Customer Reviews

Nightlife (Cal Leandros)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

With the many books about the supernatural to choose from, how to decide which to read first? That depends on why you read the genre. So rather than just saying that this is a good book, well-written and fast-moving, in the exciting setting of New York, let me give you a few contrasts and comparisons to other fantasy novels, so you can pinpoint whether this is the type you like.

First, it's urban fantasy. If you're looking for elves with bows and arrows, woodland fantasies with castles and towers, this isn't it. But if you like the urban settings of, say, the Harry Dresden novels of Jim Butcher (which are probably what this one is closest in character to, even though it's entirely different) or Andrew Swann's gritty Cleveland, then this is the same type of urban action.

Then, although there are supernatural characters, the types of them are not quite exactly the same as they are in most genre novels. The elves in here are not nice people, they're neither people nor nice. Referred to formally as the Auphe, they are nasty and no one can stand them, not even other Auphe. Our protagonist is half-Auphe, and this is the basis for most of his problems. There is a troll, but just one, and yes, he lives under the Brooklyn Bridge. And there's a vampire - not a whole bunch of them, though; while this is the same general sort of novel as many contemporary vampire novels are, there's not much vampire action. Our protagonists find out about the vampire in a funny/odd manner, which is different from most of the genre conventions. Vampire novel readers will probably enjoy the book despite the relative scarcity of the vampires.

One of the characters I liked best was used car salesman Rob Fellows - who is really Robin Goodfellow, a "puck." This is another case where Thurman's supernatural species are not the same old same old; Goodfellow (and his fellow pucks, although we're never quite sure whether there still are any others) are sort of a conflation of what we would normally think of as fairies, and of satyrs/Pan. It's an unusual version of Faerie, and has its funny moments. There are also a few people who are human, but with special talents/powers, and some who are only human but capable of great things. We have a good balance of supernatural and natural characters and events. (And I haven't even told you about Catcher, who is yet another matter...)

The characters in this book, at least those who are human or can pass for human, do other things besides their fantasy gigs; they hold day jobs (or night jobs, as the case may be); some go to school every day. There are enough details about life in the city to know it's New York we're in, although it's not quite as detailed as, say, Tanya Huff's Toronto.

All in all, an excellent first novel and a worthy member of the urban fantasy genre, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

THREE QUICK POINTS:
* Point 1: If you were to remove all the adjectives and adverbs from the book, it would probably shrink by about 60 pages. Being a lover of adjectives and adverbs, it pains me to say this, but there's a limit to their use. They should be treated like a fine and potent spice--use only as much as necessary or the entire dish could be spoiled.

* Point 2: This Cal character is wonderful in a sardonic way. The novel got heavy at times and it felt like trudging through mud, but the twisted humor injected through Cal's voice certainly helped to balance it out.

* Point 3: What happened to the climax? The buildup is good, the tension is there, and you're poised, ready to see what dark and ominous creatures spring forth to tear the main characters into shreds, and then...whaaa...that's it?!?

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Two brothers, Cal (short for Caliban) and Niko Leandros, are on the run from things they call Grendels, which they later find out are called the Auphe, a completely depraved race of creatures who enjoy slaughter for simple entertainment value. And these things want Cal. Together Cal and Niko try to stay one step ahead until they're forced to deal with the problem once and for all. Along the way, they meet Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, a michevious, egotistical and lecherous elf and the trio find themselves on an adventure to discover the reason for the Auphe's indefatigable pursuit of Cal.

MY THOUGHTS:
Frankly, I'm still debating whether or not I liked it. Actually, I *did* enjoy it...up until the climax that never came. As a result, I'm leery of reading the second book in the series, Moonshine, which I already have sitting on my bookshelf. Let me try to explain as best I can without giving up spoilers...

In Nightlife, Cal's character was well developed. He grows on you. Once you open yourself to his personality and his view of the world, you begin to sympathize with him. Of course, his telling you that he's a monster every few pages does wear a bit thin, but you learn to gloss over it.

