Customer Reviews

Rebel Fay (The Noble Dead)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you who don't know, the Noble Dead series is the story of Magiere, a dhampir (living child of a vampire), Leesil, a half-elf, a dog named Chap, and assorted supporting character. Magiere and Leesil start out in a world that resembles medieval northern Europe running a vampire scam -- scare the villagers and then pretend to kill the monsters. Only real monsters show up, one thing leads to another and the series follows the two as they become real heroes and then set out to find out who they really are. Now that I've said all of that, let me add that this is not a good book to start out your acquaintance with the series. Go find a copy of Dhampir, prepare to enjoy yourself, and dig in.

Rebel Fay is Leesil's book (except that it is also Chap's). Hell-bent on tracking down his mother and returning the skulls of several relatives, Leesil, with Magiere, Chap, and Wynn (the group's sage and general pest) brave the mountains in mid-winter so that they might enter the Elven Territories. They barely make it and they are definitely not welcome -- only full elves need apply. The find themselves pitted against a whole array of elves. Some are just traditionalists, some are interested in revenge, and a few, the Anmaglâkhs, led by the hyper-paranoid Most Aged Father, are convinced that Leesil is a traitor and Magiere is a horror so old that the entire history of it has been forgotten.

This is also Chap's book. We've always known he was more than a simple dog, but this is the first time that we get a real explanation of what a majay-hì really is. And how special a majay-hì is Chap. His role shifts from boon companion to major player in this book, and the secrets he holds are important ones.

For all that happens in this book I found it a bit slower paced than its predecessors. The Hendee's are setting up the story arc for at least the next few volumes and there is a lot of detailed information to put into place, as well as characters to introduce. However, you wouldn't be here if you weren't a fan of the series and this is a pivotal book, answering some questions and raising many more. As long as the Hendee's can continue this rich and inventive series I'm happy to put up with some slower pacing now and then. And their version of slow pacing will still keep you reading this from cover to cover.

It seems I've been disappointed recently by multi-book series releasing a new title that has no plot development (Mistral's Kiss, anyone?) Not so here! The Noble Dead saga just keeps getting better, as does the writing and character development.

Magiere, Leesil, Chap and Wynn finally make it to the Elven Lands to discover the fate of Leesil's mother. During their "visit," the reader will discover more about the motives (or lack there of) of Chap's fay kin, why Leesil was trained as an assassin and the role Magiere is destined for. The ending wasn't a cliffhanger, but the story obviously will continue in the next book. I highly recommend this entire series!

I bought this book the week of its release. It has been sitting on my night stand for four months. I spent a terrible four months slogging through its 370-odd pages. After finishing this book, I can honestly say it was a total waste. The action was boring and it contributes absolutely nothing to the series. It seems that the Hendees have gotten so wrapped up in the idea of writing a series that they padding things out by putting in episodes that have nothing to do with the main plot-line.

In the last novel, Leesil and Magiere resolved to go into the Elvin territories to confront Most Aged Father, the leader of the Elvin assassins who has started a war amongst the humans. Leesil also hopes to negotiate the release of his mother who is held prisoner in their forest. Along for the ride are Wynn and Chap. The villainous vampire duo of Chane and Westiel skulk around in the background as the undead cannot enter the Elvin lands. The novel opens up with the group lost in snow storm as they travel into the Elvin territories. Luckily, they meet up with the assassins that have been manipulating them into coming and they travel to meet Most Aged Father. The fact that the elves hate outsiders complicates matters. The group is barely tolerated but Wynn makes the mistake of wandering off by herself and traveling to the place where Leesil's mother is imprisoned. Leesil and Magiere chase after her, hoping to find her before she causes too much trouble. Unfortunately, the elves find out that Wynn was trying to spring the prisoner and that Magiere is a dhampir. They put her on trial, and Leesil has to travel to some sacred place and retrieve an artifact which will clear her. That is the jist of Rebel Fay: traveling, traveling, traveling from location to location with little or nothing getting done. After the story is over, the reader has gained nothing from the experience. We learn absolutely nothing about the shadowy Enemy with designs on Magiere that we hadn't already guessed from earlier books.

It also doesn't help that the main character just sort of fade into the background. Wynn practically dominates the novel, and she is my least favorite character. If ever there was a character ill suited for a grueling adventure, it is her. For the last two novels she has played the part of the inept damsel in distress causing more trouble than she is worth.

