A CARESS OF TWILIGHT

By: Stephanie C. Crawford
Date: Monday, May 06, 2002

A sophomore effort is always an iffy proposition. In order to succeed, an author must walk a fine line between attracting new fans, not alienating the fans they have already, and trying not to cock it up entirely. Many fail and are never heard from again. Some, however, succeed mightily, and this is one of those success stories.

A CARESS OF TWILIGHT, the newest book in the oeuvre of dark fantasy/horror writer Laurell K. Hamilton, is doubly a sophomore effort, being the second offering in Hamilton's second series, the "Meredith Gentry" books. However, it suffers from none of the curses of sophomoric sophomore efforts - in fact, it benefits from that which has gone before. Pulling in fans of Ms. Hamilton's other series, the ANITA BLAKE - VAMPIRE HUNTER novels, along with new fans, A CARESS OF TWILIGHT reached a stunning #10 on the prestigious NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller list in its first week on the stands.

A CARESS OF TWILIGHT takes the main character, Merry Gentry, from the previous novel, A KISS OF SHADOWS, and leads her further down the path of royalty. Merry is exploring her identity as co-heir to the throne of the Unseelie Court of the fey, and discovering what it truly means to be an absolute ruler. The novel also explores the differences and similarities between the dark but oddly more accepting atmosphere of the Unseelie court, and the bright and shining throng of the Seelie Fey. Merry, who has family ties in both courts, is positioned to give us a look inside the political machinations of both.

Merry's main concern is defending herself against her rival for the throne, her cousin Cel, and learning to find a midpoint between her natural kindness and being a strong ruler. Merry's throne is dependent on her producing a child before her rival cousin, if she can stay alive long enough to do it. To protect herself, as well as to provide potential father and husband fodder, Merry picks her favorites from her aunt's retinue of Sidhe warriors and begins the race to conceive.

In between all the sex, Merry gains a ex-goddess movie-star client that knows a deadly secret about the king of the Seelie, one he would kill to hide. Add a shambling, horrible tentacled and slobbering monster, just for laughs, and shake until lots of people die, and Merry and her warriors are called to come and save the day.

The only thing that I feel detracts from the whole is what I see as a want of balance. The novel seems to rely almost too much on Merry's byzantine sexual relationships and dilemmas for plot fodder, and not enough on the mystery and hard-boiled detective ingredients that have served Hamilton well in her previous novels. Not that that's necessarily a huge problem (naughty grin). Hamilton's sex scenes are particularly lush, and more than enough to make the reader forget...um, never mind.

A CARESS OF TWILIGHT is a near-perfect blend of dark fantasy, horror, romance, erotica, and political thriller, combining elements of all of these into a delicious delectation of dark delight, one any reader can enjoy.