Customer Reviews

Dark Need: A Novel of The Darkyn

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Dark Need, the third installment in Viehl's Darkyn series, finally stars the evilly delicious Lucan, former Templar knight and assasin of the vampires. He can kill with his touch, is trained in fighting with nearly every weapon, and when he gets grumpy glass shatters.Plus he's the king of Florida's vampires. Oh, yeah, he loves women, too. They are like a sultry smorgasbord for him, which he enjoys to the fullest. Then some freak kills his former mistress and Detective Samantha Brown enters his life to solve the case.

Sam is a no fuss homicide detective with a strange gift, She can read the blood of the dead with her hand. A neat trick to gain after nearly dying herself. With her attacker attempting to come back into her life, a freaky killer on the loose, and Lucan the strange new nightclub owner all vying for her attention she needs every gift she can use.

Sam and Lucan are fantastic together. Watching their stormy relationship play out is entrancing. BUT, the problem is we don't get to see enough of it! Their story gets no more time in this book than the machinations of Michael Cyprian and head boss Richard and possibly less time than John Keller and his trials with the Brethren. If you haven't read the other books in the series, If Angels Burn and Private Demon, you will be completely lost in the vampire world and its counterpoint of the creepy priests. The book gets very creepy at times with the doings of a mass murder out after Lucan.

Everything is unmasked at the end, but comes to a jarring cliffhanger that won't be resolved till atleast the next book is released in April '07. Sam and Lucan don't even get an epilogue and only end up together on the last page. I want more of this couple. It is a romance afterall!

I have read all 3 books in this series. I had a hard time getting into the first one. Once I got into it, I loved it.
I have had the same feeling with the other two.
This is my favorite so far.
I find that it's hard to get into each book, but right around the middle of the book, I can't put it down.
She is unlike any paranormal romance author that I have read before.
Anyone could read these book.
I think that people who enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton, would like these books also.

...encompass this stand alone novel from the Darkyn series. At first I was a little put off by the Franco/Slavic language combo used to describe the various players, but I finally got it--so don't give up. The language is heavy going for the first few chapters. The richness of the world created by the author uses the archaic language to advantage and to add the sauce of the Knights Templar to a vamp series is brilliant. The sensuality is just lovely--inspired slightly by Laurel K's use of ardeur--here is called l'attrait and is noted by a lovely smell--wild rose, jasmine, lavender--of the vamp who is attracted. The plot is complex, the setting is lush So Beach, Fla and the romance between the male & female leads sensual, healing and involved.
A pleasant surprise and a fabulous new author to add to our list.

I was rendered speechless by the awfulness of this book for a good two hours after reading it. It actually gave me trouble going to sleep, and not because it was scary, but because it was so morally lifeless and it left me with the most sour taste in my mouth.

My list of issues: our "heroine" is ugly, dresses in ugly clothes, yet is somehow constantly approached by men and lesbians alike? She doesn't appear to be a very good cop and it's not even really a main thread of the plotline. In 2006, as a cop, she doesn't know what "goth" is?

Our "hero" is a heartless jerk - really - who up until basically the last two or three pages, doesn't want to have anything to do with Sam other than toss her on a desk here and there. He has mindless sex with anything that moves and continues his little obsession with his rival's wife, marveling at her beauty, even while involved with Sam, if you can call having emotionless sex with her being "involved." He has sex with her, he sends her away, he has sex with her, he has his servant call her and tell her he wants nothing to do with her, he has sex with her, he basically threatens to kill her with falling glass. Charming guy.

Really, all of these Darkyn books (I can't believe I actually bought them now) are awful, but this is the absolute worst of the three. As with the others, the point about the Darkyn fighting some whacko branch of the church is mindnumbingly boring and confusing. I have no idea why the former Father John Keller (brother to the heroine in the first book) keeps showing up because frankly, by this last book, when I saw his name, I skipped ahead.

The third book in the Darkyn series, Dark Need, starts out promising enough. Tough cop Samantha meets nasty vampire Lucan. However, the author has so many interesting characters and apparently not enough page allowances from her publisher to adequately tell everything. I think this book should have been marketed as dark fantasy or horror, not romance. There is sex but very little romance between Samantha and Lucan. Samantha starts out strong but she quickly dissolves into a weak-willed puddle under Lucan's influence. Lucan is not a sympathetic character in any way, shape or form. He hardly redeemed himself at the end of the story, either, which wasn't really the end, but a cliffhanger for Alexandra and Michael from the first Darkyn book "If Angels Burn". In Viehl's world, there is no such thing as happily ever after, especially for Alexandra and Michael. Lucan's motives were questionable and the so-called resolution at the end of the book was confusing to say the least. Viehl's gritty, grim Darkyn world is definitely not for everyone. I'm not ready to give up on this series yet, but I think Viehl really needs to focus on fewer characters and have a more cohesive, consistent plot the next time around.

