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Lords of Darkness: The Soulless (Lords of Darkness)
by L.G. Burbank
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Medallion Press (2004-10-01)
ISBN: 0974363995
EAN: 9780974363998
Dewy Decimal #: 813.6
Mass Market Paperback: 387 pages
SKU: MM1917
Condition: Very Good
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
I was once the consort of queens, advisor to kings, and a prince among men. I sat to the right of each throne from the earliest, Scorpion King, to cleopatra VII, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. After the fall of the Egyptian Empire, I remained undisturbed, feeding off the countless dead buried beneath the shifting sands, until now. I have been awakened by a half-born vampyre, Morderd Soulis. He is not pure, but a mixed breed of both mortal and immortal. I am told he is to be the savior of all mankind. He will champion the cause of humans in the centuries ahead. For now, he is no more than a young pup, and one sorely in need of much education on the way of the undead. He tries my patience, refuses to listen to my words, and asks more questions than there are stars in the sky, but he also amuses me. And so, I will reveal to him that whcih he longs to know. But you should always take care in what you wish for. the knowledge I bestow upon this impure creature could help him, or harm him. Only the endless march of time will tell!
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Customer Reviews
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nice author, bad book
Rating  (1)
Date: 2006-10-14
I only bought the book because I met the author and really liked talking to that person.
Anyway, as many suggest, this book is not worth the read. It's prose is flat, character is unwittingly dull; and action is too glossed over. When Soullis is "made" the scene was too abrupt and you end up thinking, "Huh?" I am not a novice to vampire stories or fantasy novels, and I just had to re-read it a hundred times to make sure I understood what just happened.
His transformation from honorable human knight to vampyre seemed almost too cartoonish to be taken seriously.
The whole plot of the CRusaders protecting a vampire was just too ridiculous to behold. And, let's be honest, the Crusaders were fighting for their God, not to protect a vampire. ....but I digress...I don't claim to be a Templar professor, but I know enough about them to say, "blech" to that concept.
I know this was pure fiction, and not meant to be taken seriously, but it is very unreadable due to the fact of the 'historical facts'.
The conclusion is lame and anti-climatic at best. Predictable, and I did not just believe in Soullis' "burning need" to take it out on Vlad.
The dialogue has many cliches, I just can't even put in this review. If there were 'minuses' I'd put it at a '-5'.
Unfortunately, not worth the pick up, nice author though.
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Disappointing "ending", if you can even call it an ending....
Rating (1)
Date: 2005-11-01
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Talk about a lot of reading for no pay-off! The premise for this book is very promising but fails to deliver.
In a nutshell: The tale starts off with the creation and education of the fledgling vampyre, Mordred Soulis. He is eventually taken under the wing of the Templars and put through a series of tests...all to determine whether he is the Chosen One, the one to save all mankind from Vlad, an evil vampyre, (and his father; as Vlad is the father of all vampyres). Mordred is destined to battle Vlad in the end to save the human race.
Without boring you by going through the whole rigamarole, we follow Mordred on his journey of enlightenment, the author loads the story of his journey with rich detail, at this point I am completely engrossed in the book.
Suddenly! The book becomes very fast paced with little or no detail at all. The author pretty much ties the whole story up in a matter of a few paragraphs. I was so disappointed after reading all that I had :( I thought this was going to be a book that really stuck with me. I feel the author really copped out in the end and ruined what could have been a truly spellbinding tale.
The long anticipated final battle with Vlad that Mordred spent the entire book preparing for never occurs, there is one wimpy fight between them where Vlad ends up running off with his tail between his legs saying something to the effect of "We will meet again for the final battle" ...and the book leaves you hanging, forcing you to read the second installment in this lame series.
I say save your money- I know I won't bother to waste my time.
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A chore to read
Rating (1)
Date: 2005-08-21
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Though this was an interesting twist to what's become fluid vampire mythology in today's vamp fiction trend, I struggled through this well-written yet slow-paced tome by L.G. Burbank. The story goal was too vague to hold my interest, I skimmed over many passages of superfluous exposition, and the character of Mordrid wasn't developed enough for me to care what happened to him. He was a puppet without a past, and his motivation for becoming a mercenary soldier was never made clear. If it was just for the money, why? Was he building himself a fortune for... what? Every time I picked the book back up I considered it a chore to read rather than a pleasure. By the time I got halfway through, I knew I couldn't finish it. I didn't care whether or not Mordrid being a vampire would somehow save the world. The lack of suspenseful storytelling made it too boring to finish.
The cover art is fabulous, but because of the story inside, I would not recommend it to friends. I will not read anything else by L.G. Burbank.
I'm an avid reader of horror and dark fantasy, but this was definitely not the book for me.
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Don't read this book if you like cliched, overdone vampires...
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-07-20
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I loved this book for the simple fact it brought some very original ideas into play in what could have been a very boring, cliched vampire novel. The way the word is spelled in the book, vampyre, is from old Russian/Baltic lore. I love the fact that Mordred can go out in the sun, isn't afraid of silver and all that other crap. I love that this is not an Anne Rice book or a Bram Stoker rip off, but a unique, albiet wacky voice in an overwritten genre. And the Roman Catholic church, while it may not have been referred to as such until after 1500, was indeed in Rome prior and was indeed the center of the Catholic faith so I have no issues with the research. Besides, this is a fantasy work first and foremost and we all know vampyres aren't real right? Love it. Looking forward to the next one.
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inaccurate & boring
Rating (1)
Date: 2005-07-04
0 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
It sounded like it had possibilities--but the back of the book was completely misleading. Also, Burbank's utter disregard for history got on my nerves. I'm a professional medievalist (at a university) and I can assure you that even a little bit of research would have saved her. Mordred didn't seem even slightly Scottish. Events, locations, dates--all shaky. And if I had to read that the Crusades were supported by the "Roman Catholic Church" one more time, I thought I'd puke. Pre-Reformation Chritianity was all one religion...there was NO RC church until AFTER 1517, well after the Crusades. Sorry, you can't blame Catholicism alone for that mess. Read a history book; don't try to write them.
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