Death of a Darklord

Ravenloft: The Covenant, Book 1

By: Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

Death of a Darklord focuses on a young woman who finds that she has a talent for magic in a land and a family unforgiving of such abilities. Her tragic attempts to redeem herself in the eyes of her family involve aiding them on their quest to end the dark magic that has destroyed a neighboring town.

©1995 TSR, Inc., c. 2006 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

The Covenant, Book 1

If you could sum up Death of a Darklord in three words, what would they be?

Strange, intriguing, different

What did you like best about this story?

The story line is interesting but like most first books of a series, it's all about padding out the characters and trying to establish a new world and the story line that it's going to follow, I enjoyed the book, I love this author and fiction. An easy read, however, I'm intrigued how the author is going to follow up.

Which character – as performed by Nick Sullivan – was your favorite?

I liked the twins the most

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I have been an audiobook fan for years and listen to them when I drive, I found myself listening to this one when I was walking the dogs as well.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the book, I don't want to give away anything but was a bit sad that so many main characters left the story, I'm hoping that they may come back in the future and I am intrigued to see how the magic progress.

An exciting story and introductory of the magics!

What did you love best about Death of a Darklord?

I liked the most that it was definitely dramatic story with several interesting characters that changes as the story progresses. I also liked the narrator.

What other book might you compare Death of a Darklord to and why?

Of course I would recommend Ravenloft: I, Strahd - The Memoirs of a Vampire thanks to the narrator, but otherwise there are not many similarities. This is better compared to books like the first chrestomanci or harry potter books. It's about discovering that Elaine is "the chosen one". It's not so much about the actual wonder of magic though as it is with those books.

Which character – as performed by Nick Sullivan – was your favorite?

Johnatan probably. He's the father and head of a household of magic users. He battles his prejudices of magic when he discovers that his adopted daughter develops a dangerous talent for it. It's even more interesting because she gives him more and more reason to fear her growing magical abilities as the story goes on.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Johnatan tries to comfort his daughter and lie to her about his fear of her magic, she reads his mind (whenever it was by accident is ambiguous) and tells him that she can read his mind and that he's lying - which is followed by him calling her a witch. It sparks off the bullet point when the book starts getting really interesting.

Any additional comments?

It's a book with a dull beginning and there's not a continuation on it on Audible as of yet. I definitely recommend it.

ending was a bit... abrupt

I wanted more story development for Elaine, she was the most interesting focal point and it seems later books won't be about her. it ended in... well everyone loses sort of way. I would have liked the story to he fleshed out better. i want to know how nobody noticed before hand of the weird mutations until the resurrection failure. noone looked at all... seriously? story was good but to me is unfinished.

Favorite author

The story is well written and I couldn’t stop listening. She is a master storyteller

Enjoyable, but pretty middle of the road...

Any additional comments?

I'm a big fan of Hamilton's work so I had high hopes for this book. The story while fun and based in the Ravenloft universe was pretty quiet for most of the book. There was a lot of talking, and a lot of people going over how the felt again and again, but not much happened. Then things get really interesting, but just when they do. The book ends. With lots of questions. The last 2 hours or so of the listen are great fun though and I enjoyed the magical plot twists. I just wish there was more time spent on the expanding evil, and less time about how everyone felt about it.