If you're anything like me, you know from experience that the middle book in a trilogy is often one of those stories that basically string the first and last book together, nothing very special, just a lot of words heading forward from the beginning and bringing you closer to the end. Not so with WATCHERS: THE BATTLE FOR THE THRONE, the second volume in William Meikle's WATCHERS Trilogy.

In fact, if I might be so bold, I think I enjoyed this second installment just a bit more than I enjoyed the first, WATCHERS: THE COMING OF THE KING. Meikle wastes no time at the beginning of this book, diving right in where the first book left off. The battle for Milecastle is over, the Boy King's forces have been successful, they have made off with the fair-haired maiden and they have left Milecastle without a leader...or so they thought.

Once again, we find our heroes, Martin and Sean, still in the thick of things as this book heats up and, as in the first book, they are forced to embark on separate missions, letting the telling of the tale spring forth from their individual adventures. The vampire army has grown stronger, their ability to attack larger towns and strongholds now greatly enhanced. There are still non-believers out there in the countryside, denying that such a chilling army of the undead comes marching toward their towns. But Martin and Sean know better, and have but one purpose left in life—to kill the Boy King and his minions and restore peace to all of England.

The cover of this book is more informative that it appears at first glance—a wolf's head in profile, tinged in red with what looks like long bloody strings of saliva dripping from its muzzle, the one visible eye glowing eerily and mysteriously. It speaks of blood, of murder and mayhem, of danger and violence— and there's plenty of all that in this book. Make no mistake, this is another serving by Meikle that is not for the faint of heart. A serious book it is, full of gore and killing and slaughter of the worst kind. Meikle's descriptive of the death and dying in WATCHERS: THE BATTLE FOR THE THRONE is vivid and sharp. You can feel the dead flesh of the vampires melting away as the bulb-water mixture is poured over them. You can feel the terror grip your heart in a steel vice as an innocent victim falls prey to a vicious vampire. It's all here, folks, wrapped up neatly in a single tight bundle.

Pages turn frantically as the end draws near. As the reader, I found myself not wanting to leave Martin and Sean and the universe that they dwell in. As I neared the end of this book's 231 pages, I found myself wondering just when in the world the third volume in the WATCHERS Series, WATCHERS: CULLODEN would be released. The author himself was nice enough to inform me that I haven't much longer to wait—I believe the third chapter in this tale will be released some time this Summer.

If you've made it this far into the Review and noticed that I haven't really given up much information about the plot, believe me when I tell you that this was done on purpose. To give too much of this tale away is to take away from the overall reading experience that you'll have when you pick up this book and turn to Page One. I wouldn't want to ruin it for you so suffice it to say that I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone out there who has been trying to find the next great adventure series. If you do, though, don't be foolish—pick up a copy of the first book in this series, WATCHERS: THE COMING OF THE KING first. You'll want to read this series in order to be sure.

Interested yet? If so, drop on over to the Black Death Books website for ordering information (http://www.khpindustries.com/), pick up the first two available books in this series and keep that website bookmarked for when the third is released later this year. I'm telling you, although I know that this isn't the very best fiction I've ever read, it darn sure keeps those pages turning quickly and makes the reading experience a whole bunch of fun. And, after all, isn't that why we bend the pages anyway? Thought so...

It is 1745. The forces of the Boy-King have decimated Milecastle. The Thane is dead and Mary Campbell has been abducted by the Boy-King's men. The town is a scene of carnage – bodies litter the ground. Young, old, male, female, the slaughter was indiscriminate.

Thrust into a position of responsibility Martin, the Thane's son, is forced to grow up very rapidly. Overnight the carefree youth has been replaced by a man with a great weight upon his shoulders. He is forced to make difficult decisions, sending his childhood friend, Sean, on a mission that could easily s result in his death.

For Sean must face the Boy-King to rescue Mary Campbell before the evil bloodline can be propagated. He, in his new role as Captain of the Watch, is to remain in Milecastle with a group of volunteers to face the armies of the Others and prevent the Boy-King from succeeding in his plan.

Injured during the preceding battle, Sean fights to retain the strength to defeat the enemy. However, when a moment of extreme pain brings forth apparent Vampiric symptoms Sean is worried that he too will become one of the Others and give in to the need for blood.

The warriors in the Boy-King's undead army seem unstoppable and with only silver bullets and garlic water as weapons the Thane's men seem to be fighting a losing cause.

The Battle for the Throne is the sequel to The Coming of the King and continues the story from the exact point the first novel left off.

Our heroes are battered and many of them have been killed. It is refreshing to read a story where the triumph of good over evil is far from definite. Indeed, at the end of the first volume evil seems to definitely have the upper hand.

The characters have developed well since the first book. Martin, the new Thane is torn between the sadness at the death of his father, his duty as the new Thane and the need to recuperate from the serious injuries sustained in book 1.

One particularly nice twist is the infecting of one of the main "good-guys". Sean is experiencing the symptoms of incipient vampirism and undergoes great personal conflict. He does not intend to become one of the Others but knows that he has a vital task to complete if they are to prevent the Boy-King from succeeding.

Battle for the Throne sets the scene beautifully for the final volume of the story and at this stage it is far from clear which side will be victorious.