Thurman, Rob: Nightlife
Nightlife
Writer: Rob Thurman
Genre: Urban/Dark Fantasy
Pages: 339
I'd never given too much thought to this book. Sure, it was urban fantasy. Sure, it had a pretty cover. Sure, a good friend of mine recommended it to me. But it never really caught my eye long enough to make me buy it. Not until lanerobins commented on this book in another review post, and made the, erm, mistake of mentioning she loved Thurman's twist on elves.
Right then, I was hooked. Damn it.
I bought the book Saturday. Started it Sunday night. Finished it tonight, Monday. No, I didn't enjoy the book at all.
The premise: Cal isn't human. Not wholly, anyway. Turns out, his mom let a monster knock her up for some fast cash, and Cal was the result. What Cal didn't know, what his half-brother, Niko, didn't know, was that Cal was the intention. Now the monsters are after Cal, and it takes everything Cal's got to get away from them, maybe even more.
Yes, there be spoilers.
I think one of the reasons I avoided this book was the fact it centered around two brothers. I've never watched Supernatural, save for the pilot, but cynical me brushed off the book because I assumed--not that it was a Supernatural rip-off--that it'd just be two brothers kicking ass and taking names.
Not so much.
Cal and Niko call the monsters Grendels, a great name, I must say. They learn later that these monsters are actually elves--Auphe, to be exact. And even though it was the "elves" that made me snatch this book up and devour it immediately, and while I'm probably sorely lacking in my understanding of mythology, I can't help but wonder if Thurman needed to even bring the term "elves" into it. The Auphe, rather, the Grendels, are great monsters in their own right. Good and creepy, though I'll give Thurman credit that taking the elf stereotype and twisting it into something completely unrecognizable is a great touch, particularly when it comes to elves.
Obviously, the book kept me turning pages. That said, I felt like the prologue/preface THING wasn't really necessary, as it took away from the events of the climax. By reading that preface, I knew all the characters had to reach a certain point in the narrative, and the only REAL mystery was how they got there. That mystery worked up until page 192 when we learn how Cal and Niko end up they way they do in the prologue. At that point, the mystery is gone, yet the emotional tension is still there. The reader aches for Cal and what he has become, thanks to the Darkling. There were moments at the transition where I wasn't sure if Cal had become possessed or if the Darkling simply brought his memories back, and this is who Cal really is, once he embraces the inner monster. Granted, I'm not familiar with Darkling mythology, if there is any, so maybe that was part of my intrigue.
The book is clearly split between the two points of view: Cal's, and then the Darkling's through Cal. But I found myself a little disappointed with the Darkling's POV. Not because it wasn't well done, it was, but because I found myself becoming immune very quickly, I think thanks to the prologue. I KNEW Niko would kill him. I KNEW Niko would get the upper-hand. And through no fault of the author, I KNEW that Cal would survive for books two and three, because I saw those books on the shelf. Plus, they're called, yanno, THE CAL LEANDROS SERIES. But hey, I digress. I was curious as to just how we'd get Cal back, or if Darkling would have some kind of change of heart and Cal and the Darkling would simply have to share the body, but the end result wasn't bad. Not bad at all.
Yes, the ending dragged on a little too long, though the moments between the brothers were right on and touching. In fact, all the moments between the brothers were right on and touching. I was disappointed that we never saw Cal react to the tattoo of "MOM" on his bicep. That would've been a nice touch when he looked in the mirror after the horror was over, but if that part was there, I sure as hell missed it. And while the last line drove the theme of the book home, that CAL ISN'T A MONSTER, I feel let down in some way by his mixed breeding: he just needed Auphe blood to have the ability to open the gate, but it was the Darkling that had to open it. It's a bit of a let down, but given that this is a series, I don't think we've seen the last of Cal's abilities or monstrosities yet. But how far they'll go, now that's an interesting question.
Setting the book in NYC was a little boring for me, I'll admit, because the city felt like A CITY that we see and read everywhere, which is sadly what NYC has become in the fiction and entertainment world. And getting the truth of Cal's missing years was a bit of a letdown too, since it was given to us in such a flat way. Still, what drove this book and kept the pages turning, aside from the great use of voice, was the relationship and tension between the brothers. Without that, well, there would've been no book.
And can I just comment on the pure marketing stroke of GENIUS that is Thurman's name? Rob Thurman is actually ROBIN THURMAN, and I don't know if she goes by Rob in real life or not, but in this case, the gender ambiguity, or outright misdirection, is pure genius. This is not your paranormal romance kind of urban fantasy, and it's not your strong, ass-kicking heroine kind of UF either. It's dark. It's horror. And the voice, which makes no apologies for innuendos and profanity, is all masculaine, making Thurman's choice of "Rob" over "Robin" super, super smart. No one who's used to reading the paranormal romance side of UF is going to make the mistake of picking up this book expecting more of the same, and that's good. It also gives guys a chance to check out the book, and they won't be frightened by a "feminine" name on the cover, and THEY won't think it's the stereotype either.
Not that there's anything WRONG with the stereotype. Anyone who reads this journal knows I enjoy the hell out of it, but still, from a certain POV, this is very, very smart.
My Rating
Must Have: I've nitpicked the book to death behind the cut, but it's great. That's all there is to it. I was never bored, never really wanted to put the book down, and I enjoyed the hell out of myself. It's great to read an urban fantasy that's actually DARK fantasy and actually HORROR to be quite honest. I already plan on nabbing the next two books in the series the next time I'm in the store, so that's got to say something, right? The voice is great, and the emotional tension is worth every penny of the book. Trust me.
Next up: Entanglement by Amir Aczel***
*** = For those of you wondering, and if you're one of those people, you KNOW you're one of those people, the answer is YES.
Changed my mind. Not in the mood for research, not yet. So... next up, Superpowers by David J. Schwartz