On the flip side of the coin is his older half-brother Niko. Now, it's not difficult to like Niko except that Niko isn't nearly as well-developed a character. Throughout, Niko felt like a slightly modified version of Cal's alter ego. As readers, we're told that Niko is a super intelligent jedi ninja master, but the only thing shown to us is that he's a health food nut who speaks like he stepped out of the 17th century. He seems no more skilled, talented, or intelligent than Cal and overall, he seems very Cal-esque.

The novel does a good job, however, introducing (albeit fleetingly) other characters who would do well in future installments of the series. Off the top of my head, I'd like to see more development with Georgina, the young psychic who Cal has a romantic interest in, Promise Nottinger, a beautiful vampire who Niko has a romantic interest in, and even Robin Goodfellow, who has a romantic interest in anything with legs.

Moving away from the characters, the novel fluctuates between being crisply written and trying too hard. Since it's written from Cal's point of view, sometimes it seems as though he has a touch of multiple personality disorder. Now, that's not entirely a bad thing. It makes Cal seem much more human. It only becomes a problem when he goes overboard on the descriptions or self-deprecation. It's one thing to paint a scene for the reader, but it's quite another to leave no room for the reader's own imagination to take over. At these junctures in the novel, it felt very much like trudging through a mud-trap. Luckily, it didn't happen enough to destroy the entire novel.

What shot the novel straight to hell was the anticlimactic climax. Just before the climax, the voice shifts from that of Cal to the Darkling who possessed him and that's where it all went plummeting downhill. The sudden change of voice threw me off-kilter, plus it slowed down the pacing. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if the Darkling's narration was more believable. Sure he wanted to do ReallyBadThings™, as demon creatures are wont to do, but it never quite pushed the envelope and became stunningly predictable.

The whole novel prepares the reader for a battle to end all battles; it prepares the reader for the end of the world as she knows it and then it falls completely flat. That final battle (I feel silly even calling it a "battle") read like something out of a D- horror/action movie. The climax seemed like a rushed and incomplete afterthought. I felt cheated.

Despite this minor dent in my trust, I'm still reminded that the prose was clean, Cal's character was witty, the storyline was interesting and I actually enjoyed reading the novel (for the most part). Since this was a debut novel, I'm willing to give this author another shot because it can only get better, right?

Having grown up with the hippy and new age set, I've always had this dream that I was really something a bit otherworldly - a pookah, or a mage, or even (if I could only become tall and thin) and elf. Something very cool and Tolkien. Imagine if you discovered that you really were an elf, but that far from being the fair folk, elves were down right mean and nasty. I don't mean archly evil, I mean ugly, smelly, critters that like to torture their meals before eating them. That's what happened to Caliban Leandros, and no, being a half-Auphe (or grendel) was decidedly not fun.

Cal is the result of a breeding program, his father an Auphe and his mother a hired receptacle. At an early age Cal was yanked into the Auphe dimension. When he suddenly reappeared he was without his memory and the target of monsters everywhere. In company with his brother Niko, Cal has been running and hiding ever since. Whatever the Auphe wanted him for, it was bad news, and being around Cal for a length of time was frequently fatal. Whatever was going on, it was becoming more intense, and Niko and Cal go on a desperate search for answers that has them team up with a beautiful vampire and a faun named Robin Goodfellow.

Cal isn't even safe inside himself. If being a creature with dark, malevolent urges isn't enough, Cal's mind is seized by a banshee, a darkling and the reader has the unnerving experience of having the narrator stay the same but his personality shift right into the dumps. Now Niko and Robin's problem is how to save the world and save Cal. A tough act in any case made harder by the fact that the new Cal is all for killing everyone, once and for all.

The story is told in that first person, tough and wisecracking style that has become popular lately. The problem with this approach is that it is very hard to do without sounding like a 50's mystery story. Cal and Niko's dialog sounds heavily teenage - more so than you would expect from folks who lived on the edge to total destruction. The story is original though, and my real complaint is the lengths Thurman is willing to go to rewrite the world of the Fae. Bad enough that his elves are all psychotic killers, Darkling is the one and only male banshee (a term that actually means female elf), in written literature. Thurman's problem, you will discover, is not poor writing or plotting, but an irritating lack of familiarity with the Western legends from which he draws his story.

