Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Recommended Read!, June 23, 2008
The end of the world is nearing and only a select few have the potential to stop it. They are the NIGHTKEEPERS... but has their heritage been lost too much for them to reclaim it?
Leah Daniels is a Miami Police Detective but she wants revenge on the cult leader she believes responsible for her brother's death. Matty was a victim of the so-called Calendar Killer and his death remains unsolved although Leah strongly suspects the cult leader who preaches the Mayan calendar countdown to 2012 signals the end of the world.
Meanwhile, Striking Jaguar is attempting to assemble the last of the NIGHTKEEPERS, a race he thought lost long ago in the massacre in which his parents perished. Strike is the heir to the throne but visions of Leah are disrupting his quest to save the world. Will his visions spell doom just as his father's did?
Jessica Andersen does a marvelous job at crafting a very credible and intensely complex world. The story is based on the Mayan mythology and the sheer depth of the legends alone would make NIGHTKEEPERS worth reading. Ms. Andersen takes things even deeper however, as she creates new races and powers that are all tied into the Mayan calendar and the fear of the year 2012.
NIGHTKEEPERS is a powerful, sometimes violent, but always exciting tale. Don't mistake the violence for being gratuitous, however, as the plot is true to the core of the Mayan belief system in her book and the lines between good and evil are clearly drawn. The pace never slows down as Jessica Andersen takes off running with the plot from the very first page.
Jessica Andersen introduces readers to a plethora of characters in NIGHTKEEPERS. Her book reads very much like a fantasy novel rather than the typical paranormal romance so I suspect that urban fantasy fans will appreciate her efforts the most. NIGHTKEEPERS requires some extensive world building and Ms. Andersen is only just now scratching the surface of the characters and what paths they will lead us readers down. I must admit that Rabbit really stole the show as his story is so unusual that it is hard not to feel sympathy for him.
NIGHTKEEPERS is an exciting and innovative foray into the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genres. Jessica Andersen simply blew me away with this phenomenal tale. Kudos to Jessica Andersen for a book that truly stands out!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entirely new realm, June 12, 2008
I admit that I'm a little late reading this book. It was on my shelf in the TBR pile. I picked it up this morning and I can say I've been an idiot for waiting this long.
Jessica Anderson has created an entirely new realm of heroes. These aren't your average shape shifter/vampire heroes but Mayan priests aka Night Keepers.
The story focuses on the son of the King, Strike, and a no-nonsense cop whose brother was killed, Leah.
Within this realistic battle of epic proportions of good vs. evil love seems to have taken root.
Strike needs to man up and take the Scepter of kingship; he also needs to gather the remaining Night Keepers and their Winikins. Leah needs to find her brother's murderer and closure for herself in regards to her brother joining the 2012 Prophecy 'cult.'
When Leah and Strike meet sparks fly (literally across the room) and they immediately fall for one another, but the world's ending in four years (hence 2012) and to release the Night Keeper's god (ancient Mayan serpent) it requires Leah's death.
Ah the problem! The world or Leah's life?
This book was great, and certainly a welcome addition to any avid paranormal reader's collection. After I was done reading it I immediately found myself reading an excerpt from Dawn Keeper and becoming ticked that I have to wait until January 2009 for the story to continue.
Anderson has previously only written Harlequin books and I am happy to say has now left her mark in the paranormal world.
Must read!
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Way Too Busy!!, June 27, 2008
The Night Keepers novel appeared to be a "labor of love" effort for the author. It was very detailed and the Night Keeper's world very much mapped out. It's obvious the author put a lot of effort, time, thought and research on this offering. Unfortunately, the effort was very evident and this book's detailed history and rituals also made it a slow and laborious read.
In a nutshell, Strike is raised to believe that he is the last of the Nightkeeper's warrior priests. So imagine his surprise when he discovers there are twelve others. He has to reunite them and ascend to the throne. However, with the new revelations, he discovers the woman of his dreams (literally & figuratively speaking) has been marked for death. She (Leah) has to be sacrificed to ummm....basically, save the world. Strike understandably has problems with this. The decisions that he makes to save his beloved... ultimately starts a countdown to the end of the world.
Okay. I really didn't care for this story, even though it was well written. The main characters or character didn't draw me in. While Leah was a very strong heroine, and certainly worthy to be saved, Strike came off as a whiny, petulant kid. He had to be practically forced to "do" his duty and even then, screwed it up. His screw ups resulted in the death of a really loyal Night Keeper. I really have problems seeing how anyone could follow this royal loser. If he could be so cavalier about "end of the world" prophecies, one could only imagine how he'd react towards saving your life, or anyone's life that doesn't include Leah.
I read this story thinking, "Wow! It's way too busy." There were MANY "points of views" which seemed a little like overkill. The author decided to give us insight on just about all of the additional 12 (possibly more) Nightkeeper's thoughts and views. Instead of gradually introducing these additional characters, (maybe in the additional books we'll get) we were sort of thrown into their lives. But irritatingly so, just given little bits and pieces of their thoughts and views. I'm guessing the tidbits were to whet our appetites and get us "salivating" for the additional stories that you know are coming. However, the only other Nightkeeper that seems remotely interesting was Snake Mendez. And he's in jail. The other Nightkeepers just seem kind of "blah." The author also "very nicely" paired the Nightkeepers up for us in this book. So...there's no surprise on who their mates will be. Okay, there goes the element of suspense.
I don't want to give up on this series. But if it takes me 10 days to finish the next book, like it took me on this one, I may have to. Out of sheer boredom's sake.
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