Lament of the Fallen (The Last Bucelarii, #2)

DARK FANTASY/GRIM DARK:  The Hunter has left Voramis behind. The loss of all he held dear is too much to bear, so he heads North in an effort to find out more about the Bucelarii and the woman who haunts him. His only companions are his horse, the demon inside him, and his blade, Soulhunger, until he chances upon two knights under attack. Saving them proves that no good deed goes unpunished and now he’s on the Hunt again, this time to Malandria to recover what is his. In Malandria he finds some answers about his ancestry, but he’s also plagued with additional mysteries. Will he ever achieve peace?

Dark fantasy at its finest! The Hunter may be an assassin living with a demon inside him, but he’s an assassin stubbornly adhering to his own ethical code even if denying the demon the death and blood it craves results in crushing pain that threatens his sanity. The Hunter is so lifelike that one experiences everything the Hunter does. The author also creates a delicate balance between revelation and the weaving of additional mysteries, fully submersing the reader in the Hunter’s world and leaving one engaged and intrigued until the end. The story does suffer from some theme-related repetition and a few situations where individuals act out of character in relation to the scene. However, these flaws can be overlooked in the larger-than-life presence of the Hunter and his show-stealing inner turmoil. Is the Hunter a hero or a villain? The ambiguity is the best part!

Carol Conley