What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chosen Chronicles #2
Shadow of Death
"A dark, compelling thriller that will keep readers turning the pages well past bedtime." - Kelley Armstrong, New York Best Time Selling Author. “A dark and gripping tale by a true mistress of supernatural fiction. Karen Dales brings fresh blood to the vampire genre.” —Michelle Rowen, National Bestselling Author Released from more than one hundred years of revenge, the Angel of Death is no longer a tool for the Grand Council of the Chosen. He is finally free to return to a semblance of a life with Father Paul Notus. Haunted by nightmares of his past misdeeds and failings the Angel wants nothing more than to be left alone. It is across the Atlantic, in a foreign country, that he joins Notus, taking up the mantle once more as a protector in a land where those who would see him dead have flourished. Corbie Vale has not forgotten what the Angel has done. His own burning need to see the Angel humiliated and Destroyed sets into motion a carefully seeded plan despite warnings of greater retribution. Now in Corbie’s territory, the Angel’s sword becomes the lure to a trap, one that changes the Angel by giving him what he never dreamed of – mortality. "Dales doesn’t disappoint with 'Shadow of Death'...left me gasping in surprise... by far the best in the series so far and I will certainly be devouring any future additions." - Open Book Society "Shadow of Death...takes you on a nail biting ride across the pond to her home town ... That never slows down and is as exciting on the first page as it is on the last... Ms. Dales I can only say one thing about Shadow of Death Book Two of the Chosen Chronicles and that is WOW! You have left me in suspense and teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown!" (5 Stars) - Sizzling Hot Books “The next installment in Karen Dales’ must read The Chosen Chronicles, is as impressive as the first...This is a fabulous story, well conceived and illustrated in such a way that the reader will not put it down until they’ve completed it...You cannot miss with Karen’s book. You will love it. If you haven’t read the first one yet, start there and then you too will be waiting impatiently for book number three. This is the kind of story that leaves you both begging for more...” (Siren Books Best Stone Review) - Siren Book Reviews “Oh wow, that is the only expression that can describe a great book. I can't wait for the next book in the Chosen Chronicles. I hope that there is a next book. I loved every minute of it...It leaves the reader anxious for more. I hope that other readers enjoy this beautiful, sometimes painful, and heartrending journey of the Angel that leads to peace as much as I did.” (5 Stars Top Pick) - Night Owl Reviews "A distinctive and addictive voice in the paranormal genre, Karen Dales has once again delivered a must-read piece of excellence with Shadow of Death...This emotional and stirring chronicle of our hero’s life as he is forced into facing both his past and his future will no doubt make you a fan of this series and Karen’s ability to weave a tale full of rich history and vibrant prose. If you have not deduced by now, I love this series and cannot wait for Ms. Dales to get in front of her computer and deliver more tales of The Chosen." (5 Stars) - Bitten By Books "A fresh and intriguing new look at the vampire mythos" - Violette Malan, Author of the Novels of Dhulyn and Parno “For readers who adore textured layers in their literary tapestries, rich in colorful emotions, Kar
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2011
5 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Karen Dales
12 books183 followersKaren Dales is the Award Winning Author of "The Chosen Chronicles."
She began writing "Changeling: Prelude to the Chosen Chronicles" and "Angel of Death: Book One of the Chosen Chronicles" after she was inspired to create the character of The Angel for an on-line role playing game she was part of. It was from that experience the birth of The Angel was formed and through years of research Karen fleshed out The Angel and other characters that came to her.
Having completed York University's Creative Writing courses years previously, Karen began to write "Changeling" and "Angel of Death" as one novel. It was on their completions that it was clear they were two distinct novels of an evolving series that has come to include "Shadow of Death: Book Two of the Chosen Chronicles."
Karen is currently writing the next installment - "Thanatos: Book Three of the Chosen Chosen Chronicles."
Since the publication of both "Changeling" and "Angel of Death" in a limited edition single volume, Karen has been an Author Guest at, Polaris, AdAstra, FanExpo, and has appeared at Word On The Street. You can find out her future appearances by clicking http://karendales.com/appearances.html
In January 2011 Karen's book "Angel of Death" which included "Changeling" won the Siren Books Awards for Best Horror 2010 and Best Overall 2010.
