Customer Reviews

King Chondos' ride

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King Chondos' Ride is the second and final book of the Dark Borders Quartet.
Wait... second and final book of a quartet?! What's that all about!?

Well, the third book in the series is 'A Gathering of Heroes', which is a prequel, where you get a look at a younger Istvan DiVega.
Then there's Ingulf the Mad which takes place in the universe, but doesn't finish this series.
So, the series has no end and Paul Edwin Zimmer passed away in the 1990's.

The World:
There is a land of men, composed of many different nations with different political agendas. There is also a land of shadow, full of demons, vampires, ghouls, trolls, goblins, dragons... The land of man is protected by magical towers that form a border against the creatures of darkness. Occasionally, the monsters are able to break through, but have always been driven back.

Story:
In King Chondos' Ride, the true prince is kidnapped and taken prisoner across the Dark Border. His evil twin brother has taken his throne and plunged the world into a pointless civil war, in order to pit heroes against each other in a bloody war of attrition. Once the world of man has nearly obliterated itself, the vile things from the land of shadow will invade and wipe them out. Actually, since the series has no end, whether the good guys or bad guys win, is actually up to your imagination.

Action:
This 411 page book has 370 pages of intense action! It's an action fan's dream! Sword fights, battles, military tactics... And there is quite a bit of realism. Horses get tired, armies need food, soldiers get wounded. This degree of realism adds to the intensity of the action.

Writing Style:
Coupled with epic gritty action is a touch of Lovecraftian Horror. If you love epic heroes and black hearted villains, this is the book for you. The prose is both dense and intense, so you can't really skim it. This is a book that you actually need to read.

Maturity:
Sex, Violence, Gore, Horror... this is for adults.

Fatal Flaws:
Epic Heroes, Horrific Monsters, Legendary Battles... what could be wrong with this book?
1) The battles: Because the reader knows that the evil prince caused the civil war between the nations of man, the reader is actually rooting for peace. Then you get 350 pages of non-stop and fairly repetitive action that you don't want. An author can only write, the warriors clashed on horseback so many times, in so many ways before it feels redundant.
2) This book ends in a huge cliffhanger!!! And there's no sequel. So, there's no point in reading it.

Overall:
This is a well written book similar to the style of David Gemmell and HP Lovecraft. The world is imaginative, the battles are amazing, the characters are deep... But if you read this book, you'll only be wanting a sequel that you'll never get. So, I really can't recommend it to anyone... sadly.

If you want 350 pages of battles, and 50 pages of horror read it.
Otherwise, skip it.