The Silver Skull

Don Sebastian Vampire Chronicles #2

by Les Daniels

Book by Daniels, Les

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Dark Fantasy

222 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Les Daniels was one of the earliest historians of comic books and an author of horror novels.

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big helping of history, this time Cortez and the Aztec nation, flavored with enough horror to make it chilling and a little splash of romance makes this a very satisfying read for me. I love Les Daniels writing style. I like this vampire that still has enough humanity about him that he can love someone and not question those feelings or write them off as a means to an end. I like that he has foibles and makes bad choices because of the small measure of humanity left to him. It's not all ripping of throats and endless violence with Daniels. It is a complete story, will well rounded characters and a plot with beginning, middle and end. The fact that the hero is a vampire is secondary to the extremely interesting story he has to tell.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les Daniels writes about comics these days, but back in the seventies he created Don Sebastian, a Spaniard and a vampire. This is the second title in the series. Don Sebastian’s skull has been taken to the New World, where an Aztec ritual brings him back to life and plunges him into the middle of Hernan Cortez’ assault on Tenochtitlan. I’ll have to track down the other titles in this series.

Published in paperback by Ace Fantasy Books.

[Titanio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novela de vampiros, en realidad forman parte de una saga, donde el personaje principal, un caballero español vampiro llamado Don Sebastián tienen diferentes aventuras en diferentes épocas. En este caso en el imperio azteca poco tiempo después de la llegada de Hernán Cortés y su troupe. Leí unas 100 páginas, aburrida, con muchas idas y vueltas entre los personajes y una trama que casi no avanza, de hecho de vampiros en concreto hasta ahí, ni hablar y el libro tiene 240 páginas. 4/10

[Hadassah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, this was such an amazing and exciting story, it truly felt like I had gone back in time to the 1520s. Les Daniels knows how to draw the reader in and keeps them coming back for more. If you enjoy Dracula by Bram Stoker, I highly recommend The Silver Skull by Les Daniels.

[Helen Damnation · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took a month to finish and it felt like longer. The start and the end are good, but the whole middle just drags quite badly. Because there's no relationship as intimate as the one with his brother in the first book, and the timespan it's set over, nothing felt like it has any consequence.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read this year that had a setting in fictionally historic Mexico. All that sacrifice, with hearts exhumed from living bodies and ritualistic cannibalism is for the birds.

The continuation of Don Sebastian's non-life, after his demise in The Black Castle, is interesting.

To me this novel showcases greed. You can attribute all of the characters actions and motives to greed. Gold, Power, Knowledge. When and if they attain their goals, it always ends badly.

The ambiguous ending is mostly to blame for the low rating. Recommended, but not highly.