This book actually pissed me off in an all around way. While I was interested in the book, I didn't expect what came out of it. I'm not the type to read reviews before I read a book, because I want to have an honest judgement for myself. So, the back of the book spiked my interest with, " In a world that fears spellcraft, a girl discovers her own strange talents for magic. But in a land crawling with corruption can she trust its gifts? " Well, it started out very very slow. I read the first 4 chapters and then put it down for a few days. It hadn't grabbed my attention as well as I had expected. I went back to it, because I hate not finishing books, and I read another 8 chapters. The story was getting better, but nothing completely major had happened, everything was small back stories that led together in odd ways. Then towards the end, the story takes on some different elements, that to me, were completely out of left field. Last night and tonight I finished the book, and I really disappointed in the ending. While the story is supposed to mostly be about Elaine Clairn, the ending has nothing to do with her. While I understand the title is " Death of a Darklord", the story seems like the author either got lost some where, got stuck and couldn't figure out how to end it, or that this was rushed and just turned it in missing the ending. I want to know what happened to the main character, if that's what you can call her, because of the side stories. All I know is, the more things I try to read by LKH, the more I am disliking her style. I tried to read the Anita Blake series that she has written, and I walked away from the first book after only 4 chapters. For me, loving to read as much as I do, that is something that is not easy to do. I will usually finish anything I pick up, but I couldn't do it with that book. After I decided not to read it, I went to read reviews on it, and I'm glad I didn't get into it. Not only is it a very long series, but a good amount of people who had kept reading, end of disappointed. They say she loses her characters, the don't make sense, she doesn't build in them, etc... and that is where I ended up with this book. She started out doing good, and then ends up leaving you confused about the ending. Honestly don't think I will be trying to read anything by her anymore. They keep ending up disappointing me, and then all I have is a book I won't read and my library keeps ending up with them, atleast I donate them.
True, good quality horror novels are hard to come by. This is such a novel.The story takes place in Kartakass, one of the dreaded domains of TSR's Ravenloft Campaign Setting. At the same time that a bard hero lies in his deathbed, the Covenant, a loose alliance of heroes faces the discovery of magical powers in one of their younger members — trouble is, magic in Kartakass (and in Ravenloft in general) is very easily an evil thing.Written by a master writer such as Laurell K. Hamilton, expect a very good, frightful, and sadly short treatise on how to make horror in a Dungeons & Dragons setting. Actually, that's both the strength and the weakness of this book: it explores one of the least treaded paths in a TSR setting (horror) but it requires some familiarity with D&D in general and with Ravenloft, specifically, to fully enjoy it.But it you want to see how truly terrifying a horror-fantasy can be, waste no time and read Death of a Darklord.
What do You think about Death Of A Darklord (2006)?
Every book I've ever started (at least by choice), I always had to finish. At least that was my philosophy until I read this book. I picked it up because I love YA fantasy fiction, despite the fact that I'm probably too old for it (never!). This book has the most disappointing ending of anything I've ever read. I don't mean that as in the main character dies (hypothetically speaking) or because of a cruel cliffhanger, it just seems like Laurel K. Hamilton hit the last few chapters and a) had no clue what she wanted to do and b) had to rush something in there to meet her deadline. I've never read anything else by Hamilton, but I hope her foray into this genre does not speak to her typical writing ability. Never has a book made me want to throw it across the room so hard for wasting my time. Do yourself a favor. Just stay away.
—Ashley
I'm not a fan of zombies. The ones in this book creeped me out (as did the magic later on)--which is the intention, I know--but as I am rating based on my enjoyment, unfortunately that had an influence. The writing was rather choppy. It just ends, leaving me hollow. The climax was disappointing. As someone else pointed out, I'm not sure how the title relates to the story, and the plot itself was rather watery. I liked the beginning, but somewhere in the middle my enjoyment level plummeted. I wasn't expecting this to be horror/dark fantasy, which is also not my cup of tea at all!
—Laura
I enjoy Laurell K Hamilton's writing style, but this book was difficult to like. Don't get me wrong, I was interested and finished the short 300page novel in a day. The problem is in the story, it just doesn't go anywhere (or maybe where I want it to go). As a start of a series this book would have been an OK start dependent on the rest of the series to sell it, but as a stand alone book from the mid-1990s, this book was terrible. None of the plot drew together well enough to form a complete story. Entire aspects of the story were left unexplained and without any purpose. I honestly cannot believe than an editor re-published this as-is.
—MarsianMan
