Curse the Dark

Retrievers #2

by Laura Anne Gilman

Once more Wren Valere's game plan has taken an unexpected direction. She'd agreed to a bargain with one supersecret magic-watching outfit to protect her and her partner on their last job. But now the Silence is trying to wedge them apart.

On the one hand, ever since she and Sergei began to talk about their "relationship," things have been tricky. On the other, though… Well, no one better try to stand between Wren and Sergei when danger is near!

So now they are off to Italy in search of a missing artifact, without any information other than the fact that it's very old, very dangerous and everyone who gets too close disappears. Still, when compared with what's going on at home (lonejacks banding together, a jealous demon, tracking bugs needing fumigation, etc.) maybe disappearing wouldn't be so bad.…

As if!

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic, Romance, Mystery

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Laura Anne Gilman’s work has been hailed as “a true American myth” by NPR, and praised for her “deft plotting and first-class characters” by Publishers Weekly. She has won the Endeavor Award for THE COLD EYE, and been shortlisted for a Nebula, (another) Endeavor, and a Washington State Book Award. Her work includes the Devil’s West trilogy, the Cosa Nostradamus urban fantasy series, the Vineart trilogy, and the story collection WEST WINDS’ FOOL. Her upcoming move, UNCANNY TIMES, will be out from Saga Books in 2022.

She lives in Seattle with a cat, a dog, and many deadlines.

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wren and Sergei are forced to accept the Silence job to retrieve one missing manuscript. The weird thing is the lack of information, which isn't like Silence at all. Even their contact (if you can call the Silence man who gives them jobs a contact) is aware that something is happening in their own ranks. That particular thing isn't resolved by the end of this book, though. It will play a huge role in later books, I bet.

The thing I like the most is the manuscript itself. To say that there is something wrong with it would be an understatement. Sergei and Wren realize it the moment they step into the monastery to check the place from where it was taken. The less I say about it, the better.

Another thing I found interesting is how the Council-fatae-lonejacks-occasional Null is depicted here. There's a reason the manuscript ended up where it did.

As for the relationship between Wren and Serge, they stopped fighting it.
I didn't expect the book to end the way it did. I'm not talking about the epilogue. I'm talking about the other thing. I would have thought that being Wren's good friend would save Lee from that horrible end, but it seems nobody is safe.

[Bex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Laura Anne Gilman's "Staying Dead", the first book in the Retriever series, and wasn't very impressed. Laura Anne Gilman tried to create a new world of magic, but she made it way too complicated. There was so much time spent just trying to describe and explain the many different intricacies of her characters' world, that the flow of the book suffered. It was a difficult read. I went ahead and started "Curse the Dark", because I was hoping that, having gotten most of the explanations and descriptions of her world out of the way in the first book, she could settle down to concentrate on plot. It was actually a more difficult read than the first book, and, I'm sorry to say, I could not bring myself to finish the second book. It was more work than enjoyment to read.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining paranormal! I liked that it's different from others I've read. Hope to read more in this series.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was good, I am curious where this is all going. Love the world, and the people in it. Our main characters are growing on me.
Will read the next one

[Eileen Lynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story. I really like the characters,

[Thenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wren's story continues and while there's nothing really wrong with the book, I just couldn't get into it.

There are a couple of different points of view that I really didn't care about and in general my interest in the goings on was barely piqued. It didn't help that the narrator's interpretation of Wren and Sergei's voices was not that different, which made it difficult to figure out who was saying what at some points.

The series continues with Bring It On, but I'm not sure if I'll ever read it...

[kangeiko · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was REALLY disappointing. I don’t generally read a whole lot of PNR and maybe I’ve been lucky in what I’ve read, but I can’t help but draw comparisons between the most recent book I read (also arguably PNR) Sapphire Flames, which had all the charm this lacked. There was SO MUCH “As you know, Bob” and explanations of needless lingo. More damningly, the language use was clunky. No, bilingual people don’t speak like that, and my Russian isn’t great but I know enough to know that what was included was wrong. (Unless it wasn’t meant to be Russian? But then, what was it meant to be?) Random characters wander in and do nothing in particular, until we meet some other random characters who inexplicably have the access / information / magical doohickey and are very happy to share. There’s peril and smut in equal measure and I wasn’t particularly interested in any of it, and I ended the book feeling relieved it was over. No, I will not be continuing.

