Thursday, August 07, 2008

Year of Acheron

A year ago, my good friend Den introduced me to Sherrilyn Kenyon's series, Dark Hunters. It is a romance novle series, but a supernatural one at that.

So who are the Dark Hunters?

Dark-Hunters are warriors who have made a bargain with the goddess Artemis: their soul and an eternity of service in exchange for one act of vengeance against the person who caused their untimely death. Their job: to protect humans from Daimons—creatures who live by devouring human souls. Without souls themselves, Dark-Hunters are able to hunt the Daimons undetected, but they must avoid the touch of daylight. Dangerous predators, they walk forever in the night, seeking out the evil that lurks in the shadows. However eternity is a long time and if a Dark-Hunter can pass Artemis’s test, they can return to a normal life (normal being a relative term). Yet if a Dark-Hunter should choose wrongly, something far worse than death awaits him or her... But don’t feel badly for them because these warriors love being the scary things that go bump in the night.


Their backstories can be really more complicated than that, so desribing them in detail may take more time. But in a nutshell, that's what they are.

So, after reading the first book in the series ("Fantasy Lover" which technically isn't really a part of the DH continuity but crosses over to that world. Told you it was complicated), I got hooked. Oh there's the romance, yes, but I enjoyed the fight scenes and the action that you get as the story progresses. Not to mention the fact that Ms. Kenyon describes her characters as... well, I can just imagine them as a lucious chocolate dessert.

What's interesting with the series is that you'll meet characters that you will encounter in future books. Even the "bad" guys get their turn in the spotlight, and you'll be amused at how good they become.

One character you'll encounter in the series is Acheron. His story is so much more complicated than everyone else's, and he's know to hold the Fates (both of the world and of the goddesses themselves) in his hands. Acheron is currently the "boss" of all the Dark Hunters, but very little is known about him.

This month marks the release of Acheron's story.

I finally got my hands on a copy and sped-read like crazy. The Acheron story is done in two parts. The first tells of his past: his birth, his life growing up, his heritage, and how he became to be who he is now. The second part tells of Acheron's new life, how he discovers that he isn't as worthless as he thinks he is, even if people find out who he really is.

And that is all I can say without giving any spoilers. I have to admit that I skipped out so much of the first part. One, because it was too painful to read about Acheron's past (you would really feel sorry for the guy), and two, I really wanted to know who Acheron's partner is, and if she meets the expectations I have (not that I really have any, but due to Acheron's appearance in the past books, it's kind of hard to imagine who will make him a good partner). Lastly, some of the information about Ash was already revealed in the previous books, so delving deeper into his past wasn't something I wanted to do.



I enjoyed this book, as much as I enjoyed the others in this series. Ash acts more human that he has ever had, partly because he finally realized that he was worth something to someone, and that he truly had friends he can count on. I found plenty of funny scenes, especially when Ash, who is normally a very graceful guy, acts really clumsy and so out of character.

Ash's story isn't the end of the series. I don't think Ms. Kenyon will write about all the Dark Hunters and Dream Hunters, but there's still plenty of unresolved conflicts, especially with Ash. So there's still that to look forward to.

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12 comments:

  1. i've heard about this book in passing...and kenyon's series, too kaso lang am not really a fan of supernatural beings. more on historical romance ako...teeeheeee :D

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  2. i'm a fan of kenyon's darkhunter series... where did you get your copy? i've been searching all bookstores here in the Philippines! Hope you could help!

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  3. Zriz - I do prefer historicals over supernaturals too, except if the supernatural is more on the fantasy genre like Lord of the Rings. I don't really like vampires or the undead (that's why I wasn't really attracted to Anne Rice or Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series), so I wasn't expecting to like this series. Surprisingly, I did!

    Princess - Er, my copy is actually an ebook given by a friend. I don't have the actuall book yet, but I plan to call Fully Booked tomorrow to ask if they have it. Chances are it's going to be a hardbound one. I'll let you know :D

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  4. thanks kat...i'm reading an ebook copy of Acheron (after 3 consecutive days of checking the bookstores, to no avail!)...
    Yeah most probably its a hardbound, the mass paperback's release date is not mentioned yet in the darkhunters website. Someone told me that in amazon.com, Acheron will be available in some countries by December '08!

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  5. Wow, that's going to ba long wait! I'll survive with the ebook for now, but I'll probably get a copy when my funds will allow it ^_^

    Have you finished it? What do you think? My friend cried in most of part one, and laughed in part two. :D

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  6. Hmmm another historical romance buff, eh? It's my secret pleasure...really.

    Anyway, I'll try to read them when I get the chance. I've already queued up for the book in the library. Even the previous Twilight series have pretty long queues!

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  7. Yup! I like most historicals, but it usually depends on the author :)

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  8. I'm not particular when it comes to authors, though. I noticed some tend to write about the same theme so I try to widen the scope.

    I have a few faves, though :)

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  9. Haha, true. What I do is I "experiment" with ebooks. If I like the author, that's when I'd go buy the book.

    What I'd give for a decent and updated public library *sigh*

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  10. hi guys! im an avid fan of kenyon books... and if youre interested i do have extra ACHERON BOOK HARDCOVER, all the bookstores here in manila arent sure when the actual book will come out... so if youre interested contact me at 09155344909...

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  11. i know this is a month late but if you still want your hands on a hardcover version, and looking here in manila, there's one copy left at national bookstore (bestsellers) at podium. it's at php900 with the store's discount prices. =)

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  12. Hi! Thanks for the update! I'm not really looking for one, but I know someone who is. I'll let her know :)

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