Rob Thurman
Nightlife (2006)
This book starts the action right on page one:
It was the touch of a much warmer liquid on my fingers that let me know differently. It was blood. My blood. I tightened my hand over the one that held the knife handle. The blood covers both our hands, his and mine. He had actually done it... stabbed me.
Then we jump back in time to learn what lead to the events of the first two pages.
This was as interesting story. The main character, Cal, is young, flawed, and cynical but very likable anyway. His older brother, Niko, has sacrificed much to protect Cal, whether Cal wants the protection or not. Unfortunately, because it is creatures from the supernatural realm that are after Cal, he needs all the help he can get.
The supernatural characters are unlike those in other books and stories, which was both disconcerting and refreshing. Because I have come to expect supernatural being to be and behave in a certain way, and in this book they don't. Since nothing was as expected, nothing could easily be guessed.
I liked that.
I also liked the two brothers and their relationship. Siblings--especially when they spend a lot of time together, bicker, argue, and fight. Those happy, wonderful, peaceful relationships you see portrayed in certain kinds of books and movies? Bullshit. No one knows how to push your buttons like the people you grew up with, and when you're in close quarters for a long time those buttons get pushed. But as contentious as the relationship between siblings may be, when push comes to shove, your sibling is most likely going to be the one there for you--the one you can turn to no matter what. Most stories get the second part right, but not always the first.
So it makes me happy when someone tries to get that relationship right, and Rob Thurman does a pretty good job here. The brothers fight and bicker, but when it comes right down to it fight to the death before they let anyone else come between them.
The storytelling in this book is very good. I was grabbed from the beginning, interested in Cal and Niko and what was happening to them. The pace moves quickly, and the story moved in unexpected ways, so if there were any obvious flaws in the story, I missed them as I tore through the story trying to find out what happened next.
This book was fun, interesting, and went off in unexpected directions. If you like supernatural fantasy, then you should enjoy this book.
Rating: 8/10
Moonshine (2007)
Moonshine is the sequel to Nightlife. Now that Cal and Niko have defeated the monsters who were trying to possess Cal, they have moved onto the more mundane task of simply living their lives--something they were never given the luxury to do when they were constantly on the run.
They're currently working as independent bodyguards and investigators. The skills they developed while they were on the run from the Auphie have trained them well for that line of work, and since Promise is now a partner in their business, they're finally able to settle into something that for them resembles a normal life. They have a home, they have a job, and they even have friends--and luxury they never allowed themselves previously. But as with the previous book, what they have most of all is each other.
Just like Nightlife, Moonshine is a very good book. However, it took perusing the reviews on Amazon to make me realize that I liked best about Moonshine -- it's a supernatural fantasy with no boinking! Well, sex exists, and it's talked about and joked about, but there aren't any sex scenes.
Dear Ms Thurman--PLEASE don't be tempted to add boinking to any further books about Cal and Niko. These books are wonderful as is and don't need to be... enhanced.
So if there is no boinking, just what is so great about Moonshine? The characters, the dialog, and the writing. Rob Thurman pulls everything together to create a compelling story with sarcastic, realistic dialog. And although Cal is often overwrought, he does have good reason to be, and those around him do they best through humor (and with Niko often a good dope slap) to keep him from focusing upon his monster side.
But the heart of the story is the relationship between Cal and Niko. They are family, which means more to them than to most brothers. They still tend to display their affection for each other through sarcasm and well placed elbows, but considering their life, one could hardly expect anything else.
The dialog, as mentioned, is also marvelous. Cal is constantly and continually sarcastic, and feels the need to comment on everything. But he doesn't get all the good lines.
"You don't actually believe in gypsy curses, do you?" I asked with a faint overlay of scorn.Green eyes narrowed on me with impatience. "Of course not. I, an immortal creature, am only standing here with a vampire, a half Auphie, and a walking talking wolf. Why would I possible believe in something as ludicrous as a Gypsy curse?" He rubbed the heel of both hands over tired eyes and went on to snap, "And then there's that entire year I spent impotent thanks to one."
Also, as with Nightlife, I really like the cover of Moonshine. It does an excellent job matching the feel of the book.
Although this book sets up events for future stories, the story arc in Moonshine is complete. There is plenty of material for a sequel, but we aren't left dangling. The need for another book comes not from a cliffhanger ending or even threads that were started in this book and then dropped, but from the desired to spend a lot more time reading about Cal and Niko.
I'd say the only drawback to this book is that I wouldn't recommend reading it before Nightlife. The story itself should be fine, but you want to read these books in order, as events of the previous book are mentioned. Also, as a warning, there are several gruesome scenes in Moonshine. They didn't bother me, but then reading gruesome rarely does.
If you read Nightlife, then you will definitely want to pick up Moonshine. If you like supernatural fantasy, the you should go back and read Nightlife and the pick up Moonshine. Then we can all hope together that Rob Thurman writes a third book soon.
Rating: 9/10
Madhouse (2008)
I’ve been eagerly awaiting Madhouse for months. I have loved the previous Cal Leandros books, and couldn’t wait to read more about Cal and Niko.
Although I enjoyed this book as much as the previous two, I was very unhappy with the last three paragraphs. In fact, I’d recommend reading the entire book (in one sitting even!) except for the last three paragraphs. Because she’s done my least favorite thing, and end with a cliffhanger.
I hate that.
Fortunately, the rest of the book was strong enough that I immensely liked the book DESPITE the ending.
Why do I like these books so well? Because there are so many things the author gets right. Cal is not a good person. He does good things, and he tries, but he has definite tendencies to be a jerk. And that actually makes me like him better, because it makes him more human. Plus, he’s totaly snarky, and that’s always fun.
The second thing that the books get right is that we constantly see Cal and Nike training–they’re good, but they’re good because they work constantly at it. Some heroes do everything perfectly, and you wonder how they manage the time to get as good as they are. With Cal and Niko we see that they train and practice constantly–almost everything they do is training and practice. And just as important, Cal talks about the prices of their weaponry, and we see the sacrifices they have made to make sure they have proper armor.
And as with the previous books, Cal makes mistakes and has to live with the consequences.
So what happens in Madhouse? Cal and Niko and Promise are hired to look into a robbery at the museum, and discover that it wasn’t a break-in, but instead a break out, and now something nasty and evil is wandering New York looking for victims.
We also get to see more of the supernatural world in New York, as Cal’s day job is tending bar at one of the establishments that caters to supernatural creatures. As to whether supernatural creatures really could live in NY without notice, I’ll leave it up to others to decide. It seems reasonable to me however.
If you like supernatural fantasy, then I highly recommend the Cal Leandros series. Although I would start with Nightlife and work your way forward. You could read Madhouse without having read the previous books, but as the characters build in successive book, I believe the series is stronger reading this books from the start.
Although this was a very good book, it loses points for the ending. So keep that in mind.
Rating: 7/10
