Customer Reviews

Dark Stranger

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a big fan of vampire stories but when I read the recommendation for Dark Stranger I had to give it a try. After I started reading I did not want to put the book down. Susan Sizemore has taken her vampire Prime books into the future and has written a Paranormal and Science Fiction Romance book that works.. General Matthias "Doc" Raven is the ranking officer among the humans held in a prisoner of war camp that holds three different alien species. Zoe Pappas is among the new prisoners arriving at the camp. Neither are what they seem to be. The characters are well thought out, the back-story skillfully woven into the whole, and the story is tension filled. You do not need to be familiar with Susan's Prime series to enjoy this story.

Speaking as a Science Fiction Romance lover this will go on my favorites shelf.

Blurb
A twist of fate made Zoe Pappas heir to the Byzant throne. Bound by duty and devotion to keep the Empire safe, Zoe is captured while on a secret diplomatic mission and sent to an underground prisoner-of-war camp. In this strange, shadowy place, residents are governed by fellow inmate General Matthias "Doc" Raven, whose powerful magnetism rouses an urgent desire in Zoe. But the intensity of her attraction is matched by her surprise at discovering that Doc has a secret of his own: he is a vampire

Great Great sci fi romance. This is an awesome read. Other than the fact that Raven is a vampire, this is not like the Prime romance. This is a whole new world and takes place years in the future. In fact the story is based on a prison colony. Do not let sci fi turn you away. There are lasers and aliens(some insectoids and some humanoid) Sizemore still keeps the romance in this as the main focus. There is chemistry between the hero and heroine from the beginning and the buildup is in increments with witty comments, flirty glances and then a BAM sex scene that knocks you for a loop. Im a Prime fan, and this lives up to the same engaging romance that Sizemore is known for.

Of course I've enjoyed Sizemore's previous novels, but I wasn't sure if I would enjoy where she was taking this one. Sizemore travels to the distant future, after humans have nearly become extinct and are now fighting their way back by colonizing different areas in the universe. Yet, that is not what this story is about. Oh, no. Dark Stranger's entire book setting, of all things, is a military prison.

The mysterious Zoe's ship is under attack and she, as well as the surviving crew, were captured and taken to a desert world that houses an underground prison. When she arrives she is immediately drawn to the man in charge, who also happens to be the only human medical doctor, Doc Raven. Zoe's plans were to stay below the radar and NOT draw attention, but it's hard with Raven in the picture.

I won't say more about the story because what makes this story so good is discovering everything little by little as you read. I finished this one in just two days and was greedy for more.

Let me start by admitting I have not done my author research yet for this book. I finished the book in one 4 hour sitting and then once I started to put the review up learned that this book is part of a series...it is actually number eight in Susan Sizemore's 'Primes' series. Well, color me shocked, I had no idea this part of a series as I read it, I never felt like I was missing anything and there wasn't any reference (that I noticed) to previous books or anything like that, crazy. Now on to what I thought...I thought this book was awesome...I just finished it and I am trying to think of anything negative from the whole book...but I can't. The whole story line was very easy to follow, the complexity of the different cultures was unique and easy to understand as well. The characters were awesome and everything had a raw basis of sexuality...and it works well for the book. This book is Kenyon's League meets Ward's brotherhood with a splash of Riddick. I liked it. I think I heartily retract my abhorrence for futuristic romance....can't wait for the sequel as I start the search for the rest of the series.

Zoe has found herself the heir to the throne. She is determined to protect her people and ends up in a POW camp. Her status in the world makes her a threat to the rest of the inmates.

She meets Doc who runs the camp from the inside. Doc is a vampire and he wants nothing more than to make Zoe his own. Does he care enough to break her out of this prison hell and in turn save her life or will his powerful feelings keep him from letting her go?

Hot, hot, hot! This is a spicy romance with unforgettable characters.

I want more Vampire Book Club stories. Yes, I love the author's series of modern times Prime Books but I find the question of what do vampyres do for fun/hobbies/etc. quite intriging. They have free time just like the rest of us normals and though Ms. Sizemore's vampyres are not confined by sunlight and other traditional "allergies" still there must be limitations on what they can do - what does someone do for hobbies when you live so long - how do you stay sane? I like the idea of exploring vampyres in the future, when we have (hopefully) spread ourselves into space. Plus trying to read this from a female vampyre's point of view added a whole new dimension to the story. What do female vampyres look for in a hero? Doc is a wonderfully complex character, and Zoe is great - a true princess but with that core of independence we like in our heroines and sorely conflicted between duty and her heart. That her ultimate decision will make a political statement is just icing on the cake for her - but I won't say more - I hate spoilers! Read and enjoy!!

