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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great start to a fascinating new paranormal story, July 29, 2008
Centuries ago, the Naturi nearly destroyed Mira in their attempt to control her and her unusual gifts. Not many Nightwalkers are endowed with powers such as Mira's abilities with fire, an element deadly to other Nightwalkers.
Only a Triad of powerful vampires saved Mira, as well as both the human and Nightwalker races. Sealing the Naturi where they could do no harm was effective, but also temporary - at least if the Naturi who managed to escape that fate can do anything about it.
The Naturi have already broken the Triad and now it is up to Mira to protect the remaining two and find a new third before it is too late. And the only one she can trust to help is her worst enemy - the vampire hunter Danaus!
NIGHTWALKER kicks off the first book in Jocelynn Drake's DARK DAYS saga with a bang! This newcomer to the publishing arena has crafted a rich and powerful world with characters that are as real as imagination can get, and likeable despite their foibles. Well, except for those nasty Naturi, of course.
The Naturi are the major villains of this story. So far, there are just no redeeming qualities about this hateful and destructive race, which is perfect for their role in this battle. With all of the other characters we meet, however, there is a touch of good and evil in each person, no matter if they are human or Nightwalker.
And then there is Danaus. No one really knows what he is, and he isn't talking. Yes, he is a vampire slayer, but this man has more secrets than anyone can guess, and he keeps fairly closemouthed about them. Still, he says what needs to be said, and certainly gets the job done.
Mira is absolutely a kick-butt heroine. Vampire she may be, but she is a woman of honor who takes her responsibilities as guardian to those weaker than herself very seriously. She can kill without blinking an eye, but only those who deserve it. She is strong, yet with her world closing in on her and her worst nightmare determined to recapture her, she needs someone to rely on. Strangely enough, she finds that person in Danaus, the most unlikely of places.
It is interesting to watch the evolution of Mira's and Danaus' convictions concerning each other as they spend time in close proximity, fighting at each other's sides against a greater evil than either can handle alone. They discover that neither is quite what they expected and their preconceived notions begin to waver in the face of the truths they witness in each other. Consequently, they form a grudging mutual respect and eventually there is even a bit of old fashioned chemistry...
If you are looking for a good piece of paranormal fiction, then you should give NIGHTWALKER a try. If you are looking for romance, this is not the book. That said, even though there really isn't any romance in this first story, Mira does have chemistry with a couple of men in her life, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a relationship with one of them develop in a later story. In fact, the book feels much like Laurell K. Hamilton's first ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER book in that respect. There was no romance in those earlier ANITA BLAKE books, but there were definitely potential love interests and later editions in that series explore those relationships, as I hope will happen in sequels to NIGHTWALKER.
I do have to say that the pacing of NIGHTWALKER was a bit slower than I would have liked. Although it didn't ruin the story, it did detract a bit from my enjoyment of it. For something that feels more like an action-oriented paranormal, the barrage of history, some of which seems superfluous to the plot, bogged that action down.
Also, there were a lot of repetitive words and phrases throughout the novel. In particular, the heroine constantly referred to her bodyguards as her `angels', or variations of that word. Most often she called them her `Guardian Angel' or `my Angel'. It was not unusual to see Mira reference the bodyguards with some form of the word angel many times in a very small section of text, and on one page, she referred to the same bodyguard as `my angel' three times. While I appreciated that the men who protect her during her day sleep were special to her, the repetitive endearment became tedious after a while. It would have been less so for me if the author had substituted an alternate endearment or used the bodyguard's names more often.
Those two disappointments are what made me rate this book a four instead of a five. I really liked the plot, loved the characters, but these issues did keep me from totally loving the book.
That said, it is a very enjoyable read, and I have very high hopes for the next book. For an author's debut novel, I think that Jocelynn Drake has done admirably well and I hope to see more soon from this imaginative author. I certainly cannot wait to see what happens next with Mira and her companions!
**Courtesy of Wild on Books**
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Return of the Urban Fantasy Bada** Heroine!, August 5, 2008
Nightwalker, the first Dark Days series novel, is the debut of author Jocelynn Drake. With acknowledgements to Kim Harrison and Rachel Vincent it should be no surprise that this book falls into the vein of such juicy paranormal fantasy fare of Harrison's Hollows series and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake.
The dark days are coming and Mira is the kick-butt heroine taking on the world. A vampire enforcer, the guardian of her U.S. domain, she is the one the nightwalkers call the Fire Starter. Blessed with the gift of controlling fire before she was turned she retains this ability and won't hesitate to use it to protect the secret that is the world of the nightwalkers. When a hunter called Danaus comes into her territory seeking her she's quick to seek him out for a confrontation.
Danaus brings with him news of the naturi, an elfin race that wish to wipe both nightwalkers and humans from the face of the earth. Five centuries ago the naturi were locked away on another plane of existence by the vampires and those left behind are trying to break the seal that binds them. Mira and Danaus must join forces if they are going to save the world from destruction at the hands of the naturi. Their adventure takes them to Egypt and Britain, meeting up with members of Themis (the group Danaus is part of) and the Coven (the vampire heirarchy). With lots of action and suspense expect to be sucked into the world of the nightwalkers and dragged along for a bumpy ride!
While Drake makes some annoying first time author mistakes (ie. repetitive comments) she has done a great job of reviving the tough-as-nails heroine. Mira is no wilting flower or gushing romance-stricken maiden. She can dish out a butt-kicking and take one in return. While she has obvious attractions and sensuality she puts her duties first. If you're looking for a paranormal romance this isn't it. I felt the story dragged a little at times and far too many side characters were introduced and then never mentioned again. But overall I loved Mira because she is what Anita Blake once was and Rachel Morgan might have been. If you're a fan of either series you will most likely enjoy this one enough to be interested in further installments--I sure am!
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Vampires Politics vs Elves, September 4, 2008
On one side are the evil Naturi, evil elves with an elemental aspect (wind, earth, light, water, etc) who command the powers of nature (and control animals including were-creatures). They represent the sun, their blood poisons vampires, and they view both nightwalkers and humanity as parasites upon the Earth. They sacrifice children for magic power, and are always written as arrogant, stupid, sadistic caricatures.
On the other side are vampires, who eat humans (but that gets downplayed). They represent the moon. Mira, the Firestarter, is the vampire who is in charge of the battle plans. Mira is written as a 'good' vampire heroine. Her character sketch is really deep (much history) near the end of the novel.
On the other, other side is Danaus the vampire hunter. He fought with the Roman legions, is older than 600ish Mira, and this is never explained. His organization is quite extensive and works to protect humanity from supernatural threats, and reminded me of the Watcher's Council from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's the librarians cleaning their glasses like Giles, I swear.
What everyone agrees on is the naturi are the enemy and must be eradicated. Mira and Danaus stop attempting to kill each other, and vampire political games where vamp killeth vamp for foolish pride also cease. Naturi die, probably a hundred by the end of the book, and I have to wonder where the heck are all of them coming from? The vampires thought they hunted them to extinction 500+ years ago.
Anyway, multiple plot twists, changing locations, and life and undeath action. Very little analysis or intelligent forethought. Battles are reactive. While entertaining, it's about par for the urban fantasy genre, including deep vampire conspiracy and hidden supernatural power struggles.
Drake isn't as good as Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Illona Andrews, Rachel Caine, or Simon Green, but she's better than Vicki Peterson and Gerry Bartlett. About the same level as Karen Chance. If you like secretive urban fantasy that's heavy on action and lighter on romance, you'll like this.
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