Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Book Review: Dreamveil by Lynn Viehl

Oh Lynn Viehl, how I love you and hate you! First, you write this phenomenal vampire series about the Darkyn, warrior priests from the time of the Crusades who fell victim to a virus that made them immortal and dependent on blood.

Then you left me hanging at the end of the series, but threw me a bone with your spin -off series about the Kyndred. It seems in Viehl’s Darkyn universe, a nefarious sect of the Catholic church has been systematically trying to eradicate the Darkyn from the world, and in turn have become sadistic monsters themselves who have genetically enhanced orphans (the Kyndred) using samples they’ve collected from the so-called “bad guys” they hunt.

The first book in the Kyndred series, Shadowlight, left me unsatisfied. The structure of the story was too complex and the characters not connected enough for me to really get into it. After a few e-mails back and forth with her, I found out why the book did not sound like the voice I’ve come to know and crave over the last few years, and she promised the next installment would be better.

Oh boy, was she right.