I'll still credit this with being a decent read with a lot of original twists, just be prepared for a few winces at the humor and the twisted fairyology.

I am a sucker for the paranormal fantasy genre and this book sounded very interesting and different. Every book in this series received high reviews so I went and purchased the first 3 books in the series before reading Nightlife. By the time I read up to page 20 for the third time I was kicking myself for buying three of these books! The world is certainly original and a couple of the secondary characters are endearing but there wasn't much else I enjoyed about this book and series.

One of the main things I disliked about this book is the overdone writing. At one point in the book one of the secondary characters, a seer named George, gives Cal and Niko a flowery poetic seeing and states she just had poetry 6th period. I think the author also just had poetry 6th period before she wrote this book. This book is so full of 6th period poetry that it does nothing constructive and holds the main plot back. Sometimes the author would have three analogies for one point. Analogies are wonderful ways to enhance a book, but when you have a whole paragraph full of analogies to simply state how sharp a sword is, that is when it becomes too much.

Another thing I disliked about the book is the main character, Cal. Caliban is younger, approximately 19, which the author did a wonderful job in portraying him as. However, she did too good of a job. Cal is a shallow, angry, arrogant, mouthy, cynical kid who does nothing to endear you to him. He throws swear words around like it will make him a big boy. Like with the analogies, I have no problem with swearing, but that seems to be all Cal knows how to say.

Niko is the main secondary character who I did thankfully find quite likable. The problem I did have with Niko is that he is too unrealistic. Niko has spent the last 4 years of his life training to protect Cal from the Auphe and has somehow within that short period of time become an expert in every weapon possible. Niko uses swords, guns, knifes, hand-to-hand, staffs and axes like he has been training his whole life with each weapon.

One of the last problems I had with this book is the plot in general. Nothing really happens until about page 180. Up until that point you slog through analogy after analogy of how Cal is upset from always running from the Auphe and trying to figure out what he and the Auphe are. Some aspects of the plot also didn't make sense. At one point in the book, Darkling who has possessed Cal kills a Werewolf in a hotel room he is staying in and leaves the dead body. The hotel knows clearly what Cal looks like and I'm sure they have plenty of DNA samples and fingerprints, but Cal seems to get away with this by simply moving to a new apartment. The authorities don't seem to notice that the dead body is not human. Furthermore, the nonhuman creatures don't seem to do much to stay hidden but the humans in the series all seem to be blind and not notice. Most of the monsters will walk around in public with nothing but hoodies to conceal themselves.

Overall I was very disappointed in this book and series. Since I bought the 2nd and 3rd book I read those also and thankfully the series does get a bit better, but I wont be reading the 4th book.

I must admit that I started this book with a wee bit of trepidation. The summary on the back sounds so much like most of the fare one might find in this genre and how many angsty teen reluctant hero books can one read? So I picked up Rob Thurman's 'Nightlife' prepared for trivial dribble and overdone plot devices.

I am most pleased to report that I was wrong. This is a fresh and imaginative tale told by a new author in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy scene. The characters are real and fully-rounded and the plot never lags or resorts to trite one liners.

Old mythology standbys are given modern day makeovers. One can tell that Mr. Thurman is as well versed in Grimm as Shakespeare and uses both reference points with ease. Several moments had me in tears, quite a few more made me laugh. But this book does so well what many can't - it made me afraid. A battle with a troll becomes a walk in a nightmare, many preconceived notions about characters and situations are turned on their heads in vicious plot twists, and you feel a palpable sense of growing terror and desperation from the characters as they are thrust into a life or death battle against a truly evil foe.

The plot flows, the characters are engaging, and the story seems immediate and real. All in all, this is an exciting start to what may be an incredible new series. A heartfelt welcome to Rob Thurman and his universe. I can't wait for the next installment.

Gah! I had no idea this was the start of a series. Being a stand-alone was one of its few redeeming features, I thought...until now.

Garbage. Absolute garbage. I really had to struggle to finish it, and I went into the read knowing it was going to be...well, not high literature, to put it mildly. The blurb on the back sounded fun, though, and I thought it would make an entertaining light read.

But...

