This book is amazing. Before you judge me as a dude who loves anything undead, regardless of quality, consider this.. I have not read a fantasy/horror book and enjoyed it in years. The language is simple, easy to follow, no flashing confusing fight scenes lasting 5 pages and getting boring. The story is great, and i burned through the book in under 3 days. ( )

This book (and series) is a great combination of the vampire genre with traditional fantasy. Set in a European-influenced fantasy world, the Hendees throw vampires into the mix to make things more interesting. The result is a unique experience packed with action and not bogged down by ridiculous romance like many vampire stories. There is a love story here, but it takes a back seat to the mystery and Magiere's discovery of her heritage and abilities. A fun read and a great start to the Noble Dead saga. ( )

Overall it's a fun, light read, not very engaging but enough to keep you reading.

The characters, despite their flaws and the effort to give them a background, are quite plain and sometimes seem a bit silly.

I don't know if I'll give a try to the rest of the series, but I don't feel very compelled to do it right now. ( )

interesting premise, series does get better ( )

Magiere and her partner Leesil have been providing a valuable service: allaying the fears of superstitious peasants who are afraid of the legends of vampires. They put on a show to convince the locals that the vampire they've been imagining is dead, collect a fee, and move on. They've finally saved up enough money to buy an inn... and now life gets complicated.

Magiere discovers she's half vampire. Leesil just happens to have training as a spy and assassin. His dog Chap appears to have supernatural powers. And they're being dragged into real vampire hunting for once, a nasty and lethal business, and they're not happy about it...

The series begins with a well-imagined world that tweaks some of the classic vampire tropes and sets up the longer-term elements of the story. Some of the coincidences of the background look rather conveniently like the game master needed to put the player characters together in the same party, but as the series unfolds they turn out not to be coincidences at all. ( )