Darklost

Rating:
Summary: Darklost - worth the price of admission
Review: Farren is a rarety in this day and age, a writer who takes the time to build a plot and define characters. There is faint element of parody in what he does that gives it an unexpected tang.

In the Darklost Farren weaves several subplots into a very enjoyable read. The Nosferatu have fled to California and are trying to reestablish a home there. Almost inexorably they are forced by events into saving the world for humanity. Interesting characters and many insights into the history and culture of Farren's vampires make this an exceptionally pleasant bedside read.

This isn't a book for readers who want splatter and intense violence. But if you like to linger over a book, Darklost will work for you.

Rating:
Summary: Darklost - worth the price of admission
Review: Farren is a rarety in this day and age, a writer who takes the time to build a plot and define characters. There is faint element of parody in what he does that gives it an unexpected tang.

In the Darklost Farren weaves several subplots into a very enjoyable read. The Nosferatu have fled to California and are trying to reestablish a home there. Almost inexorably they are forced by events into saving the world for humanity. Interesting characters and many insights into the history and culture of Farren's vampires make this an exceptionally pleasant bedside read.

This isn't a book for readers who want splatter and intense violence. But if you like to linger over a book, Darklost will work for you.

Rating:
Summary: Farren Does It Again--Unfortunately
Review: Farren's family of vampires have become embedded in L.A.'s night life, although most are less than happy to be living there. Unfortunately, he brings little more life to his characters than he did in his last book. His vampires are bland, shallow and unimpressive. Renquist, the 'don' of this coven of vampires is still brooding and a pool of inactivity. Others of the coven I only responded to with anger and dislike. Rather than finding them rebelious or clever and being drawn to them, I found them annoying and couldn't wait until the plot focused elsewhere. Only his human characters seemed to be dealing with anything worth caring about. Infact, I think for the first time in a vampire novel I found the humans more interesting than the blood suckers.

Once again he focuses his primary energy on a plot that gives little for his characters to respond to other than to fight. But where Time of Feasting's plot was interesting enough to keep my attention this was merely a rip-off of other writers (i.e. H.P. Lovecraft) and a well-known actor (Marlon Brando). I've heard those two points described as Farren's way of honoring them. The problem is they added nothing to the book. Stealing creatures from Lovecraft that could have been ANY creatures made little difference in the plot. Constantly giving us witty, little pseudonyms for Brando's movies once again, added nothing to the book. Had he given us a new and fresh perspective on these elements, then yes, they would have been worth adding in, but there's nothing new and fresh here.

Why he didn't feel confident enough in his OWN imagination to create beasts and characters from there--I'm not sure. Perhaps he felt he was being clever, unfortunately, he wasn't and they only added to making "Darklost" a less-than-impressive read.

Rating:
Summary: Farren Does It Again--Unfortunately
Review: Farren's family of vampires have become embedded in L.A.'s night life, although most are less than happy to be living there. Unfortunately, he brings little more life to his characters than he did in his last book. His vampires are bland, shallow and unimpressive. Renquist, the 'don' of this coven of vampires is still brooding and a pool of inactivity. Others of the coven I only responded to with anger and dislike. Rather than finding them rebelious or clever and being drawn to them, I found them annoying and couldn't wait until the plot focused elsewhere. Only his human characters seemed to be dealing with anything worth caring about. Infact, I think for the first time in a vampire novel I found the humans more interesting than the blood suckers.

Once again he focuses his primary energy on a plot that gives little for his characters to respond to other than to fight. But where Time of Feasting's plot was interesting enough to keep my attention this was merely a rip-off of other writers (i.e. H.P. Lovecraft) and a well-known actor (Marlon Brando). I've heard those two points described as Farren's way of honoring them. The problem is they added nothing to the book. Stealing creatures from Lovecraft that could have been ANY creatures made little difference in the plot. Constantly giving us witty, little pseudonyms for Brando's movies once again, added nothing to the book. Had he given us a new and fresh perspective on these elements, then yes, they would have been worth adding in, but there's nothing new and fresh here.

Why he didn't feel confident enough in his OWN imagination to create beasts and characters from there--I'm not sure. Perhaps he felt he was being clever, unfortunately, he wasn't and they only added to making "Darklost" a less-than-impressive read.

Rating:
Summary: Vampire lovers are going to enjoy this one
Review: Fear of being unmasked and grieving the loss of his significant other leads vampire (call me nosferatu) master Victor Renquist to relocate his brood in Los Angeles. In spite of its heavenly name, Victor finds his new city easier to hide in than New York because so many of humanity's lost boys and girls live here.

However, a new trend begins to grow amidst the rich and famous. Hollywood wants immortality, but not just on the silver screen. Led by the charismatic Marcus De Reske, the Council of Nine believes that bringing the demon Cthulhu to earth will cause destruction and lead to their immortal life. Victor has ignored the increasing efforts to bring back the most evil of the ancient gods because he must deal with his own tribe and tribulations. However, Victor finally realizes he must act even if it costs him his immortal life before the evil one eradicates all life forms including vampires.

