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Dark Time (Mortal Path #1)

by Dakota Banks (Goodreads Author)

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 889 ratings · 119 reviews

Three hundred years ago, she sold her soul to a demon. Now she wants it back.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life - as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she sav...more

Paperback, 306 pages

Published July 28th 2009 by Harper Voyager (first published July 16th 2009)

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Aug 21, 2010 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal, read-in-2009, for-review

Dark Time is everything that the debut of a new urban fantasy series should be. Banks deftly employs Sumerian mythology and world history to propel the story of Maliha, a former assassin seeking redemption.

As an Ageless servant of the demon Rabishu, Maliha has lived a long life - from the period of colonization in America up to present day. In order to give a complete picture of her story, Banks uses the first few chapters to jump from one period to the next. Once she hits the present, occasiona...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Aurian Booklover rated it 4 of 5 stars

300 years ago, Susannah was happily married, and very pregnant with their first child. She was a healer, and a good one. Then a jealous woman accused her of witch craft, because she wanted Susannah’s life. Her child was born early in jail and died, unattended, and Susannah was burned at the stake. No one stood up for her, not the husband she dearly loved, nor any of the villagers she healed. Her heart burned with vengeance when she died, and she was given a second chance at life. If she agreed t...more 300 years ago, Susannah was happily married, and very pregnant with their first child. She was a healer, and a good one. Then a jealous woman accused her of witch craft, because she wanted Susannah’s life. Her child was born early in jail and died, unattended, and Susannah was burned at the stake. No one stood up for her, not the husband she dearly loved, nor any of the villagers she healed. Her heart burned with vengeance when she died, and she was given a second chance at life. If she agreed to become a demon’s assassin. Susannah agreed, and her first act was to kill the woman who falsely accused her.
She was trained in the martial arts by another Ageless One, also beholden to the demon Susannah is bound to. They are called Ageless, as they are practically immortal, but not really. And if they decide to quit their lives, they will be tortured for eternity. But Susannah, or Maliha as she is calling herself nowadays, is getting tired of it all. She wants out. And there is a loophole in her contract with Rabishu, if she can safe as many people as she killed in 300 years, she will be free. But she will be mortal again, and age, though not as an ordinary human. Whenever she safes someone, she will age, and not in a predictable way. Saving one life can cost her 3 years, while saving hundreds at a time, only a few months.

We are told most of this in flashbacks, which took some getting used to, I prefer linear stories.
In the years since she has stopped being an assassin, Maliha has made some friends, but not many, and only a few of those know about her past and her mission. Now two decoders have been brutally murdered, and she needs to find out why, in order to keep a friend safe, who might be the next target. And so she sets out to gather information. One of her skills is to relive a murder, and set the soul part of the victim that remains, free. Her hacker friend Amaro has no trouble to find out what the two were working on, and finding two companies that both used their services. So Maliha is determined to check both of them out, to see if one of them is behind the murders. What do they have to hide?

In the meantime, her friend Randy sets her up on a blind date with a DEA agent, named Jake Hautpman, and to her own surprise, Maliha is very much attracted to him, and it appears to be mutual. But life interferes before their relationship progresses further than a kiss. And when she tells him of some drugsmuggling, her friend and private investigator Hound has found out, she becomes a suspect. She doesn’t want to tell him how she knows things, things her legal face and persona as the mystery author Marscha Winters could not know.

And then there is the stalker, who is another Ageless, and really wants her for himself. But for now, he is under orders to leave her alone, for now. As Maliha is mortal, and he is not, and in full possession of all his powers, it will be very difficult to beat him. But beat him, and the man he is working for, has to be done.

I have had this series on my wishlist and my TBR for a while, and am glad that I finally picked up the first book. At first, I had some trouble with all the flashbacks, to her loosing her baby, again and again, but Maliha soon grew on me. She is a true kick ass heroine, she is great at plotting and planning, she still has some of her demonic powers, only diminished, and she is a very good at burgling. I love how she gets into highly guarded buildings, and is not afraid of getting hurt. She is still difficult to kill, but she does heal much more slowly now. And whenever she manages to save someone, that hurts as well, when the scale burned onto her stomach tips a little bit.
Maliha does not make friends easily, but she has been thinking of starting a new life, finding a partner, maybe a new chance at having children of her own, before her time is up. Which is good for her, but I like the kick ass part better. I like Dakota Banks’ writing style, the very original story, and the characters. Her friends are intriguing characters, and there are flashbacks to how Maliha saved them.

I am looking forward to reading the next book, which is on my shelves, and have immediately ordered the third one.

8 stars.
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Sep 27, 2012 Max rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mediocre-writing

This story had a very interesting premise--a supernatural heroine with a dash of action and mystery--but the actual story itself is, well, a mess. There's medical malpractice, drug smuggling, corporate money laundering, and of course, a sinister plan to destroy the United States. Like I said, a mess.
The book starts out with Susana, a pregnant wife in 1697, being wrongfully accused of witchcraft and burnt at the stake. A heart-wrenching tragedy which ends with Susana making a deal with a demon c...more

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May 17, 2012 Literary Feline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dakota Banks' Dark Time has the flavor of an action thriller urban fantasy novel. There's quite a lot packed into the book as the author sets up the characters and their history and gets the story moving. Susannah is a healer during the 17th century. Accused of witchcraft, she is burned at the stake. An ancient Sumerian demon offers her a deal: immortality with conditions or death by fire. Susannah chooses life at the cost of being bound to the demon and required to do his evil biding. For three...more Dakota Banks' Dark Time has the flavor of an action thriller urban fantasy novel. There's quite a lot packed into the book as the author sets up the characters and their history and gets the story moving. Susannah is a healer during the 17th century. Accused of witchcraft, she is burned at the stake. An ancient Sumerian demon offers her a deal: immortality with conditions or death by fire. Susannah chooses life at the cost of being bound to the demon and required to do his evil biding. For three hundred years, Susannah kills for Rabishu. She is a master at her art with her supernatural strength and speed and well honed skills. Then, under the weight of the lives she's taken, Susannah rebels against her master, setting in motion a chain of events that could result in her freedom. She must balance the lives she has taken with lives she saves. The catch? She loses her immortality, aging with each life she saves. If she fails, she will forever be the demon's slave.

Susannah becomes Maliha Crayne as she sets out on her new journey. She is tasked with finding the one responsible for the death of two coders. Her investigation opens a can of worms that threatens to destroy more than just the lives already taken. Aided by her trusted friends, Maliha goes on the hunt.

This was quite an interesting novel. I liked it in many ways. The historical aspects and ties to Sumerian legends particularly intrigued me. And I really liked the way the author developed Susannah/Maliha's character. She had the typical earmarks of an urban fantasy heroine--tough and independent--but there is something else to her. As young looking, agile and into high tech as she may be, Maliha comes across as a much older soul. It's easy to believe she is 300+ years old. And I really liked that about her. I appreciated the author taking Maliha there. More importantly, I liked that she was a hot chocolate drinker.

The author spends a lot of time setting up Maliha's background and overall goal to regain her freedom. Very little time is spent exploring the part of Maliha's life in which she establishes her new identity as a crime writer before jumping into her current investigation. The transition is very quick from past to present. I didn't mind so much since I found the background information the most interesting, including the flashbacks to Maliha's past, but it did leave me scratching my head initially. I will be curious to see what direction the author takes in future books of the series.

Overall, I enjoyed Dark Time. The ending is a bit of a cliff hanger, and it was hard not to rush out and buy the next book in the series just so I could find out how . . . well, find out what happens next. I do plan to read more in the series, but I really need to get back to my book club selection for the time being.(less)

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May 08, 2012 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Apr 26, 2012 Kelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-fantasy, own, print-books, urban-fantasy, ebooks

Courtesy of Amazon

Wow! I loved Dark Time and am very impatient for book two is this fascinating and refreshingly original series.

Over three hundred years ago, Susannah Layhem was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Just as she is facing her last moments of life before giving in to the flames, she is whisked to safety and offered a trade. If she agrees to sell her soul to the demon Rabishu, he will save her life. But is it worth it?

Now, Susannah is Maliha Crayne, assassin for R...more Courtesy of Amazon

Wow! I loved Dark Time and am very impatient for book two is this fascinating and refreshingly original series.

Over three hundred years ago, Susannah Layhem was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Just as she is facing her last moments of life before giving in to the flames, she is whisked to safety and offered a trade. If she agrees to sell her soul to the demon Rabishu, he will save her life. But is it worth it?

Now, Susannah is Maliha Crayne, assassin for Rabishu to advance his malevolent plans. However, after a few hundred years, Maliha has grown weary of the life of a killer and longs to be free. She has one chance… Returned to mortal life, if she can save as many lives as she has taken over the years, before dying, her soul will be free. If not? She is subject to an eternity of the most horrendous of tortured that can be inflicted by Rabishu.

Dark Time is a complex novel bound to grab you by the throat and not let go until the final page is turned. We find passion, danger, intrigue, seemingly impossible quests, even a slight touch of romance between the covers of Dark Time. While Maliha’s story may seem superficial at times, there is depth to her plight that mesmerizes. We also have a complicated subplot that is introduced here and guaranteed to unfold over future books in the series. Rabishu is vicious, cruel, and out for himself, determined to stop Maliha from finishing her personal mission. The world presented here is brilliantly portrayed and Dakota Banks does a masterful job with her descriptive imagery. It’s hard to believe this is her first novel.

Maliha is a fascinating woman who seems to have everything her heart can desire, yet she is lacking one thing, ownership of her soul. After centuries of living free of the restraints of her conscience, she finally realizes she is miserable. Guilt consumes her for the wicked deeds in her past and her only goal now is to make amends for all the destruction she wrought and finally be free. She can come across as selfish at times, but then we are reminded that she really does have a big heart, as evidenced by her relationships to the men and women dedicated to helping her with her quest. Those bonds go deep and I enjoyed seeing these people through Maliha’s eyes.

I could not put Dark Time down and eagerly anticipate book two, Sacrifice, due out in June 2010.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, November 2009. All rights reserved.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011 Blood Rose Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great book, that is really non stop action and quite a bit different from other paranormal books out there. So if you are looking for a change, something new and different this book is for you.