[B.C. Deeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a urban fantasy /romance/thriller with a compelling, complex heroine who gets dragged unwillingly into the complicated cross species politics of her world. Much like the current politics of the real world, every race distrusts the others (fatae, human, demon, independent magical and those under Council rule) with only a few members of each fighting to maintain some semblance of peace. This is the second book I've read and each book seems to have an Indiana Jones-like search for a magical relic that can cause great harm, while revealing a little more about the powers and backstory of Wren and her partner/ lover, Sergei. If you love authors like Patricia Briggs and Illona Andrews, you'll enjoy the Retreiver series. I'm ready to dig in for the long haul on this one, for sure.

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retrievers2

It has been years since I first read this series. It has been long enough that I have forgotten many of the details. So getting reacquainted is marvelous.

Wren Valere and Sergei Didier are partners in the Theft Recovery business- Sergei negotiates and Wren locates and retrieves. And it has worked very well for them; until they were set up to be the scapegoats on a far from simple situation.

Now they are living in a universe where everyone knows who Wren is, and she has found that a very mixed blessing. For the first time, she and Sergei take on a job where there are too many information gaps, where things don’t make sense in very peculiar ways. And trying to finish the job takes on a heat that is deeper than the heatwave that grips Manhattan.

Wow.

[Rachel N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the retrievers series. It's been awhile since I read the first book but I still rememebred the basics of the world and its magic system. This time around Wren and her null partner Sergei are hired by The Silence to track down a manuscript that has disappeared from an Italian monastary. The manuscript obviously has magic in it since anyone who reads it disappears. There's also a lot of politics going on in the magical world. The ending of the book felt rushed to me and the story of the manuscript retrieval got pushed to the side a bit. There's also a lot of hanging threads as to what's going on in the magical community. I liked the first book better but I do plan on continuing the series and hopefully there will be more resolution in the next book.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Great characters, lots of excitement, and a great way with words in the dialogs and thoughts...and humor, which I love, especially the play on words kinda humor. Highly recommend this series... So far....

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good sort of detectivey series about Wren, whose magic leaves her unnoticed by most people, and her partner Sergei, who isn't magical at all.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this, and since it was the characters and their relationships (not the plot) that didn't work for me, I'm not going to continue with this series.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Better than the first book.

On to book 3.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liking this writing style, and the story is nifty as well.

[Susan Wedergren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I'm not generally a big fan of fantasy books. And this book has not changed my mind and I dnf. I suspect, fans of fantasy would like the story so my rating didn't go lower than 3 stars.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preface: I haven't read the first book in this series or the short stories that introduced the characters, but that didn't seem to be a problem at all. From the descriptions, each book stands pretty well on its own, but this book does start up some meta-plot that could continue through the next books.

Luna (Harlequin's fantasy imprint) seems to have a good thing going. Women authors writing character-centered not-heavy adventure fantasy with a touch of romance (read: a touch of sex) and solid editors selecting good stories. So far, they're a winning imprint.

Curse the Dark is the second novel in the Retrievers series. "Retriever" is short-hand for "thief for hire" with the implication that you're "stealing-back." It's modern fantasy, so our thief, Genevieve "The Wren" Valere, is a magic user and her partner, ex-secret society agent cum art dealer Sergei Didier, handles the mundane ends of things like negotiations, research, and logistics. He also shoots things if needed.

It's a high-magic, secret-magic world. Modern magic users call themselves Talents and call magic Current, having studied its affinity for electricity and having learned to develop repeatable and trainable magical skills based around scientific models. Older magic forms are more normal-fantasy and still exist; their lack of control makes Talents nervous.