Karen loves hearing from you. If you have a question or comment please feel free to email it to her at karendales@karendales.com
You can also follow her on:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/karendales
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-D...
and join her Facebook Fan Group - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?...
She began writing "Changeling: Prelude to the Chosen Chronicles" and "Angel of Death: Book One of the Chosen Chronicles" after she was inspired to create the character of The Angel for an on-line role playing game she was part of. It was from that experience the birth of The Angel was formed and through years of research Karen fleshed out The Angel and other characters that came to her.
Having completed York University's Creative Writing courses years previously, Karen began to write "Changeling" and "Angel of Death" as one novel. It was on their completions that it was clear they were two distinct novels of an evolving series that has come to include "Shadow of Death: Book Two of the Chosen Chronicles."
Karen is currently writing the next installment - "Thanatos: Book Three of the Chosen Chosen Chronicles."
Since the publication of both "Changeling" and "Angel of Death" in a limited edition single volume, Karen has been an Author Guest at, Polaris, AdAstra, FanExpo, and has appeared at Word On The Street. You can find out her future appearances by clicking http://karendales.com/appearances.html
In January 2011 Karen's book "Angel of Death" which included "Changeling" won the Siren Books Awards for Best Horror 2010 and Best Overall 2010.
Karen loves hearing from you. If you have a question or comment please feel free to email it to her at karendales@karendales.com
You can also follow her on:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/karendales
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-D...
and join her Facebook Fan Group - http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 7, 2011
Review Brought to you by OBS staff member Autumn
Description:
Death is the beginning. Life is the shadow. Released from more than one hundred years of revenge, the Angel of Death is no longer a tool for the Grand Council of the Chosen. He is finally free to return to a semblance of a life with Father Paul Notus. Haunted by nightmares of his past misdeeds and failings the Angel wants nothing more than to be left alone. It is across the Atlantic, in a foreign country, that he joins Notus, taking up the mantle once more as a protector in a land where those who would see him dead have flourished. Corbie Vale has not forgotten what the Angel has done. His own burning need to see the Angel humiliated and destroyed sets into motion a carefully seeded plan despite warnings of greater retribution from the God of Death himself. Now in Corbie’s territory, the Angel’s sword becomes the lure to a trap, one that changes the Angel by giving him what he never dreamed of – mortality. (From Amazon)
Review:
This installment of “The Chosen Chronicles” picks up with the heartache of the last. “The Angel” Gwyn, is now called to North America and becomes a target for other menacing vampires. A surprising twist of fate finds him now only mortal with no protection. Along the way, he finds new love, new pain and something he thought that he had lost forever. Dales doesn’t disappoint with “Shadow of Death.”
“The Angel” finds himself at his most vulnerable in this book and enemies come from unexpected places. He is hunted and betrayed and the ending left me gasping in surprise.
“The Chosen Chronicles” continue to be a good read for fans of Karen Dales. I found that “Shadow of Death” was by far the best in the series so far and I will certainly be devouring any future additions.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ka...
Description:
Death is the beginning. Life is the shadow. Released from more than one hundred years of revenge, the Angel of Death is no longer a tool for the Grand Council of the Chosen. He is finally free to return to a semblance of a life with Father Paul Notus. Haunted by nightmares of his past misdeeds and failings the Angel wants nothing more than to be left alone. It is across the Atlantic, in a foreign country, that he joins Notus, taking up the mantle once more as a protector in a land where those who would see him dead have flourished. Corbie Vale has not forgotten what the Angel has done. His own burning need to see the Angel humiliated and destroyed sets into motion a carefully seeded plan despite warnings of greater retribution from the God of Death himself. Now in Corbie’s territory, the Angel’s sword becomes the lure to a trap, one that changes the Angel by giving him what he never dreamed of – mortality. (From Amazon)
Review:
This installment of “The Chosen Chronicles” picks up with the heartache of the last. “The Angel” Gwyn, is now called to North America and becomes a target for other menacing vampires. A surprising twist of fate finds him now only mortal with no protection. Along the way, he finds new love, new pain and something he thought that he had lost forever. Dales doesn’t disappoint with “Shadow of Death.”
