Picking up right where The Ancient Ones left off, David has just discovered the diabolical brother he left for dead in 15th century Romania has returned. Making matters even stranger, the news is delivered by his old friend, Danulf, the half-vampyre/half-lycanthrope he had also presumed dead. As Dan divulges his story to David and his newly reanimated lover, Morrigan, it becomes clear that the ancient pagan gods history hoped to forget are back. Another adventure throughout history, from the Carpathian Mountains to Pre-Revolutionary France, the story unfolds to reveal there is a much bigger problem than just the vainglorious Lucius. Even with the addition of a liminal witch named Cahira, the gods find themselves facing a threat that can erase their existence for good. Wrought with adventure, romance, tragedy, and heartache, the second book in The Ancient Ones Trilogy dives deeper into a tale as old as time itself… that bites.
I was honestly, truly hoping I would enjoy this second volume in the trilogy more than the first.
I know the first book in a series carries a lot of weight. It has to not just introduce the reader to the world and characters, but it has to bring a dire change to that world and kick the story into gear, all while still telling a satisfactory story in its own right.
The second has slightly different demands. The world is established. Most of the characters are as well, as is the central conflict. Now the challenge becomes the act of deepening the characters and not just maintaining the conflict, but making it even worse, all while setting up the final (hopefully epic) events to come in the final installment.
I will say that in this one, Thompson does definitely deepen the characters and fill them in more, however (and yes, I am oversimplifying a bit here) the story feels very much like it’s a collection of characters meeting, then essentially saying, “we have the time, let me tell you all that I remember up until we met,” and then doing so.
I guess I was hoping for a little more forward movement and less looking back.
Once again, it felt a little too far into Anne Rice territory for me. The characters are truly complex, but I just wish they’d actually do more. Like Elvis sang, “A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”
And unfortunately, with the events that have transpired due to my review of the first book, I’ve decided it’s not worth my time to complete this trilogy, so there will be no review REVELATIONS, the third and final book of the trilogy.
