Knight of Darkness (Lords of Avalon, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Kinley Macgregor (Author)
Key Phrases: grail knights, dragon form, curled his lip, Lords of Avalon, Round Table, Emrys Penmerlin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For countless centuries, I've been the assassin for the infamous Merlin, even though the woman who birthed me sits at the right hand of our enemy, Morgen le Fey. Now both my mother and Morgen have decided that it's time I take my place on their side of this conflict.

Normally, telling them no wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that the good guys I protect think that I'm an even worse demon than the ones we fight. Hmm, maybe they're right. I have to say that I do enjoy maiming anyone who gets in my way.

At least until my mother gives me a simple choice: join Morgen's Circle of the Damned or see an innocent woman die. I'm all for saving the innocent, but Merewyn isn't as innocent as she seems. And she's none too fond of the fact that her fate is in my dubious hands. Personally I'm all for taking the easy way out, but leaving her to Morgen is rough, even for me. Now the only way to save both our lives is to face the evilest forces ever known—my mother and Morgen. And two people who know nothing of trust must learn to rely on each other or die: provided we don't kill each other first.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Kinley MacGregor lives a life of extraordinary danger...as does any woman with three sons, a husband, a menagerie of pets, and a collection of swords that all of the above have a major fixation with. But when not running interference (or dashing off to the emergency room), she can be found chained to her computer where she likes to play with all her imaginary friends. With more than ten million copies of her books in print, in 26 countries, she certainly has a lot of friends to play with, too.

Writing as Kinley MacGregor and Sherrilyn Kenyon, she is the author of several series including: The Dark-Hunters, Brotherhood of the Sword, Lords of Avalon, and BAD. With an international, cult following, her books have appeared in the top three on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestseller lists.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060796626
• ISBN-13: 978-0060796624
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,819 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Lords of Avalon Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, November 7, 2006

By	Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Kinley Macgregor has written an entertaining, warm, romantic story. I loved it and I am glad to see her return to the roots of her best writing.

Varian is a dark, brooding, intensely attractive male. He is half dark and half light due to his heritage. Lancelot is his father and Narishka, one of Morgan's allies is his mother. Because of his mother he has never been trusted as one of the Knights of Avalon. Arthur made him a knight against the wishes of every one of the other knights. He has learned not to trust anyone and never to love. He is the Merlin's assassin. His mother is determined to turn him to the dark and provide information and help in overthrowing Avalon.

Merewyn was a beautiful princess. She made a deal with Varian's Mother to escape marriage to a man she detested. But as with all bargains with the Adoni, she lost everything. For hundreds of yrs she has been condemed to a hag's body and a servent to Narishka.

When one of the Grail Knights, of which there are only six, is killed. Varian is sent by Merlin to find out who killed him and what they found out from him. ONly Varian can cross the borders of Camelot and AValon easily because of his blood. He is captured and tortured by Morgan and his mother.

Narishka offers Merewyn her beauty and freedom if she will capture his attention and force him to join Morgan's Circle of the Damned. Merewyn jumps at the chance, but when she finds the kindness and nobility in Varian she schemes and takes a chance to help him for his promise to help her escape from Camelot.

Joined by the mandrake, Blaise, they make their way into Val sans Retour, the valley of no return. Many adventures and forgotten people make for a wonderful journey only to face the army of Morgan again.

I loved it. Such a wonderful journey I didn't want it to end, and there are few books that good out there now. Do not miss it. I can hardly wait for her next book in this wonderful series. I have to say I usually do not like books set within the arthurian legend but this one is totally fantastic and the first book SWORD OF DARKNESS was also excellent.

Last but not least the cover is awesome. This is what a knight should look like not so pretty but handsome with a very rugged face. I loved the cover.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Second Book In Series, November 3, 2006

By	DC (USA) - See all my reviews

This, the second book in the Lords of Avalon series was very good. As good as the first one, there is something to be said just for that. Sometimes a new series can run out of steam during the second book. However, that's not the case here. Ms. MacGregor has created a rich alternative universe for us to tour. I love how she has taken everything we thought we knew about Arthur, his knights and even Camelot, and completely turned those ideas upside down. The Lords of Avalon, (the men themselves), are wonderfully in the grey area of good and evil. After living for over 1500 years, even the best of them have some really nasty traits. This creates some great conflicts for them. The villains are not all black and white either. They are deliciously evil and some are downright psychotic, but are they all as they seem? I look forward to finding out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good followup, November 3, 2006

By	Fathom "Fathom" - See all my reviews

I actually liked the first novel, Sword of Darkness, more than Knight of Darkness because Kerrigan was such a rascally demon that it was entertaining to see him as evil. Also, Seren from the first novel also had more personality then Merwyn of this novel who got caught in a bad contract when she tried to trade in her looks to get out of a betrothal.

Varian has almost the same tortured backgroun as Kerrigan except he supposedly grew on the good side, but was treated poorly by his father Lancelet, Galahad's mother who bore Varian, and his biological mother who is from the bad side.

Morgen, the evil scorceress wants to find the grail. The grail is protected by 6 secret grail knights. Morgen assigns Varians mother the task of finding the grail. To do this, she wants Varian to finally join her side after she abandonned him at 7 on his father's doorstep many centuries ago. To help in converting Varian to the dark side, she bargains w/ Merewyn to seduce Varian, and she will give Merewyn back her beauty. After centuries of being a hag and a servant, Merewyn agrees. But is the price of her agreement to high? Afterall she was tricked by her first agreement of freedom in return for her beauty the first time. The story progresses into the Varian, Merwyn, and Kerrigan's old mandrake, escaping the clutches of Varian's mother and Morgen only to get stuck in a valley where there is no escape.

The overall story was good, but the heroine, Merwyn, was still concerned about her looks all the way until the end. She didn't really learn her lesson on vanity until it was too late.

The most hilarious part of the book however was pit of despair scene. I don't ever remembering such a funny scene in all of the authors previous books. Merwyn babbling on and on how Varian was such a bore, and her other companions were so dumb that the ferret was the smartest one of the bunch were vastly entertaining. I'm surpised all her companions didn't gag her.

I was disappointed that Kerrigan didn't appear in this novel, I would have expected for both Kerrigan and Varian to have a lot in common.

The one thing that bothered me from the first book and continues to bothers me in this book were the constant pop culture references and all the Monty Python dialogue. For me all the pop culture inuendo really doensn't fit in this fantasy avalon world. This more than anything dropped my rating to 4 stars because it just plain irritated me.