“The Angel” finds himself at his most vulnerable in this book and enemies come from unexpected places. He is hunted and betrayed and the ending left me gasping in surprise.
“The Chosen Chronicles” continue to be a good read for fans of Karen Dales. I found that “Shadow of Death” was by far the best in the series so far and I will certainly be devouring any future additions.
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ka...
June 4, 2011
The next instalment in Karen Dales’ must read The Chosen Chronicles, is as impressive as the first. This tale picks up the story of Angel and Notus almost more than a century after the tragic loss of Angel’s Jeanie to the vampires. The Angel has completed his mission in Europe and now must follow Notus on an ill advised trip to Canada. Undeterred by pleadings from the master and mistress of England, Notus and Angel plunge headlong into the vampire held new world. The Angel risks all, in order that Notus may fulfill his dream of showing his own original illuminations from centuries ago.
We will meet some new characters in the Shadow of Death and come to a better understanding of what exactly the Angel is. I do not wish to spoil the surprise; however there are some unusual developments within Shadow of Death regarding the Angel’s, shall we say, evolution on his path towards his final metamorphosis. Old Gods and modern practitioners of the old religion introduce new facets to an already novel tale of an albino vampire that can’t tolerate steel or water crossings.
This is a fabulous story, well conceived and illustrated in such a way that the reader will not put it down until they’ve completed it. The cliff hanger will leave you begging for the next instalment and while there is not as much humour to be found within part two, the tragedy has escalated. You cannot miss with Karen’s book. You will love it. If you haven’t read the first one yet, start there and then you too will be waiting impatiently for book number three. This is the kind of story that leaves you both begging for more and hoping that the next one won’t be the finale because you can’t quite bear for it to end. Another wonderful job Karen!
We will meet some new characters in the Shadow of Death and come to a better understanding of what exactly the Angel is. I do not wish to spoil the surprise; however there are some unusual developments within Shadow of Death regarding the Angel’s, shall we say, evolution on his path towards his final metamorphosis. Old Gods and modern practitioners of the old religion introduce new facets to an already novel tale of an albino vampire that can’t tolerate steel or water crossings.
This is a fabulous story, well conceived and illustrated in such a way that the reader will not put it down until they’ve completed it. The cliff hanger will leave you begging for the next instalment and while there is not as much humour to be found within part two, the tragedy has escalated. You cannot miss with Karen’s book. You will love it. If you haven’t read the first one yet, start there and then you too will be waiting impatiently for book number three. This is the kind of story that leaves you both begging for more and hoping that the next one won’t be the finale because you can’t quite bear for it to end. Another wonderful job Karen!
December 21, 2011
Loved it except for the MANY cliffhangers. I think it might even rival GRR Martin (Game of Thrones) for the number of characters and storylines that were left hanging. I took off one star for that -- otherwise, it was even bolder than the first one.
I highly recommend this series to those who love a good mystery with a paranormal twist you won't see coming. I await the rest of this book in the pages of the next one. Although I am irked and feel a little cheated by the lack of a wrap to this book -- I'm still very much a fan. This ending was bad and there is no indication as to when the next one is coming. Whoa is me!
I highly recommend this series to those who love a good mystery with a paranormal twist you won't see coming. I await the rest of this book in the pages of the next one. Although I am irked and feel a little cheated by the lack of a wrap to this book -- I'm still very much a fan. This ending was bad and there is no indication as to when the next one is coming. Whoa is me!
May 2, 2012
I didn't think this book could be even more exciting than the others. I was hooked! This book was wonderfuly written, packed with excitment. Fantastic read from an amazing aurthor!!
June 1, 2014
A great story, fast-moving and action-packed with good character development. All good, and I was so very sorry not to be able to give it more than two stars, but the lack of attention to quality presentation stopped me. Constant errors in grammar and spelling formed a severe irritant to the reader.
