Darkness Rises by Dianne Duvall
Review by Cynthia F. (frazerc)
Darkness Rises – Immortal Guardians 04
This is the fourth book in the Immortal Guardians series and I have enjoyed them all. This one is no exception. First a word about the series: there is a network of good guys – including humans, gifted ones, and Guardians. The guardians are fang-bearing, blood-sucking good guys with assorted powers, the gifted ones are individuals with special powers, and the humans are just regular guys with skills and dedication. The bad guys are vampires – fang-bearing, blood-sucking ex-humans on a fast track to crazy. There is a vamp virus – if the person who contracts it is a gifted one they become an Immortal Guardian – if the person is a regular human they end of a vampire, a so far incurable transformation. Enough said.
The hero of this story is Étienne, one of the Immortal Guardians. While out looking for vampires one night he finds Krysta who is out trolling for vampires by pretending to be easy prey. To his astonishment she is apparently human and an extremely skilled fighter. Since she intrigued him and was vastly outnumbered, he steps in and helps finish off the group of vamps she had lured. She is startled and assumes he’s a vamp also (it’s the whole fang thing) and escapes him with the help of her brother.
Étienne goes from intrigued to obsessed, following her on her nightly vamp-killing tours while trying to decide what to do. Then a paramilitary group starts hunting the Immortal Guardians (again) and they don’t care how much mayhem is caused to bystanders in the process. Étienne is hit with enough tranquilizer darts to bring him down while ensuring she has the time to get away. She doesn’t, of course, and he ends up at her home with her brother healing him. Now there are two humans with knowledge they shouldn’t have. And then there’s the paramilitary guys who might have followed them home…
The rest of the book proceeds with the developing relationship between Krysta and Étienne, the pursuit of the human mercenary threat, and, of course, killing vampires. Lots of action, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more in this series…
There’s a series thread continuing from earlier books concerning Ami who is now pregnant. And then there’s Zach, and enigmatic character with wings who drifts in and out of the storyline – also introduced earlier. Their threads are unresolved and will undoubtedly form the basis for other books. Other characters from previous books continue to be major players in the storylines so it is better to read this series in order…
Immortal Guardians series
Night Reigns #2
In Still Darkness in Predatory #3.5
