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The Grails Covenant #3
To Dream of Dreamers Lost
The World of Darkness is the setting for all of the games in the Storyteller series, and for several fiction books. Game books listed with this icon belong to specific game lines, but together contain information that applies to the entire World of Darkness.This thrilling novel set in the World of Darkness is the conclusion of The Grails Covenant -- a trilogy of novels concerning vampires in the Dark Ages. To Dream of Dreamers Lost also sets the stage for the conclusion of the modern vampire Trilogy of the Blood Curse, which involves some of the same characters and events as the Dark Ages volumes.
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 16, 1998
3 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
David Niall Wilson
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David Niall Wilson has been writing and publishing horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction since the mid-eighties. An ordained minister, once President of the Horror Writer 's Association and multiple recipient of the Bram Stoker Award. He lives outside Hertford, NC with the love of his life, Patricia Lee Macomber, His children Zane and Katie, occasionally their older siblings, Stephanie, who is in college, and Bill and Zach who are in the Navy, and an ever-changing assortment of pets.
David is CEO and founder of Crossroad Press, a cutting edge digital publishing company specializing in electronic novels, collections, and nonfiction, as well as unabridged audiobooks and print titles.
Join my street team on Facebook to win prizes, discuss my work with others, and get exclusive content and offers
David Niall Wilson has been writing and publishing horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction since the mid-eighties. An ordained minister, once President of the Horror Writer 's Association and multiple recipient of the Bram Stoker Award. He lives outside Hertford, NC with the love of his life, Patricia Lee Macomber, His children Zane and Katie, occasionally their older siblings, Stephanie, who is in college, and Bill and Zach who are in the Navy, and an ever-changing assortment of pets.
David is CEO and founder of Crossroad Press, a cutting edge digital publishing company specializing in electronic novels, collections, and nonfiction, as well as unabridged audiobooks and print titles.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 18, 2018
A very disappointing ending of the Grail Covenant trilogy.
Major characters just vanished from the storyline for new ones and the vampires seem almost all the same Ann Rice ones without the Clan Disciplines and all other features that make Kindreds in the World of Darkness setting so original and different ones.
Such a shame, but the author seemed not familiar at all with the Rpg that was supposed to inspire this trilogy, and his excuse for Montrovant's being a Lasombra without Obtenebration was a real weak one.
At last Kli Kodesh was a great character.
May 14, 2013
In the third and final book of David Niall Wilson's "The Grail's Covenant" trilogy, the author carried through the majority of the book a strong anticipation of the final resolution and increasingly certain triumph of his antihero's quest. The quality of the work up to the climax of the series did not flag for even a moment, and until that point this book was every bit as absorbing as the previous two.
Unfortunately, a very abrupt, anticlimactic, surprising ending came out of nowhere as though a complete novel had been written, then the author decided to unceremoniously chop the last few chapters off the end with a cleaver and reverse the sense of the original ending in the space of a few pages. It fit so poorly with the story and plot that had progressed through three books so far that it seemed obviously imposed from outside by the game company that had commissioned these novels, which makes sense given this trilogy and another (Gherbod Fleming's "The Blood Curse" trilogy, a badly inferior effort as a sequel to Wilson's trilogy) were marketed as intimately linked, the other following this one to flesh out the storyline beyond where Wilson's trilogy ended.
With that in mind, one might excuse the ending of To Dream of Dreamers Lost as a cliffhanger to be resolved with the integration of two storylines in the next trilogy. Unfortunately, the "integration" and "resolution" turned out to be a few pages of another author taking a steaming dump on the unfinished business of "The Grail's Covenant" before wandering off to tell an essentially unrelated and deeply uninteresting story about some annoying dork with no qualities inspiring any sympathy from me at all.
The ending of this book demands a reduction in rating from the previous books, which is why the first two books in "The Grail's Covenant" get five stars and To Dream of Dreamers Lost gets only four. The reason it does not get even lower marks is the fact it is otherwise an incredibly well-crafted novel, like its predecessors.
This trilogy desperately needs Wilson to revisit it to produce a "Director's Cut" version of the climax-through-denouement.
Unfortunately, a very abrupt, anticlimactic, surprising ending came out of nowhere as though a complete novel had been written, then the author decided to unceremoniously chop the last few chapters off the end with a cleaver and reverse the sense of the original ending in the space of a few pages. It fit so poorly with the story and plot that had progressed through three books so far that it seemed obviously imposed from outside by the game company that had commissioned these novels, which makes sense given this trilogy and another (Gherbod Fleming's "The Blood Curse" trilogy, a badly inferior effort as a sequel to Wilson's trilogy) were marketed as intimately linked, the other following this one to flesh out the storyline beyond where Wilson's trilogy ended.
With that in mind, one might excuse the ending of To Dream of Dreamers Lost as a cliffhanger to be resolved with the integration of two storylines in the next trilogy. Unfortunately, the "integration" and "resolution" turned out to be a few pages of another author taking a steaming dump on the unfinished business of "The Grail's Covenant" before wandering off to tell an essentially unrelated and deeply uninteresting story about some annoying dork with no qualities inspiring any sympathy from me at all.
