For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.
The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.
Before getting to the core of my review, I think some definitions are required. All the quotes are from Jocelynn's website.
Nightwalkers: “Folklore has called them Nosferatu, Langsuir, Strigae, Upir, the undead, and finally, Vampire, but among their own kind, they are simply known as Nightwalkers. Humans by birth, nightwalkers are created when a nightwalker of significant age takes a human past the edge of death and brings him or her back with an infusion of nightwalker blood.
Nightwalkers are dependent upon blood for their survival and only exist under the caress of night. As the sun peeks above the horizon, nightwalkers fall into a coma-like state from which they cannot awaken before their time. Furthermore, any nightwalker exposed to the sun's rays will be quickly incinerated.”
Ancients: “Ancients are any nightwalker who has achieved an age of 1,000 years or more, putting them close to the top of the food chain. Meanwhile, the Keeper of a domain is any nightwalker who has claimed an area as his or her own. The Keeper is the ultimate power in the region; maintaining the peace and protecting the nightwalker secret from human discovery.”
Naturi: “Ancient mythology claims that after the birth of the human race, two more races came into existence: guardians of the earth and guardians of the soul. The Naturi are the protectors of the earth and all the animal life that prowls the jungles, soars in the sky, and swims in the waters.
The naturi are divided into five separate clans: light, water, earth, wind, and animal. Each clan has its own unique strengths, powers, and weaknesses. In addition, there is a definite hierarchy within the naturi race based upon which clan the Queen of the naturi is a part and which clan her Consort is a member.” They are victims of a superiority complex and wants to destroy Nightwalkers and Humans alike to rule the earth.
Alright now that you all know what I’m talking about, Let’s get down to business!
Mira is a 600 years old vampire who chose to make her home in the new world. She is the Keeper of Savannah and works really hard to keep a peaceful balance between the Nightwalkers and the Lycanthropes, all the while keeping their existence a secret from humans. Her little haven will become a fighting ground though, when vampire hunter Danaus shows up in her town and start killing her people. Like it wasn’t enough, it seems like Danaus also got Naturis on his trail: Nightwalkers biggest enemy. While Mira was happy minding her own business, she will end up in the middle of an epic quest to save Nightwalkers and Humanity alike.
I’ve had the first five books on my to-be-read shelf for a while now, and shame on me for not picking it up earlier. Nightwalker is full of action, surprises and treason. Drake maintained a fast pace that will keep you breathless until the end.
One of the aspect I appreciated is the blur of lines between good and evil, allies and enemies, love and hate. And the perfect example is the relationship between Mira and Danaus. He is a more or less catholic human, she is a vampire. They keep making death treats to each other, yet they trust each other in combat situation. They keep protecting each other because they both want the honor to kill the other, all the while being affectionate (to a certain point) with the other. I loved the ambiguity of their relation and I can’t wait to see what Drake has in stock for us in the following installment.
I really liked Mira, her ability to manipulate fire makes her rather unique and while it’s a great asset in battle, it also might be her death warrant. Nightwalkers and Naturi alike are scared of her powers and while some would like to control it, many would be glad to just get rid of her. She is smart and resourceful and a strong head with desires of independence.
I love the world Drake built for us, while their are some “regular” paranormal creatures, the introduction of the Naturi race is refreshing and the lore is brilliant. I still have many interrogations after reading the first book, but I’m sure I’ll find answers in the upcoming books!
The end was somewhat shocking and I can’t wait to see what Mira is gonna do from there. If you haven’t started this series yet and you are a Urban Fantasy fan, I strongly suggest you get your hands on the first book. Jocelynn Drake was contracted for 6 books in the series (but there may be more depending on sales) and five are already out, so if you start reading the series now, you can already read the five first without the waiting!
Read an excerpt (first 64 pages)
Dark Days series:
Nightwalker
Dayhunter
Dawnbreaker
Book Stats:
Book Source: Personal Shelf
I love this series!
ReplyDelete