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smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5. I really enjoyed most of this book. For the most part, it tells the connected backstories of several vampires. These are compelling reading with very cool vampires with clear Lovecraftian influence. During this part, the main hero Harry appears mainly as a framing device for these backstories. The book culminate in a confrontation with one of the vampires, which I found a bit anticlimactic. It seems to me that Harry has become overpowered, with abilities that showed up late in the first book that now make even the vampires practically helpless in comparison. I do plan to continue the series as they are enjoyable reads, but I hope the endings become stronger in later books.
leirben's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
nikki_in_niagara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bigponky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
constantin's review against another edition
4.0
Another great book! This is the second book in the series and as the first one it has a great story, good plot and great character development.
I also liked that fact that it tells parallel stories at the same time which makes it even more interesting and engaging. Plus the descriptions flare up your imagination and create majestic images in your head.
Only downside, is that it is not as exciting as the first one so it took me ages to finish and kind of put me off reading the next one any time soon.
I also liked that fact that it tells parallel stories at the same time which makes it even more interesting and engaging. Plus the descriptions flare up your imagination and create majestic images in your head.
Only downside, is that it is not as exciting as the first one so it took me ages to finish and kind of put me off reading the next one any time soon.
bluemaiden's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
pat32's review against another edition
5.0
A great read and it doesn't fall into the negatives that most middle books in a trilogy that it was originally meant to be. Although since then theirs nearly 20 books in this series.
jeremyjfloyd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
paperbackstash's review against another edition
3.0
While I managed to shy my eyes from the dull, political parts of the first book, I found it riveting. Eagerly digging into the second, I was confronted with unwanted changes from the start – Harry in another form. I think the author rushed this a bit, but have no idea what he plans with the rest of the series. I preferred him as a person like he was, even if he jumped ahead in time a lot with age.
The Wamphyri is still the most fascinating part. We learn a lot more surrounding the mythos, how Thibor Ferenczy became, his creator and the back history, and the brutal, bloody path they both carved out before them. The vampire stuff was definitely interesting, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from this story.
The bizarre form of necromancy Harry has was as interesting as before, evolved even, so I again loved reading about those connections and experiences.
I’m still not a political espionage fan, so again grew bored with a lot of that. Too frequent head hopping is a turn-off, especially if I don’t care about the characters the perspective is told through. This book boasts great characters but nudges them aside to set up some semi-confusing stuff and dry areas I’m not as eager to dive in.
To me this sequel branched out the story and filled us in, but rushes into complex changes and spends too much time on things I don’t care about. It’s a creative world with a lot of intelligence and depth, but has the strange technique of rushing too much and waiting too long to get there at the same time.