Dark Legend (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 7)
by Christine Feehan

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Book Reviews of Dark Legend (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 7)

Book Review: Powerful but flawed
Summary: 3 Stars

A brief summary for those with no experience of Christine Feehan: she writes books about a society of beings who are not quite vampires. The Carpathians, in Feehan's world, are supernatural beings who can live very long lives and have remarkable powers. They have their own laws (physical, spiritual as well as social/legal). One of these laws forces them to drink blood, although they are *not* vampires. [Vampires are long-lived Carpathians gone bad, to put it briefly. Vampires kill humans, and derive pleasure and other feelings from pain. Carpathians don't kill in that way].

Their numbers are shrinking rapidly, partly due to a massive battle in the 1400s (referred to briefly in two books), and partly due to the fact that there are virtually no female Carpathians left. Few children are born, and those who survive are fewer. No female children are being born.

Adult male Carpathians need a life-mate however; mere sex with a human or a Carpathian female will not do. Those who fail to find a lifemate and have lived far too long either choose to face the dawn (the sun will kill them) or to become vampires (i.e. they go bad). Carpathians have tried in the past to convert human females without success, and they are now having greater success with full-blown psychic human females.

The typical Carpathian male is not only drop-dead gorgeous but also what I would call "super-alpha". Completely unable to take a no from his partner (or would-be partner). The idea of Carpathian society is that women (being so few) and children (also so few) are to be protected. When a Carpathian male finds his lifemate, he is not willing to take no for an answer. Sounds a bit like a Stephanie Laurens hero, right? Somewhat magnified of course.

I was fortunate enough to pick up three of the more interesting books in the series, with no objectionable heroines. In the first book DARK PRINCE, the head of Carpathian society is about to seek the sun when he finds his lifemate. The fact that she was a human psychic terrified of being enclosed in earth (part of the Carpathian sleep and healing rituals) and also a vegetarian made that book interesting. Unfortunately, things went downhill from the middle.

This book DARK LEGEND (and its twin book DARK GUARDIAN) showcase the strenghts and weaknesses of Feehan's world. In this book, the legendary vampire hunter Gabriel has been asleep for centuries, resting after having sealed his twin Lucien who has apparently turned into a vampire. Gabriel awakens in 20th century Paris to discover that his twin has disappeared (woken before him) and that he himself is perilously close to turning (becoming a vampire). He is taken for a vagrant when he is provided food and shelter by a young woman Francesca who offers him her own blood to replenish him. Francesca is not your typical heroine in more ways than one. She is firstly remarkably gifted, in that she can heal patients from within. She is also not quite who she appears to be. Suffice to say, that Gabriel makes her his lifemate without her consent.

Gabriel's relationship with Lucien and a subplot involving a talented but abused child Skylar are the two best parts of this novel. Throughout the novel, we see the tension gripping Gabriel as he tries to find his vampire twin. Can Gabriel kill Lucien when he finds him this time? But if Lucien is a vampire, why is he behaving so strangely? Why, especially, is he protecting and comforting Skylar?

My problems with the novel were that two marvellous components were wasted. Firstly, Francesca's powers and her unusual self-education should have meant that she would react differently to Gabriel's claim on her. Apart from some mild irritation, she seems to placidly accept Gabriel's claim, as is his right. There is no real tension between the couple once she has made this decision (and it comes early). That spoils most of the book for me.

Secondly, Francesca's friend Bryce (a medical doctor) could have been made far more nuanced, far more sympathetic. Instead, from becoming an apparently admirable character, he is made a character who is willing to sell his friend's secrets for his own advancement - and worse. It would have been so much more interesting to see him remain basically decent, or if he had to be made the pseudo-villain, to watch the change occur in him. I would have liked to see Francesca's relationship with Bryce be far more serious than it was, and to watch all three of them struggle with Gabriel's claim on her.

Finally, the story takes place in 20th century Paris, but there is almost no sense of local color, local people and history playing any part.

All this brings me back to the central problem with this series. The heroes are so alpha that they completely overwhelm the females. And with one or two rare exceptions (Dark Challenge, Dark Guardian, and a short story), the heroines become relatively passive, even when they are clearly not comfortable with the life and ideology of the Carpathians (as was Raven). The problem is that super-alpha heroes are all very fine, but every now and then, you want a heroine who will say "no" [and the hero will actually listen].

Dark Legend, with a Carpathian hero AND heroine, had so much promise going for it. I loved the beginning, and the three (four, counting Lucien) principal characters who were introduced early in the book. Pity about the rest of it.

Rating 3.3.
Recommendation = Good read, but DARK GUARDIAN is more interesting plot-wise.

Summary of Dark Legend (The Carpathians (Dark) Series, Book 7)

Literature & Fiction Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction
• Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic