Thursday, February 28, 2008

Knight of Darkness


Knight of Darkness by Kinley Macgregor
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.
Ahhhh Kinley Macgregor aka Sherrilyn Kenyon is currently one of my top 5 authors. I love her imagination with the whole Dark-Hunter, Were-Hunter, Dream-Hunter series and now with the Lords of Avalon series.

This series is a different take on the King Arthur legend. Morgan is still the big bad person but Merlin is not so much a person as a title. And a Merlin is essentially a powerful sorcerer. In the final battle Arthur did fall, but before all was lost, all the Merlin's banded together and took Camelot and Avalon out of time and space. Now Camelot is ruled by Morgan while Avalon is still held by the forces of 'good'. They fight Morgen in hopes that one day Arthur son who was placed in stasis will finally awaken, find the holy grail and finally defeat Morgan once and for all. Its a very fresh and original take on the Aruthian legend, especially with Knights who are Merlins (Sorcerers) and able to time travel.

Varian duFey is the dark hero in this book. Son of Lancelot and Morgan, reviled by both dark and light. To say that he's had a hard life is an understatement, he's known no kindness and as a result is ruthless. Yet as the story develops we see chinks in his armor of ruthlessness and I must say that he's that perfect man that everyone wants to claim if we just love him enough.

I throughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for more tales set in this magical world.

Overall Score: 4.5/5

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