The Damned: A Vampire Huntress Legend

by L.A. Banks

Book Overview

Lilith, the consort of the Unnamed One, has released the Damned, tortured souls from all levels of Hell, to walk the streets as the living dead. A dark chaos leaks onto Earth, taking the form of a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312336241
• ISBN13: 9780312336240
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

When Hell freezes over

Prologue: The two Neterus have come full circle. Damali's destiny has been magnified, Carlos has reached his acme, and they have married. For seven days, Eve's son Cain has been agonizing over the haunting scent of the ripening Neteru and grieving her marriage. His throne in the Land of Nod is decimated, he is teetering on the brink of insanity, and his rage has no bound. Cain crosses the ice slicked bridge, in the seventh level of Hell leading to the Vampire Council Chambers; he has come to claim his throne. He is immediately enraged as he reads the last name etched on the black marble back: 'Carlos Rivera'. Once the throne is re-captured, Cain wants to sire, and is hell bent on claiming Damali. Lilith, consort to the Un-Named One, finally has a male Neteru on the Chairman's throne and ever the treacherous vixen, has made herself his ally. Issues: Before Carlos and Damali wed, Damali welcomed a 'throat nick,' laced with seduction from Cain, now there is a DNA connection between the three and the marriage could be annulled. For maybe the first time in his life, Carlos is sobered. Payback is a mother! But there's no time for personal recriminations, the team must be readied for the war of wars, one that will include one of their fiercest nemeses. When Cain descended to the bowels of hell, Eve's spirit went cold, all reproduction ceased, but not before Damali was caught in an abyss. The Queens have orders from on high to back away from Damali until they know she has not compromised the Gates of Heaven. Carlos is a marked man and must extend beyond everything he has learned. Cain wages war, the team is fatally wounded and key guardians are fluxing. Without warning THE WICKED captures the imagination as Banks takes readers from Nod, to the Vampire Chambers, to topside, to the Council of the Kings and Queens in one cataclysmic swoop. Banks shows no mercy on the mental faculties of the characters or readers. Before either can catch their collective breaths, they are in demon battles with no time for strategy. Adjectives to encompass how THE WICKED imprisoned me are diminishing as this series grows to `battle bulk' proportions. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Well I'll be Damned! (APOOO 4.5)

Damali and Carlos are back in L.A. Bank's Vampire Huntress Series, "The Damned." In this sixth installment, Damali and Carlos are cooling off from the major fight in Philiadelphia (Philly) with the Chairman's step-mother, Lilith, where they experienced their new power as Neteru soulmates. However, the fire has burned out and they find themselves in the Arizona desert, out of sync. Damali senses something is not right with Carlos as he is pulling away and Carlos longs for the power that he had on the darkside as a master vampire. No matter how they try to communicate, it all gets messed up in translation. To make matters worse, when they disposed of Lilith in Philly, there were some portals to Hell left unsealed and the damned souls began to emerge topside, infecting humans with darkness and calling on a premature Armageddon. Adding salt to the wound the team becomes infected, affecting all rational thought and unity, and begs the question; will they be able to save the world this time? Ms. Banks' ability to take her readers through every emotion--sorrow, joy, eroticism, and wrath-- is overwhelming. Vivid pictures are painted, allowing the reader to experience a world unlike their own, yet strangely familiar. Her portrayal of Carlos' struggle with the light and darkness within him, is one that everyone can relate to, and ironically brings to mind a biblical scripture, Romans 7:15 "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do." His spiritual struggle sits at everyone's feet no matter what religious persuasion. My only complaint is that Ms. Banks gives information that does not directly deal with the story being told. I suspect, because it is a series, she makes references to past books to bring parts of the story into context or she may be foreshadowing for what is to come. Whatever the reason, this reader found it a bit disconcerting because once it was introduced I wanted more details. Ms Banks has me completely hooked with her Vampire Huntress series and there is no turning back. I am in it until the end and The Damned only brings out the "blood lust" or rather I should say "book lust" for the next installment. Kotanya APOOO BookClub

Tempers and libidos flare!