If your a reader of the "Prime" series by Ms. Sizemore, then you will remember in the last book the lady's talked about their book club and the next book they would be reading and discussing. Well, this is the book. Written in secret and only shown to the members of the women vampire's book club. Set in a Sci-Fi world, a twist of fate has Zoe Pappas heir to the Byzant throne captured and sent to a underground prisoner-of-war camp. The inmates are governed by a fellow inmate General Matthias "Doc" Raven. The sparks fly between the two. Zoe is keeping her identity a secret and so is Doc. A fun read with a introduction by the book club and a ending discussion by the book club.

I've enjoyed Susan Sizemore's vampire stories in the past and was very intrigued by the premise of this Prime story set in the future. Unfortunately, it did not work for me.

The mysterious energy wave that destroyed the Earth's atmosphere leading the way to the creation of the Byzant empire was lame. The inability of the enemy to locate the princess was lame. And then I kept getting these flash backs to one of the poorer STAR TREK movies (the one where Kirk and McCoy are sentenced to an underground Klingon prison located on an Ice planet). There was even a locator device that was planted in the hand of Zoe's chief of security.

The plot didn't flow. There were several jumpy bits but the worst was Zoe's suicide attempt that seemed fake to me. There was no build up in her state of mind that would justify that action. In fact, she had rejected it previously. And I didn't find any justificaiton for Matthias saying he had figured out that was what she was going to do because of her desperate attitude during their most recent sex encounter. Another out of kilter plot twist was Matthias' planning and execution of a big prison break out in less than 3 hours (including a time out for some sex with Zoe). And why was this plan successful? The Krills (or the enemy) just needed to slam the front door shut and that would have been that. And wasn't that a wonderful coincidence that the leader of Zoe's special forces rescue squad was Matthias' prime cousin? And gee whiz another member of the rescue team just happened to be a mattria (or whatever) who could marry Zoe & Matthias "Prime style"? /sarc.

I was never in sympathy with Zoe. She wasn't real. When I read about how her family already had embryos stored in the event of Zoe's death, my reaction was "That's all right then, let's kill her off!" Matthias was more realistic as a Prime (believable in the Sizemore world) but he needed a better bond mate than Zoe.

Heir to the Byzant Empire, human diplomat wearing the uniform of a naval lieutenant Zoe Pappas negotiates with the Asi. However, the enemy Hajim attacks her space ship and takes her to a prison planet in which human POWs mingle uneasily with other species dangerous to her kind.

Brigadier General Matthias "Doc" Raven leads the human POWs, demanding loyalty and no escape attempts. Zoe struggles with adjusting to captivity and her attraction to the BG. She conceals from Doc who she is and what her aborted mission was. Someone seems to know who she is and where she is; that person is willing to kill all the prisoners to get at Zoe; only Doc stands in their way.

This clever fantasy science fiction thriller is actually not part of the prime Primes saga, but a brilliant off shoot as a so-called work of fiction or perhaps a future history as the first tale in the Vampire Book Club read by several Prime characters. The story line is fast-paced and filled with plenty of action from the onset, but really takes off when Zoe and Doc meet as prisoners of war. Prime fans especially with relish Susan Sizemore's refreshing "futuristic" entry in her terrific series.

Harriet Klausner

I admit I bought this book last year and I didn't read it until now. I usually don't like science fiction books but I thought I give it a chance so I purchased it. I already read the other books by susan sizemore so by the time I got this and started reading the first couple of pages, I put the book down cause I didn't find it interesting and it had nothing to do with the other series but that was dumb of me and I was too quick to judge. I actually found this book better than Primal Instincts cause I skipped over Dark Stranger to read Primal Instincts and surprisingly I was kinda disappointed in that book. Dark Stranger gave me a break from the other series. It was different but still had some similarities. The only thing is I wish it had more details in the intimacy between them. When I was starting to get into it then it was already over. I consider that a quickie lol even though it probably wasn't for the characters but I wanted it to be longer but that's just me. There are some other things too I wouldve wanted a little more of but I'm going to leave it at this. It was good.