Realm of Shadows [Mass Market Paperback]

Shannon Drake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

A New York Times Bestseller

In an ancient churchyard just outside Paris, archeologists uncover an ancient tomb -- certain they have stumbled onto the find of the century. But something goes very wrong as the tomb is opened. Something too frightening to imagine . . . and too terrible to utter. For American visitor Tara Mason, the romantic city of her dreams has suddenly turned sinister. For she has heard the blood-curdling screams in the churchyard -- and knows that she must run away -- from the powerful stranger chasing after her . . . and from a legendary, sensual predator who stalks the night. At the country estate where she has sought refuge, the shadowy man reappears. He calls himself a guardian, sworn to protect the innocent from an evil most never see. And Tara will have to trust him, because that evil has seen her . . . and won't stop until it claims her, body and soul.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With its abundance of characters, subplots and cliffhanger chapter endings, this plodding vampire romance will keep readers in a state of mind-numbing confusion. The plot is far from original an archeologist digs up a nasty vampiress who then proceeds to wreak havoc in Paris. The only ones who can stop her are Lucian, a good vampire from Drake's previous book (Deep Midnight); the enigmatic Brent, who may have supernatural abilities; and Tara Mason, a narrow-minded American whose grandfather happens to be a member of the Alliance, an age-old group dedicated to containing evil. An assortment of other characters join the mix including Tara's flippant French cousin, her mysterious beaux, a determined police inspector, a creepy investigator and a clueless young couple but they only detract from the central romance between Brent and Tara, if one can call it a romance. Brent spends most of the novel trying to convince Tara of the existence of vampires, and after several failed attempts, they share a romp in the hay (literally) and decide they love each other. Drake tells her story in fragments from many different points of view, which leaves readers scrambling to make connections. Unfortunately, there are too many pieces that don't fall into place until the book's lengthy epilogue.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Visiting her ailing grandfather at his chateau on the outskirts of Paris, American Tara Adair finds him strangely obsessed with the excavation of a local crypt and reluctantly agrees to check out the site for him. But Tara's timing couldn't be worse. Caught within the vaults when the coffin is unsealed and an ancient evil is released to terrorize the world once again, Tara fears that she has become a target not only of a menace she can hardly name but also of a powerful man who is much more than he seems. Fourth in Drake's contemporary vampire novel series, this work is loosely linked to her earlier ones and adds an intriguing werewolf twist. Although the characters could have been more fully developed and the romance aspect stronger, series fans will be waiting for this one. Drake (Deep Midnight), who also writes as Heather Graham and Heather Graham Pozzessere, lives in Coral Gables, FL.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Zebra Books (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821772279
• ISBN-13: 978-0821772270
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times and USA Today best selling author, Heather Graham was born somewhere in Europe and kidnapped by gypsies when she was a small child. She went on to join the Romanian circus as a trapeze artist and lion tamer. When the circus came to South Florida, she stayed, discovering that she preferred to be a shark and gator trainer.

Not really.

Heather is the child of Scottish and Irish immigrants who met and married in Chicago, and moved to South Florida, where she has spent her life. (She has, at least, been to the Russian circus in Moscow, where she wished she was one of the incredibly talented and coordinated trapeze artists.) She majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over one hundred and fifty novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, horror, and Christmas family fare.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages, and has had over seventy-five million books in print. She has been honored with awards from Walden Books, B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA and more. Heather has also become the proud recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.

Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts the Vampire Ball and Dinner theater at the RT convention raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf region. She is also the founder of "The Slush Pile Players", presenting something that's almost like entertainment for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Even Homer Nods, February 24, 2003

By 

C. Wilson "Romance Guru" (Dallas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Realm of Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)

That lovely maximum, 'even Homer nods' (even the best author occasionally falls asleep at the wheel) is the only explanation I have for this book. Shannon Drake is an excellent writer, that being said, you'd never know it by reading REALM OF SHADOWS. Why?

Well for one thing, the female lead in the story is an annoying little snot named Legion--er, I mean Tara who has a bad habit of hanging out with American vampires in France. Now I understand why Tara is skeptical about the whole, supernatural world being real, thing. Really. But there is a difference between cynical and tedious and it took Satan THREE HUNDRED PAGES before she stopped saying: "No... it can't be. This isn't real! It's not happening, blah-blah-blah." Mind you, she was cool with the fact that her boyfriend (Trent) can read minds and hypnotize with his eyes, because--can't everyone? But the minute he tries protecting her, returning her stuff, saving her life or warning her of danger and suddenly tall-dark-and-furry is just a BIG JERK.

M'kaay.

The freakiest part of the book, I think, wasn't the werewolves, vampires, and mad scientists though. It was Tara turning into Buffy the Vampire Slayer going on 'killing spree' in the last 50 pages. What was up with that? Suddenly her usual diatribe of, "You're lying, this isn't happening, its not real!" gets turned into, "You talk'n to me? Are YOU talk'n to ME?" and things just went down hill from there. For those of you are new to Shannon Drake's work, my recommendation is to just pretend this book doesn't exist. (Realm of what? Nope, never heard of it.) Then go read Deep Midnight or any of her others because she really is a great writer--usually--but, yes, even Shannon Drake nods.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Realm of Shadows, October 2, 2002

By 

"yodus" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realm of Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read Shannon Drake before, and for the most part I have enjoyed her books. I wish I could say the same for this one. This is a contemporary romance novel set outside of Paris. The setting a small town outside of Paris where two female cousins are worried about their aging grandfather who they think is going off the deep end because he believe in vampires. Sounds good except that it never really goes anywhere. There are many charactors in this book. It would have been nice to know some detail about their lives. Everything is very obscure and no one is really brought to life. The love interest between Tara and Brent is so lukewarm that it's practically none existant. It's hard to believe that this is even a romance novel. It is about as romantic as a TV dinner on a Saturday night.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Realm of Shadows in the Shadow, October 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Realm of Shadows (Mass Market Paperback)

This is not Drake's best. Some Characters are back from her Beneath A Blood Red Moon Series. This book fails to make the reader really get into the book emotionally. I feel that the author may be trying to introduce us to a new series of books with more nightworld creatures with the introduction of warewolfs into the vampire stories and vampire hunters but this is not Shannon Drake's best. For a really good book read When Darkness Falls.