The Mirror (Paperback)

~ Natalia Lincoln (Author), Evi Numen (Illustrator), Tim Hatcher (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

...[A]n exciting variation on the vampire theme. A true storyteller, Natalia Lincoln expertly weaves a mysterious tale of a powerful vampire disarmed by the dreams and memories of his intended victim. Her poetic, musical style and beautifully drawn characters hold the reader spellbound... You will not be able to put this book down. --Linda Addison, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes

A vivid dark world of punks, demons, and blood, of red velvet and black leather dusters. Driven by necessity, dread, and love, these characters carve their names on our hearts so we will never forget. --Jeanne Cavelos, editor, The Many Faces Of Van Helsing

Natalia Lincoln is a new voice whispering along the corridors of shadows and light -- and it would do you well to listen. --P.D. Cacek

Product Description

A vampire glimpses his reflection in a mirror for the first time in eight hundred years... his victim, a young woman lost in the modern city, finds herself pulled into an ancient quest. Natalia Lincoln's epic tale of obsession, bloodlines, and an undying curse richly evokes medieval Eastern Europe and present-day New York.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Space and Time; 1st edition (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091705315X
• ISBN-13: 978-0917053153
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,993,086 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars an extraordinary tale that was just too long, January 25, 2009

By	L. B. Taylor (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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A dark fantasy, a different take on the vampire theme and a book that calls for a sequel- "The Mirror" conveys a morally complicated story that was written very well. The problem is that it is just too long. I enjoyed it but it wasn't one of those books that I could finish in one read like some of the other reviewers had done. Also, you should know that the story flips from the present to the past and back again (in all, seven times) but it is not what I would consider a time travel book.

The editorial reviews do a good job of describing what the book is about. I've read many paranormal books but I've never read a vampire story like this- small details, a different explanation on how vampires started, and an absorbing account on how one woman comes to terms with her history.

The story ended well but I would like to see a shorter written sequel and a book that costs less than this one did.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, January 7, 2008

By	F. L. Justice (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Natalia Lincoln is a new and exciting voice in dark fantasy/sf. I read this book straight through. I went through a "vampire stage" several years ago reading all the stuff by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Anne Rice until I burned out. This rekindled my appreciation of the genre - it grabbed me with its new twists and excellent writing. The characters are compelling and tortured, the plot advances at breakneck speed and the ending delivers. I read and write historical fiction and Lincoln did her homework in the Medieval sections. The historical and modern detail is vivid and accurate, making the brooding castles of Eastern Europe and the gritty streets of modern New York characters in their own right. Highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost of a New York past, December 18, 2007

By	Charles J. Burns "cjbvii" (Bloomfield, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Remember when the words "East Village" used to strike terror in your average suburban American? Conversely, the semi-apocalyptic landscape of Alphabet City, Tompkins Square Park and CBGBs was a magnet for fringe artists, punk rockers, goths and other members of 1980s and early 90s counter-culture; it's precisely this twilight world of music, art and the forbidden and esoteric where Natalia Lincoln's tale of vampires, fate, and redemption unfolds.

Lincoln's characters are all living on some sort of edge -- marginal, overlooked figures by the standards of mainstream society. When prophecy, music, magic and bloodlust catalyse a reaction between these very different New York City misfits (Miercurea, a centuries-old vampire and ruthless killer -- Mari, a sensitive and passionate student of classical music and history -- and Slain, a teenage goth beginning to explore the Manhattan deathrock underworld as he comes of age) we're taken on an unforgettable ride through the New York of the 80s and 90s and further to medieval Eastern Europe and beyond.

"Vampire books" are often plagued by overly-pretentious purple prose which reads more like bad romance pulp than historical fantasy, but there's none of that here. Lincoln's language is immediate, forceful, and visceral -- like sex that's just rough enough to be exciting, while passionate and sincere enough to keep you coming back for more.