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145th out of 1,690 books
—
7,005 voters
Children of the Night (Diana Tregarde #2)
Rock band Wanderlust is about to hit it big, guitarist Dave Kendall is sure of that. They're playing better venues, in front of bigger crowds-and the people showing up at the after parties are increasingly good-looking and cool. Some even radiate power, like "Master" Jeffries, the tall, saturnine man who seems to have some sort of weird control over Dave's fellow bandmates...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
August 1st 2005
by Tor Books
(first published 1990)
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I am 99% sure this is a mistake. Mercedes was my very first favorite author, when I was about twelve. I must have read Castle of Deception forty times; I can still call to mind entire paragraphs from it. But I know I was an idiot at twelve, and I really don't want to learn that Mercedes was never all that good to begin with, but I just want to read something totally unlike all the pomo super-modern lit fic I'm always immersed in, and this certainly fits that bill. So we shall see...
Also, Tor? WT...more
Also, Tor? WT...more
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I was pleased to see when I posted this book that there's a new edition out with a different cover. I've always wondered about the leather jumpsuit with what appears to be shoulder pads that Diana is wearing on the cover of my copy. Surely Diana is much too cool for shoulder pads.
When I first read Children of the Night, I was completely besotted with it. Also, I was pretty young and clueless enough to think that New York City somehow existed in a time warp where people still used typewriters and...more
When I first read Children of the Night, I was completely besotted with it. Also, I was pretty young and clueless enough to think that New York City somehow existed in a time warp where people still used typewriters and...more
Diana Tregarde is a guardian who is sworn to protect those who ask for her help. She finds herself caught up in a complex series of what at first appears to be coincidence, but with the help of her friends and a man she just met, she puts the pieces together to find that many of the strange things happening were really linked together.
Diana experiences every possible emotion in this book and Lackey is there to show them to us in a detailed way that leaves the reader grinning at her jokes, wishin...more
Diana experiences every possible emotion in this book and Lackey is there to show them to us in a detailed way that leaves the reader grinning at her jokes, wishin...more
I'd originally read this book back in my heavy-Lackey, middle/high school phase. Now having lived and worked in New York for a few years (and no longer being a hormone-drenched teenager), I found myself curious about how it would stand up.
Lackey was doing urban fantasy before it really caught on--if her vampires are derivative of anyone's, they're Rice-esque. So you don't have to worry about errant sparkles, at least.
There may be some lingering affection biasing me here, but I thought this held...more
Lackey was doing urban fantasy before it really caught on--if her vampires are derivative of anyone's, they're Rice-esque. So you don't have to worry about errant sparkles, at least.
There may be some lingering affection biasing me here, but I thought this held...more
Sep 29, 2010
Phoenixfalls
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
american,
cities,
contemporary,
fantasy,
female-author,
vampires,
mercedes-lackey,
thriller
This is the first novel I've read by Mercedes Lackey, and it took me quite some time to get into it.
I was initially put off by the style -- very purple, adjectives attached to every noun (sometimes multiple adjectives), half of each page written as Diana's stream-of-consciousness thoughts, which were equally frenetic when she was standing alone in a shop as when she was having a panic attack. And while it isn't Lackey's fault (her magical butt-kicking heroine predates most others) the whole set-...more
I was initially put off by the style -- very purple, adjectives attached to every noun (sometimes multiple adjectives), half of each page written as Diana's stream-of-consciousness thoughts, which were equally frenetic when she was standing alone in a shop as when she was having a panic attack. And while it isn't Lackey's fault (her magical butt-kicking heroine predates most others) the whole set-...more
This book is filled with magic and Guardians and psychic vampires and yet it has a real feel to it. Di the heroine has a job, bills, friends and a broken heart. She has panic attacks that can impede her in her job. She has unruly hair and does not dress to impress.