The vampires that have been the main antagonists up to this point get too much face time considering that they don't contribute anything to the novel. It's like there had to be periodic scene with them to remind everybody that they are still around doing stuff.

What a waste. I was excited for this book after finishing the previous novel. The next one I will not be buying in hardcover, and maybe not even in paperback. It looks like another once-favorite novel series is circling the drain.

This is my favorite book in the series (so far.) Barb and J.C. Hendee do a marvelous job of crafting the Elven world and showing the contrasts in the Elven culture as Leesil, Magiere, Wynn and Chap search for Leesil's mother. I received deeper insights about each of the characters and learned a great deal more about Chap and his mission. One of the beautiful layers in this book is the interweaving of the majay-hi culture with the others. I was rapt by the spirit-touched dogs unique method of communicating.
As impressive as the imagery is, it wraps around a very solid plot full of wonderful turns. Just when I thought I knew where the path was leading, something jumped out of the forest. It was only then that I realized I had been catching glimpses of this new threat for some time.
And just so I don't forget where I am headed in the series, Welstiel and Chane traverse a parallel story line that echoes the overarching themes of trust and betrayal.

Rebel Fay was mostly elven politics, a tangled subject in any series. But the Hendees handled it masterfully, keeping the main players distinct, but their alliances unclear. The rule of thumb I followed here was to expect any elf to do whatever would cause the most distress to a person of roughly equal power and seemingly opposite morals.

I got rather frustrated with Wynn for talking too much and squirelling off on a whim as much as I loved her for it.

I really like the Noble Dead elves (and by that I mean the elves in the Noble Dead Saga, not vampire elves, which I don't think *can* exist). While retaining the paranoia, height, blonde hair, and connection with nature of Tolkien's quintessential Eldar, the skin tones were darkened without drawing upon the drow. They involve themselves more covertly and much less overtly with humans. Most of the elves I've read just want to live in peace, and/or are actively benevolent towards humans, although they all seem very wary of any humans that enter their lands. The Hendee elves were greatly helped along by the addition of a caste of elite assassins, the Anmaglâhk, serving an ancient master (usual) with an increasingly fragile grip on sanity (unusual).

I hesitate to use this term, but there was some real human warmth and feeling to a few of these elves. They were real characters; real people, not just an inscrutiable race of mages and hunters. Up until this point, all we've seen are cold-hearted assassins sent to seed discord and warfare among humans for no discernable purpose. Although we meet no children, we do gain insight into daily life and how the young, especially Leanâlhâm, are expected to behave. It was especially unusual for any of them to have a sense of humor, even more so that Gleannéohkân'thva (Gleann) is a respected elder, healer, pillar of the community, etc.

Rebel Fay was also unusal within the series. Welstiel and Magiere missed their usual charged confrontation, and Welstiel had no opportunity to try to lead Magiere and her party astray. There was absolutely zero undead slayage. What Wynn gains in arcane usefullness, she aparently loses in common sense.

If you've gotten far enough in the Noble Dead series to get to this, the fifth book, then it's likely that you don't need too much convincing to read on. In many ways, this was the best yet. Our vampire friends Welstiel and Chane, while pivotal to the arc of the series, were becoming a bit tiresome and repetitive in their obsessions, so I'm glad that Rebel Fay doesn't center on them. Instead, the action moves into new territory, literally and figuratively, as our protagonists journey into the Elven Territories. Humans are not welcome there, nor are the undead, which means that Magiere is risking much to help Leesil find and free his mother from imprisonment.

I enjoyed the new elven characters, and found the pacing a little more brisk than in some of the previous Noble Dead books. Well-written action; well-drawn characters.

If I had to come up with a criticism, it would be that a lot of time was spent on Chap (as the book's title implies). Chap discovers much about himself and the Fay, and spends a lot of time with other majay-hì. I found these scenes less compelling than those involving the other characters. Somehow, as Chap becomes more communicative, and as we spend more time in his head, he has lost his some of his "voice" as a distinct personality. Only a minor quibble.

If you've been asking yourself whether you should go on with the Noble Dead series, my answer for Rebel Fay is a definite "yes."