Susannah Layhem was just a wife in in the late 1600 with a some what loving husband and their first child on the way. One night she and her husband are awoken by men at the door who proclaim Susannah is a witch, therefore, she is sentenced to death. Susannah cannot understand what is happening an...more
This is a great book, that is really non stop action and quite a bit different from other paranormal books out there. So if you are looking for a change, something new and different this book is for you.

Susannah Layhem was just a wife in in the late 1600 with a some what loving husband and their first child on the way. One night she and her husband are awoken by men at the door who proclaim Susannah is a witch, therefore, she is sentenced to death. Susannah cannot understand what is happening and she is more upset that they will not wait for the baby to be born before they execute her. The night before she is to burned at the stake, Susannah gives birth to still born from the severe treatment she receives as she is incarcerated. The next day Susannah is tied to the stake and the fire is lapping at her feet, legs, hair. She dies...or does she. In her last moments Susannah sends up a prayer for someone to help her. The prayer is answered by a Demon named Rabishu. Rabishu questions Susannah on what she would do to live? Would she kill her own Kind? Susannah states that she wants to live and will do what it takes to live again, so begins her long slavery as Rabishu's assassin. Susannah served Rabishu for 100s of years and is haunted by all people she has killed. Susannah wants to be free of Rabishu and the only way is for her save as many people as she has killed, only then will she be set free. However, if Susannah thought that Rabishu would make it easy for her, she is sadly mistaken.

This book was great, I just really enjoyed that it was something different and had different ideas throughout. There are no vampires or werewolves within the book, just Demons and individuals who are called Ageless. The main character Susannah, who becomes Maliha, as she has to change her name through out the time she has lived, is a fairly believable character, who has flaws, and just has the desperate want to live a normal life, but knows that she cant. There are quite a few action James Bond/Dirk Pitt like scene within the book. I also enjoy that there are flashbacks to times where Maliha has saved an individual and how some of those people are part of her life now, even if they know that she saved them or not. There is a little bit of a love interest in the book, but it is not a priority it is more in the aspect of Maliha wanting and trying to live a normal life. The priority in the book is for Maliha to save as many people as she can and protect those people around her, in order to balance the scales that control her life and body

This first book is one of the best new series that I have read in a long time. So i would reccomend that everyone pick it up, especially if you like paranormal books with a more action, character development and history. The books leaves a big cliff hanger at the end too and I cant wait for the second one, hope it comes out soon.

Definitely an Author to watch out for.
Enjoy!!!!(less)

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Aug 01, 2011 Madame X rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy, bait-and-switch, assassin-protag, mary-sue

In 17th century Massachusetts, pregnant Susannah Leyhem is unjustly accused of witchcraft by a woman who covets her husband. She is convicted, gives birth to a stillborn daughter alone and despairing in prison, and is sentenced to burn at the stake.

Just as the fire is lit under her feet, Susannah is transported to another realm where a monstrous demon offers immortality in return for her promise to be his slave and personal assassin. Susannah is filled with such deep anger and bitterness that s...more In 17th century Massachusetts, pregnant Susannah Leyhem is unjustly accused of witchcraft by a woman who covets her husband. She is convicted, gives birth to a stillborn daughter alone and despairing in prison, and is sentenced to burn at the stake.

Just as the fire is lit under her feet, Susannah is transported to another realm where a monstrous demon offers immortality in return for her promise to be his slave and personal assassin. Susannah is filled with such deep anger and bitterness that she agrees, and her first task is to kill the scheming woman who labeled her as a witch.

These opening scenes of DARK TIME are wrenching and draw the reader in; unfortunately, the author can't keep up the momentum. She skips over Susannah's centuries as a cold-hearted killer, picking up the narrative in the mid-twentieth century when Susannah begins to have a crisis of conscience about all the evil she has done in the name of her demon lord, Rubishu. The author presents several incidents that break the ice surrounding Susannah's heart, quickly arriving at the present when Susannah finally decides that she must break her contract with the demon.

She makes a new deal: she will lose the supernatural abilities that went along with being an immortal assassin and resume her mortality, and she must attempt to save the lives of as many people as she has killed. If she succeeds, she will ascend to heaven; if she fails, she will face a lengthy torment at the hands of her demon lord.

Because we meet Susannah as a naïve, 20-year old healer in the past and, in the present, as a devoted do-gooder, her years as an assassin never quite seem real. In DARK TIME, the primary remnants of those years are her "killing outfit" - a typical ninja suit, with martial art skills to match - and her astronomical wealth. Similarly, we learn that in the bad old days Susannah was quite the heartless seductress, always taking and discarding nameless lovers, but in the present Susannah is pretty sentimental about love. The hook that draws us in, the anger of a woman wronged, and the bulk of her experiences as an assassin seem very separate from the person we get to know in DARK TIME.

