Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead) [Mass Market Paperback]

Barb Hendee (Author), J.C. Hendee (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Noble Dead | Publication Date: January 3, 2012

The adventures of Magiere and Leesil continue as they journey into Leesil's savage homeland seeking the family-and secret burden-he abandoned long ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Hendees' bestselling Noble Dead series (Sister of the Dead, etc.) makes the leap from mass market to hardcover with this winning fourth novel to feature vampire hunter Magiere, who's half-vampire herself, and her half-elf partner, Leesil. Raised in the Warlands, Leesil must return there to investigate the fate of the parents he betrayed and to seek redemption for his sins as an enslaved assassin for the evil Lord Darmouth. Accompanying Magiere and Leesil are two appealing supporting characters: Wynn, an idealistic elf, and the dog Chap, who's actually a fay in canine clothing. In Venjètz, Darmouth's city, Leesil goes to his father's only confidant, the feline-loving innkeeper Byrd, but wonders if he can trust the man, as Byrd is also an informant for Darmouth. Meanwhile, none other than Lord Darmouth himself calls upon Magiere's vampire-killing skills. Fans of the series are sure to be pleased, while the novel stands well enough on its own to attract new readers. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

This is one of those books for which the term dark fantasy was definitely intended. (Chronicle)

...fabulous entertainment wrought with mystery, adventure, and sharp-toothed wit. (Mark Anthony, author of The Last Rune series)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Roc; First Edition edition (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451460901
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460905
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leesil's Turn, April 15, 2006

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead) (Hardcover)

This is one of the more interesting series to appear on the fantasy horizon. It is the story of Magiere, who is a Dhampir - human child of a vampire, and her companion Leesil - a half elf. When we first met them in Dhampir they are running a bogus vampire scam, pretending to do away with vampires in order to extort cash. When the game suddenly becomes real our petty villains become heroes and the story gradually shifts gears to the quest of each character to discover the truth about themselves. Over the rest of the volumes the tone has changed from happy-go-lucky adventure to a serious study of two individuals with dark secrets, whose best friend is Chap, a dog that is something more than a cute pet.

Leesil and Magiere cross a medieval Rumanian world that is full of otherworld folk, wierd creatures, and the wars of men. It is a brutal place, and the opportunities for adventure are endless. They are joined by Wynn, a scholar, who becomes the group's historian, gathering information about the world less traveled and the behavior of Dhampirs. Wynn has a very peculiar sense of right and wrong - more often than not Leesil and Magiere finds themselves catapulted into a crisis by her manipulations.

Just as Sister of the Dead was the story of Magiere's discoveries about herself, Traitor to the Blood is about Leesil's return to his birthplace in the lands of Lord Darmouth. It is from there that Leesil originally fled, putting his parents at risk to their vengeful master, and it is there he must return to find out what happened when he left, and if either parent survived. But Leesil's curiosity becomes a compulsion, and between his principles and Wynn's, Magiere has her hands full trying to keep everyone alive.

The story has everything a fantasy should - vampires, elves, magic, and a fair amount of politics as Magiere, Chap, Leesil, and Wynn are drawn deep into the undercurrents of a tyrannical the realm. Darmouth and his minions play a deadly game with the Dhampir and her friends, and plot follows counterplot in a genuinely complex piece of fantasy work. The Hendee's get top marks for the latest adventure in the Noble Dead series, and there is still more to come.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another gem from the Hendee's, January 14, 2007

By 

Andrew Gray "Beezer Review" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead) (Mass Market Paperback)

Traitor to the Blood is the fourth book in the Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. The first book is Dhamphir, the second is Thief of Lives and the third if Sister of the Dead. If you are considering reading this book, I strongly urge you read the other three first. While you may get the general idea of this story, by reading the other three the story will be much more satisfying and enjoyable for you.

The plot in this book seems to be much more involved that the first three books. In the first three, the plot seemed rather linear and there weren't many subplots. They were still very good books, don't get me wrong. In this book however, it seems the Hendee's made a conscience effort to really have a solid foundation in which to throw their characters. There are several subplots in this book that only add to the mystery of the situation and even within the last one-hundred pages yet another subplot is thrown in for good measure. With all this talk of multiple subplots, you might be thinking this book is confusing. It's really not. The plot, and subplots, are laid out in such a way (and explained) that there is really no confusion. They are merely added elements to the overall story and help explain different characters motivation and feelings.

For the most part the characters in this book as carryovers from the previous three books. Of course, being that the heroes are in a different place now, there are some new additions, but the main cast largely remains the same. This is a good thing though, because it allows the Hendee's to delve deeper into who the characters really are instead of having to explain about new characters all the time. There is a lot of character development in this book for a number of characters. However, there is no secret, this book largely focuses on Leesil and his mission to find his parents. These characters, from the heroes to the villains are very well written and this only adds to the fantastic story of the book, and series. These are not your two dimensional, cliché ridden characters from some other fantasy books that are being published now.

I do have one minor criticism about this book. In the previous books there has always been some levity and humor sprinkled in. That's fine, in fact I enjoy that. However, there was one scene in this book that seemed to be written strictly for the humorous aspect, and it just didn't seem to fit with the part of the story it was placed in. It kind of threw me off a little bit. Again, not a huge deal, but one worth mentioning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and this series. The Noble Dead series is one of the most underrated fantasy series going on today. There is not much, if any, publicity surrounding the series. In fact, I heard about Dhamphir from another author when I asked about good vampire fantasy books. Sometimes, word of mouth is the best advertising one can get. So, I will close with this. If you like vampire novels and you like fantasy novels don't hesitate at all to jump into this series. You won't be disappointed. They truly are diamonds in the rough and make for some very enjoyable reading.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the time, January 23, 2006

By 

James Remington "Book Detective" (Maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Traitor to the Blood (The Noble Dead) (Hardcover)

This, the fourth noble dead book begins right where the last one left off. I love that about these books, there is a certain saftey in knowing that no time or events elapse between readings.
On to the meat and potatoes of the matter. For those of us that are real fans of the series this book should keep your attention, answer some questions, and further develop the characters and side plots. If you are a wishy washy fan you might find this story to be a bit to be to much talk. Like the first book in the series there is some action at the begining, and then a considerable lull until the last hundred pages or so. The quality and intensity of the last fifty pages will keep you turning pages with great anticipation.
So on the whole the book is worth the time, its a long read, but if you have invested the time in the characters it is a must. You finally see some more of Leesil's inner deamons.