People are ending up dead, their souls ripped out of their bodies. this triggers memories causing her to have black outs. Her ex is somehow involved in this drudging up too many bad moments. She ha to use all her skills to fight and o...more
People are ending up dead, their souls ripped out of their bodies. this triggers memories causing her to have black outs. Her ex is somehow involved in this drudging up too many bad moments. She ha to use all her skills to fight and o...more
Yes I know it is out of character for me to read books out of order, but when I first read it in the 8th grade I honestly didn’t know it was part of a series and so when I finally got a copy it was the priority instead of the still unfamiliar first book. Diana is much like a female version of Joe from Charlie Huston’s Already Dead. Yes, there is a vampire. Yes, there is a love interest but trust me this is not one of “those” books. Diana is a Guardian, which means she has to help people in magic...more
In this novel I felt that Ms. Lackey took her signature jump-straight-into-the-story-and-have-the-reader-pick-it-up-as-they-go-along attitude a little bit too far. I felt as though I was missing something between this book and the last; and I also found some of the suddenly-introduced terminology bewildering. Also, it was much more difficult to connect with some of the new characters than it had been; although it is true that I found myself deeply immersed in Diana's plight. Still, although this...more
Diana Tregarde is a witch that looks like a dancer with a somewhat stereotypical sassy gay friend who comes up against psychic vampires in this second book in the Diana Tregarde series. Though it is a series, there is no need to read these in order from what I have found, as they are stand-alone stories.
I like that Lackey uses concepts that are true to Wicca and New Age mythologies, and I also like the idea of a psychic vampire villain. I rather this than some of the more trashy takes on urban f...more
I like that Lackey uses concepts that are true to Wicca and New Age mythologies, and I also like the idea of a psychic vampire villain. I rather this than some of the more trashy takes on urban f...more
Supernatural...thriller? Diana Tregarde is a Guardian, a witch who's devoted her life to battling evil supernatural forces. Here, she meets an assortment of vampires.
This book is awful. The writing's completely over the top, abuses italics and "quote" marks to the point of insanity, and is filled with bizarre folksy phrases. Characters lived in the "Apple," were "in deep kim-chee" at least once a chapter, and Diana (fresh out of college) called all sorts of people "laddybuck" and once said "law...more
This book is awful. The writing's completely over the top, abuses italics and "quote" marks to the point of insanity, and is filled with bizarre folksy phrases. Characters lived in the "Apple," were "in deep kim-chee" at least once a chapter, and Diana (fresh out of college) called all sorts of people "laddybuck" and once said "law...more
Mercedes Lackey was the first author I was a really big fan of of my own accord - that is, without the classmate's mother who gave me access to her library of SF and fantasy books introducing me to her. I was a pre-teen and young teenager at that point, and I've generally moved on from this author, but sometimes it's fun to look back at what you used to read. I think this book holds up reasonably well. It seems like the main romance happened a little easily, but it was also low key. (This was on...more
Allegedly this is No.2 of the Diana Tregarde books by Mercedes Lackey. Yet this one is obviously a prequel to Burning Water since it involves the vampire Andre who is mentioned in Burning Water and her gay friend Lenny who is also mentioned in Burning Water.
Diana, Andre, Lenny and his lover Kevin are out to stop a group of psi-vampires who are feeding off the souls of runaways and vagrants. In real life the are a band called Children of the Night. One of the members of this band is Dave who is a...more
Diana, Andre, Lenny and his lover Kevin are out to stop a group of psi-vampires who are feeding off the souls of runaways and vagrants. In real life the are a band called Children of the Night. One of the members of this band is Dave who is a...more
This book was written and set in the late 80's/early 90's, so some things are a bit dated (slang, lack of computers). Not bad overall, though. Diana Tregarde is a witch and a Guardian of the Earth. A former boyfriend becomes involved with some evil characters who feast on the emotions of the unsuspecting. A vampire in trouble shows up and makes an alliance with Diana to defeat the evil. I have this in a 3-in-1 hardback along with the first and third books in the series and for some reason, this...more
I was just not impressed with this second entry in the series. Chronologically, it takes place before the first book in the series, and the main character is SOOO much less interesting in her younger incarnation. At least when she was the badass paranormal investigator of the first novel, it was somewhat interesting, but this whiny, panicky wuss is not interesting to read about. Plus those wretched Twilight books/movies have made me really hate any mention of vampires, and of course there are so...more
Maybe it had to do with when I read this for the first time - I was a teenaged girl with an independent streak and a thing for vampires - but I've come back to this story again and again even though I'm now well past those tender years. Diana is self-assured but still flawed and this story of getting over that first big break up, while also finding something possibly better is one that is as comforting and delicious as hot chocolate on a snowy night.
This book seemed to be sandwiched in between two of the Secret World Chronicle stories in an e-book I was reading. So initially (after reading about superheroes and nazis) I was really confused. Saying that, this jumped around a lot less than the secret world chronicles and I ended up enjoying it more, as the story flowed a bit better. At the end of the day, it was a good late night read with some interesting characters.
