Private Demon: A Novel of the Darkyn [Mass Market Paperback]

Lynn Viehl (Author)

Book Description

Series: NOVEL OF THE DARKYN | Publication Date: March 6, 2012

Night after night, Jema Shaw's dreams have become a haven for Thierry Durand. But his nocturnal visits have placed her in danger and brought her between two ancient enemies: the Brethren and the Darkyn.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Under her own name and pseudonyms, Lynn Viehl has published over twenty-five novels with ROC and NAL since her debut novel was published in January 2000. She and her family currently live in Florida.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217055
• ISBN-13: 978-0451217059
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Dark Fantasy -- Creepy Romance, March 21, 2006

By 

L. Wong (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Demon: A Novel of the Darkyn (Mass Market Paperback)

Private Demon
by Lynn Viehl (S.L. Viehl)
Book 2 of the Darkyn series

Grade: B

Lynn Viehl has created another excellent dark fantasy novel in her Darkyn series. However, as a romance, once again, it does very poorly, for reasons I'll mention in a moment.

Jema Shaw works at her father's museum doing, and also consults with the police department. She's exposed to a murder of a man and, at the same time, to Thierry Durand, a Darkyn seeking members of the evil Brethren to atone for wrongs he's done. Thierry is somewhat mad, after being betrayed by his wife of a few hundred years, and being tortured by the Brethren. However, he becomes obsessed with Jema and begins entering her dreams. Jema, on the other hand, is sickly and slowly dying of diabetes and living at home with her hypochondriac, scheming mother.

Viehl has done an excellent job layering her plot in Private Demon. It follows a story arc from the first book, If Angels Burn, and will surely continue to the next book, due out in June 2006. I found myself totally fascinated by the mystery and the characters -- particularly the secondary characters like Jamys, Thierry's son, Valentin Jaus, and John Keller. Probably more so than the main characters. However, Viehl gives equal time to each piece of the story and all the characters, so the book feels less about Thierry and Jema, and more about the Darkyn and Alexandra's brother, John. There are some interesting issues of race brought into this book, and a lot of emotional intensity formed from the love triangle.

Viehl cannot do romance, however. While she does excellent dark fantasy, her idea of romance is creepy and scary. IMO, Jema ended up with the wrong guy. I don't understand how stalker dude (SCARY, murdering stalker dude, at that) can end up being her main love interest. We leave poor deeply caring Jaus out in the cold. He, IMO, would have made a much better love interest, and maybe he'll have his own book. But I didn't buy into the romance (what little there was) between Jema and Thierry. I never bought that Thierry's madness went away.

Again, I'd recommend this book and series to those who enjoy urban fantasy or dark fantasy. But if you're reading for a romance, go look up J.R. Ward or Sherrilyn Kenyon.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Private Lives of Vampires, October 22, 2005

By 

Anna Hope (PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Demon: A Novel of the Darkyn (Mass Market Paperback)

Jema, a sickly bluestocking heiress in modern day Chicago, dreams of darkly brooding Thierry each night in her sleep.Only Theirry is knowingly diving into her dreams. As a vampire, or "Darkyn", influencing mortals dreams is his specialty. And after his own tortured capture in Viehl's previous book (If Angels Burn) Thierry is on the lamb from the rest of the darkyn. He's determind to find out what happened to a brutalized young woman who was formerly Alexandria's patient. Alexandria gave him back the use of his twisted body in the last book & Thierry feels he owes her since, you know, he drained her body dry after she helped him.

Thierry feels that Jema holds the key to this mystery but easily becomes distracted by the odd intrigues of Jema's life as she begins to heal him from the betrayel of his wife.

The best characters in this book, besides Alex & Michael our returning darkyn couple who rule the USA, are Jamys- Thierry's mute & permanently teenaged son and Valentin Jaus. Jaus is the somberly mysterious vampire ruler of Chicago. He loves Jema too & has since she was a baby. Can Alex help him sway Jema to his side for all eternity?Or will Thierry's dreams of love with Jema come true?

Bring on more of the series!

31 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disliked this one :(, November 4, 2005

By 

Psboston7 "~ And so it Goes ~" (Upland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private Demon: A Novel of the Darkyn (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished {If Angels Burn} which was just okay but it was wayyyyy better than this one. I haven't decided yet what the authors intentions were in this book. The plot is ALL over the place there is so many sub-plots going on it is almost ridiculous for such a small book (only 287 pages in the book) so at first you read the back cover and think the book is about Jemma and Thierry well.... it is but there is so much of the book that involves these "dream" sequences that she has with him which your like.. "but I thought Thierry was using Jemma to find out the 4 thugs that got to Luissa???" so I am 100 pages from the end and I realize Thierry has yet to even BROACH that subject with Jemma in her dreams in fact! you barely read any REAL interactions with Theirry at that point. The other sub-plots consist of John Keller still under the watchful eye of the Brethren, Alex and Mike, Jaus and the Jardin, Jemma's deceased Father involvement in a dig over in Europe, Jemma Mother's shady dealings with the museum, Jamy and his attempts to locate his father and some neo-nazi movement in Chicago GOOD GRIEF!!! There are some HOT sex scenes with Alex and Mike not full details but enough to float your boat. Oh and why is it that again we are throwing in the Templars to the story plots like these vampires were originally priest but Thierry was married with children how could he be a priest/monk and have been married with a child?

I can't figure out either if the author is trying to tell you that Alex and John are African American and White or not she eludes to it several times in the first book as well as in this one (not that this makes a difference to me) I'm like why is that mentioned so often if it is not A PART of the tale???

So bottom line is that I do not recommend this book it is what we call a "wallbanger" maybe other readers read it and could totally get the various plots going on and didn't get frustrated that Thierry was supposed to be going into Jemma's dreams to find out about the guys that harmed Luissa yet seem (at least over 100 pages in) to have gone off to some dream like fantasy thing with her. This genre is getting such a flood of new authors there are so many to choose from and authors seem to be doing the automatic series thing right now that at some point I think readers are going to start to feel like this is the Millenium versions of the {Vikings} or {Indians} books.

Respectfully Reviewed