The Demon King [Paperback]

Chris Bunch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998

The thrilling sequel to the critically acclaimed "The Seer King". Ten years ago, General Damastes pledged eternal loyalty to the wizard Tenedos, and to the Seer's vision of a unified, peaceful Numantia. But after Tenedos became emperor, the provinces were conquered and peace never came. Now the emperor has amassed an army for war, and Damastes uncovers dark, horrifying secrets about the man he's sworn to serve.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Chris Bunch: 'Rich and convincing . will leave you eagerly awaiting the next instalment' SFX; `Slam-bang excitement, lusty action and military magic.fast-paced and ferocious' - JULIAN MAY; 'A hard-edged, salty brew of pirates, treasure maps and sea battles from one of our most dependable storytellers, Corsair is a fantasy/adventure tale that will keep you up late reading and send you off to bed with memorable dreams' TERRY BROOKS --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Chris Bunch is the co-author (with Allan Cole) of the Sten series and the Anteros trilogy for Del Rey. As a solo writer, he is the author of the Shadow Warrior science fiction series also from Del Rey. Both Ranger and airborne-qualified, he was part of the first troop commitment into Vietnam, a patrol commander and later a combat correspondent for Stars & Stripes. Later, he edited outlaw motorcycle magazines and wrote for everything from the underground press to Look magazine, Rolling Stone , and prime-time television. He is now a full-time novelist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446673277
• ISBN-13: 978-0446673273
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique, Atypical Fantasy/Military Book, May 14, 2002

By 

"tysonfrits" (Brentwood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Demon King (Paperback)

I am an avid military history and fantasy reader. Often the two genres don't mix, so I was pleasantly surprised when I read the series. It is doesn't follow the typical prosaic path of the average fantasy and it is able to suspend reality a bit more than the typical military history book. The book was much more gritty and graphic than a typical fantasy- which is nice considering that much of fantasy is written for a teen crowd, and as I am older now, I desire a bit more. The book took me through the gamut of emotions - I thouroughly enjoyed the book, and just reread it for the second time in 3 years. It was just as enjoyable the second time. The only other book I have read recently that goes into the darker parts of fantasy as does this series is Mathew Woodring Stover's "Heroes Die". If you liked that, you will definately like this as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit kinky, but still a good read, May 29, 1999

By 

Paul J. Pagel "handyman-in-training" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Demon King (Mass Market Paperback)

Never one to shy away from a gratuitous sex scene, the author still manages to weave a compelling story of love, war, faith, and betrayal. Not quite as good as the first book in the series (it's tough being the second sibling) but still a satisfying and enjoyable successor to the Seer King.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I got through it, but barely. A disappointment., October 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Demon King (Paperback)

The Seer King layed the groundwork for what could have been a terrific tale, yet it seems as if Mr. Bunch lost his way.

First off, I'll tackle the graphic sex scenes. I have but one question, why? Every time I got to one of these passages, I skimmed as hard as I could to get past them. Totally unnecessary. Quite a few times I was tempted to just put the book down and walk away. They add little, if anything at all, of interest to the book. I have my own imagination, I don't need it force-fed down my throat when I am simply trying to enjoy a fantasy novel.

More importantly, where was the story? I felt almost nothing for these characters. I probably felt more for some of the minor players in this book, than for the group of main characters. The plot just wound about, hitting lightly on certain ideas, and then just passing them by. The main theme of the story, when ripped away from the other pointless dribble, would probably fit on 10 pages or less.

The battle scenes seemed to fit into about four different molds, and then just kept repeating themselves with slight variations. As for a novel in the fantasy genre, supposedly using magic as well, this falls far short of the mark. There was very little imagination, completely lacking in the necessary agent of wrapping the reader up in a world only found in dreams.

I found myself intrigued by the first novel in the series, and was certainly hoping that this sequel would only enhance those features of that first. From my point of view, Mr. Bunch failed miserably. The icing on the cake for me was the fact that a third novel in the series is do out only a year later. It would seem to me that if Mr. Bunch does indeed want to continue writing in this genre, he needs to spend this year researching true fantasy literature, not just trying to pump out another money-maker as quickly as possible. A bad sign indeed.

To sum it up, I managed to get through the entire book, which goes to show that there is still a good foundation there, but he needs to do a lot of work to get me to buy a third round.

One last suggestion. The third novel had better be 800 pages +, because as far as I am concerned, anything less doesn't stand a chance of over-coming the obstacles I see to date. Now, a long book won't ensure a great read, but I feel that at least then, it will have a shot at it.