Before Buffy or Hamilton's Anita Blake or Harris' Sookie Stackhouse, Lackey was writing Urban Fantasy with a strong heroine, Diana Tregarde, starting with Burning Water and also including, besides this one, Jinx High. Diana is a practicing witch and a "Guardian" sworn to protect innocents who get caught up in the supernatural.
Of the three novels, I think this is the strongest. I've read the Tregarde novels didn't sell well, and that's why Lackey hasn't written more with this character. I find th...more
Of the three novels, I think this is the strongest. I've read the Tregarde novels didn't sell well, and that's why Lackey hasn't written more with this character. I find th...more
A little underwhelmed on this. I'd heard good things about the author, but the version I have of this book is poorly edited and a little sloppy throughout. The characters are hollow and many of their actions lack motivation. At times I had to flip back to see if I missed something. But, that something wasn't there. I didn't hate it though, so I will likely give her another chance.
Much better than Burning Water, Children of the Night again stars Diana Tregarde, who is a guardian with great occult powers. This time she is babysitting her friend's occult store and a young Rom man comes in looking for her friend. With her powers, Diana senses the boy is in trouble and offers him sanctuary. A few days later, she finds the boy dead in an alleyway, with a person hanging over him -- a vampire named Andre LeBrel. However, it seems that Andre really is innocent, but that means tha...more
This book is different from the norm that I am used to when reading anything by Mercedes Lackey.
The story switches rather quickly between the thoughts of the characters to the action in which was happening in the scene. The story does flow in real time, or so it seems.
Overall, not a bad story once you figure the plot.
The story switches rather quickly between the thoughts of the characters to the action in which was happening in the scene. The story does flow in real time, or so it seems.
Overall, not a bad story once you figure the plot.
I think I've read this book. I'm not really sure. I'm about 85% sure I read this. I think I read it when I was about 13. That was 13 years ago. But I remember liking a book by Mercedes Lackey (because I remember my friend telling me that the name HAD to be a psuedonym) and it was about vampires. So this is got to be it right?
Jul 15, 2012
Angela
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
before-2002,
bookcrossed-or-otherwise-set-free
Diana Tregarde, our heroine, can arguably be seen as the precursor to Anita Blake. She is a practicing witch and Guardian, using magick to look after those entrusted to her care. In this novel, the bad vampires are prowling New York, and Diana and her vampire friend Andre LeBrel must get rid of them before it's too late....
dianna is a very well written character, a life that most of us could probably live quite contently except; a murder at her back door, a vampire, an ex boyfriend with some really bad stuff going on, and panic attacks. she manages to handle it all and still finish the romance novels she writes on time.
This book was fun to read, but had no real substance to speak of. Just your typical shallow urban fantasy story. Fortunately it still made sense even though I didn't read the first book. Recommended if you just want to check your brain out for awhile. At least it's better than Amber Benson and her Calliope Reaper-Jones trash...
I picked up this book back when I was interested in Wicca and paganism. I loved how Mercedes represented the practice...it showed that she had done her homework. I could tell that a lot of the supernatural creatures she wrote of were drawn from real myths and legends that I hadn't heard of, which led me to do some research to find them. It really got me thinking. It was a good book, and what got me hooked on Lackey.
While I loved the Diana Tregarde series as a younger reader, this one is the weakest of the bunch, with Lackey cranking up the romance novelist bits to 12 (panic attacks! vampire romance! Claremontesque domination body-and-soul!) in a way that drowns out what good bits there are. For the completist only.
Shhhh. It's a fun book! Also, this was where I was introduced to the sexy French vampire concept -- it didn't stick, in my case, because I actually think vampires are creepy and supposed to be creepy. But it was probably an early example of that now-thriving subgenre.
I stumbled across this as part of a package ibook. Its an easy read, and the characters are likable. I wasn't drawn into it enough, though, to go looking for the rest of the series.
Jan 30, 2009
Adrienne
added it
Different from her fanstasy and close to home, this has to be the fore runner to the ever popular female investigator who deals with the magic and the mystical.
I think this was the first Lackey book I read that wasn't set in her Valdemar setting and it was when I read this book that I discovered that no matter what Lackey writes, (Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Edwardian Fantasy) she knows how to write a compelling and suspenseful story if she sets her mind to it. I adore Diana and I love the world Lackey creates in this book. Her vampire lore is divers and well researched I must say and one of my favourites so far. It is the second book in a series, but it c...more
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Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts &...more
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