Customer Reviews

Darkspawn

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

 

 

Lois Tilton is known for several earlier vampire novels and for a number of incisive short stories. This is a fine, exciting, novel about vampires and war, set in an alternate version of Eastern Europe some centuries ago.

One of the interesting aspects of the novel is its well-imagined take on the vampire legend. The vampires in the nation of Kharithnya are the long time rulers of that land. Their blood-drinking is tied to the obedience their subjects owe them, but also implied is loyalty of the rulers to the ruled. In a sense, the vampirism can be seen as a metaphor encompassing the feudal obligations of ruler to subject and vice-versa. Emre Bakhány is introduced as the last in a long line of Bakhánys, who appear to have been mostly just, if harsh, rulers: taking blood only voluntarily (in small amounts) or from condemned prisoners. Only a few people can become vampires, that is to say, undead/immortal. The transformation also results in the loss of the ability to have children. Emre's children are long dead, having failed to make the transformation. As the book opens, Emre is worried about the possibility of a successor, and also about the incursion of Sun-worshippers into this Moon-worshipping reason. But suddenly he is betrayed by one of his Wardens, and he is imprisoned in chains beneath the earth.

Hundreds of years pass. Kharithnya has been run over by the Sun-worshippers, and Emre remains trapped in his "grave". But then Kharithnya is invaded by the Circhaks, horse raiders resembling the Mongols. The invading force accidentally frees Emre, and he finds himself making his way to his old castle, seeking revenge at the sun-priests who captured and imprisoned him, as well as trying to find a way to rally the few people still loyal to his religion to him, to take back his country and repel the invaders.

The story follows four point-of-view characters: Emre Bakhány himself; a warrior-turned-shaman of the invading Circhaks; a priest of the sun-worshippers, Milósz Vakhószy; and the priest's sister Milóny. Thus we see the action from the point of view of the nominal hero, from representatives of his two opponents, and from a character torn between the hero and one of his enemies. The main action, then, interweaves a solid action story about the war with an even better personal conflict story about Emre's efforts to continue his line, to deal with his (rather excessive) lust for revenge, and to deal with Milósz' antipathy to Emre and to what he represents.

I thought this was a fine fantasy novel. The action is well done and exciting. The main characters are well-depicted and involving. They are all morally complex, sometimes hard to like (certainly including the hero), and their fates are treated uncompromisingly. Oddly, and even is some ways disturbingly, I found myself sympathizing with even the worst characters. The fantasy elements are interesting and well-imagined, and this particular take on the vampire legend makes good use of the traditional elements with logical and consistent variations.

Nobody does vampires like Lois Tilton. Emre is brooding, complex, compelling. The world is well-drawn, fascinating, and not for the faint of heart.

Neither is the story, which grips you by the viscera within the first few pages, and does not let you go until the end.

Highly recommended.

boring, annoying...dreadful. God knows I have tried to deal with this book, I've UNBELIEVABLY finish reading it and its the most worst book I've ever read. I never judge a book by its cover and believe me the cover art was bad, but I had faith in the work and it was disappointing.. ACK I will attempt to read this book ever.

I don't know how anyone managed to get through this entire boring book. As an avid reader of vampire novels, I -tried- but it's just so lousily written and plotted that one can only assume she's related to the publisher somehow and that's why they decided to print it. A big yawn.

When I opened this book, I rapidly found myself enthralled by a well-written story set in a vivid and realistic world, with interesting, well-drawn, three-dimensional characters, fitting plot, and a deep sense for foreboding angst. This person really knows how to write a damn good vampire novel, I thought.

Then I noticed that my bastard friend had switched the cover jackets on me and I'd been reading an Anne Rice book.

Two paragraphs into *this* book, I realized that my friend was was a much better friend than I'd thought. This book is crap.

No; crap has its uses.

This book is such indescribably awful garbage that it gets ostracized by nuclear waste.

I at first considered burning it. I could not get through the plot. It was bad. No; it was terrible. My eyes still hurt from it. But I couldn't put it into the fire; the EPA would have fined me for creating pollution.

My garbage men would not pick it up. My garbage, in fact, scattered itself across to the other side of the street in order to avoid proximity to this book. I came out the next morning to find the book still there and a note from my garbage man saying they'd called the toxic waste stuff and ran fleeing.

I phoned Al-Queda to see if they wanted to grind it up and scatter it over a city or something. Osama called me back and said he didn't hate America *that* much, but to let him know if I had any plutonium.

I took it to the thrift store. Two dozen bums who'd been rooting through the second-hand clothes for forgotten pennies or old bubble-gum that could be re-used, fled in disgust.

Words cannot describe this pathetic abortion of a so-called book. Tilton has never been more than a hack, but this time she's written true horror.

If only she'd intended to.