlessly picks up where The Forbidden left off chronicling the lives of the Neterus and the Guardians fight for good. Evil has stepped up the battle and the Light has some work to do. The drama, action, suspense, and love is all there. Tempers and libidos flare throughout the novel causing the reader to wonder what's going to happen next. The Damned kept my attention and I feel bereft while waiting for The Forsaken to be released in July.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Damned if They Do; Damned if They Don't (mild spoilers), April 6, 2006

By 

Shadow Dancer (Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Damned (Vampire Huntress Legend) (Paperback)

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that its pacing felt a little choppy to me. That could have been because I just started this series and have read the entire thing over the last couple of weeks. "The Bitten" is my favorite, so far. I thought the part in "The Damned" where the team was coming apart went on a little too long, or maybe a little too much going over the same ground? I absolutely loved the catch-22 Carlos found himself in. Fighting one's internal darkness is one of the oldest stories in the world, particularly in this kind of fiction, but Banks does so much better a job of showing us the conflict. Carlos has been in trouble since the first page of the last book; any time the Light puts someone through a spiritual high, the other side gets a chance to strike back. I love the fact that Banks shows this, and that she shows that redemption isn't a one-time process--it's ongoing, and it's hard, and it's worthwhile in the end. Carlos isn't the only one in the group to be in a catch-22; his is just the most obvious battle between the Light and Dark. SPOILER: My one regret is losing the Chairman. What a wonderful villian. On the whole, I'm delighted to have found such a well-told series with such fun characters. Looking forward to "The Forsaken."