Darkyn Vampire Romance in Nightborn
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I was happy to see that Lynn Viehl has penned another tale in the Darkyn world, and one that has plenty of vampire romance, which she does so well. If you enjoyed Michael Cyprien and Alexander Keller in If Angels Burn and that lovely glimpse of Will Scarlett (my favorite interpretation of him yet) in Master of Shadows, you will be happy to see the Darkyn series continuing through this vampire romance tale of the adventures of a returning character: Korvel.
If you recall, Korvel not only as all the equipment we expect, fangs and an awesome body, but he has something more, something women cannot resist. For this warrior that has served his High Lord Richard Tremayne all these centuries has the power to make women unable to say no. His physical strength may be extraordinary but his sexual prowess seems to be the stuff of legends. And he is going to need it for this next mission. For his High Lord has asked him to retrieve a special scroll for him, one that if it got into the wrong hands could be disaster for Darkyn. And the woman warrior that guards it is no ordinary warrior.
If you are thinking that Korvel’s legendary way with women will stand him in good stead on this mission, well it appears that his High Lord thought so too, and you would both be wrong, for Simone Derien has trained all her life as a warrior and she sees it as her holy calling. She has downed men bigger than Korvel without getting out of breathe. If he wants the scroll, then it is her mission to kill him.
One of the things I really like about the Darkyn world that Viehl has created here is that despite the obvious advantages, the Kyn are more human than most creatures of this ilk in a vampire fantasy setting. They may be inhumanly strong with fangs and even some with amazing “powers of persuasion” , but they are also vulnerable. They can be killed.
And this world has been painted with a dark brush. One of the more horrific scenes is when the readers begin to realize that many of the children that Simone trained alongside were physically abused to make them stronger fighters. Worst yet, they were abused by her father. But there is a bit of attitude as well, that sometimes saves the day. And the vast amount of historical reference makes these vampire romance books a real treat to read.
If you were a follower of the earlier books like me, you may miss some of the other characters. I kept waiting for someone like Michael to appear, especially since Alex is referred to so much here. And then there is Richard – the High Lord himself. I sometimes wonder just how much we really know about him, if he is as upstanding as we are led to believe.
As you can see, you can’t help but get drawn into a vampire romance book like Nightborn. The characters have back story, even if we don’t always get to read it, and it makes for such an enjoyable series. It is no wonder I am happy to see another Darkyn world story, and just hope this means there are more to come.
