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Fantasy
Abridged Audio Book
Rating: 3
Richard Dunn is a knight who desperately needs to win the tourney he's competing in if he hopes to make any kind of name for himself. But just as he's about to win, Sabra steps in. The Goddess needs someone to champion for King Arthur and she has chosen Richard for this honor, using her servant Sabra to convert him to a vampire.
Now in present day Richard is working on a case to see why the IRA is after an ancient manuscript. However, at the same time, his beloved Sabra is dying, losing her battle with the vampire beast within. Richard must find the famed Holy Grail to save his love and save himself, for he is also losing control of his beast. With only his failing immortal lover and his new mortal love to assist him, will it be enough to conquer evil once more?
I’ve been meaning to try PN Elrod for a long time and just never seem to find the time to squeeze her in. So when I had the opportunity to try Keeper of the King I took advantage of it. I loved the whole different twist on vampire lore, having them born as protectors of the Goddess and her chosen ones like King Arthur and everything they stand for. While some of the traditional vampire weaknesses were found here, there were a couple I don’t recall seeing before. For example, the idea of having fresh running water like streams and lakes be so dangerous to them. I don’t remember ever seeing that before. I also liked the idea that they aren’t quite as immortal as everyone, including their own kind, believes. That added a sense of urgency to the story, having Richard in a race against time as well as enemies, to save Sabra.
While the abridgement was well done and the story presented in the audio version felt complete and that it wasn’t missing much, there was a noticeable absence of what I can only assume was one of the secondary plots, based on the title. Aside from the King Arthur connection in the conversion of Richard to a vampire and the grail quest, that aspect of the story was absent. The focus of the story was on uncovering the plans of the IRA and their hired assassin and the race to find the grail. I would have loved to see an unabridged version that included more of the Arthurian lore I can only assume was edited down.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, December 2007. All rights reserved.
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