The far too self-consciously post-Buffy 'cool' characters were ridiculous and I couldn't suspend disbelief for them at all. And the characters you're not meant to like were even stupider. Cal's mother was completely over the top and unbelievable. For example, nobody in HISTORY slept with an Auphe except this woman, she's that amoral. Everybody is that level of over the top, actually, in different ways. Everyone's the ultimate something in this or that. Except Cal, of course, who we're constantly reminded is a 'typical teen' - ie, lazy, junk-food-loving, slovenly, temperamental, disinterested in education...oh, and hot without realising it, naturally - aside from his being-half-monster problem. Of course.

Conversation was dreadful. Just perpetual quipping. And everybody quipped in the same way, even Abbagor the troll. Though Niko raids the thesaurus a little more than the others, thusly making his quipping especially clunky. Note to author: Knowing long words doesn't mean you use them all the time. Particularly not in casual conversation. Niko says things like "obtain transportation", not "get a car". This is how you, the reader, know he is smart. Oh, but if that's too subtle for you, don't worry - Cal will regularly remind you that Niko is smart by telling you that Niko is smart in his (often incongruous with his own professed intellect) first-person narrative. Other characters will also never fail to point out that Niko is smart. They can tell because of the Big Words he uses, you see.

All of the above, combined with a seemingly neverending supply of mixed metaphor (see: "The voice of reason was not a hat I wore"), pretending not to write in cliche by substituting something supposedly hip and irreverent (see: "That would be the pot remarking on the kettle's penchant for Goth"), and a fair whack of Just Plain Bad (see: "They had a saying for literally everything under the sun") made this the worst thing I've read in ages.

It takes a lot to get me annoyed enough to submit a negative review. This did it. It's that bad.

"Most kids don't believe in fairy tales very long. Once they hit six or seven they put away 'Cinderella' and her shoe fetish, 'The Three Little Pigs' with their violation of building codes, 'Miss Muffet' and her well-shaped tuffet - all forgotten or discounted....The only trouble is that it's not all make-believe." So begins a journey into a different New York City; one with dogfights between werewolves, socialite vampires, mugger-devouring mud creatures, and evil elves. The problem is, it's actually the same NYC we all know and love, just seen through the eyes of a couple of young men who know better.

This is a thoroughly engrossing tale told from the first-person point of view of the younger brother. Not many authors can tell a story from that aspect, but Thurman does it with total believability. With the first words your attention is riveted, and doesn't wander for a full 339 pages. The descriptions are vivid, pulling the reader fully into this strange world, with the occasional twist to make you chuckle - take the description of a female werewolf, for example: "A fiercely thick unibrow shadowed amber yellow eyes. Her jaw, while of human shape, was longer than usual with an underbite to make an orthodontist cringe. Her brown shaggy hair was pulled high into a bushy ponytail. It was the same color as the hair that showed in abundance from the neck and armholes of her sleeveless T-shirt. She had that European look nailed."

The characters, strange as they may be, are just as believable despite their supernatural origins, and the reader ends up caring for even the secondary characters, wondering where they came from and what they've experienced. I have now read this book cover-to-cover twice, and am anxiously awaiting a sequel, hoping for the answers to some of those questions. I HIGHLY recommend this book, and have the distinct feeling that we're going to be seeing many more stories from this marvelous author.

With the flood of supernatural books on the market right now its hard to find one that really stands out. I enjoyed "Nightlife" so much I was compelled to write my first amazon review. This book achieves a balance of all the things I like in a book-memorable characters, clever dialogue full of sarcasm, action, mystery, suspense and just a hint of romance (smut free thankfully). All this and a twist that's unique to any book I remember reading.

The author's website says a sequel is coming next year but I don't think I can wait that long. I want to know what happens to Cal and Niko now!

So I'm done with "Nightlife" and halfway through "Moonshine," and overall, I am content.

This is NOT AT ALL influenced by the fact that the "Moonshine" cover artist seems to have decided that main character Cal and older brother Niko bear a striking resemblance to Wentworth Miller. Not at all. No no no.

