The Darkest Night - Books (Gena Showalter, Mass Market Paperback)

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Customer Reviews of The Darkest Night

book eater
Madrid, SPAIN
10th October 2008

Great read
I received The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss on Monday and they were both finished by Wednesday. I had never read something by GS and I really think that I found a treasure writer. I just bought two more books from her and I can't wait to have them in my hands for everything else now looks pretty...dull (?).

kliross
Glasgow, Scotland
9th June 2008

Another great story from Gena Showalter
As soon as I started reading this story I loved it. Maddox and Ashlyn are great strong minded characters.

I will not bother going into the details as this has already been done but if you enjoy other Gena Showalter stories then you will like this one.

Illume the mind within...
England
25th May 2008

Hooked

The Darkest Night is dark, compelling, interesting and passionate, it's a solid read; the pacing and characters are flawless. It appears original and fresh and was a real joy to read.

Many mythical beings feature, including the Greek Gods and the Titans; `The Greeks' as their called created immortal warriors in the dawn of time to serve their interests, some of these would become `The Lords of the Underworld'. Showalter also seizes upon the myth of Pandora, rewriting it to good effect. She relates that `The Greeks' entrusted Pandora to guard the dimOuniak a box carved from the bones of a god in which they had trapped the foulest demons in hell. The other immortals feeling spurned captured the box and opened it, hoping to teach the God's a lesson. In an act of vengeance the god's cursed them all to put an end to the mayhem caused by the demons escape thus each had to hold one of the demons inside themselves; violence, death, pain, disease, promiscuity, wrath, doubt, lies, disaster, secrets, misery and defeat. They learnt an important lesson themselves: don't cross the god's. For millenniums they headed this, living in conflict with their demons each other and `hunters', humans bent on destroying their demons and therefore the warriors, but events start to enfold that could mean they'll have to break their own rule.

The book focuses on Maddox or `violence', who lives in eternal conflict with the dark urges of his demon. He's a man not only processed but damned, as he suffers a second curse, placed upon him after he viciously murdered Pandora whilst blinded by violence, he's therefore stabbed six times each night and his spirit is sent to hell by two of his companions (pain and death), where he is burned over and over.

Ashlyn can hear all conversations that have ever been spoken in a location, whilst in Budapest she hears tell of men with strange powers `angels', she travels to their fortress seeking help and meets a fearsome man, covered in blood....who stops the voices. She begs to stay with him but when she reaches the fortress she's confounded and appalled to witness Maddox's death as the night reaches 12. Accused of being a hunter and more specifically bait (a seductress who lure the Lord's into a trap) she's locked away by the other Lord's.

Their attraction to each other is immediate but their story is believable and touching. No fated mates are eluded to here, but you've got to wonder why are they all finding their perfect partners now? But the crux seems to be can man and demon be made whole? Can violence be tamed? And should these rather naughty men find salvation? I think so.

It's important to acknowledge that this does have clichés; strong male, beautiful female consumed by an instant attraction that develops into a powerful love. But the reason this doesn't feel tired is because of the inventiveness and quality of Showalter's writing style and the wonderfully complex and interesting characters. She understands and obviously has a love for the mythology that she is working with. I think it's also interesting that although some aspects may seem simple I think this is intentional as the sources that Showalter uses are in many ways simplified to heighten their resonance; the tortured hero, the against all odds quest, myriad threats, complex foes and fellowship, all of which are present here.


Showalter definitely keeps a few secrets, like what is the meaning of the butterfly tattoos and if you visit her website there's mention of another Lord not in the book, Galen `keep of Hope'....Hmmm. All the characters are brilliantly complex and a little bit devilish; particularly the Greek Warriors and I love Anya, the goddess of anarchy. There's just the right amount of teasing for future stories as well that will have you obsessing about the next two books, both Reyes and Lucien's heroines are introduced and their stories promise to be very good.

Misuzmama
New York, USA
22nd May 2008

Very good paranormal -just don't compare it to anything else
The Lords of the Underworld are a band of immortal warriors who have, for thousands of years, fought for the king of gods (Greeks). Insulted that they have not been chosen for the monumental task of guarding a sacred box (Pandora's box), the warriors decide to teach the gods a lesson. They steal the box and set the hordes of demons free. In the fray the box is lost. Thus, the evil can not be returned inside. As punishment for the deed, the individual warriors themselves become the *homes* for the each of the demons. So the demons of Violence, Disease, Death, Pain, Wrath, Promiscuity, Doubt, Lies, Disaster etc. are now inside the warriors forever. Like having a split personality, the demon urges the warrior to do its bidding. They all struggle against the demon inside.

Fast forward to present-
The warriors now live with their curses in Castle high upon a hill in Budapest. They keep to themselves for fear of reeking havoc upon the humans. Their enemies are the *Hunters*, a band of human warriors out to kill all the perceived evil in the world -the lords being their main target.

This book is about the warrior Maddox, who has Violence demon inside. His heroine is Ashyln a human who posses the uncanny ability to hear all the conversations ever made in a particular place. Voices constantly battle inside her head. She seeks the warriors in an effort to silence the voices inside her head. But she gets more than she bargained for......

I admit when I started reading this book I got flashes of Ward's series. But really who wouldn't? - the six warriors living all together, the gods controlling them (scribe virgin), the hunters (lessers), the description of the warriors (ones tattooed, beautiful, scarred etc). Then I realized that I'm doing a complete injustice to this book by thinking this way.

To me this book is more Greek mythological than paranormal. The war these warriors are fighting is mostly within themselves. They are not out to protect anyone else, merely to survive their own curses and possibly get free of them. And frankly I thought that was fascinating. I mean who wouldn't like to read more about a warrior with a compulsion to Lie, one who causes Disasters wherever he goes, one who has to inflict Pain on himself, or one who cannot be touched (anywhere) for fear of causing Disease? And lets not forget Promiscuity. ;)

So, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be looking out for the sequels. And for those die-hard Black Dagger fans? I say go and read the three chapter excerpt on Showalter's website and decide for yourself.

A Reader

3rd May 2008

"Lords of the Underworld" series book 1
When Pandora was chosen by the Greek Gods to protect dimOuniak; a sacred box containing demons too destructive even to be trusted in Hell, other warriors, those that guarded the King of the Gods were left embarrassed. Determined to prove their skills, these Guardians stole the box and unwittingly released the most vile demons imaginable into an unsuspecting world; unable to recapture them as Pandora's box had mysteriously disappeared. In retaliation and to prevent further destruction in the world, the Gods cursed these warriors to each contain a demon within their bodies throughout eternity; creating the Lords of the Underworld.

Maddox is not only cursed to house the spirit of Violence within him, he is further cursed by the Gods for the death of Pandora; slaughtering her unknowingly whilst under the control of his demon. Every night at midnight he is killed by Reyes (who houses the demon Pain) and his soul is escorted to Hell by Lucien (who contains Death). Constantly battling for control over his demon, Maddox is left unable to form any meaningful relationship; always worried that Violence could explode during a moment of heated passion. Yet both he and his demon are destined to meet a very special woman; a woman capable of taming Violence, twisting his darkness into sensuality and his destructive nature into a deep possessiveness. For once Maddox and Violence are in complete agreement; Ashlyn Darrow has captured the heart of both man and demon.

Ashlyn Darrow is utilised by an Institute that studies the paranormal for her ability to hear any conversation ever spoken in any given location, no matter how long ago it was or the language used. Yet she longs for silence and a normal life and searches for someone who could possibly train her to control her gift. Whilst in Budapest she encounters conversations of a group of men with strange abilities so seeks them out hoping they can help her. Unfortunately the men she looks for believe her to be Bait, a beautiful woman used to lure a warrior to his death by a group of mortals known as Hunters. This organisation has one goal only; to destroy the Lords of the Underworld and the demons they contain.

I've got to say this may be GS's best book yet, and that's quite an accomplishment considering how much I have enjoyed her "Atlantis" and "Alien Huntress" series. "The Darkest Night" made me smile, laugh and during one particularly emotive chapter featuring an event Maddox is helpless to prevent; blub like a baby. Ashlyn too faces her own horrors; namely the nightly murder of the man she loves; leaving her determined to break Maddox's curse at any cost.

From the first page, GS skillfully draws the reader into an exciting new paranormal world. Her heroes certainly have their dark sides, Disease, Wrath, Promiscuity, Lies and Disaster amongst others, all with individual torments created by their unbreakable bond to their personal demon. The adventure is none stop as the splintered tribes of the Lords of the Underworld unite to battle the Hunters that stalk them and the romance between Maddox and Ashlyn absolutely perfect; ranging from tender to heartbreaking to blazingly hot in all the right places. I finished the last page of this book with a deep sigh of satisfaction and have already pre-ordered "The Darkest Kiss" (Lucien's story due for pub. June 08) and "The Darkest Pleasure" (Reyes' story due for pub. July 08), whose love interest is introduced in this book.