Customer Reviews

Highlander(TM): Shadow of Obsession (Highlander (Warner))

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Shadow of Obsession" is actually my favorite of the stand-alone _Highlander_ novels. In it, we learn about Darius and his decision to leave The Game ... and why his protege, Grayson, is so bitter. Darius is one of my favorite characters in the _Highlander_ milieu, and learning something more about him is a real treat here. Why a Roman general would give up his command to become a monk is dealt with frankly and sensitively. For fans of _Highlander,_ particularly those who enjoyed Darius as a character, this book is not to be missed.

this author has written a touching story that could touch your heart. or at least you let. It tells not only of adventure but also human values such as love and compassion.

How Duncan Macleod and Darius has different philosophies yet they were very close friends. Neason's point of view of Darius is almost perfect.

I love all of the highlander books, but this one focuses on Darius, who held a valued position in the serise. I feel these books have something over the show because the show could only use the effects of the day. The books are more extravegant and don't need to be reduced for the cost of the set and effects. A wonderful book for any Darius fan (but of course), and Highlander fan, and anyone in general.

I can see the episode ( had an episode called shadow of obsession been produced ) in my mind's eye. a gripping piece of Immortal Darius's past.

Finally--a novel devoted to Darius, one of the most memorable and beloved figures from Highlander! Neason's portrait of the warlord who turned his back on war is finely drawn and true to the character as we know him from Werner Stocker's fine performances. However, I was disappointed to find that the main plot revolves around a "woman scorned" who is little more than a female version of Grayson, Darius' obsessive nemesis from Band of Brothers. The revenge-for-past-wrongs theme is overused in the series already, and here it seems even more redundant, as Grayson also appears in the novel. Neason obviously did a lot of research and manages to get most of the details right, although history lovers may cringe at the reference to "Aryan" (instead of Arian) Christianity, and the marriage of Galla Placidia to Alaric (she actually married Athaulf, his brother-in-law). But in spite of the flaws, I recommend the novel to those who loved Darius because it provides more insights into his character and details about his life than the television series had the time (or budget) to do.

Rebecca Neason continues her tradition, that she began in THE PATH, of thoughtful storylines that really capture the Highlander spirit! This novel concerns Darius and his encounter with the "good one" and MacLeod's meeting with a casualty of the early warmonger, Darius. MacLeod learns more about the priest's past, and, in turn, so does the reader. The story weaves itself in and around previous episodes of "Highlander" and leaves the reader feeling like he has watched a continuing episode in the series. "Highlander" needs writers such as Neason to keep the series alive now that the final episode has been taped. This is a must-read for all Highlander fans!!

The synopsis is a little misleading. Darius and MacLeod never join forces in this book, however, there is a great tale of how Darius transformed from feirce worrior to a man of peace. The book also tells of the changing relationship of Darius and his former student Grayson. It is a good story of Graysons one time love, who plots revenge againt the late Darius and his friend Duncan MacLeod. A must for any Highlander fan.

Darius, the Immortal who pledged himself to a life of peace, was not always a priest. This story recounts Darius' early life as an invincible Visigoth warrior. His right-hand-man is another immortal, Grayson, who in the present time has a memorable showdown with Duncan MacLeod in the huge, yellow piles of sulphur (it was in the show's opening credit sequence) Author Neason tucks another Immortal into this tale: the beautiful Callestina, a young Visigoth princess who was desperately in love with Darius.

Darius took the head of Immortal Emrys at the gates of Paris and experienced something akin to MacLeod's "dark quickening", except with opposite effect. Too bad Darius had used and discarded Callestina, who joined forces with Grayson and swore to wipe Darius and all he loved off the face of the earth. Now going by the name of Cynthia VanDervane, she tries to take MacLeod's head for killing Grayson and for following Darius' teachings.

Probably of no interest whatsoever to those who are not fans of the Highlander series. I was more than a little surprised by the long and explicit sex scene. It seemed to belong in a romance novel and I found it very hard to imagine Werner Stocker in this manner.
A good story, but not a great one.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Unfortunately, there's the by-now mandatory "Duncan must fight a foe in the present" plot, although as with several of the novels, the present-day scenes seem to be more almost "flash-forwards" that were added on from the basis of a past-day novel that's the focus of the piece (i.e., Darius the Gray Wolf's tale, occasionally flash-forwarding to Duncan).

This gives us a lot of background on Darius, essentially, in his pre-sainthood days. However, there are also flashbacks dealing with the off-screen meetings of Darius and Duncan. All of this is quite good, although it is a bit hard to imagine Werner Stocker in the role of the pre-converted Darius. Particularly when he has to stand in for his character in a typical Gothic psuedo-erotic meeting with the lead female (and modern-day nemesis of Duncan). I'm still not sure if that's good or bad.

Methos is curiously absent (a meeting between him and Methos is something I'd like to see!), but Duncan and Dawson are well enough drawn. I had a hard time visualizing James Horan as the past-flashback Grayson too. And the early-to-mid parts of the book, before Darius and his men march on Rome, seems to drag on interminably in an attempt to establish the main female character as they sit around in camp and...well, not do much. This part of the book does seem to be excellently researched, but is just a tad too long.

The modern-day sequence is competently done, although it almost seems like an afterthought. Victor Paulus is killed off, continuing a trend of killing off surviving characters from the TV series in the novels (see Annie Devlin in Scotland the Brave). This seems a bit crude, almost killing for the sake killing, and is a bit repetitive here.

Basically a book for Werner Stocker fans and those who enjoyed his on-screen role as Darius. Will probably appeal to most Highlander TV series fans, no doubt about it.

This book might have sucked less royal if it had been less about Neason's original character, and more about Darius. Even then, it might still have sucked somethin' fierce, as Neason's not a very good writer, and the book is far too short.