There's a lot of Mary Sueing in THE MORTAL PATH - every man who sets eyes on Susannah is in love with her - and a plot involving the execution-style murder of two hackers; Susannah must find out who is responsible before more people die. While the Sumerian mythology in the novel is intriguing, the bad-girl-must-make-good story is nothing new, and DARK TIME simply doesn't stand out.(less)

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May 24, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found this book incredibly weird and boring at the same time. The main characters name changed so many times I had trouble keeping track of her. Susannah is a herbal healer in the new world around the times of the witch trials. She is accused of being a witch while pregnant and put on trial where she is condemned to die by fire. She delivers her baby the day before her execution but without help the baby dies. They burn her and then a demon offers her the deal of a lifetime revenge and immorta...more

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May 11, 2011 Text Addict rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This book could actually be worse, if the basic sentence-level writing wasn’t competent.

This is only my perspective, of course; the book may be much more appealing to people other than me. I have never, for example, been a fan of bed-hopping characters of any gender – so that’s a reason for me not to like it right there. Your mileage may vary.

But there’s a lot more to disapprove of in this book than that. I slogged through to the end through sheer willpower (only actually throwing it across the...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Aik Chien 인첸 rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my first attempt at reading an urban-fantasy novel, and I'll have to say it's awesome! Dark Time is an action-packed novel which is full of danger and intrigue, in which Maliha strives to achieve a goal that seems impossible to reach. Please be aware that there are some adult contents in this novel.

Maliha is a super-girl. She heals inordinately fast, has looks that kill, is filthy rich, highly-skilled at martial arts and runs at a high speed. Plus, her best friends are a pro-hacker and a...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Scotwithone_t rated it 2 of 5 stars

I loved the premise of this book, and I loved the main character for the first few chapters. But then the author pulls the rug out form under the story and skips ahead 300 years in the character's life, with little to no transition. I understand the timefram jump, but I would have liked to see a few more assassinations of supposed innocent people, and her struggle against guilt to justify her choice to retire from being a life-take and become a life-saver.

Even with the jarring transition, the b...more

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Jan 31, 2010 Cym Lowell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Imagine this: You are pregnant with your first child, homing with your husband and your fascination with herbal medicines. In the middle of the night, religious zealots drag you from your bed and throw you in a cold, rancid jail cell where you are beaten. Your husband stands by. The baby girl, who you would have named Constanta, is born in the squalor of the floor with your own hands. The zealots burn you at the stake as your husband passively watches along with the rest of the community, hurlin...more

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Sep 23, 2009 Lillie Roberts rated it 5 of 5 stars

As our story opens, Susannah Layhem of Massachusetts (1692) is a healer and works with herbs, but then she's accused of being a witch and sentenced to burn. She has done nothing but bring good health to her community and for it, she is going to gain death and so will the infant she's carrying. The night before her burning, she gives birth in the dirt and squalor of her cell to her stillborn infant daughter; her body too abused and an damaged to continue supporting the life growing within her. Sh...more As our story opens, Susannah Layhem of Massachusetts (1692) is a healer and works with herbs, but then she's accused of being a witch and sentenced to burn. She has done nothing but bring good health to her community and for it, she is going to gain death and so will the infant she's carrying. The night before her burning, she gives birth in the dirt and squalor of her cell to her stillborn infant daughter; her body too abused and an damaged to continue supporting the life growing within her. She's dragged crying from her cell and placed upon the wooden mound; set aflame. Just as she takes her last breath and utters her final curse, she's snatched from her fiery death, and transported to another place and time. A voice offers her a choice, go back to the flames or becoming his slave. She chooses life and the cursed existence to the demon, Rabishu. She becomes Ageless, continuous life for the rest of eternity.

For centuries, the death that she brings does not burden her consciousness, but when she's told to kill an infant girl, much like her own long dead daughter, Constanta, she has to draw the line. She cannot bring herself to harm the infant who hasn't even had a chance to live. It's the beginnings of her conscious self re-asserting. Over the years, she has come to the conclusion that she can no longer be the demon's killing machine.

After many years of searching for the answer to her release from the Rabishu's service, he reveals that there is an escape clause to her contract. But to escape, she has to set the scales straight, for every life she has taken, one must be saved. She will become mortal again, but with a longer lifespan. She can be wounded, but she'll heal faster. For every life she saves, she'll age faster. And if she is killed, she becomes Rabishu plaything for an eternity of hell. She'll have to re-invent herself over and over again to hide her extended life.

In this incarnation, she becomes Maliha Crayne (alter ego: Marsha Winter, thriller author) and she still trying to balance the scales.

Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One by Dakota Banks was a fast paced thriller/urban fantasy that jumps from the days of early Massachusetts to the present then back again throughout our heroine's existence, showing the trials and tribulations she must endure if she wants to regain her soul from the enslaving demon. When Rabishu released her from his service, he etched the scales of justice into her skin, and with each life earned, the justice scales losses a tiny figure as it marches across her skin with fiery footsteps to create balance. She soon discovers Rabishu doesn't play fair, his assassins will kill her if they're able. But, Rabishu has also trained her well, she is quick and powerful, a force to be reckoned with. She can bring death to even the Ageless. So begins her new life to fight against the wrongs of the world; to the weak, the young, and the powerless, she is their champion. To the cruel, evil, and bloodthirsty, she is their worst nightmare. There are several powerful players in this novel; long time friends, Yanmeng and Amaro, provide a supportive extended family for her as well as back up. New love interest, Jake, may be what he appears to be, DEA agent, or maybe he's something else altogether. If you enjoy a thrilling urban fantasy as much as I do and if you like a kick-ass heroine, pick up this book, an excellent read well worth you time. I loved the qualities that Mahila embraces as she tries to regain her soul. It's a quick read moving through time as Mahila works to right the wrongs. The story leaves me begging for more with one question remaining, who or what is Jake Stackman?(less)