Local Councils of mages/Talents set up basic rules, but Wren is a "freejack," an independent Talent who won't work with the council. Talents seem split 50/50 between Council and freejacks, leaving the Council with more power since it has organization. Sergei used to work for the Silence, a non-magical organization that works to protect humanity from secret disasters, many of them magical in origin. And there are various magical beasties running around (the "fatae") with their own politics and interactions with Talent.

All of this--and Wren's deal to work with the Silence in return for protection from the Council--adds a political layer to her straightforward Silence retrieval: go to Italy and find who stole a magical parchment from some monks.

Of course we wouldn't have a book without complications: the parchment is dangerous, but no one knows why, its impossible to steal, it already been spirited away to NYC, it can only be contained in a slate enclosure they left in Italy, fatae-Council-freejack-mortal politics heat up and Wren is put in the middle of them, and a heat wave is making the city unbearable and violent.

Oh, and she starts sleeping with her partner. Because a new relationship that combines works and home life is perfect when things are bad.

Overall, it's a fun read and I'll check out the rest of the series. Very much in the Jim Butcher zone, but lighter. I would like more action/caper in my thiefly plots, but I understand that the series is good on that overall and I enjoyed the politicking in this one. It feels very much like the second book in a series: now that the author knows the first wasn't the last she can start on long-term plots and politics and introduce characters who don't do much now, but could later.

One interesting bit distinguishes the book from so many in the same general plot. It follows the basic thief story skeleton: go into job, information was wrong/withheld, follow clues, discover connection between target item and greater events, decide to avoid greater events and politics, get dragged in anyway, discover connection and use it to direct events.

Except, Wren and Sergei really go decide to just do their job and let events sort themselves out. They don't care who stole the manuscript in the first place. Or how, even though they can't figure out a way it could have been done. Or how it fit into local politics. Their client can handle those questions. They're just the Retrievers.

Refreshing, but it could get old from a plot perspective unless the series devolves into action-of-the-week. I suspect it will be better than that, though.

[Katharine Kimbriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our heroine is Wren Valere, a talented young woman in her late 20s who is a lonejack, a solo magic user raised up in a soloist tradition. She works as a “retriever” – essentially a thief with considerable magical talents. Someone stole something from you – something magical, dangerous, powerful? You pay Valere and her “manager” Sergei Didier, and she’ll steal it right back.

New York City is a vibrant place at any time, but in LAG’s world talents (those who feel and manipulate current) and nulls (those who neither feel nor manipulate current/magic) intersect constantly, and it’s not always a pretty sight. We have the Cosa Nostradamus -- the fatae who live their own magic, the nonhuman griffins, piskies, dryads, etc. – and those humans who are either lonejacks of varying power and skills, or members of The Council. The Council prefers to run everything in its own city. They want control of all magic-users – but they’ll settle for intimidation.

And then there are the humans who have no magic of their own, but know it exists and want to know what’s going on in every nook and cranny of the city. Among the most powerful are a group called The Silence. They hire lonejacks to work with them, their interface staff called “handlers” who manage the “talent”.

Sergei Didier was once a handler, and was one of the few who turned his back on The Silence and lived to tell the tale. But The Silence want Wren to work for them – and Wren could use a client who pays a retainer. Two things change in Wren’s world, and the first pebbles of an avalanche start rolling: she and Sergei, partners for ten years, choose to become lovers, and they are gathered into The Silence’s embrace.

She and Sergei are off to Italy in search of a missing magical artifact. All they know is that it’s old, dangerous, and that people who go after it seem to disappear. With magical politics heating up at home, sometimes that sounds good. But not this time...

You’ll get one of the best intimate scenes ever in CURSE THE DARK and watch a relationship that rings true like a bell – what really happens when a magic-user and a null start up a relationship? Laura Anne Gilman’s books are intricate, and she has a trick of dropping you into her characters’ lives so at first you can’t see the story for the trees, shall we say. But her work rewards patience. For intricate urban fantasy, give her books a try.

There are benefits to starting with the first book, but I think they stand alone. They do get progressively darker, though.

[Starfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in Gilman's "Retrievers" set, which I re-read the first book of ("Staying Dead") earlier in the year, and was disappointed to discover I didn't enjoy nearly as much as I had the first time around.

Whatever it was that disappointed me in the first one, however, was absent for this one - while it's a bit of a bubblegum urban fantasy read, it's fun, it's sexy, and it definitely kept me entertained for the couple of days it took me to work my way through it.

In this instalment, Wren and Sergei are back and working a job for the elusive Silence that takes them to Italy - at least initially. But there's more going on than just their job - conflict is heating up between the Fatae (magical beings), the Council and the Lonejack talents - no-one's entirely sure what's causing it, but ill feelings are spilling over left, right and centre.

To be honest, I read this book far more for the relationship plot threads between Sergei and Wren than I did for any of the "important" background or foreground plot strands. Where the first book had a lot of exploring their relationship as it was at that point in time, this one has them moving it forward... and the UST that permeated Book 1 gets some scorching resolution before the end of Book 2.

Overall, I enjoyed the book enough that I'm looking forward to reading the next instalments in the series - and I have Books 3 & 4 sitting on my TBR pile, so it's just a case of getting to them. I wouldn't, however, want to claim that the books are great literature, so I'm giving this instalment a 7/10 for being entertaining, fun to read, and basically a nice distraction from the unpleasantness of the rest of my weekend.

[Carrie Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became hooked on this series by getting a free book through a book club. I am SO GLAD they did. I fell in love with Wren and Sergei in book one and this book did not fail to keep the love affair going strong. There were a few foreshadowing that actually threw me off the scent trail and I was shocked and surprised at the ending. I'll save the spoilers for last so you don't have to read them should you wish to be surprised. :)

The downside to this book was the fair amount of head-hopping that happened within the chapters. I'm not put off by the particular style, but it was different than I was used to. I didn't quite know whose head I was in all the time. Thankfully she was artful enough to keep me up to date on who was whom, but it was a little difficult in a couple of places to keep track. Otherwise this is Laura Anne Gilman's usual style and grace with the written word and I was glad to have picked it up, especially now that I have my Nook and it's available in e-format.

There cannot be a revolution without the loss of those you hold dear. I look forward to future books.

**SPOILERS LURK HERE**

As I tweeted so passionately in the heat of the moment, I was really angry that she killed off Lee. He barely had the chance to become a character before he was being removed. He was my favorite of the characters, as I'm sure you can tell, and he will be missed by the readers as well as the characters. It's not often, in politics, that someone becomes an active member without putting themselves at risk. Not to mention the possibilities for character development with the death of a friend. His death was not in vain, however. It was his blaze of glory because he totally kicked some butt. Way to go, Lee. You will be missed.

[Coralee Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilman continues to expand the world of the Cosa Nostradamas in Book two of her Retrievers series. The setting has moved to Italy, specifically to a small village that supports an unusual monastery. Built of stone, the building predates modern electrical wiring by many centuries. More unusual however, is that Wren, can not connect with any current. It is as if the building is an anti-battery. Wren is appalled and challenged by the null environment. How can she retrieve the artifact? Why are things never simple? What is the vibe emanating from this manuscript?

Sergei and Wren both agree they should have learned a bit more about the manuscript. The parchment, it seems is almost sentient. Does it have the power to throw the "lone jack" community into ruin? Lives are at stake as the power struggle between humans, and talents has intensified. Power struggles are not the only thing heating up. Wren and Sergei? oh my yes.
Wren is snarky, Sergei is hot, and the mystery is compelling. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Recommended for romance and also for readers of contemporary urban fiction.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this urban fantasy series. I like the chemistry between magical Wren and her normal partner Sergei, I love the interesting demon-esque creatures who are just trying to have their lives too, and I like the pace at which the series is building. This is the second book, and I have high hopes that this series will only get better as it progresses.