I must say I found Lucan to be extremely sexy. He's tough, scary, withdrawn, and glass breaks when he has a temper tantrum. Ha! I noticed most reviewers complained of his poor treatment of Sam and his employees, but I think he acted the way he did simply because he didn't think he would survive his confrontation with Michael and someone else I won't mention because then I'll spoil it. As a matter of fact, this is explained at the very end. I didn't even get it and I always can predict what is going to happen. Another reviewer complained about Sam being ugly. That is totally wrong. Sam was NOT ugly. She was beautiful with an incredible body, she just dressed terrible. This too was explained early on. And the only woman that wanted her was her previous next-door-neighbor. I mean really--try picturing the story as you read! Then maybe you'll actually retain and comprehend.

The reason I gave the story 3 1/2 stars was because I can not stand having to read more about John Kellar! He is soooo boring! Why must we revisit his miserable life in EVERY book. Then, there was Alex and Michael. Hey! They already had a story. This was suppose to be Lucan and Sam's story! I wanted more Lucan and Sam and less everything else! Unfortunately, we'll be stuck with more of Alex and Michael in the next story, too, according to the cliffhanger. Boo!

There is so much going on in this book I really don't know how to put into words just how CONFUSED I was at certain points while trying to read it. I mean just how many different points of view do you need in a storyline? I am usually all for complicated plots that make the reader think but, man about page 80 I just wanted the supposed hero and heroine to have a little more interaction and maybe, I don't know, start building a relationship. At one point when a new 'victim' was introduced at the start of a chapter I was like "Huh, who the heck is this guy?". I think this series started out interesting and with some promise but, it has slipped below radar for me. Not sure if I will buy the next one.

Unlike her other two books in the series I felt like there was alot of jumping around and not enough focus on the two main chacters. I didn't like how the "hero" can't seem to make up he's mind and seems at times like a real jerk and it's not until the last few pages you begin to see maybe why he's a jerk, and the "heroine" who is suppose to be this street smart tough cop is all over the place, and not as smart or tough and she is suppose to be. It seemed as if two many plots were going on and even tho it comes together somewhat in the end some of the underlining plots could have been left out and more time focused on the two main characters. And what's with their leaders wife who is frantic to find a cure. ENOUGH ALREADY she is getting on my nerves. This condition that makes them better looking, stronger, give them longer and lives, they heal quickly etc. And it seems that she's the only one who wants this cure. Will somebody tell this chick already. Why would you not want to look better,feel better, etc. Doesn't sound to rough to me.
I am still looking forward to the next book in the series. Maybe this was a bump in the road.

I don't understand many of the really negative reviews that I have read because I think that Lynn Viehl is getting better with each installment in this Darkyn series! Like most series, some loose ends are tied up nicely at the end, while others leave you anxiously waiting for the next installment. I found this latest installment to be deliciously dark, gritty, and yes VERY sexy! This particular book touches in many different directions, while bringing in bits of history to help explain and tie up some of the loose ends of this story. I was really drawn to Lucan and Sam's story, and how Ms. Viehl handled their particular relationship, especially at the end! Wow! Finishing this book is like getting off of a roller coaster and having to just catch your breath! Read this series in their proper order, and I know you will place this author along side of J.R. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kim Harrison, just to name a few (and I mean a few). There are more and more new authors writing excellent paranormal series now, and this is one that you should not pass by. The only downside to this series is that I will have to wait until next SPRING to read the next one! Oh, well, I do have many other books to keep me busy until then. Enjoy!

I really liked this book and yet at the same time didn't.

Dark Need is definitely not a read alone book. If you haven't read If Angels Burn and Private Demon much of this book will not make sense. Lynn Viehl certainly knows how to world build and this book does much to advance several story lines in the Darkyn series and to add more dept to their world.

The story line involving John Keller is very interesting and we learned both more about him and how Les Frères de la Lumière work. The Brethren have the ability to convert humans to Darkyn and can force Darkyn they capture to become Changelings.

Changelings is also something we learn about in this book and the fact that the Lord or King of the Darkyn, Richard is a changeling. His interest in Alex Keller seems to stem from his hope that she can cure or reverse his condition.

I feel however that it is a misnomer to call this book a romance. There is romance between Lucan, who by the way I feel has been much maligned, and Samantha. However it did not feel like the main focus of the story which leads to my disappointment in the book. In my opinion the relationship between Lucan and Samantha could easily have included another 50-75 pages focused on them.

Overall I liked this book more than I disliked it and gave it four stars. It would fit better though in the horror/fantasy genre with such offerings as Kelly Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld and Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series.

The ending certainly left me wanting to know what happens next with Cyprian, Alex and Richard. I also really hope that we see more of Lucan and Samantha in future books and learn more about how Thierry and Jema are doing. Will Jema's and Samantha's conversions be similar to Alex's? What will their gifts be and will they work on human and Darkyn alike? How will Cyprian rescue Alex, and will Alex be able to reverse the Changeling condition. I am looking forward to the next book and will definitely purchase it when it is published.