Customer Reviews

Dark Warrior Unleashed (The Talions, Book 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, I Love Ms. Morgan's Paladins series. I have all of them on my keeper shelf. I was really looking forward to what she was going to do with this new series so I was really, really disappointed when I finally starting reading.

First off, unlike the Paladins series, this book reads more like a creepy horror suspense movie than a paranormal romance. I wish the back cover had mentioned that it contained a psycho so I could have hesitated before buying it. I'm not big on graphically disturbing images, which this book had plenty of. The villain is into (and this isn't really a spoiler since it's revealed in the first ten pages of the book) torturing people and torturing people while having sex to 'feed' off their negative energy. It was really disturbing and really creepy, to say the least.

And speaking of the villain...in most of the romance books I've read, the villains point of view is given maybe a couple pages at most. Bradan had a good twenty-five to fifty percent of this book! I couldn't believe how many times we switched to his point of view. It was like we had ten pages of good guys, then three pages of Bradan and repeat. I can only assume she kept wanting to hammer home how evil he was. And it worked, I was totally ready to be rid of him at the end.

There are a couple of minor frustrations in the book, not really a big deal...but still bothersome. First off, they kept telling Kerry that the Kyth's weren't human. But...they were. The explaination for how Kyth's came to be didn't make a whole lot of sense. They were nordic humans who suddenly, for no reason at all, suddenly mutated. Okay. But, why? And how? And what's the deal with 'feeding' off of human energy? Why do they need it? Questions like that were never answered.

Second, there was a very slim cast of characters and I just never got the feeling that they were a cohesive group. Dame Judith is supposed to be this powerful leader (granted, she's been fading lately, but still) and yet, all she has in her household is an old butler. Where is everyone else? How about her family? Ranulf and Sandor had a rabid hatred for one another, but..why? There's never given any reason for it. We just keep hearing that they hate each other over and over. Where are all the other Kyth? Why is Sandor considered a Talion if he's never been charged with executing anyone? Isn't that what the Talions are there for?

In the Paladin series, there's a sense of community and family, with the Paladins trusting one another and as their romances happen, each woman is welcomed into that family community. There's really none of that here. It's very much an isolationist story with no connection to they Kyth community.

As for Kerry and Ranulf...well, I never really got to the the point where I cared for them as a couple. At first, it even seemed like she was attracted to Sandor (giving him her number at a club), but then when Sandor tried to tell her dangerous Ranulf was she defended him and the romance was on from that point. Kerry herself was plucky and brave without acting or talking stupidly. She had a good head on her shoulders and dealt with all the revelations with a pretty level head. All good points in my book. Ranulf wasn't too overbearing and had great respect for women. His sense of honor allowing him to balance out the evil he has to absorb in killing renegades showed how strong he was.

They weren't bad characters...they just weren't as engaging as some other's she's written. The book wasn't horrible. I had to force my way through it only because I don't care for horror/suspense/creepy killer stories. If you do, then this book might be a good choice. The writing was well done, it just wasn't my kind of story.

I would recommend that you get the Paladin series and read those. The characters are fun, there's a little bit of light humor among the Paldin brotherhood and the idea of the Paladin world is different than anything I've read lately.

I really love Alexis Morgan's Paladin series so I really expected a lot from this series. But I was disappointed. I kept feeling like I missed the first book in the series even though I knew this was the first one. The backstory was confusing and lacking in details. I'll keep this book and read it again once the next book comes out, maybe it will make more sense then.

Alexis Morgan has once again given us a wonderful story with hunky, to die for heroes. I like this new series and I will still look for her Paladins.

Talions are the chosen warriors of the Kyth. They are the best and strongest of their kind. The Kyth are ruled by the Grand Dame and she is the one who controls the Talions. When one of her own warriors goes bad she has to call on the only one able to take him down.

Ranulf Thorsen is the one the Grand Dame calls on when one of her people must be executed. For a thousand yrs he has done this job and finally he has been promised that he can retire. The Kyth live among humans, but they are different because they are stonger and live longer. They draw strength and power from the humans they protect and come in contact with daily. Ranulf is given his final job and on the way to visit the Dame he detours by a club that is on fire. He finds a woman helping to save the others and when he touches her he realizes she is Kyth, however she does not know this.