In this book, Wren's sort of painted into a corner, forced to take a job from the Silence, a secretive organization that cleans up magical messes. The Cosa, the magical world, is in the midst of a bunch of infighting and political intrigue. The job takes Wren to Italy in search of an ancient manuscript that has disappeared. It's, of course, magical, and finding it because very complicated. Along the way, her romantic relationship with Sergei developes.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the predecessor "Staying Dead" - interesting modern magic setting, engaging characters, fun twists and challenges and some interesting faction politics. "Curse The Dark" opened the same, but felt more scattered. A few segments touched on a little soft-core erotica - not a huge deal, but a real distraction from the flow when an entire chapter got the treatment.
Less good magic/intrigue and generally more predictable. When finally getting to the climax, it seemed to build quicker than I'd figured and left me a bit more wanting in the resolution.
(Picture Bond tracking down Blofeld and Oddjob for the first time, finding them to be exactly where he expected them to be, then in a climactic fight scene, having them eventually dispatched with no immediate loose ends or escape and chase or taunting and suspense.)
Hopefully this is a fluke and not a trend...

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wren Valere has a problem. As a magic-wielding Retriver, she's known as the best at her job. Unfortunately, the Council seems to be poisoning clients against her, and the bills need paying. Even under dire financial straits, Wren and her partner Sergei are reluctant to take on the Silence's job offer: go to Italy and retrieve a missing old parchment that happens to make any readers vanish.[return][return]I enjoyed this book much more than the first book, but my feelings are still mixed. Wren and Sergei's chemistry really kicked in, and I enjoyed their relationship against the backdrop of magical political intrigue and deception. It still felt muddled at times, though, like there was too much plot development going on for future books; the viewpoint switches from Wren seemed unnecessary, too. I probably won't continue with the series from here.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't have the first book in the library, so I started with the second book. After finishing this book, it seems like the author just sort of wanted to end it.

Again, what is the deal with all this angst with all these power people. :( It seems like that's the only "interesting" characters to write about? Or is that the only thing that is around?

However, the background and the environment that she has made seems interesting, even though again convoluted. Tried and true formula. Maybe I should stop reading similar style books at the same time.

Alas, I will give this series another book. See where she takes the characters.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this novel better than the first one. This is the second Wren Valere novel, and in this one, she and Sergei explore their new relationship, and her growing prominence in the Cosa Nostradamus. At the same time, we get a slightly larger glimpse into the Silence and the Council. The level of complexity is higher in this one, and I have to say, it has one of the most enjoyable sex scenes I've read in a sci-fi/fantasy novel. Possibly too long and detailed, but fun. As for the book as a whole, I liked it, and I'm looking forward to reading more!

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second book of the series, it ramps up the romantic aspects of the story, but after setting a reasonably sedate pace through the middle, rushes to a sporadic ending that is with a lot of loose threads that don't necessarily feel like they should have been left to a future book (assuming they are ever addressed at all). All in all, a step down from the first volume, although the potential for a very good series is still present and I continue to like the unique take on magic and the avoidance of many of the more common urban fantasy tropes.

[Moontyger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first Retrievers novels, so I finally got around to getting and reading this sequel. The world is, in many ways, a fairly typical urban fantasy setting, though magic actually being and feeding off of electricity is kind of different.

Anyway, there's nothing spectacular or brilliant about this book, but I enjoyed it. I like the characters and the plot was interesting. Definitely a good summer reading novel.

[Bryan457 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wren and Sergei are hired to retrieve an ancient manuscript.

I did not like this one. 375 pages of internal dialog, external dialog, mildly interesting repartee, desk bound spies and office politics, fatae politics, various explanations and some romance. This puts this series squarely in the class of books that women will probably enjoy, but which would drive me crazy.

There was very little action, magic, plot, or character development. This series is not for me.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book held my attention (I read it over the course of a day) and I am looking forward to the next book.

As magic of the Universe is becoming more familiar with this second book of the Retrievers series the focus switches to building on the romantic and political issues for Wren and Sergei. The two of them end up have to go on a trip to Rome with little information. And with tensions running high it look like everything is going to get worse before it can get better.