DARK LOST, the sequel to the TIME OF THE FEASTING, is a chilling supernatural tale that pays homage to some of the masters of horror fiction such as Lovecraft and Stoker. The numerous subplots tie together while bringing to life the dangerous streets of LA and the overall acceptance of vampires in our midst. Although the belief in nosferatu and other supernatural beings as a whole feels genuine, the individual major otherworldly players fail to come across as real. Still, fans of vampire tales or supernatural stories in general will fully enjoy Mick Farren's look at the lost dark side of Los Angeles.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Vampire lovers are going to enjoy this one
Review: Fear of being unmasked and grieving the loss of his significant other leads vampire (call me nosferatu) master Victor Renquist to relocate his brood in Los Angeles. In spite of its heavenly name, Victor finds his new city easier to hide in than New York because so many of humanity's lost boys and girls live here.

However, a new trend begins to grow amidst the rich and famous. Hollywood wants immortality, but not just on the silver screen. Led by the charismatic Marcus De Reske, the Council of Nine believes that bringing the demon Cthulhu to earth will cause destruction and lead to their immortal life. Victor has ignored the increasing efforts to bring back the most evil of the ancient gods because he must deal with his own tribe and tribulations. However, Victor finally realizes he must act even if it costs him his immortal life before the evil one eradicates all life forms including vampires.

DARK LOST, the sequel to the TIME OF THE FEASTING, is a chilling supernatural tale that pays homage to some of the masters of horror fiction such as Lovecraft and Stoker. The numerous subplots tie together while bringing to life the dangerous streets of LA and the overall acceptance of vampires in our midst. Although the belief in nosferatu and other supernatural beings as a whole feels genuine, the individual major otherworldly players fail to come across as real. Still, fans of vampire tales or supernatural stories in general will fully enjoy Mick Farren's look at the lost dark side of Los Angeles.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Nosferatu meets the Jem H'dar...?
Review: In Darklost the author's use of ancient myth, new age legend and american pop culture spaning the last 40 plus years is an amazing blend of the real and the not quite so real that is so on par with shameless tabloid journalisum that he might wish to borrow from another priviously made film that starred Will Smith and add to his list of institutions to trash as he writes around them. In fact 'Darklost' would be better as a film yet seems an overwritten screen play that was too cumbersome to make it to the screen in one piece. If a customer can't 'knock' or make disparaging comments about an author then neither should the author be allowed to make them in his book lightly hidden behing the flimsy mask of his history burdened but entertaining if some what expected Nosferatu.

Rating:
Summary: A slight let-down after Time of Feasting
Review: My fave is Mick Farren - he delivers the goodies, as he had done in Time of Feasting. But this, being a sequel, suffers from the "Jaws II" effect - the sequel somehow never lives up to the original one. Still readable, and frankly, if you have read Time of Feasting you'd probably want to buy and read this one too, and it's a MUST if you are such a die-hard fundamental right-wing raving Farren-Phreak like me. If you are not, well, buy Time of Feasting first, to see if you wish to follow the story into a sequel. An otherwise - sadly - indifferent read. Sometimes it read as if Mick got a ghost writer to pad out some sequences for him.

Rating:
Summary: A slight let-down after Time of Feasting
Review: My fave is Mick Farren - he delivers the goodies, as he had done in Time of Feasting. But this, being a sequel, suffers from the "Jaws II" effect - the sequel somehow never lives up to the original one. Still readable, and frankly, if you have read Time of Feasting you'd probably want to buy and read this one too, and it's a MUST if you are such a die-hard fundamental right-wing raving Farren-Phreak like me. If you are not, well, buy Time of Feasting first, to see if you wish to follow the story into a sequel. An otherwise - sadly - indifferent read. Sometimes it read as if Mick got a ghost writer to pad out some sequences for him.

Rating:
Summary: Nosferatu meets the Jem H'dar...?
Review: This vampire novel takes place in Los Angeles, CA. It's about a vampire colony that fled to LA from NY and the "Dark Lost" (1/2 transformed vampires) left in their wake. The circumstances that caused them to flee NY are spelled out in the first book of the series, The Time of Feasting. This story pits the colony against a human cult that is raising an ancient enemy of the vampires, Cthulhu. The story is full and well rounded plus Mr. Farren's idea of vampire history is a new one for me. In his universe vampires are the bio-engineered soldiers of an alien race that conquered Earth about 15,000 years ago.

In the background the colony's Master, Victor, is mourning his dead consort. Julia is lusting after power in a weird Oedipus complex/revenge thing. Dahlia and her sister are sorting out their un-dealt with sibling rivalry and re-defining their relationship. Sada is dealing with teenage style angst as she tries to find her place in Vampire society. Lupo is trying to maintain a balance of the old vampire culture and the new emerging one. Segal is trying to grow and be an adult that make his creator/sire proud. All of these different personalities and subplots bring an enjoyable depth to the story and make it more believable. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Farren's novels.