The ending of this book demands a reduction in rating from the previous books, which is why the first two books in "The Grail's Covenant" get five stars and To Dream of Dreamers Lost gets only four. The reason it does not get even lower marks is the fact it is otherwise an incredibly well-crafted novel, like its predecessors.
This trilogy desperately needs Wilson to revisit it to produce a "Director's Cut" version of the climax-through-denouement.
February 6, 2017
I was not as impressed with this one as with some of the other White Wolf books I have read. This book brings Montrovant's quest for the Holy Grail to a conclusion, though not as he would have liked. Abraham has become a member of the Order of the Bitter Ash, as has his childe Fleurette. Although the book doesn't say so I suspect from hints dropped the members of the order may have reached Golconda. If that is so one wonders if the Order of the Bitter Ash is a forerunner of the Inconnu.
Readers who are only familiar with White Wolf's modern day vampire novels will find somethings different. Most of the clans are the same, Kli Kodesh is said to be a Nosferatu for example. However the Cappadocians and the Salubri still exist while the Tremere and Giovanni have not come nto being. I am not sure about the Assamites. As well the splitting of the clans into the Camarilla and the Sabbat hasn't taken place. I mention this as characters and plot threads from The Grails Covenant will re-appear in The Trilogy of the Blood Curse, which is set in contemporary times. Indeed the last page of the provides a hint of what might be coming.
Although iI have only given it three stars, which migh be 3.5 if half stars were allowed (hint, hint) I would still recommend this book to those who enjoy novels featuring the Kindred.
Readers who are only familiar with White Wolf's modern day vampire novels will find somethings different. Most of the clans are the same, Kli Kodesh is said to be a Nosferatu for example. However the Cappadocians and the Salubri still exist while the Tremere and Giovanni have not come nto being. I am not sure about the Assamites. As well the splitting of the clans into the Camarilla and the Sabbat hasn't taken place. I mention this as characters and plot threads from The Grails Covenant will re-appear in The Trilogy of the Blood Curse, which is set in contemporary times. Indeed the last page of the provides a hint of what might be coming.
Although iI have only given it three stars, which migh be 3.5 if half stars were allowed (hint, hint) I would still recommend this book to those who enjoy novels featuring the Kindred.
April 30, 2016
I was really considering assigning it 1 star, but that would be a reflection of my frustration with the trilogy as a whole. This book is no better or worse than the previous two, just feels like more of the same. To me it's obvious the writer didn't know enough about the WoD, as he hardly ever makes use of what's particular about the clans and their vampiric powers. Very generic vampires, who seem to require beheading to die (à la Anne Rice?) and where an elder Lasombra can't even escape being tied up.
I'm glad to be done with these books and now I can continue the Blood Curse trilogy, where the reference to the Grails covenant books was the reason I made this diversion in the first place as I though I might be missing some back story.
I'm glad to be done with these books and now I can continue the Blood Curse trilogy, where the reference to the Grails covenant books was the reason I made this diversion in the first place as I though I might be missing some back story.
September 3, 2016
I never played White Wolf games, I was more of a D&D guy, but a few of my friends played them so I knew a little about the system. I picked this series up because I had an interest in White Wolf games, but more so because I like the vampire genre and I like the medieval genre and here was a book that combined the two. Montrovant is our protagonist, a vampire of the Lasombra clan who sets out to find the Holy Grail and bring it to his master and increase the power of his clan. Finding the Grail proves to be harder than expected and it takes our protagonist through three books of interesting characters and a flavorful setting.
August 13, 2013
[Spoiler alert]
So the conclusion to the trilogy was lukewarm at best. After Wilson made such a big deal about the treasure trove of artifacts, nothing is revealed about them nor the grail. Very anti-climatic, especially the final battle scene. I don't know if this was put off until the modern nights continuation, but if so, that's lame. Readers need some payoff, not just dragging out the same old shtick. (Like will-they-or-won't-they tropes on sitcoms).
So the conclusion to the trilogy was lukewarm at best. After Wilson made such a big deal about the treasure trove of artifacts, nothing is revealed about them nor the grail. Very anti-climatic, especially the final battle scene. I don't know if this was put off until the modern nights continuation, but if so, that's lame. Readers need some payoff, not just dragging out the same old shtick. (Like will-they-or-won't-they tropes on sitcoms).
May 2, 2023
El último libro de la trilogía me ha parecido el más flojo. El libro te prepara para un final en el que todo ocurre con mucha rapidez y sin una gran profundidad. También aparecen nuevos personajes que no habían aparecido antes y no se desarrollan demasiado. Bueno la saga ha estado bien.
May 3, 2011
Like this the least, takes place a long time later
August 20, 2011
The trilogy conclusion was a bit disappointing.
February 4, 2013
A good story, but not as strong as the first two volumes of this series
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews