Nephilim 2

I couldn’t tell you a single thing about volume one of this series save for the fact I remember I really, really disliked it.  Reading volume two was like starting at a clean slate (especially since events at the end of volume one took the main character out of commission for awhile), but I think the series turns into something completely different here.

It’s still only a mediocre series.  Here, the nephilim from last volume is looking for the main character.  After getting himself involved in a couple situations, he runs into an organization dedicated to freeing nephilim out of various situations (like enslavement, working in a brothel, et cetera).  It provides a bit of structure to the series, though it’s kind of weird that the plot has taken this direction.

The main character from last volume, Guy, is just doing a lot of weird things here.  He acts rather forward with the nephilim that has been tracking him down for over a year, but then he gets caught in bed with a woman who is part of the organization.  He’s quite protective of the nephilim, but it’s also clear he’s got feelings for the woman, too.  Weirdly, this situation lacks drama, though the nephilim does get pretty worked up about it.

Apparently there is a third volume of this series.  I  wonder if we’ll get to see it.  The story definitely improved this volume, so maybe things will continue to improve each time.  I have to admit, I do want to see Guy get himself out of the situation he wound up in at the end of the volume here.

Nephilim 1

I thought this one sounded good. A man wanders into a tribe of men who turn into women at night, and after you see one as a woman, they are forced to pursue you until they kill you. This sounds awesome, but somehow it totally fails… or at least the first volume does.

The main male character is on a quest to find a woman who was captured in his kingdom and taken to the neighboring kingdom, a country they’ve been at war with for years. In chasing the party that captured the woman through the woods, the man encounters the Nephilim, and the two antagonize each other as they run through the woods after the party. There’s a few okay action sequences, but the two main characters are really, REALLY one-dimensional at this point.

Some depth is given when the two actually arrive in the neighboring kingdom and rescue the woman, who has a special relationship with the main character. There’s a really awkward and poorly-done romance developing between the man and the Nephilim, which is inevitably complicated by what happens when a Nephilim doesn’t kill a human who’s seen her at night.

There are some good parts. The premise is awesome. Some of the secondary characters are also really good, and there are a handful of interesting ideas and one or two good action scenes, but overall I just did not like it. I’m willing to give it another chance, as I always do, because it would be fantastic if this improved and lived up to its good ideas. Most people will probably want to give it a pass at this point, though.