Beyond the Pale (The Darkwing Chronicles, Book 1) (Bk. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Savannah Russe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2005

The government knows that Daphne Urban is a vampire, and they have an ultimatum: spy for them, or be killed. The choice is easy. She can speak 13 languages, has a genius IQ, and has escaped detection for nearly five hundred years-making her perfect for Team Darkwing. Her first mission is to get close to Bonaventure, a shady arms dealer with an unexpected gift for seduction. But when Darius, a darkly sexy vampire slayer, begins chasing her, Darius is torn between desire and duty. For his lithe, young prey is also his ultimate temptation.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet Eclipse; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451215648
• ISBN-13: 978-0451215642
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #841,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Paler Than Advertised, July 31, 2006

By 

L. L. Mills "Words-R-Us" (Slowdeatha, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Pale (The Darkwing Chronicles, Book 1) (Bk. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I tried very hard to like this book; it had so much going for it: a good premise, some nice descriptives, a fairly hot guy or two. But, in the end, I just didn't. There was too much wrong with it, beginning with the fact that, for a centuries old vamp with an off-the-scale I.Q., this heroine was remarkably stupid. And no, sorry; all of it simply could not be explained by hormones, despite the author's best efforts.

For someone with a superior I.Q. and a photographic memory not to remember who the guy with the missing left index finger was seemed just stupid; the minute the `ghost finger' was mentioned I knew who the guy was; Miss Brilliance couldn't figure it out after seeing him again twice? And there was just something about this gal that was unlikeable; I'm sure the author was intent on portraying her as a kind of lost soul, floating about through the centuries, mooning after Byron, but it just didn't wash (neither did Byron, according to the author, which didn't help the credibility of a 200 year state of mourning for the heroine).

Throughout the story all kinds of homage is paid to the idea that the heart isn't rational; this, I think, is supposed to give license to the heroine's taking the extreme liberty to moon about like some spoiled adolescent for two-or five, depending how you look at it-centuries. When the hippie mom is more mature than the `serious' daughter, you know you're in trouble. (And an ex-hippie working for the government? Please. The govt. types I've known would slit their own throats first. In an expendable capacity, sure, but not as a top honcho, as is portrayed here.)

Since this moonie gal is to be the lead character for the series, ouch-no, ouch-cheewawa. It stretches credulity to think that: 1) the lead character has mooned about like some self-indulgent bratolescent for two centuries, yet will now find `meaning' to her existence within a few short weeks by becoming-gasp!-a spy; 2) that the mom would not have b--ch slapped her out of it a long time ago, especially if she's the `all that' leader of nations and shaper of history she's portrayed as being; 3) that this person could ever get a date with Darius, let alone be his `soul'. Yuk.

This book tries very hard to be intelligently written, and succeeds in places where descriptives are needed; however name dropping and place dropping do not an intelligent writing effort make. And where it comes to the in-depth characterizations of its characters, it falters badly, almost irredeemably, in places. Most obvious of those is the heroine herself; others are Darius, who by description is a man who's been around, but who, for some reason which can't be determined in any way, shape or form, falls madly/truly for the heroine, despite the fact that he spends the whole book playing down to her, keeping things from her, and insulting what we're told is her level of intelligence (Could it be that he noticed its non-existence too? Still, it would make him an idiot for `falling' for an idiot).

And J, her spy boss, who hates vamps, is suddenly turned completely around by one shining moment of visionary clarity wherein he sees our heroine in her vamp form and all is forgiven. Uh, no. Bigotry is seldom so easily dealt with, since it comes from a place of fear, and fear is one tough S.O.B. to overcome, even with time, for most people. It just doesn't wash; it doesn't ring true. I hate to be so negative with this review; this is the author's first book, and she does show great potential. But this is WHY I feel the negativity is needed. Ms. Russe shows the promise of being an extraordinarily intelligent writer if she can just find her genuine voice and a bit of genuine conviction. A place of passion and all that.

The heroine gets mad at the hero, but she never really GETS mad, even though she has more than enough reason to believe he may not just be shining her on, but actually endangering herself and the others on her team. Gutless. Brainless. Definitely not lead character material. She's less a protagonist than an antagonist; you have to oppose your own good sense to like her. And the rest of the story was, unfortunately, just not interesting enough to carry a protagonist this weak.

Having already bought the second book in the series-the promo for the series sounded so good I bought them both at the same time-I will read it and hope for a better review to come. In the meantime hopefully Ms. Russe will polish her craft and become a bit more personally involved with her characters-which I think would make a world of difference in her writing. For a pretty good--about four star--debut vamp novel, I recommend The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout; funny name--great book.

I give this three stars because it's the writer's first effort, and because it's obvious here that she can probably do better once she gets serious about writing--not for money, notoriety or such, but as an artistic expression, or heck, even just plain fun. Look forward to reading that effort.

50 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Pale, June 7, 2005

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Pale (The Darkwing Chronicles, Book 1) (Bk. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

She was the mistress and unwitting slayer of Lord Byron. For more than four centuries, Daphne Urban has walked the world's night, existing, but not truly living. Love is too dangerous and eternity is rapidly becoming an exercise in monotony. Monotony would be welcome, however, when her world is turned upside down and she is conscripted into service for the US government as part of a highly secret team of vampires, along with a ditzy blonde Southern Belle and a shallow, gay vampire searching for his big break on Broadway. Perhaps the madness of the plan is its genius. Sent to prevent a dangerous man from gaining artifacts that could lead to worldwide destruction, the three's mission is soon complicated when Daphne is contacted by another governmental agency operative. Darius della Chisea has no idea she is a vampire, just that she works for another branch of the service, and he wants to work with her for reasons of his own. Though Daphne finds him extremely attractive, something she's not felt since accidentally killing Byron, there is a large drawback, Darius hates vampires, and does enjoy killing them. Romance is of secondary or even lower importance. First, she has to save the world. Highly classified mission or not, Daphne may have to resort to the most trusted method of accomplishing the impossible, calling in her mother, Mar Mar, an ancient teen aged hippie.

***** Inevitably, comparisons to Buffy, La Femme Nikita, Alias, early Anita Blake, and Rachel Morgan's various series can be made. However, those comparison's only go so far. The Darkwing Chronicles promise to be unique; exciting, fast paced, funny and just plain fun. It has everything, humor, action, mystery, and a bit of romance. Let's hope the wait between books is not long. *****

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just Plain Bad, May 13, 2006

By 

Kelly Houser (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Pale (The Darkwing Chronicles, Book 1) (Bk. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Daphne "Daphy" Urban works for the government. She's also a vampire. Part of a new program that taps into the strength and power of the vampire to fight the war on terror, Daphne is recruited against her will. A sexy and dangerous operative named Darius crossed Daphne's path, she must fight the war on terror and her lusty feelings. Much to Daphne's horror, Darius is a vampire hunter.

This book was just plain bad. Against my better judgment, I decided to give this book a try. The keywords "Paranormal romance" on the book gave me pause, but I purchased it and the sequel anyway. That was a complete waste of money. This book was extremely poorly written. The dialogue was painful. Savannah Russe, the author, created a book that is a painful cross between Sex in the City and a Tom Clancy novel, with a side order of Anne Rice. Russe's characters talk on cell phones while they fly around the city on their big bat wings (yes her vampires turn into bats). They worry about Jimmy Choo shoes and being fashionable. Plus, "Daphy" falls for the overly-macho, woman-bashing Darius. Please. Hokey is the best word for this book.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.