The Damned effortlessly picks up where The Forbidden left off chronicling the lives of the Neterus and the Guardians fight for good. Evil has stepped up the battle and the Light has some work to do. The drama, action, suspense, and love is all there. Tempers and libidos flare throughout the novel causing the reader to wonder what's going to happen next. The Damned kept my attention and I feel bereft while waiting for The Forsaken to be released in July.

excellent Vampire Huntress Legend tale

Family members meet beloved dead mothers who should have been in heaven, but instead were liberated from hell to bring terror to humanity; one touch is all it takes to change a sane person into a raving lunatic or if they are fortunate death. All hell is breaking loose complements of Lilith, the Unamed One's consort. She has freed the minions from the layers of hell as a preliminary skirmish in the inevitable war. Even the Neteru-Guardian team has felt the impact with members lost due to the touch of a living dead loved one. Lovers Damali and Carlos interrupt their interlude to stop Lilith and to obtain the key reference The Book of the Damned before all is lost. However to prevent Lilith from furthering her diabolical scheme they must cut off her head; a task that is not just daunting, it is impossible. Failure meets pandemic infection of humans with the hell spawned madness. The sixth Vampire Huntress Legend tale is an action-packed thriller that grips the audience from the start when the daughter asks her mom why she is not in heaven with a response that only THE DAMNED could provide and never slows down until the final confrontation at the gates of hell. The mother-daughter relationship sets the tone of the tale. Carlos is heroic as he knows what must be done but though expecting to fail courageously sets out to do the job. Surprisingly the usually confident Damali spends a lot time doubting her relationship with her lover and the mission. However, Lilith is the fascinating one in a macabre sense as she liberates the minion to attack living loved ones. This is one series readers can bank on as being powerful and fun. Harriet Klausner

(RAW Rating: 4.5) - The Damned

This sixth episode of the Vampire Huntress Series, THE DAMNED, will test the resolve, of everyone involved. The Vampire Chairman abdicated the throne, Lilith, the consort to the Un-named one, did not give birth to a day walker or capture the Chairman's throne. The seat is now vacant and everything in the levels of Hell is in a state of cataclysm. Topside: Damali, the female Neteru, Carlos, the male Neteru, and the Guardian team left Philadelphia feeling like battle weary veterans. They have retreated to the sacred Navajo desert of Arizona to regenerate. From all appearances, things are almost normal, but in actuality all Hell has broken loose. The team has been infiltrated, new recruits have been added, and the trust level is circumspect. Mentally everyone is on overload; the group is not tight. There is a peculiar aura; Damali and Carlos have not been able to 'mind-lock', both are dealing with bouts of jealousy, Damali's Neteru tattoo has been dormant, and the sliver glint in Carlos' eyes is nonexistent. Carlos is fluxing between his desire for his former life as a master level vampire, and his destiny to the Light. Damali has decided she needs a place of her own; she is not feeling Carlos. The intimacy issues with the team are mind-boggling; everyone is playing musical partners. It seems that the team, especially Damali and Carlos, exist in a surreal state; at best they are sharing a platonic dishonesty. The problem: The portals of Hell have been left open and demon food, the damned, are walking the earth, infecting anyone who makes contact. In thirty days the population of the world will be infected and destroyed or worse. The solution: Find and destroy Lilith, behead the Vampire Chairman, and retrieve The Book of the Damned; someone must go to the seventh realm of Hell. Carlos is the one person with the familiarity and power to make the trip. But can the male Neteru go undetected in Hell? Will his fluxing interfere with his effectiveness? Is his ego undermining the mission? There are more questions than answers. To find a solution the team must leave the sacred grounds of Arizona. From the Blessed Covenant to the newest members on the team THE DAMNED is truly a test of faith. If you favor any one of the other diverse members of this multicultural team, you will love the intimate attention Banks gives each of them. Banks again takes readers into a cliff hanging, nail biting battle of cogent versus pernicious. I do caution you to stabilize your mental faculties, and guard your jugular, someone has to be sacrificed. THE DAMNED is intense, climatic, unbelievable, and scorching hot! Kudos to L. A. Banks for keeping this series fresh, heterogeneous, erotic, and still tasting of spiritualism. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers