L.A. Banks The Damned

The Damned

L.A. Banks

St. Martin's, Feb 2006, $14.95, 496 pp.

ISBN: 0312336241

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 Ones 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 of 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.