Rebel Fay by Barb and J.C. Hendee, this is the fifth book in the Noble Dead series. The first book in this series is titled Dhampir. The series is based around a pair of vampire hunters, and then begins to delve more into their lives and where they come from. While the premise of the series seems straight forward, vampire hunter, the series is anything but. There are many new and interesting twists that the Hendee's fit in.

The plot of this book carries over right from book four, Traitor to the Blood. It followsLeesil's quest to find his mother. There are also many subplots within this novel as well. Subplots such as Chap and the Fay, political infighting within the elves, Magiere's background - where she came from and what her overall purpose is, and many other things as well. The Hendee's do a very good job of packing a lot of information into this novel. However, I found myself not really engaged by the plot in the first half of the book. It seemed slow and plodding, and at times, a little disjointed. I worried a little that, if not for all the time I have invested in this series, four books so far, that I may have not cared enough about the characters and plot to finish this book. However, past the mid point of the books things really picked up and became very interesting and rescued the book. This is certainly not a book to start with, if you are interested, even remotely, with this series.

The main characters from the prior books are all back, Magiere, Leesil, Chap, Wynn, Chane and Welstiel. There are also a whole slew of new characters as well. These new characters add depth to the story and make it feel like a larger story. There is a fair amount of character development, yet it seems that the vast majority of substantial character development happens in the last one hundred pages. While I appreciate the effort in developing the characters, when crammed into the last one hundred pages makes it feel rushed and the reader is not allowed to fully grasp the changed made. I would have liked to have seen more gradual character development instead of it being jammed together as it was. Aside from that the characters are well written and do contain a fair amount of depth. They are by no means flat, two dimensional characters.

As I mentioned above the first half of the book seemed slow to me as well as the jamming together of the character development. However, the prose of this book is solid and allows the reader to continue keep flipping pages. I was a little disappointed that there was not the humorous moment in this book that has been a staple in the past books. But, that is more of a personal thing.

Overall, this was a solid novel, but it seemed to be a little lacking compared with the previous installments. Fans of this series will no doubt enjoy this book. Readers considering this novel should really start at the beginning with Dhampir and work their way up. Things will just make much more sense that way. Fans of the fantasy genre will most likely find things to enjoy in this book as well. So, I can easily see myself recommend this novel, and series to many other readers.

This is the fifth book in the amazing Noble Dead series and the first one i've given five stars, an amazing read, here's a little bit of the story.

In this story we see Leesil, Margiere and their friend Wynn with the help of their canine helper Chap travel to the Elven lands to try to free Leesil's mother from the imprisonment of the twisted Most Aged Father, on there travels they face old and new enemies alike, they meet new friends and allies while all time having to pass Elven tests and watching their backs against Elven assassins.

This book is great, action packed and filled with Elven politics and intrigue, by far my favourite novel in the Noble Dead series.

Rebel Fay, by Barb and J. C. Hendee, is the 5th book in the Noble Dead series. With each book better than the last, this is definitely one of my favorites series. And there's a spin-off series in the works, so I won't have to wait an entire year between each novel.

Rebel Fay begins with Magiere, Leesil, Wynn, and Chap continuing on their journey into Elf territory in order to find and rescue Leesil's mother. Unsure of whom to trust, they must be on guard at all times in a land where they are the enemy. And worst of all, they have to put themselves in the hands of the caste of assassins in order to find Leesil's mother.

But there are two sides of an old war at work. Both sides have their plans for Magiere and Leesil. And the shocking truth is finally revealed.

The Hendees continue to shape this story and their characters in an epic fashion. While this story is almost entirely centered in the elven lands, it never gets slow and never lacks suspense. Every character is unique and described in such a way that you feel that you know them.

Unlike most that I read, this series must be read in order, as things that happen in one book would spoil the previous one. And the endings of each leave you craving the next. If you like medieval fantasy with plenty of action or vampire-slayer novels, this series is a must.

Overall the series is a wonderful read, but I really really struggled to get through Rebel Fay.
To tell you the truth...it was pretty boring. Three quarters of the book was running from A to B to C back to B to C to D to C to D all the way back to B. Yes, that was pretty monotonous and much of the book was that way. The "rescue" was very anti-climatic and this whole book did not have any of the intensity or intrigue or interest of the previous 4 books.

The heroes that we have come to love would have been better off kicking up their heels in their tavern. "What's the point?" was the biggest emotion that I felt.

Read it to continue the series but I'm hoping something happens in the next book or I am going to call it quits on this series.