Review of “DEATH OR VOLENTUS: Macabre Masquerade” by David V. Mammina

Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)
​
Death or Volentus: Macabre Masquerade is a dark fantasy novel with a strong focus on necromantic themes, morally-gray characters, power plays, and political intrigue!

If you're into Gothic, macabre stories, this might be the series and book for you!

David V. Mammina has proven himself to be among the best fiction authors in our awards. He is a multi-time Super Champion, one of the few fiction authors to ever achieve a 9.6 out of 10 score, and shared the title of “2022 Author of the Year!” His emphasis has usually been on creating compelling, intriguing, and gripping characters. His protagonists, antagonists, villains, and supporting characters are among the very best in the history of our awards.

Death or Volentus: Macabre Masquerade is the direct sequel to Death or Volentus, a 2nd-place overall winner in our 2024 Creator Classic contest earlier this year. The previous book was a true gem in that it introduced us to these truly spectacular characters, unique character dynamics (such as a major villain attempting to rescue a major hero), and very high stakes. It seemed like no matter where you turned, a character could die, be killed off, and/or be brought back as a zombified/barely-recognizable version of themselves.

Furthermore, Malkira (the Plague Priestess/Tenebrian Cult Queen) was a terrifying, intimidating, imposing, yet sympathetic main villain. When you're trying to build this kind of conflict in which you're trying to put over and get the audience behind an antihero/antivillain-type character, you need someone like Malkira for the audience to root against. You can't have a paper tiger. Yes, even a scheming, conniving, backstabbing one. This book seems to have quite a few paper tigers who really serve only to put over how cool, powerful, and capable our heroes/antiheroes are.

While Death or Volentus: Macabre Masquerade may not be among his very best works, it still exceeds the grand majority of other fiction books by shear virtue of its characters and world-building.

The area in which this book falls a little short is its plot, since it doesn't match the epic nature of the previous one.

Perhaps the best way we can describe this book is that it reads like an epilogue. It always sounds like the more exciting, action-packed, high-stakes stuff already happened in the previous book, and all these characters are lost as to how to go about their lives. They are all living in the aftermath.

There's a lot of talking, drama, and political maneuvering in this book. In a sense, it kinda reminded us of Game of Thrones. A lot of Game of Thrones involves powerful/influential characters having intriguing conversations with other powerful/intriguing characters as they attempt to maneuver themselves into situations which benefit themselves and their interests.

A lot of the meeting scenes, conversations, and dialogue in this book reminds us of the small council meetings from Game of Thrones. Mammina showcases his strong talent for writing with great lines like:

- “I find nightmares are good for the soul. They humble us, warn us.”

- “Every great story had to end. Volentus, however, had ownership over the pen set to craft that story. And he was in no rush to start the final chapter.”

- “The truth, of course. It’s something we’ve manipulated, hidden, twisted, and tried our very best to control throughout our time here. I say we break the cycle. Let us take off our theoretical masks and reveal our raw truths.”

- “From that moment on, there were no alliances. There was only the endeavor to survive.”

- “When mosquitos seek to suck up the blood of their hosts, they rarely anticipate the hand that squashes them out of existence.”

There are also extremely sentimental passages in this book like:

- “I forgive you, Malkira. Please, forgive me, now. Forgive your Volentus for hurting you. And know, that you don’t need to haunt me outside my heart anymore. You can live in it.”

- “Maybe, when you’re alone or feeling downhearted, you’ll think of me. Maybe, you’ll remember, I’ve always loved you – and that I always will. Even fate can’t change that, because I’m defiant. Defiant until the end. Godspeed, beautiful.”

This drama works, especially when there's tension and the possibility of things going south.

But you still need to tie those slower, drama-focused scenes together with some action and violence.
Most of the action and violence in this book is condensed into one key meeting scene, which, though its adequately built-up, seems to lack the OOMPH of the rescue and fight scenes from the previous book.

Duke Eldrick, Kaiso, and others are not Malkira. They don't have her pedigree, her powers, or her intimate relationship to the other characters, particularly Volentus himself.

