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AUGH!! *SQUEEFLAILDIE!*
You know, I find good books all the time, but it's not so easy to find a really great book. You know, well-written, good with emotion, great dialogue, great characters, great narration, great handle of plot flow and suspense, not saccharine, not pretentious, not self-important or moralistic, just fucking great.
Nightlife is one of them. And it's by a first-time author, too! Rob Thurman, his very first novel, and it's utterly wonderful. Much as I love books, it's hard for me to find one that will have me sitting in my room for about six hours desperately reading one. That, unfortunately, has faded now that writing takes up about that much of my time. And I've even picked and nibbled at this book for a few months now, but it wasn't till tonight I decided, "wow, this book, you can't put it down." Which, when it happens to me, is quite literal. I get all snarly and antsy if I'm interrrupted while reading a good book.
The plot is that, you have this guy, Cal, the narrator (best narrator EVAR. EVARRRRR), who is half-human, half-monster. The monster side of his family desperately wants him for something. Cal has no family left except for his fully human brother, Niko, who is knowledgeable in the way of pointy things and is doing everything in his power to keep the monsters away from Cal. And oh my god, their relationship is beautiful. Exactly the way brothers who have seen hardship together is, exactly. Equal parts teasing and undying love. Ahhhhhhh, so wonderful.
Anyway, they're in NYC, and one of the monsters has been spotted, so a good portion of the book deals with them deciding whether to cut in run, like they've always done, or stay. And it's pulse-pounding action from there. Literally. And as if the brothers aren't well done enough, you've got amazing secondary characters here. Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, sells cars and ends up helping them out. Georgina is a sixteen or something year old psychic who does the same, though in the beginning it seems her loyalties are wavering.
And some holy fuck badguys. I thought the Grendels, the main monsters, were bad. That's before I met the troll. And Darkling. Whoa.
The first part is comedic enough, takes a much darker turn in the middle. The things that happen then are literally like a punch in the gut, no joke, you need to read it to understand. Cal has the greatest voice of any first person narrator I've ever read. I mean, he's a lazy, nineteen-year-old half-monster with guilt issues but who's really just a teenager at heart, if wiser beyond his years. Plus it stays true to him throughout, even when things go bad around the middle. I can't stress this enough--best narrator EVAR.
DWAH! Y'all seriously need to read this book, it's amazing. It's one of those ones that looks like it could get lost on the fantasy shelves, and one day it might, as is the fate of too many books, but it's so so so so so so so fucking good. GO READ! NOW!!
Score: 10 out of 10!
You know, I find good books all the time, but it's not so easy to find a really great book. You know, well-written, good with emotion, great dialogue, great characters, great narration, great handle of plot flow and suspense, not saccharine, not pretentious, not self-important or moralistic, just fucking great.
Nightlife is one of them. And it's by a first-time author, too! Rob Thurman, his very first novel, and it's utterly wonderful. Much as I love books, it's hard for me to find one that will have me sitting in my room for about six hours desperately reading one. That, unfortunately, has faded now that writing takes up about that much of my time. And I've even picked and nibbled at this book for a few months now, but it wasn't till tonight I decided, "wow, this book, you can't put it down." Which, when it happens to me, is quite literal. I get all snarly and antsy if I'm interrrupted while reading a good book.
The plot is that, you have this guy, Cal, the narrator (best narrator EVAR. EVARRRRR), who is half-human, half-monster. The monster side of his family desperately wants him for something. Cal has no family left except for his fully human brother, Niko, who is knowledgeable in the way of pointy things and is doing everything in his power to keep the monsters away from Cal. And oh my god, their relationship is beautiful. Exactly the way brothers who have seen hardship together is, exactly. Equal parts teasing and undying love. Ahhhhhhh, so wonderful.
Anyway, they're in NYC, and one of the monsters has been spotted, so a good portion of the book deals with them deciding whether to cut in run, like they've always done, or stay. And it's pulse-pounding action from there. Literally. And as if the brothers aren't well done enough, you've got amazing secondary characters here. Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, sells cars and ends up helping them out. Georgina is a sixteen or something year old psychic who does the same, though in the beginning it seems her loyalties are wavering.
And some holy fuck badguys. I thought the Grendels, the main monsters, were bad. That's before I met the troll. And Darkling. Whoa.
The first part is comedic enough, takes a much darker turn in the middle. The things that happen then are literally like a punch in the gut, no joke, you need to read it to understand. Cal has the greatest voice of any first person narrator I've ever read. I mean, he's a lazy, nineteen-year-old half-monster with guilt issues but who's really just a teenager at heart, if wiser beyond his years. Plus it stays true to him throughout, even when things go bad around the middle. I can't stress this enough--best narrator EVAR.
DWAH! Y'all seriously need to read this book, it's amazing. It's one of those ones that looks like it could get lost on the fantasy shelves, and one day it might, as is the fate of too many books, but it's so so so so so so so fucking good. GO READ! NOW!!
Score: 10 out of 10!