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Sep 10, 2009 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a 2.5-3 star rating.
I fully admit I waffled in rating this book. I loved the concept behind the book and I really enjoyed Maliha’s character. Banks introduces a lot within this one book and the end leaves you hanging for more. On the other hand the writing was disjointed to me. Each chapter jumps back and forth between Maliha’s past and present along with a few pages here and there from the point of view of her enemies. This jumping around was disorienting. There are many things that are...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: gag-worthy-book

The year is 1692 and Susannah Layhem is expecting her first child with her husband Nathan. The Layhems live in Trenton Village of Essex County. Susannah is worried as any new mother can be. But she is happy as a wife and healer. Late one night some men from the village come and arrest Susannah for witchcraft. She is condemned as a witch based on the testimony of Alice, a young woman of the village who desires Nathan. Because Susannah is placed in a dank, dark jail cell and not taken care of, she...more The year is 1692 and Susannah Layhem is expecting her first child with her husband Nathan. The Layhems live in Trenton Village of Essex County. Susannah is worried as any new mother can be. But she is happy as a wife and healer. Late one night some men from the village come and arrest Susannah for witchcraft. She is condemned as a witch based on the testimony of Alice, a young woman of the village who desires Nathan. Because Susannah is placed in a dank, dark jail cell and not taken care of, she goes into labor and her baby is stillborn. She is then burned alive.

As Susannah is dying a demon comes to her. He is Rabishu, a demon who serves Nergal, Lord of the Underworld. Rabishu offers her immortality as long as she obeys him in everything he asks of her. Susannah quickly makes the decision to give up her soul to Rabishu for revenge against those who murdered her and her precious baby. Her first act is to kill Alice, which she does gladly. For the next five hundred years Susannah is known as the Black Ghost, an immortal assassin. Susannah has incredible powers at her disposal and is eternally young. But after centuries of taking lives, Susannah’s conscience is getting to her. She is not sure how much longer she can keep killing.

When Rabishu orders her to kill a baby, it is too much and Susannah defies him. Rabishu is ready to bring Susannah to the Underworld as punishment where she will suffer for all eternity. But Susannah bargains with Rabishu. He will let Susannah change her course. She now must save as many lives as she has taken. She is no longer as immortal as she once was. The twist is that every time she saves a life, she will age. Susannah will become mortal once again but on the positive side she will still have some of her remaining powers. If she dies before this balance is achieved, she will be Rabishu’s plaything as long as he exists. Susannah has no choice and accepts. She will now be known as Maliha Crayne.

Maliha becomes a superhero of sorts. She has a new identity as a well off author of pulp crime novels. This is the perfect cover for her because she can investigate those who are evil and out to do wrong. Maliha picks and chooses who she wants to give payback to. Gone is the naïve and simple Susannah. Now sixty years later after striking her new bargain with Rabishu, Maliha will figure out a way to outwit the demon that has given her no choice but to make others pay so she can escape her own unfortunate destiny.

Dark Time: Mortal Path Book One by is a dark supernatural thriller. The first five chapters or so had me really engaged with the character of Susannah who was wronged in so many ways. She goes from and a defenseless and innocent woman of her time whose only true happiness is a home with a husband and children, to a woman who becomes a soulless wanderer with no place. She is having a tough time trying to outwit a being more powerful than she could ever hope to be. It was interesting to see the change in Susannah’s personality from when we first meet her to when she has become as an assassin to a demon and then transformed into a dark savior of sorts.

After Susannah becomes Maliha, part mortal superhero extraordinare, I found myself growing bored. I preferred the assassin over the savior. Maliha’s personality changed into a spoiled woman who comes across as whiny and bitchy. And it is all about the vengeance to Maliha. I was to the point where I wanted to tell her to get over it. You’re screwed whichever way you spin it, so enjoy your carefree half-mortal existence on Earth for the time being Yes, it was horrible how she died and the way she was betrayed when she was mortal, but Maliha’s transformation into an anti-heroine with no real redeeming qualities does not make for fun reading. Her views and experiences were not as thrilling as I thought they would be. Even as she decides to save lives, in order to save her soul, she has this chip on her shoulder as if she deserves to be the ultimate winner, just because she says so.

Whereas I had a connection with Susannah, I couldn’t find any emotional connection to her new identity of Maliha. The middle section of Dark Time skips along, and not in a good way, even as Maliha pin points her next victim to ruin. Dakota was trying to show Maliha as a person who is essentially lost with no real hope. And because of this, Maliha becomes too cold and calculating. I really couldn’t get a fix on what Maliha’s motivation was. The first part quarter of the novel felt so different from the rest of the book. I am not sure if Dakota began writing Dark Time with a certain direction in mind and then decided to venture into another direction altogether. Because of this, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the story and what Maliha goes through.

Other than being shown what great things Maliha can do and a few appearances from various supernatural baddies, there were no real memorable fights or action. There was a great deal of explanation and talking about how Maliha was going to accomplish the things she planned to do, but again it just didn’t hold my interest.

Dark Time simply wasn’t the read for me. It was an adequately written book, with a great beginning but overall something was missing to keep me from recommending it to others. If I had to explain Dark Time in one word, that would be “meh”. (less)

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Jul 26, 2009 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Many, many centuries ago, Susannah was accused of witchcraft. She was ordered to be burned alive. Susannah was saved by an evil creature but for a price. In exchange for getting to keep her life, Susannah has to serve all of eternity as an assassin.

To present day. Susannah is no longer. She now calls herself Marsha Winters aka Maliha Crayne. By day Susannah goes by Marsha Winters, writer but by night she is Maliha, one deadly assassin. Susannah has killed more people than she can keep count. For...more

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Oct 31, 2012 D.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Read other book reviews at Book Junkie Joint.

This is a sexy, action-packed story of redemption and finding peace within one's self.

The whole story itself is a combination of fantasy, action, horror, suspense, mystery and romance, which gave the reader a lot to digest. And I don't necessarily mean that as a good thing. It all depends on what the reader prefers.

Personally, I didn't know what to think about the story because it had too much going on in it. Everything was crammed up in a 306-page bo

...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Ami rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal-futuristic

3.5 stars
Although this book had been on my peripheral for quite awhile (thanks to Goodreads's "Readers Also Enjoyed" section), but I didn't want to approach it before. Simply because of the cover. I mean, that woman has no head!! But I was always eager to look for series, so I decided to give this a try.

I was captivated from the earlier chapters. The idea of an ex-demon assassin, who decided to get out from her contract, and now must redeem herself by saving people (and she has timeline!) is sim...more

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Sep 16, 2010 Crystal ♥ RBtWBC rated it 3 of 5 stars

At first I was finding it very hard to get into the MC. Really fall into her so the rest of the world falls away. And now that I finished it I can't really say that I connected with her the way I like to with books but I wasn't disappointed with it.
It's basically about this chic who was burned to death in the late 1600's (Salem witch trials anyone?) being falsely accused of witchcraft and made a deal with a demon. It's not a happy story. So she has to be the demon's slave/assassin if she wants...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story starts out in a very emotional way. In fact, I was upset for Susannah so much I almost put this book in the freezer (Friends reference... sorry). However, it does set things nicely up for the demon, Rabishu to take advantage of her torn up emotional state. It makes perfect sense. Time does go by and even though she had tried to shut off her emotions, after a few hundred years, her sense of right and wrong resurfaces. She stumbles on a way to redeem herself that has severe consequences...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Renee Rearden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: keepers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 22, 2010 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dakota Banks' Dark Time was a very interesting read. It starts off in the beginning when Maliha--known as Susannah at the time and how she came to be working for the demon. It's told in third person so it's not like the events happened in the past but we see it from the beginning. Time moves forward a little and we see bits of Susannah's life as a demon's assassin and then finally she realizes she doesn't want to do this anymore. She doesn't want to be a demon's assassin, so she makes a new deal...more Dakota Banks' Dark Time was a very interesting read. It starts off in the beginning when Maliha--known as Susannah at the time and how she came to be working for the demon. It's told in third person so it's not like the events happened in the past but we see it from the beginning. Time moves forward a little and we see bits of Susannah's life as a demon's assassin and then finally she realizes she doesn't want to do this anymore. She doesn't want to be a demon's assassin, so she makes a new deal with the demon to save lives instead of killing them to balance out her debt.

She was once ageless, an Ageless one, and now with each life she saves she will grow a little older. Maybe a day, maybe 2 months, maybe a year. It's unpredictable, but if she doesn't complete her end of the bargain before her death, then she will be the demon's plaything for a very long time.

I found it interesting that at times Maliha still had to do unsavory things to save lives. She sometimes had to kill bad guys, which was a little odd, but since these characters were evil humans there was no mark against her.

The story line was complicated at first since we have to start from when she was an assassin, but it moves rather quickly along as she tries to right the wrongs of the deaths of two computer guys. It gets blown way out of proportion with technology companies and other unsavory characters.

There was a lot to it that I can't even begin to explain, but as you read along it all makes sense as Maliha has a mystery to solve of sorts. And another one that will likely continue on through the next books involving the demon she made her deal with.

There is also a bit of romance in the book, but not much. A lot of tension between the characters.

There wasn't a whole of supernatural aspects to the book other than the demon portions and possibly a few threads here and there if you want to call these "unsaid" events supernatural. Basically no vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. But still a very enjoyable read. There was even a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves you wondering about a certain character, not Maliha, but a secondary one.

With that I have to say I will definitely be reading the second book Sacrifice when I get the chance! Overall I give the book 4/5 stars! Another GREAT read! And even by a local author!!(less)

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Jan 27, 2010 Kelley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A CK2S K2 Recommended Read!

Courtesy of Amazon

Wow! I loved Dark Time and am very impatient for book two is this fascinating and refreshingly original series.

Over three hundred years ago, Susannah Layhem was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Just as she is facing her last moments of life before giving in to the flames, she is whisked to safety and offered a trade. If she agrees to sell her soul to the demon Rabishu, he will save her life. But is it worth it?

Now, Susannah is Ma...more A CK2S K2 Recommended Read!

Courtesy of Amazon

Wow! I loved Dark Time and am very impatient for book two is this fascinating and refreshingly original series.

Over three hundred years ago, Susannah Layhem was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Just as she is facing her last moments of life before giving in to the flames, she is whisked to safety and offered a trade. If she agrees to sell her soul to the demon Rabishu, he will save her life. But is it worth it?

Now, Susannah is Maliha Crayne, assassin for Rabishu to advance his malevolent plans. However, after a few hundred years, Maliha has grown weary of the life of a killer and longs to be free. She has one chance… Returned to mortal life, if she can save as many lives as she has taken over the years, before dying, her soul will be free. If not? She is subject to an eternity of the most horrendous of tortured that can be inflicted by Rabishu.

Dark Time is a complex novel bound to grab you by the throat and not let go until the final page is turned. We find passion, danger, intrigue, seemingly impossible quests, even a slight touch of romance between the covers of Dark Time. While Maliha’s story may seem superficial at times, there is depth to her plight that mesmerizes. We also have a complicated subplot that is introduced here and guaranteed to unfold over future books in the series. Rabishu is vicious, cruel, and out for himself, determined to stop Maliha from finishing her personal mission. The world presented here is brilliantly portrayed and Dakota Banks does a masterful job with her descriptive imagery. It’s hard to believe this is her first novel.

Maliha is a fascinating woman who seems to have everything her heart can desire, yet she is lacking one thing, ownership of her soul. After centuries of living free of the restraints of her conscience, she finally realizes she is miserable. Guilt consumes her for the wicked deeds in her past and her only goal now is to make amends for all the destruction she wrought and finally be free. She can come across as selfish at times, but then we are reminded that she really does have a big heart, as evidenced by her relationships to the men and women dedicated to helping her with her quest. Those bonds go deep and I enjoyed seeing these people through Maliha’s eyes.

I could not put Dark Time down and eagerly anticipate book two, Sacrifice, due out in June 2010.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, November 2009. All rights reserved.(less)

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Sep 22, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-series, reviewed

...more

After reading any urban fantasy book, I often feel compelled to compare it to similar books. Just take a look at all the titles out there. I’ve already read some of Rachel Morgan, Mercy Thompson, Lily Carlyle, Alex Craft and Jayne Heller and haven’t even gotten to Cassie Palmer, Anita Blake or Kate Daniels. When reading an urban fantasy, it’s easy to highlight the similarities between several series. Dark Time has everything needed to fulfill an urban fantasy lover’s, well, fantasy: A kick-ass heroine, demons, martial arts fight scenes, ancient manuscripts and plenty of sex to go around. Yeah, we’ve seen it all before. Then again, I picked up the book because it was on sale in Borders, not because I was expecting a literary masterpiece. I just wanted to be entertained for 306 pages and, quite frankly, the book did just that.

Comparisons aside, Dark Time isn’t wholly original, but no worries. I’ll probably end up giving the other books the same treatment as well. For a debut novel, it’s not half bad. Banks’ story is hardly ever boring and keeps the plot fast-paced. Unlike some other urban fantasy writers, Banks doesn’t over-saturate her story with numerous action scenes to keep the reader entertained. Yes, there are some, but our main character isn’t running into an enemy after each chapter. The plot flows rather smoothly, but it does seem a bit confusing because there seem to be several subplots of varying relevance. Just take a look at the end of Chapter 28. Seriously, what does that have to do with any of the story? The biggest WTF moment was chapter 25, which still confuses me. The plot seems to meander between Maliha’s various ways to save lives until the main villain is introduced.

Speaking of meandering, there are a lot of flashbacks to how she met Amaro and Yanmeng. (Yanmeng’s backstory is pretty boring.) The flashback scenes are decent, but there’s still little explanation of her previous assassinations or, more importantly, how the hell she got so filthy rich. She has her own two connected condos with a high-tech security system and “pieces that would widen the eyes and quicken the pulses of museum curators and private collectors.” I suppose they are from her various missions, but the author leaves us in the dark about it.

Like I said earlier, there is a lot of sex or sexual stuff in this book. It seems like most urban fantasies need to throw in a mandatory sex scene, but some of the stuff in here seems a bit unnecessary. For example, take chapter 13 where someone observes our main character while she sleeps and pretty much gets off to it. I suppose it shows how creepy the villain is, which is somewhat necessary, but damn! There are a few more scenes, such as the one in chapter 9 where some teens throw sand at her, hoping she’d chase them so they can watch her tits bounce, only to be followed up with some creeper in a red speedo who tries hitting on her. Well, I suppose that 200+ years of not aging must make you really attractive or something.

