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Book: "Nightlife" by Rob Thurman
Sep. 21st, 2006 09:20 pmA question first: Do you like the TV series Supernatural? You know, two brothers fighting the evil in the world, trying to salvage what's left of their family... this sort of stuff? If you do, you will love this book. "Nightlife" by Rob Thurman is set in New York, present time. It tells the story of Niko and Caliban "Cal" Leandros, brothers who are on the run from the Auphe, hideous, murderous, goblin-like creatures who are after Cal - but to tell you why would spoil the story XP
Niko and Cal grew up with their alcoholic mother who hated them both, but especially Cal. They didn't understand why until one night a horde of goblin-like creatures appeared, torching their caravan and their mother. They almost killed Niko and kidnapped the 14-year-old Cal through a gate to a different dimension. And when the boy managed to escape from them two days later, he returned two years older (the time passed differently in the Auphe's dimension) but with no memories of what happened to him when he was gone. All that happened five years ago and since that moment Niko and Cal have been on the run. All the years, they've managed to stay two steps ahead of their pursuers but then...
Even though the story drags on a bit, the characters are utterly fascinating.
Niko, the gorgeous blond guy, is a martial artist and earns money playing bodyguard. He is determined to keep his little bro safe no matter what, chopping to pieces all the supernatural creatures they come across... just to be sure. He is the poster boy of anal-retentiveness.
Cal, from whose POV the story is told, is an angry, sarcastic young man who is haunted by the fact that he is half-Auphe, half-human and that he was created for reasons unknown to him. His brain and his mouth don't have a good relationship which gets him into a lot of trouble. He is lazy, he loves to sleep and he would die to give his older brother a normal life. Niko is the only thing that keeps him sane and the only reason why he didn't put a bullet into his own brain yet.
And then there is Rob Fellows, a car salesman, but actually Robin Goodfellow, a puck. If you ask me, that guy steals the show, really. Drop-dead gorgeous, brown hair, green eyes, the best clothes you can buy for a lot of money, elaborate speech and puffed-up behavior... all that and a heart of gold and sad, lonely life. From a mild annoyance he becomes a life-savior and the best friend the brothers could ever have.
There are others, not so important characters of course like the vampire Promise, the psychic Georgina, the healer Rafferty and his wolf Catcher... I really hope that Thurman will write another book and that he'll flesh them out or follow up on other mysteries he just hinted at - and there were a lot of them.
But you know what really did it for me in this book? How wonderfully Thurman described Goodfellow's bisexuality. I really don't have to have a gay character in a book to enjoy it, but he wrote it with such a sensitivity and good humor that you didn't even notice that it's not something "usual". And the fact that the puck falls for Niko and falls hard was just the cherry on the top. Too bad that his love stays unrequited since Niko has the hots for the vampire "black widow" Promise.
This book is really great. Especially the relationships. It lacks a bit in the action department ("Moon Called" by Patricia Briggs was better in that) but otherwise, definitely worth reading. Four stars out of five!
Niko and Cal grew up with their alcoholic mother who hated them both, but especially Cal. They didn't understand why until one night a horde of goblin-like creatures appeared, torching their caravan and their mother. They almost killed Niko and kidnapped the 14-year-old Cal through a gate to a different dimension. And when the boy managed to escape from them two days later, he returned two years older (the time passed differently in the Auphe's dimension) but with no memories of what happened to him when he was gone. All that happened five years ago and since that moment Niko and Cal have been on the run. All the years, they've managed to stay two steps ahead of their pursuers but then...
Even though the story drags on a bit, the characters are utterly fascinating.
Niko, the gorgeous blond guy, is a martial artist and earns money playing bodyguard. He is determined to keep his little bro safe no matter what, chopping to pieces all the supernatural creatures they come across... just to be sure. He is the poster boy of anal-retentiveness.
Cal, from whose POV the story is told, is an angry, sarcastic young man who is haunted by the fact that he is half-Auphe, half-human and that he was created for reasons unknown to him. His brain and his mouth don't have a good relationship which gets him into a lot of trouble. He is lazy, he loves to sleep and he would die to give his older brother a normal life. Niko is the only thing that keeps him sane and the only reason why he didn't put a bullet into his own brain yet.
And then there is Rob Fellows, a car salesman, but actually Robin Goodfellow, a puck. If you ask me, that guy steals the show, really. Drop-dead gorgeous, brown hair, green eyes, the best clothes you can buy for a lot of money, elaborate speech and puffed-up behavior... all that and a heart of gold and sad, lonely life. From a mild annoyance he becomes a life-savior and the best friend the brothers could ever have.
There are others, not so important characters of course like the vampire Promise, the psychic Georgina, the healer Rafferty and his wolf Catcher... I really hope that Thurman will write another book and that he'll flesh them out or follow up on other mysteries he just hinted at - and there were a lot of them.
But you know what really did it for me in this book? How wonderfully Thurman described Goodfellow's bisexuality. I really don't have to have a gay character in a book to enjoy it, but he wrote it with such a sensitivity and good humor that you didn't even notice that it's not something "usual". And the fact that the puck falls for Niko and falls hard was just the cherry on the top. Too bad that his love stays unrequited since Niko has the hots for the vampire "black widow" Promise.
This book is really great. Especially the relationships. It lacks a bit in the action department ("Moon Called" by Patricia Briggs was better in that) but otherwise, definitely worth reading. Four stars out of five!
