Deadman’s Cross #1
“It’s good to be the living dead.”
Devyl Bane
It has been years since I read a Sherrilyn Kenyon novel, and Deadmen Walking reminded me of why I enjoyed them so much. The good news is that you don’t need to have read her other books to enjoy this book. However, characters are mentioned that you will have met if you have read the Dark Hunter novels.
If you are looking for a supernatural adventure set during the Golden Age of Piracy. This book fits the bill in a sometimes overwhelming way. There is a large cast of characters to keep track of with different supernatural backgrounds. I sometimes had to backtrack to remember precisely what happened to some of the characters. New characters are introduced from the prologue to the epilogue, which makes sense since this is the first book in a long series if it is like her other books.
The deadmen are highly entertaining. Even through the most extensive action sequences, they are poking fun at each other or themselves. Some running jokes have unexpected payoffs at the end of the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of their personalities. Each character has a tragic backstory, but that doesn’t hold them back from enjoying life and poking fun at each other.
The book features an ensemble cast, but Devyl and Mara are the book’s heart, which makes sense as they are the captain and the ship, respectively. Their history is tumultuous, and even after centuries together, they still have a lot to learn about each other. Devyl is feared and respected by the crew, but he isn’t isolated from them. They all joke and poke fun at themselves and each other. Mara is seen as a motherly figure by the crew, but she is as likely to be called out as anyone else if someone sees that she is being pigheaded.
The interaction between the characters is one of the highlights of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s writing, and this book is true to form. I look forward to reading the rest of the Deadman’s Cross novels sitting in my to-be-read pile.
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