Ms Dales is a very talented story-teller, and has done herself a grave disservice by not having her work edited. The book is peppered with grammatical errors. Dale evidently has a poor grasp of the rules of sentence construction and an inadequate understanding of the mechanics of tense; she uses many words of which she clearly does not know the meaning (e.g. 'gibbous waning moon') and cannot correctly form the plural of Latin nouns. These are all things that might easily happen to any uneducated English speaker and could have been so easily fixed by any competent editor. One hopes they will be remedied in a future edition, because the book deserves so much more, and could be really good with a little polishing.
Ms Dales is a very talented story-teller, and has done herself a grave disservice by not having her work edited. The book is peppered with grammatical errors. Dale evidently has a poor grasp of the rules of sentence construction and an inadequate understanding of the mechanics of tense; she uses many words of which she clearly does not know the meaning (e.g. 'gibbous waning moon') and cannot correctly form the plural of Latin nouns. These are all things that might easily happen to any uneducated English speaker and could have been so easily fixed by any competent editor. One hopes they will be remedied in a future edition, because the book deserves so much more, and could be really good with a little polishing.
February 3, 2013
Absolutely and without a doubt, Miss Dales has crafted the richest, deepest, most intricately interwoven tale I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her imagination and creativity topple the scales completely over, leaving me simultaneously breathless and brokenhearted. It was so powerfully gripping and hauntingly beautiful, I was enraptured page after riveting page as I read the series. If you're into vampires, this is for you. Although, it's a bit darker than many paranormal books we've been reading, nonetheless, it still towers over any of the 'norm' we've had access to. I cannot wait for the next installment! :)
November 18, 2015
I really like this series, and I thought this installment really ramped up the drama for Angel. Furthermore, I really loved how the majority of this book took place in Toronto. Considering its a city I am familiar with, it was great to be able to visualize the landmarks and streets that Dales was referencing in the story. Also omg Gywn!
This book did however, feel like less of a horror novel compared to the first one. In fact, it read closer to an urban fantasy novel for me than it did horror, but that's okay. My only gripe is while I loved the story, the editing in this book was a little wonky at times. :( Still, I really dug the story and I'll have to bump Thanatos up in my TBR soon.
This book did however, feel like less of a horror novel compared to the first one. In fact, it read closer to an urban fantasy novel for me than it did horror, but that's okay. My only gripe is while I loved the story, the editing in this book was a little wonky at times. :( Still, I really dug the story and I'll have to bump Thanatos up in my TBR soon.
February 6, 2013
Absolutely and without a doubt, Miss Dales has crafted the richest, deepest, most intricately interwoven tale I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her imagination and creativity topple the scales completely over, leaving me simultaneously breathless and brokenhearted. It was so powerfully gripping and hauntingly beautiful, I was enraptured page after riveting page as I read the series. If you're into vampires, this is for you. Although, it's a bit darker than many paranormal books we've been reading, nonetheless, it still towers over any of the 'norm' we've had access to. I cannot wait for the next installment! :)
March 14, 2014
Having read Angel of Death nearly two years ago I was delighted when Karen Dales was offering copies of all three books as part of her birthday celebrations. Angel of Death was full of twists, totally wrong-footing the reader & Shadow of Death continued in the same manner. Beautifully written, a must read for any vampire fan, especially if you like something a little different & unpredictable. Really looking forward to Thanatos' story, especially as his character is very mysteriously introduced in this book. Great read!
October 4, 2012
Did that just happen??? Really???
This whole series is awesome. Made me smile, laugh, cry, cheer... all that stuff a good story should do.
The ending to this one though... WHY?!?! That can't be it, can it? I know she's coming out with a fourth installment, so I'm hoping for a pleasant (to me) surprise....
This whole series is awesome. Made me smile, laugh, cry, cheer... all that stuff a good story should do.
The ending to this one though... WHY?!?! That can't be it, can it? I know she's coming out with a fourth installment, so I'm hoping for a pleasant (to me) surprise....
January 2, 2013
This is the sequel to The Angel of Death. If you like the first book than this a must. The saga continues with Notus and The Angel leaving their home soil and bound for North America. When they arrive they find out things are a little different on the other side of the ocean. Can Fernando and Bridget rescue them in time! The ending of this book took me completely by surprise.
July 14, 2011
This was the best of the series. It can't end this way!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews