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Well, half of one at least and for him and his ninja-trained older brother, half is plenty. Especially when the non-human side of Cal’s family tree has been hunting him down for four years, no matter how fast and far the two brothers run to escape them. You see, the real monsters have a big plan in the works and Cal is the key to it all — whether he likes it or not.

Trolls and elves…but not the way you were thinking.

Despite it’s supernatural/horror inspired title and the short appearances of both vampires and werewolves in it’s pages, “Nightlife” is much more of an Urban Fantasy, complete with a troll under Brooklyn bridge, bogles eating muggers in Central Park, a banshee enjoying a stay in an upscale New York hotel, and the infamous Robin Goodfellow himself selling used cars.

But where the names behind the creatures are familiar, the creatures themselves are not. “Nighlife” eschews the traditional concepts of elves and faeries that permeate the fantasy genre and goes for a more monstrous, demonic take that fits well with the dark and quirky atmosphere of the novel. Elves are not high-brow, pointy-eared aristocrats armed with swords and arrows, but red-eyed, sharp toothed bringers of mayhem and evil who dwell a in hellish sub-dimension of suffering. The troll is a terror of suffocating tentacles and the overwhelming reek of rot and death. The resulting effect is a compelling mix of familiarity and newness; you feel like you know this world, but you don’t.

The narrator of the story, Cal, is a sharp and sarcastic teenager with the duel afflictions not knowing when to shut-up and an attitude problem that may or may not be related to his half-demonic heritage. He blames himself for the life his brother, Niko, left behind him to protect him and is eternally grateful for that love and protections, but this doesn’t stop him from nettling big brother to death. He’s had a shitty life and doesn’t entirely like himself (courtesy of a mother that hated him and the fear of the monster he could become) and despite that, struggles fiercely to survive.

In short, Cal is a smart-talking bundle of ass-backwards coping mechanisms and black humor, but he makes for a fun read.

Niko’s controlled, almost prissy, manner and biting humor is a perfect counterpoint to Cal’s wit. Unfortunately, in the earlier chapters of the book, you get the impression that this is the only reason he’s there; the banter between Niko and Cal is so perfectly timed that it feels like a scripted variety show. Luckily though, this improves as the story goes on. Niko begins to stand out as more of a character and their relationship is believably portrayed as siblings who’ve only ever had each other to depend on. Admittedly, Niko doesn’t develop much further past “ass-kicking ninja who likes books, eats obsessively healthy, hates stupidity, and can snark his little brother into submission”, but given that this is ultimately Cal’s story and he is self-centered teenager, it’s minor issue.

Several other eye-catching characters also make appearances to help or hinder the duo. Robin Goodfellow (or Puck, or Pan; they’re all pretty much the same beast), is a vain, randy fellow with a mouth that won’t stop and a hidden heart of gold; George, a teenage girl who’ll read your future in exchange for a milkshake; Raffety the healer and his dog-that-really-isn’t.

In the latter half of the story, the narration makes an abrupt shift and becomes from the point of view of one of the villains.

The concept itself is exciting and different, but the execution was a little shallow. The villain is one-dimensional — and he’s supposed to be. He is literally an embodiment of evil, arrogance, self-indulgence, and destruction. As a conventional fairy-tale style bad guy, this is just fine. As the main narrator of a novel with lots of gray areas, it made immersion into his part of the story a little difficult. His actions of destruction and thoughts of murder and chaos were so casual to him that instead of going “oh no, he’s really nasty!”, I felt more like I was reading about a normal guy changing the oil on his car. I would have enjoyed to see a little more “conflict” between his personality and Cal’s, or even more of Cal’s morals mixing in with his. It was still entertaining, but not nearly as engaging as the rest of the book.

Taken for what it is, “Nightlife” is a delight. It addresses many familiar concepts — what it means to be human or a monster, devotion to family, the loneliness that comes with centuries of life, be happy with the moment you have — in a fast-paced, off-beat setting, with clever, snappy narration that is bound to inspire a snicker or two out of you.

Review: I finished this the very next day after I bought it.

In short - may I have the next one please?

This is an engaging adventure on the dark and gritty side of human warfare and an unconventional look at everyone’s favorite Orcs.

The author’s prose is simplistic and straightforward, clearly conveying the scene and the characters with minimal clutter. Some reviewers found this made the story feel shallow; for me, it told enough that I was able to connect with the character’s feelings and sympathize, but I wasn’t completely dragged down into the muck and misery of the sheer wretchedness they found themselves trapped in. In this way it was a lot like a young adult novel, which I really like when it comes to enjoying a story instead of experiencing it. (And for anyone who wants an adventure in experiencing a story without enjoying it, read “Mirror Dance” by Lois McMaster Bujold. It was fantastic and I loved it, but I can’t say I liked it much.)

The main character Dar is obviously something of a messianic figure. Physically and sexual abused by her father after her mother’s death, she fights him off with her limited abilities and refuses to marry as she gets older, reaching the conclusion that she shouldn’t have to submit to a man to make a life for herself. This determination is put to the test when she is conscripted into the army as a branded slave to be a cook and server for the Orcs and the men. In this crude medieval setting, the only accepted way for army women to survive is to submit to soldiers in exchange for extra food, clothes, and trinkets. They are, of course, then abused upon and mistreated by these very same soldiers. Terrified of men and what they represent, Dar soon finds her fear of the alien Orcs to be the lesser of two evils and puts herself at risk to learn about their language and culture, eventually finding tenuous safety among their ranks.

Dar’s non-traditional view of her culture borders the unbelievable at the begining (where exactly did this downtrodden person find the hope and wisdom to realize her lot in life is wrong?), but it’s clear that her outlook is still very narrowed by her culture. She feels women shouldn’t have to submit to men to survive in much the same way that she feels it’s wrong for a king to loot from and kill his own citizens; but she doesn’t think much about how it should be. Concepts like owning her own land, holding a position of power, earning the same wages as men, being able to choose her own husband — these don’t even occur to her unless they’re introduced by other characters from different cultures. Most of her actions are guided by the fear of abuse, resulting in a fierceness and cleverness created by necessity.

It’s utterly delightful to find a version of Orcs that doesn’t fit into the Tolkien stereotype. All flaws aside. And yes, there are flaws; the Orcs of this series may be stupid savages, but they’re of the obviously Noble Savage variety. There’s a part of me that wanted to see dirty, brutish, uncouth Orcs with a subtle, complex, and fierce culture that Dar had to use all her wit and skills to fit in to — but the rest of me gets that they had to be noticeably less nasty than the men around her to for Dar to pick one over the other and I do love the results. With these Ocrs, we get a spiritual, Matriarchal society that doesn’t understand the concept of lying and views humans as brutal animals that are only worth obeying because their Queen told them too.

It’s an easy, good read with some engating character. Highly recommended for fans of young adult books and high fantasy.

Review: If allowed to pass through the hands of a talented editor and tightened up a bit, this novel could have been amazing.

Instead, it’s “okay” (which is also, ironically, the most frequently used word in the book.) Entertaining, some clever ideas, but a lack-luster execution.

The lack of consistent tone is one of the book’s greatest weaknesses. It reads like a contemporary piece for the most part; even though it’s set in a 1900s inspired world, that “feel” is rarely achieved in the narrative or dialog. This wasn’t horribly grating since the story isn’t intended to be a period-piece, but it really would have added something strong to it. Later, the tone hints at a spiritual sense of dead religions and weary gods, then swings into a futuristic/high fantasy feel for the concluding show-down. The background setting starts out rich, but frequently becomes a vaguely defined stage for the great play of Kieran and Ashleigh’s love. The tale as a whole, with all it’s fascinating concepts and occasionally riveting plot, is ultimately about the love story at it’s center.

Among the characters, Ashleigh is probably the most developed and grows the most believably. Here’s where the book’s strengths come in: Ash starts out the stereotyped “bottom” character; needy and emotional and physically weak, turning to big tough Kieran to help out in the hopeless prison they’re trapped in. He’s not overly-wimpy, having been once apart of the rebellion, but he is sensitive and prone to tears when emotionally overwrought. Kieran is, unsurprisingly, drawn to protecting him. However, instead of continuing to cling uselessly to Kieran’s side, Ashleigh grows in emotional and physical strength and is unafraid to stand up to Kieran for what he believes in. When Kieran becomes badly injured, it’s Ash who shoulders the burden and keeps them moving and fighting to survive.

Kieran’s reverse development from a tough-as-nails assassin and drug-runner with a broken soul, to a man learning how to let others into his heart and find hope in the world again is not nearly as smooth or well-done. Kieran is a little overly sensitive and too quick to open up to Ashleigh from the begining. This is described as a “lack of control” because he’s agitated somehow, yet this lack only shows up at the perfect time to further their relationship and never at any other moment. There’s never a good connection between Kieran’s “I’d just as soon shoot you as look at you” side and his “I’m an abused, wounded child” side; it usually feels like two separate people.

The Romance: I enjoyed it. It was a little girly emotional at times, but not to the point that I felt like I was reading about two high school age lesbians, which can be a downfall in some Gay Romance novels. They also had a good amount of “men don’t talk about this feelings crap” too. As mentioned above, the power between them shifts over the course of the story; from Kieran being the emotional dominate, to Ashleigh, to finally an equal balance based on what they bring to the relationship. The overblown “WE ARE TRUE LOVE FOREVER” element was amusingly minimized by the tolerant “you two just got together, huh?” eye-rolling of older characters.

The plot itself, with ancient people of great power who grew into Gods that that ultimately fought against and consumed each other, until only four remained (one holding sway over the world, another trapped under his power, and the last two hidden within the cycle of human-rebirth) had so much potential in it that I found myself wishing it were a larger, deeper part of the story as a whole. I especially loved the idea of the evil god that was, at his center, a spoiled lonely child who just wanted to rest.

Overall it was an entertaining read, with a fast and fun pace. As an action/adventure, fantasy themed romance, it doesn’t miss it’s mark. My only disappointment is that it had the chance to be even greater.