Dark Slayer (Carpathian #20)
by Christine Feehan | Piatkus Books (Sept 2009)
Ebook: 416 Pages | Paranormal Romance

This is the best Carpathian novel that I have read for a while. Of late I’ve found they’ve become very repetitive with the characters lacking originality, seeming more like copies of one another. But Dark Slayer really picks up the pace and is more rounded and engaging.

If you have not read any of Christine Feehan’s Carpathian books, they are about a race of people – Carpathians – a paranormal species, think good vampires. The men live forever seeing only in black and white, unable to feel emotion until they find their ‘lifemate’, the other half of their souls. The Carpathian men must bind themselves forever to their lifemate in order to see in colour and restore their emotions and survive. The bond is a very special one, the women are coveted and protected and the men usual epitomise the meaning of alpha male. Without their lifemate, the temptation to turn evil is great, when they cannot take it anymore, the men often decide to meet the dawn or turn and become vampires.

Ivory has had a brutal life. Betrayed and tortured it took her centuries to recover from her horrendous injuries. Ever since then she has lived alone, avoiding other members of her species, most of whom believe her to be dead. She has trained herself to become a powerful and feared slayer of vampires and a talented Mage. Her mission to kill the terrifying vampire Xavier.

Razvan has been Xavier’s prisoner for years, forced to commit horrific crimes against his family and against his will, he has been tortured beyond endurance. The Carpathian race believe him turned, a vampire, a betrayer and evil.

When Razvan manages to escape he thinks only to meet the sun and end his painful existence. But, he ends up at Ivory’s home. As soon as Ivory sees him she knows he is her lifemate and despite her reluctance she knows she must save him.

Ivory and Razvan are very different characters than we have previously seen in this series. Ivory is the stronger warrior of the two and must teach Razvan to fight and survive. This turns the relationship on its head and dampens down the usual alpha-maleness. Razvan lacks the massive ego that the Carpathian males normally have, and lets Ivory be who she is, rather than dictating to her. Making them more like partners which is sometimes not quite the case in some of the other books. This adds more integrity and strength to their relationship.

The action scenes are excellent and it was these pages the sucked me in. I had a strong picture of Ivory as she fought and I loved her interaction with her pack of wolves. We also see a lot of characters from previous books. As a big fan of Gregori, it was great to see him and Savannah again.

The one thing I do struggle with in Feehan’s books is her fifteen page love scenes. I find them boring and repetitive, so often skip over them until we’re back to the main story. Some of the more recent books have tended to be scene after scene of them. But this book has really stepped up the story, leaving behind a lot of that repetition.

VERDICT:

One of the best Carpathian books for a while, there’s some great story continuity between each of them now and you’re under no illusion that this is a race fighting for survival. There’s something about those tough Carpathian males that just sucks me in.

RATING: 

CHRISTINE FEEHAN ONLINE
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BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER

1. Dark Prince
2. Dark Desire
3. Dark Gold
4. Dark Magic
5. Dark Challenge
6. Dark Fire
7. Dark Dream
8. Dark Legend
9. Dark Guardian
10. Dark Symphony
11. Dark Descent
12. Dark Melody
13. Dark Destiny
14. Dark Hunger
15. Dark Secret
16. Dark Demon
17. Dark Celebration
18. Dark Possession
19. Dark Curse
20. Dark Slayer
21. Dark Peril
22. Dark Predator

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