Kerry Logan is at the club when the fire starts and she quickly finds the back door, props it open, and saves many lives. The fire has been started by a renegade Talion, a Kyth warrior. He feeds on the pain and suffering caused by major disasters. Because Kerry saved so many he sets his sights on her. Like Ranulf and the others he knows she is Kyth.

Sandor Kearn is also a Talion, and he has had doubts about Ranulf for many years, because of the way Ranulf kills his renegades. He is a very handsome man and you really get the impression that he feels he can get any woman he wants. Imagine his surprise to find that Kerry prefers Ranulf to him.

The Grand Dame is very old, she is older than Ranulf. When she hears about Kerry and finally meets her she knows that this is a very strong woman who has some of the most coveted and unusual talents among the Kyth.

These three and the Grand Dame must come to an understanding if there is to be any chance of catching the renegade Talion.

I really liked this book. I don't know why I liked it better than some of the same type that I have read recently. But it is well worth reading and I am looking forward to the next one.

Alexis Morgan introduces readers to a thrilling new series with DARK WARRIOR UNLEASHED, the first installment. Ranulf Thorsen, an enforcer, and Kerry Logan, a woman in danger, are the main players in this fast paced incredible read.


Ranulf Thorsen likes his solitude and feels that he has earned every bit of his isolation. There is only one person he would ever allow to interfere with his seclusion and that is the Kyth people's Grand Dame. When she sends a mysterious summons to Ranulf, he readily obeys.

Kerry Logan loves to dance and finds that she is at her most calm when around groups of people. It is during one of these times that she finds herself in a dance club on fire. Not even aware of the strength she is using to save patron after patron, Kerry eventually collapses afterwards after being helped by a heroic man that oozes alpha maleness and sex appeal. The moment is shattered seconds later when Kerry's eyes meet those of a malevolent male and she has no doubt that she has just looked into the eyes of a killer.

The Grand Dame of the Kyth has promised Ranulf that once this mission is complete, she will allow it to be his last. All he has to do is find the person responsible for setting fires and endangering and killing others. Ranulf knows the person responsible is not a human, but rather a Kyth. As such the killer must be stopped by a Talion, namely himself. Ranulf is willing to do his duty, but when the killer turns his sights on Kerry, Ranulf has no choice but to bring her to the Kyth stronghold for protection. There, in the Grand Dame's compound, sparks fly and hearts are consumed with love.

I love nothing better than a heroic, virile, and breathtakingly handsome warrior. Ranulf is such a man. His loyalty to the Grand Dame, in spite of his desire for quiet, won me over in the first ten pages of DARK WARRIOR UNLEASHED. Ranulf needed a strong heroine and Kerry is that and more. Seductively charming and playful, Kerry makes Ranulf yearn for her and it is exactly what that big warrior needed to balance his life.

DARK WARRIOR UNLEASHED by Alexis Morgan is a compelling and passionate novel. I look forward to each new novel by this fine author.

Alexis Morgan kicks off a new series with Dark Warrior Unleashed. I personally liked her immortal protector series better, but this book was definitely interesting, it also had a hunky hero...

Kerry doesn't know it but she's a Kyth (an evolved form of humans) Ranulf is a warrior Talion who is too old, too dark, and too tired to keep living century after century, until he meets Kerry. By stepping into the line of fire and saving a club full of people from a fire Kerry sets herself up to be the next target for the rouge Talion that Ranulf has come to kill. Fate has her fingers in these two lives, if only they would listen.

I found this book a solid four stars. It is the start of a great new series, however I found that her character reminds me a little of the heroes in her first two books. (The whole too old, too tired, exc) I am excited though to see how she spins the Kyth's lives and hope that the next installment is more interesting and riveting.

All in all definitely worth paperback price and the Ranulf is a sexy blue eyed red haired Viking ;)

Dark Warrior Unleashed leads off the new Talions series for Paladins' Author Alexis Morgan, but with minimal worldbuilding, an extremely small cast and with an immortal Viking hero who was more burned-out than anything inspiring the level of pathos of the Paladins, it didn't quite have the same appeal. The story itself had the feel of romantic suspense in a thin paranormal wrapper -- because of the large amount of screen time for the killer and the details of his gruesome plans -- but without the actual suspense, because the Killer's identity was revealed right away. Lacking insight into the Kith/Viking world, culture or history, I didn't get a real sense of the direction the series is going to take. But Morgan did do a great job with her strong heroine Kerry as she discovers her magical heritage, so hopefully in the next book Morgan will flesh out her Kith mythos a bit and take advantage of supporting character Soren's life-altering personal crisis complete with emotional scars to give the Paladins some competition.

