Master of the Night (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Candlelight from the massive chandelier overhead shimmered over satin, brocade, and the brilliant scarlet of British regimentals..." (more)
Key Phrases: Majae's Council, High Council, Round Table (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

American agent Erin Grayson is assigned to seduce international businessman Reece Champion. But she's been set up. Reece is an agent, too--and a vampire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425198804
• ISBN-13: 978-0425198803
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

160 of 177 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the best!, October 3, 2004

By	Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Angela Knight shows her brilliance by combining the very hot vampire genre with Grail lore, and creates a very original concept. A concept that will put her on the bestsellers list! The first in the series, Master of the Night, we get a wonderful, fast pace tale that will have you hooked from the start. In September, smart people <winks> had a taste of the hot premise in Hot Blooded, an anthology (Knight, Christine Feehan, Emma Holly and Maggie Shayne), where Knight premiered her storyline with her tale "Seduction's Gift". In that novella, we learnt the "rules" of Knight's new magical realm.

Eschewing the Ann Rice's sexless bloodsucker and the promiscuous predator male who equates blood with good sex, Knight has struck out on her own - and conjured gold! Rice's writing while amazing, left me cold where romance was concerned. Her vamps were often Androgynous, if not gay or bisexual, so this limited the range of emotions provoked by her prose. On the other end of the pendulum - the Vampire as a strictly romance hero always presented me with troubles. Problems of disease aside, how could a woman love a man who must go around "necking" with hundreds of dames to stay alive? This seems more a male oriented fantasy - the accepting of a hero "sleeping around" on the heroine. Knight deftly handles both of these extremes, by promptly dismissing them, and travelling her own path. Vampires are not as we know them from Hollywood created lore. First off, they are male, never female. They can drink the blood of humans, but it's not the focus of their existence, not how they survive. Most would rather not. Where they get their true life giving essence is they must drink the blood of a Maja - a witch, and the Maja must have the vampire take the blood in order for her to survive. A true symbiotic relationship, which dismisses the disease question, bars the vampires "forcing" his will on another, and removes the sexuality of the act out of the question - unless the vampire and witch just enjoy that, too.

You see, Camelot was a myth. But not the myth as we know it. Merlin and Nimue were from a race of beings outside of Earth. They came as protectors to the fledging human race, and still exist in their own magical realm. There are actually three realms on earth, the realm of the Mageverse, the Sidhe and the mortal world. Mortals know nothing of the other two realms, though both often play roles in shaping the normal world. In the Mageverse, the vampires and witches are the ladies and knights of Camelot. They're sworn to be protectors of mortal man. From the children of moral man and woman, come the potential vampires and witches of future generations. They are called Latents. Not all mortals who are Latents can be turned. Many cannot handle being changed into an immortal, and all the powers that come with the change, and often can drive them mad. And change can only be accomplish by having a male vampire turn a female Latent, or the female Maja witch changes the male mortal, through the sexual act.

Knight creates these original and imaginative perimeters for her series, and then sets back and has a great time. She is a bold, sexy writer that has a strong Southern (US) wit, and is THE writer to watch today. She is going places, and Master of the Night is the first sounding shot that this talent is here to stay.

In Master of the Night, Vampire Knight Reece Champion, Knight defender of the USA, and also agent of the US government, senses the Latent Erin Grayson. Erin is on a mission to romance international businessman Reece Champion. She believes seducing the sexy Champion will put her closer to the revenge she is seeking against a murderous organisation. Only, what Erin does not comprehend, she is a pawn being used against Reece by the very people she is trying to stop. Sex with Erin is dangerous. She is a Latent. Three times of the "big whammy" and he would turn her into a Maja. It's forbidden for any immortal to change a Latent, without the Council's permission. The Council will only pass permission for the changing of Latents they know can handle the transformation. If you change a Latent without Council approval, it's a death sentence for the immortal and mortal both. So, Reece is fighting this unseen evil out to destroy both Erin and him, but must walk that fine line of deep attraction he feels for the Latent.

Knight is sizzling hot, she is frank, she is cutting-edge. She is the writer all other writers will be following, saying, "gee, wish I had thought of that." It's not a book for Auntie Em or for Gran - unless they are bold ladies who likes their romance strong with adventure and sizzling red-hot!

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner By Ms. Knight, October 25, 2004

By	Kristi Ahlers (Illinois) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Ms. Knight is a rather new author for me (I've only read "Jane's Warlord") so I really have no preconceived ideas about what she is capable of. As a result I found her latest effort to be not only a fun read, but thought her take on the legend of Arthur and Merlin to be not only different but also creative.

This paranormal read offers it all, Vampires, fairies, new worlds, and even a hit of reality. Combined a yummy dark hero, and a strong no nonsense heroine and you have a read that will make you laugh out loud at times, and sigh as well. Ms. Knight has penned a very sensual read so the reader should be prepared for this when they open the pages of the book. This is not to say that it's over the top, but it is steamier than your average romance read.

Ms. Knight is a very talented author and one that I highly recommend. Her reads are fast-paced, sensual, with enough action and suspense (in this case can Reece and Erin save the world from a destructive demon bent on bring the end of mankind) to keep the reader turning the pages until the end.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, though lacking in plot and characterization, November 25, 2006

By	Michelle888 (Australia) - See all my reviews

Having had no taste whatsoever of Angela Knight's novels, I guess I took a risk by buying the first three "Master" books without reading any reviews and paying full price instead of getting them from EBay. So what grabbed my attention? The paranormal plot. Vampires, dragons, fairies, you name it, they are all in here. As far as the Camelot legend goes, Angela Knight defies everything that has been told and creates her very own legend.

Kicking off the series is MASTER OF THE NIGHT, a story about a vampire who moonlights as a CIA agent. In order to protect mankind from self-destruction, Merlin and Nimue has created a world where mystical beings known as Magekind live in Avalon, and humans live on Earth where each nation is assigned a vampire Champion who works with mortal government. In America, Reece has been the designated Champion for over two hundred years. In all those times, never had his life been in any grave danger until he meets another agent, Erin Grayson.

When she lost her partner at the hands of the cult, Death Sabbat, Erin swore to avenge him by taking down their leader, whom she thought was Reece. But when they are both held captive, she realizes that a power beyond anything she ever imagined is manipulating them in order for the dark lord, Geirolf, to claim the ultimate power. What's worse, Reece tells her that she is descended from a powerful bloodline and their fate relies on her acceptance of her destiny - a destiny that brings great risks to her life.

Well, the opening page of the book is certainly attention-grabbing; ensuring that readers are fascinated by the twist the author has given to the legend of Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table. Imagine them living as vampires! All I could think was: Wow! This author surely has a wicked imagination. Therefore, I was really excited waiting for the story to unfold. As I said, you have to commend Knight for being very inventive. Unfortunately, the story suffers from too much sex and not enough plot and characterization. Don't get me wrong because I am certainly no prude. I have read many romance novels with some being highly sensual, but the romance was definitely lacking in this novel. However, this was still a pretty entertaining read if you're after some quick reading. And I am glad to say that the next two books are better than this so this is still a good way to start the series in order to familiarize yourself with the recurring characters. I just wish that I didn't pay full price for this, though.