Maliha (or Susanne if you want) is a fairly interesting main character, not much different than any other fantasy heroine. Her sidekicks are pretty one-dimensional and there really isn’t much worth explaining about them. The villains are somewhat interesting, if a bit cliché. One is a power-hungry and money obsessed while the other, a powerful warrior. Sadly, the fight scene between the two is a bit disappointing, but the conclusion to the book is an exciting and fulfilling one. The last few chapters seem to redeem the rest of the book from its meandering.

Like any debut novel, there are some weaknesses in the book, but for lovers of urban fantasy, Dark Time may just be your cup of tea. Like I said, I didn’t go in expecting the second coming of Shakespeare (or whichever author you wish to insert here), and neither should you. But it’s never a bad idea to give the up-and-coming authors a much needed hand and Banks certainly has potential here.

(less)

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Jul 10, 2012 Steven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

This is a rather strange book that I noticed in the book store a couple of weeks ago and sounded interesting. It's the story of a woman who was falsely condemned as a witch in the 1600s and burned at the stake, but retrieved from her fate by a demon. The demon offers her immortality and superhuman powers in return for becoming his servant. She then spends 300 years as his assassin, killing at his command. However, after centuries of doing this, she finally starts to regret it, and eventually dec...more

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Sep 26, 2009 Caitlin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

If you're looking to read something that will be added into the canon of Great Literature look elsewhere. If you're looking for entertaining mind candy, you're set.

This book is mostly a thrill ride, telling the first part of the story of Maliha Crayne who has a secret. She was burned for a witch in 1692 & saved from the flames by a demon for whom she became an Ageless assassin. Tiring of this life after hundreds of years she strikes a deal with the demon - if she can save enough lives to bal...more

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Aug 15, 2009 LVLMLeah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dark Time is one of those stories that I think had great potential and it did spark my imagination. I feel though that it lacked a certain cohesiveness and direction, which made this less than a great read for me.

It’s 1692 and Susannah is married to a man she loves and is waiting for the soon to be birth of her baby. In the middle of the night, she’s taken by the town elders accused of being a witch by a woman who has been jealous of her and who wants her husband. At the stake with flames roari...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Ana rated it 3 of 5 stars

After reading the premise, my expectations were pretty high and maybe that's why I only give a three star rating. I hoped something extraordinary that blew my mind and it was simply good. The writing was slow and actually painful in some places.

The main character is almost three hundred years old and the author wrote in a couple flashbacks to help understand the personal story. Although it helped immensely, it also bored me a little. I liked it but sometimes the description of places and people...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Jim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban

What started out as a fairly nifty idea was then ruined by cliché after cliché. As the book developed, so did the plot holes. I'm being generous giving it 2 stars because younger readers might enjoy it. There is a lot of action. Unfortunately, most of it seems to have been cribbed out of other bad action novels.

I didn't mind the time jumps, which I noticed some others complained about. Because of how they are done (our heroine is supposed to be remembering as she meditates or sleep) they are fa...more

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About Dakota Banks

A pseudonym used by Shirley Kennett.

I have to believe that growing up in a converted turn-of-the-century funeral home, complete with blood gutters and a drain in the basement floor, warped my mind.

I set aside all those macabre thoughts spawned by reading books in the basement at night with a flashlight and undertook a relatively normal life. College, science fiction, husband, computers, Star Trek...more A pseudonym used by Shirley Kennett.

I have to believe that growing up in a converted turn-of-the-century funeral home, complete with blood gutters and a drain in the basement floor, warped my mind.

I set aside all those macabre thoughts spawned by reading books in the basement at night with a flashlight and undertook a relatively normal life. College, science fiction, husband, computers, Star Trek, mortgage, fantasy, Star Wars, kids, mysteries, writing, thrillers, horror, and cats. I'm not sure in which order all those things happened, but I haven't killed off enough gray cells yet that I've forgotten any of them. That brings me up to now, or at least the last decade.

I wrote short stories in high school and college, submitted them, and got rejection letters. I still have some of them. Writing was shelved while life ran amuck, and I came back to it in the 1990s. I published six books, all hard-edged suspense thrillers dealing with virtual reality, one of them set in a future world. None were written under the Dakota Banks name. I enjoyed these books because they were my first taste of the writing life, not to mention that they brought in some money and put 600,000 published words under my belt.

Something was missing, though, and it took me six books to find out what the missing piece was. Although my books were highly imaginative and extrapolated then-current trends in forensic science, computer simulation, and virtual reality, they didn't go far enough. I felt hemmed in by reality.

I needed to get back into the basement with a flashlight.

I took a deep breath and thought about what I really wanted to do with my writing career. I had an idea that had been playing around at the edge of my mind for a while, and I decided to see what I could make of it. Combining my love of archaeology with the freedom that comes from using mythological elements in a story, I came up with the basic concepts for the Mortal Path series. Developing that world and the characters who bring it to life has been tremendously rewarding for me, and I hope the books provide pleasurable reading for you.

I live on the western fringe of St. Louis, Missouri with my husband. Our two sons, one adopted from Peru and the other from Ethiopia, are in college. My cats Peanut and Marble sometimes ghostwrite my books. Good stuff, too, if you speak Cat.

I'm a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, the Horror Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America.(less)

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Dark Time (Mortal Path #1)

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