Child of a Dead God by Barb and J.C. Hendee

Buy it Now!

Child of a Dead God: A Novel of the Noble Dead

"Child of a Dead God" is book 6 of the "Nobel Dead" series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. All through the series Magiere's footsteps are haunted by Westiel, her half brother. Westiel is obsessed with obtaining an object of great power, and he believes that Magiere is the key to obtaining it. In fact, the strange circumstances around her birth were orchestrated to create her to be that key. 

The search for this object takes them deep into a white wilderness. Our old friends are being stalked by several different groups, but they don't know it. It's hard going, and at one point they all get split up. Eventually they manage to make it to the white fortress, where they uncover ancient secrets and begin to have a greater understanding of what is going on.

Ironically, while I really enjoyed this book, I could never make sense of the title. The titles made sense for all the rest of the books, maybe not when I first saw them, but definitely as I read them. I kept expecting I would figure this one out and I never did. Oh well. If you happen to read the book and figure it out - let me know!

Book 7, "In shade and Shadow" will follow Wynn's story farther. The friend I'm borrowing these books from doesn't have it yet, so it might be awhile before I get to read and review it. Since it will be awhile I'll leave you with the synopsis from google.books 

"The national bestselling Noble Dead saga is one of those [series] for which the term dark fantasy was definitely intended (Chronicle). After her adventures with Magiere and Leesil, Wynn Hygeorht has returned to the Guild of Sagecraft, bearing texts supposedly penned by vampires from the time of the Forgotten History and the Great War. Seized by the Guilds scholars and sent out for copying without Wynns consent, several pages disappear and the two sages charged with conveying these pages are murdered. Suspicious of the Guild, separated from the only friends she fully trusts, and convinced the Noble Dead are responsible for the killings, Wynn embarks on a quest to uncover the secrets of the texts."

Rebel Fay by Barb and J.C. Hendee

"Rebel Fay" is book 5 in the "Noble Dead" series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. In the previous book Leesil learned that his mother is still alive, but held captive by the elves, who consider her to have betrayed them. So Leesil, Magiere, and their companions set off to attempt to free Leesil's mother.

It is a difficult journey to get through the mountains, along the way they lose their supplies and faithful steeds, but in the end they manage to make it to the elven forests, with a little help from and unseen friend. Our friends encounter many strange things in the elven lands, and Magiere notices she has a strange reaction to the trees surrounding her. 

Through out the series we've learned bits and pieces about Chap, the wolven Maji'hi, but in this book we finally get to know him more fully, and he learns more about himself and what happens when the Fay sent him to take on mortal form. 

To save Leesil's mother will require the assistance of elves that our travelers have encountered before, elves that they have nothing but reason to distrust. Who they can truly trust, who's aligned with who, and even which side is right, are a tangled web that is difficult to unsnarl. 

Traitor to the Blood by Barb and J.C. Hendee

"Traitor to the Blood" is book 4 in "The Noble Dead" series. We spent the last book, "Sister of the Dead," learning about Magiere's tangled roots. Now it's time for Leesil to begin uncovering the secrets of his past, so they head to the land of his birth, the land of the evil ruler Lord Dartmouth. 

Of course, nothing ever goes simple for these hunters of the dead. Leesil has long been tortured by his memories of his past, it used to drive him to drink before Magiere finally helped him past that, and now those memories are back full force as he's surrounded by the origins of the memories. 

Magiere is desperete as she watches the man (ok, half-elf) that she loves in so much pain. She wants nothing more than to help Leesil in his quest to find out what happened to his parents, but Westiel is still following with her and messing with her life. This time he decides that having her brought to the warlord's attention as a Dhampir is in his own best interests, so Magiere's attention is split.

Then, to make matters even more intense Wynn, a schooler and their companion, is taken into the keep as a prisoner. She's the most defensless member of their party, and her capture throws everyone into a bit of a panic.

I really enjoyed this installment of the series. We learn a lot about Leesil's past, and I really love how the author is slowly revealing the information. Yes, I'm dying to know more, but it keeps the books gripping, and I think it's a great literary device.

Sister of the Dead by Barb and J.C. Hendee

"Sister of the Dead" is book three in the "Noble Dead" series by Barb and J.C. Hendee. To read my reviews on the first two books go here.

As we rejoin Magiere and Leesil they are setting out on a journey to find out more about their pasts. Both are troubled by how little they know about their history, especially because it's been affecting their lives in the here and now. 

They start out by heading for Magiere's home village bringing along their faithful companion Chap and their friend Wynn the scholar. Researching Magiere's past leads them to many disturbing discovery's about her origins. Many of these are new to Magiere, but some of them are new only to Leesil, because the two of them are just learning to actually open and up and share with each other. There are many rocky moments for them, but it's a lot of fun to watch their relationship grow and develop!

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Learning about Magiere's past takes so many twists and turns that they never get to look into Leesil's past in this book. I don't mind, because I was fascinated by what I read, but I'm really looking forward to finding out more about Leesil's history!

Thief of Lives by Barb and J.C. Hendee

"Thief of Lives" is the sequel to "Dhampir." As we rejoin Magiere (the Dhampir, half-human and half-vampire), her partner Leesil (half-elf, half-human), and their faithful wolfish dog Chap, the trio are struggling to remake their lives in the aftermath of their battle with the vampires nesting in Miiska. Actually, the whole town is still reeling. It's been a few months, but it takes time to recover from major buildings being burned, and especially the loss of loved one's.

Leesil is handling everything better than Magiere. He hurts, but he's willing to face the fact that they are likely to be called on again to hunt vampires. So he goes into training, slipping away silently each morning, and works out in the forest.

Magiere goes about her days haunted by the memories of what happened, and the changes that have been going on in her own body. She's not ready to redefine who she is, but to accept the reality that she is a dhampir, she's going to have to. Consequently she's caught by surprise when the leaders of the village come to her with a letter from the capital city of Bela requesting her services as a vampire slayer. Fortunately, Leesil is able to talk some sense into her!

As they travel to Bela, and hunt the vampires they find there, our heroines are also on a journey of discovery about themselves. In this book we learn more about Leesil's background, as does he. Chap's true nature is revealed. And, Magiere finally begins to come to terms with her birth heritage.

Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee

"Dhampir" is a vampire novel, the first in a series, and I'm slowly working through the rest! The word "dhampir" designates the child of a vampire and a mortal. Apparently the vampires are able to sire children for a short while after their change. At the beginning of the book Magiere has no idea that she's a dhampir, or that such beings even exist. She doesn't even really believe in vampires, although she and her companion pretend to be vampire slayers to prey on the superstitious villagers through out the land.

Then Magiere crosses paths with her first real vampire, and her world begins to shift. She had been planning on settling down, giving up the vampire hunting scam, and she decides that it's time. Her partner, Leesil, reluctantly goes along with her and they settle down in a small fishing town to run a bar. Magiere try's to forget her strange encounter with a vampire, and that she killed it, but they soon get caught up in the struggle to survive as they realize that there is a nest of vampires in their little village. A nest of vampires that believes she is a real vampire hunter and immediately try's to kill her.

While I've read quite a bit in the fantasy genre, I've never read very many vampire books before. I'll admit it, I do get squeamish! I've been fascinated by them, but I prefer to read the books that aren't absolutely saturated in blood. I really enjoyed this book because, while it does feature vampires in all their blood thirstiness, there is a lot more to the story than merely killing. Magiere and Leesil are both complex characters that struggle and grow through out the story. I've started reading the next book in the series and I'm really curious to see where the author is going to take them as people as they grow and change through the books.