Series: NIGHTWALKERS
Plot Type: SMR
Ratings: V4; S4-5; H3
Publisher and Titles: Zebra
Jacob (2006)
Gideon (2007)
Elijah (2007)
Damien (2008)
Noah (2008)
A review of the sixth book in this series (Adam) follows this overview of the series so far:
WORLD-BUILDING
In this world, the denizens of the supernatural world are called Nightwalkers, and as the series begins, each species keeps pretty much to itself, with some fighting between groups (e.g., the vampires and the demons). The demon laws forbid demons from marrying (or mating) outside the demon population, but that changes right away in book 1, when Jacob, the demon enforcer (kind of like an über-cop), falls in love with Isabella, a human who becomes a Druid when she mates with Jacob. At that point, a number of previously unknown historical information comes to light in ancient texts, and from then on, the marriage market between species is open and thriving.
Books 1, 2, 3, 5, and the novella, "Kane," each take the titular demon through the process of finding his soul mate. Book 4 does the same for a vampire prince. These demons (and the vampire) are muscular, handsome, wealthy men who appear to be human males in their thirties, even though some of them are at least nine hundred years old. They are definitely not the evil demons of mythology. They are, in fact, the good guys of the supernatural world.
The series villains are the Necromancers—primarily humans in the early books, but later demons—who summon the good demons, force them to change into their demonic forms, torture them for information about their friends, and kill them. In later books, a female demon named Ruth goes over to the dark side and becomes the bitter and powerful enemy of the good demons. She partners up with an evil vampire named Nicodemus who wants to take over Damien's territory, and the two of them rampage across the supernatural community, siphoning powers from all the demons they kill and becoming stronger and stronger.
Three of the heroines (books 1, 2, 5, and the novella) are human women (virgins, of course) who become Druids when they mate with their demon soul mates. Two of the heroines (books 3 and 4) are lycanthrope royalty (shape shifters). As each romance develops, there's plenty of graphic sex for all.
BOOK 6: Adam
I'll warn you ahead of time that the opening scene in Adam is horrific and stomach-turning—especially if you've read the earlier books in the series—but don't throw the book down in disgust, because the situation isn't exactly what it seems. I don't really want to spoil the story for you, so I'll try to be very careful about how much information I include in this review. Anyhow...in the opening scene, a soul-mate couple from a previous book is slain by Ruth and Nicodemus, followed by a general downturn in the fortunes of our demon and vampire friends. A few chapters later, a character tries out a bit of time manipulation, and suddenly everything changes. The plot basically follows the good guys as they try to take down Ruth and Nicodemus once and for all.
In this book, we meet a new character from Jacob's past (Adam, a water demon), who shows up unexpectedly at just the right time to save some lives. Then, we follow Adam's romantic journey as he hooks up with the vampire, Jasmine, Damien's second in command. The romance plays out in the usual manner, with lots of angst and second guessing before an eventual HEA. The romantic story is unusual for this series in that it is not really the primary focus, but more of a secondary plot, with the Ruth-Nicodemus story line being the prominent one.
The opening chapters in this book contain events so awful that I came close to putting the book down and not finishing it. After the early traumatic event, the people we met in previous books—the demons and their wives—react to the catastrophe in ways that are extremely disappointing. Their treatment of the child, Leah, in particular is unforgivably cold and heartless. The problem for me is that the previous books presented the demons and their wives as being kindhearted and empathetic, but in the early chapters of this book, a number of them are, instead, mean-spirited and uncaring. All of their righteousness and empathy evaporates when they are confronted with a single tragic event. I felt better after the time manipulation revised the plot, but the early chapters really put a darkness in the book that I never could quite shake off. If you're a big fan of the NIGHTWALKERS series, you'll feel compelled to read Adam, but you may walk away with some mixed feelings about it. I know that I did.
The opening chapters in this book contain events so awful that I came close to putting the book down and not finishing it. After the early traumatic event, the people we met in previous books—the demons and their wives—react to the catastrophe in ways that are extremely disappointing. Their treatment of the child, Leah, in particular is unforgivably cold and heartless. The problem for me is that the previous books presented the demons and their wives as being kindhearted and empathetic, but in the early chapters of this book, a number of them are, instead, mean-spirited and uncaring. All of their righteousness and empathy evaporates when they are confronted with a single tragic event. I felt better after the time manipulation revised the plot, but the early chapters really put a darkness in the book that I never could quite shake off. If you're a big fan of the NIGHTWALKERS series, you'll feel compelled to read Adam, but you may walk away with some mixed feelings about it. I know that I did.
Click HERE to read my review of the Supernatural anthology, which contains the NIGHTWALKERS novella, "Kane." (FYI: Kane is Jacob's youngest brother.)
Clearly you may have been so upset by certain events that your understanding of following matters was slightly skewed. I encourage you to read the story...or those leading chapters...again. There is, in fact, only one couple that reacts unexpectedly toward the child Leah, and that is a matter of grief. The troubles the others have are between one another and because of their issues of love OVER the child that relations deteriorate. I hope you will give ADAM another read and that it might alter your perception of things. You are very right. Our beloved Demons wouldn't react mean-spirited toward a child. But loss and emptiness and grief can make even the best of us do things far out of character.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Kitties,
Jacki Frank