****Synopsis***
Thousand year old Talion Warrior Ranulf Thorsen is weary of his role of justice dealer for his people the Kith. It is Ranulf's job to execute those Kith who no longer feed passively off human emotion but who now cultivate feasts of terror and pain. Ranulf is feared and reviled by his own people who don't see the strength and honor it takes to avoid being perverted by the tainted energy Ranulf must drain from the criminals when executing them for their foul deeds. Soren, also a Talion warrior, fully shares this hatred of Ranulf and distrusts the respect that their Matriarch has for the enforcer. So it is a hostile partnership when the two are paired to flush out an evil renegade Kith who is committing attrocities against humans in order to glut himself on their torment.

Kerry becomes the star of the villain's evil fantasies of her torture, violation and death, when her bravery robs the villain of his victims during an arson fire that was intended to feed his appetite for death and anguish. The incident awakens Kerry's dormant Kith powers, and warriors are assigned to protect the woman from the renegade Kith. Though it is Ranulf's job to hunt down and execute the renegade, and Soren's to protect Kerry and initiate her into her Kith heritage, Ranulf will vie with Soren for the role of Kerry's protector because it has been centuries since solitary Ranulf has felt an attraction like the one that the smart, fiery Kerry inspires. And Kerry, who is stubborn enough to hold her own against both Talions, will look beyond Ranulf's ruthless killer image to see the lonely noble warrior who has born the burden of centuries of violence to keep his people safe.

Hey, great read. I couldn't put it down. Can't wait till next book. I feel Morgan is a gifted and intertaining writer. Keep up the great work........

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It kept me entertained and I was able to finally jump for joy at finding a strong, independent woman that didn't weep or swoon over "manly" men. Kerry is a strong individual who can hold her own. The leader of the warriors in this book has a little air time, which is good. The author somehow manages to convey the beginning of "it all" without pulling the story away from everyone else. I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out.

I picked this book up thinking it was one of the Paladin series because the covers looked similar of course after reading the blurb on the back I realized it was a whole new series(yippee). I think the Paladin books are wonderful so I jumped right in to reading book 1 of the Talions. My first complaint is the fact that she just kind of dumped us right into the story without any explanation of who the Talions where, what their powers where, we didn't know the hierarchy of the group...nothing. So I felt I was reading the second book in the series rather than the first and I need to read the one before to get my bearings. Eventually the author explains the Talions origins, but still you don't get a feel for their background. The story just felt imcomplete I did however like the main characters of the story, Ranulf the Talion enforcer and Kerry the undiscovered Kyth he falls for. She's great, very spunky and quirky and really gives Ranulf a run for his money. I just need more of a back story a little more insight to why the Talions existed and why Ranulf was the only Talion who exterminated renegades. I might check out the next in this series but I'll definitely wait for this one to hit the used book stores.

In Dark Warrior Unleashed, the first book of her new series, The Talions, author Alexis Morgan writes a sexy tale of lust, intrigue, and adventure. The characters are real, the plot is complex while still making sense, and the world Morgan creates is an interesting, detailed one, full of ancient hierarchy and modern twists.

Kerry Logan is the quintessential heroine stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time when her nightclub hotspot is the target of an arsonist. But unlike the usual damsel in distress, Kerry keeps her cool - and draws some interesting attention in the process. Although she is unaware of it, she is a Kyth, an energy-sensitive powerhouse who will soon find new allies in spite of her problems.

One of her allies is Ranulf Thorsen, a millennia-old Viking with a noble spirit and penchant for assassination. Bound to the leader of the Kyth, he battles weariness of the darkness within him. When he is dispatched along with rival Kyth Sandor Kearn to protect Kerry and introduce her to his new life, she offers a beacon of light into his tainted nature. However, their arsonist enemy, a renegade Kyth, is not just out for flames, but for blood, and protecting the feisty young woman might be more trouble than they'd originally imagined.

I really enjoyed the character development in this book. Ms. Morgan made their progressions believable without going over the top and displays subtleties in her work that are surprising given that it is only the first book in the series. This coupled by an excellent sense of scene-setting makes Dark Warrior Unleashed one of the better romances I've read in awhile. My compliments to the author on an enjoyable start to what promises to be a well-done series.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Jennifer
The Bitten by Books review score for this book was 4.5 Tombstones