Review: Nightlife by Rob Thurman

Title: Night Life: Cal Leandros, Book 1
Author: Rob Thurman
Genre: Urban fantasy
Grade: B
Reason for Reading: Actually, I first heard about this book from someone I used to roleplay with. She was playing Robin Goodfellow from this particular universe, and I loved the character, so I decided to keep an eye out for the books.

Synopsis:

“There are monsters among us. There always have been and there always will be. I’ve known that ever since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one…

…Well, half of one, anyway.”

Welcome to the Big Apple. There’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side-and that’s only the beginning. Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half-human.

His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares-and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal. Why? Cal hasn’t exactly wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

He and his half-brother Niko have managed to stay a step ahead for three years, but now Cal’s dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they’ve always wanted him…for he is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life…

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I didn’t absolutely adore it, but that’s OK, because I’d still recommend it.

What I particularly liked here were the characters. Cal, who narrates this book is great–snarky, sarcastic, and full of self-efacing wit. I absolutely adored his devotion to his brother Niko, and I loved his cocky, full-of-complete-bullshit attitude that masks some hellishkly dark secrets. Cal isn’t always a nice guy to be around, but he is generally a decent person, and I loved his utter and complete devotion to Niko. And Niko’s reciprocal devotion to Cal is truly touching.

I also enjoyed meeting the various secondary characters, particularly the aforementioned Robin Goodfellow, who is, yes, a puck straight out of Shakespeare. It’s nice to see an immortal character for once who doesn’t brood excessively, and I just adored most of the scenes with him in it.

As for the plot, it’s fast-paced and well-orchestrated. There’s a lot going on, not all of it pleasant for our protagonists, but there were good moments of humor interspersed throughout. The villains were a shade stereotypical, but I guess you can’t have everything.

My quibbles are fairly minor. There were some characters I’d have liked to see more of. Particularly I’d have liked more than one scene with Cal and Niko’s love interests, so that I could be convinced they weren’t just throwaway characters. And, like I said, the villains were on the cartoonish side. I think that at times Cal and Niko came off a bit like Mary Sues–they kick ass and take names with astonishing ease, and so I never really felt like they were in any sort of actual danger. Aside from that, though, I really did enjoy this take on urban fantasy, and at some point, I will definitely return to this universe.