So, "Nightlife": This is not, er, great literature. The writing is uneven -- it really sings at times, but at other times it's just trying way too hard. There is a limit to how many times it's necessary to point out that the main character considers himself a monster. It's already the kicker -- the final, ominous comment -- to too many of the chapters, but the ironic, "Monsters are like such and such, which I understood perfectly -- after all, I was one" references to his own evil nature are also sprinkled liberally throughout (Not to mention the entire focus of the prologue and first chapter as well). We get it.

Mom Sophia is a bit of a caricature as well. No redeeming features on that one.

But by far the greatest impediment is big brother Niko. I understand that baby brother idolizes him, but not for one second do I buy that, first, this fully-human, completely magic-free guy is "more than a match" for every single supernatural creature these two encounter. If, in a roomful of slavering, murderous Auphe, Niko is supposed to be the (or pretty darn close to the) "deadliest thing in the room," then what the heck have I spent half a book fearing the Auphe for?

But far, far more than that? I do not believe for an instant in the way Niko TALKS. I don't care how many dojos you frequent or if they've made you into a freaking Renaissance ninja on par with Bruce Lee (Cal's comparison, not mine) from whom all forces of darkness quail -- if you are a 21st-century carnival-raised, ghetto-living, money-free, bottom-of-barrel street-scrapper, you are not ever, at any time, going to say things like "She is but a girl, Darkling!" You just won't. It's unnatural. Even if you're capable of it, smart enough, well-read enough, whatever. It's a matter of self-preservation. No one will take you seriously, for one. If you are not wearing breeches, lorgnette, and silk hose as a part of your daily attire amongst all your friends who also sport hose and lace, please use contractions in your sentences. Niko talks like a senior thesis even when at rest. It jars, and it gets in the way of me really feeling the character or empathizing with the brotherly bond between the two (which is meant to be a major plot point). Where did he get it from? A dojo with a sideline of elocution lessons? NO one else they know talks like this. It makes the character very distant and inaccessible, and I don't think that was intentional.

But ultimately, I do like these two. A lot. Enough to want to know more about them, and what will become of them. Flaws aside, the world and creatures Thurman has created are compelling and not too derivative (although the book likes to remind us of this too much), and pretty darn horrifying (especially the abduction scene). And Cal is FUNNY. There's a good voice on this character that I'm sure the writer will develop.

Say... about 1.5 stars off for just one too many eyerolls on my part. But I'm still more than okay with shelling out to read more.

(Fans of the show 'SUPERNATURAL" should definitely appreciate this one. Similar themes and lots of excitement.)

Whenever you pick a new book up, especially one by a new author its always chancy...and this time I'm extremely glad I took it! Nightlife starts fast and doesn't slow down. Its always fun to find a fantasy that has its own little twist to it, who always wants to read about happy shiny elves that never take a wrong step?. This book was refreshing and orginal in a sea of sad knock-off, used, and abused ideas.
The main character (Cal) is sarcastic, a pain in the ass, has a wicked sense of humor, hell he's a teenager with more than the average problems; how many guys have to walk around wondering when the monster inside is going to finally show its face...so c'mon give the kid some leeway, I'm thinking he more than deserves it.
This isn't one of those books that depends on the main character to carry the whole storyline, the author filled this book with secondary characters that in themselves could have been the focus. Cal's brother Nik is a force unto himself; cool, suave, a get in your face kick-ass kind of guy, he doesn't take any nonsense off anyone. The interaction between these two brothers is fairly intense, there are several laughs but the more subtle signs are there to be seen too. When you've been on the run for years, having to depend on someone to cover your back...well your going to get some attachment issues no doubt.
Besides Nik you also have to take note of some other interesting people..the pill popping vamp, the healer with some furry family issues, the young/old physic, and my personal fav...Robin, randy used car salesman, who's always on the lookout for a good ole virgin.
Don't get me wrong though this isn't a fairytale story, even though Rob Thurman managed to mix in the day to day humor that desperate people like Cal and Nik use to survive. This is a dark storyline, one that keeps building up and makes you think; all the secrets aren't thrown out there for you to see. So you want a book that will keep you up all night trying to finish it, well here ya go, it's right there on the shelf staring you in the face!