In fact, Malkira needs to be brought back (in a sense) like Palpatine in the Rise of Skywalker seemingly to make up for the lack of a strong enough antagonist (and to add layers to Volentus's character, but that's beside the point). At least Mammina had the foresight and sense to realize it, prompting him to incorporate this memorable character in meaningful ways.

Perhaps the most upsetting and disappointing thing about this otherwise solid book is the portrayal of Dragan and Alicent Vale, two of the most important characters in the previous book and in the series as a whole.

We strongly felt like they got neutered and turned into something they weren't.
The two of them were bad$&%es. Even when Alicent was held captive and was drained of most of her strength, she was still tough and defiant. She wasn't a wimp. And Dragan was a dude who would end you if you talked about his mama or looked at him the wrong way—a bad%$# vampiric menace akin to Alucard or Vincent Valentine.

However, this book portrays them as too soft for our liking.
They're overly lovey-dovey, overly sentimental, and overly fixated on their romance and intimacy.

Yes, romance is a part of most fiction books and real-life. However, Alicent and Dragon are supposed to be hardened bad^$#es. We're not saying they can't be a little romantic and enjoy each other's company, but it often seems excessive, almost to the point where it damages the strength of the characters. It turns them into soppy characters akin to Orsino from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night or Romeo from Romeo & Juliet. This is not who we thought these two characters were or who they were supposed to be.

Hey, at least they're still hot. The necklace in Alicent's cleavage is conveniently described because... why not?

And at least Volentus himself is mostly still a bad%$#. He was always a little bit sentimental like his big “not my enemy” passage in the previous book. He also occasionally dotes over Malkira (his old lover) in this book. However, it strangely fits. Volentus is full of anger, avarice, and a lust for power and control. He's a deeply emotional and fiery/fierce person. So, for him to express all this sentimentality sorta fits. We get the sense that he has a lot of pain and hurt in his soul, and it's this pain and hurt that drives him to be a bull in a China shop.

He fits right in as the ruler of the Land of Wilted Roses since he is a wilted rose in his own right—one with some really sharp, big thorns.

In contrast, the sentimentality of Alicent and Dragon never comes across that way.
In fact, it often seems out of place, like it just doesn't fit the characters and the dark tone of the rest of the book.

In perhaps our least favorite line, we are told that Alicent is “frozen in shock.” Alicent Vale is a bad^%$ who has been through a lot of stuff. She has survived a lot of stuff. She is battle-hardened and steadfast. She has opposed and matched Volentus, serving as his nemesis. So, why is she coming across as so weak? Why is she frozen in shock? She of all people should be composed and steadfast. She shouldn't be flinching, and she sure as heck shouldn't be frozen in shock.

However, with that out of the way, this book does have a lot of positive things to offer.

The scene in which all of the different powers/parties are laying out their ideas, plans, and proposals is among our favorites. It's a great example of both world-building and character building. You get the sense that this world that Mammina has created is diverse and lived-in. Another thing that makes this world seem lived-in is how the characters wear different masks to the masquerade ball that reflect their backgrounds and where they come from.

One more thing we loved about this book is how it respects the continuity and exists in the same universe as Mammina's other books. The following characters from the past are mentioned, mostly as lore, but some having some connection to the current characters:

Princess Idunessa, Spirit Warrior (Ores), Infernos, King Garside, and more!

We also learn about the Magus gene and how it hearkens back to characters and events of previous books in the Mamminaverse.

Lastly, there are also some little gems in this book as far as characters go. There's Bria, a young orphaned girl who needs to be rescued from being sacrificed in a ritual. Bria possesses a special gift and magical abilities. She kinda humanizes Volentus a bit, showing that he can be a good person despite his dark persona. There's also Lunette from the Koralin Kingdom, a cool cat and femme fatale who can rock an elaborate gown and still kick your butt with any weapon of her choosing. Lastly, there Ren Siff, who serves in Volentus's Edengard forces despite having questionable loyalties, having been one of Malkira's fiercest supporters.

This is a book with very interesting characters in a fascinating world.

Check it out on Amazon!