BOOK REVIEW: The Dark-Hunter Companion

When I was in desperate straits to find a vampire story, I came across Sherrilyn Kenyon in one of the BBS I usually haunted. The story lines had two of the things that were on the top of my list of fascinating things: vampires and Greek mythology. So I nabbed the series and got reeled in, hook, line and sinker.

The Dark-Hunter® series (along with the Dream- and Were-Hunters) fascinated me like very few series ever did. It had vampires and Greek gods and goddesses like I’ve never seen before, and the whole gang had a viciously gorgeous leader that I’d like to get my hands on.

I have my favorite books in the series, and a few (one or two) that I wouldn’t read twice, but I love, love, love it. But then, I’m not reviewing the series.

I finished reading The Dark-Hunter Companion and I’m really happy with it. It’s stuffed to the gills with Dark-Hunter® tidbits, from their human births to their deaths to their pacts with Artemis, their training as a Dark-Hunter® to their shadedom or redemption in the hands of their true loves. It’s a treasure trove of information on anything and everything related to their world, including the Were-Hunters, shape-shifting descendants of the Greek god, Apollo, and the Dream-Hunters, or the gods of sleep.

There were several (okay, a lot) chapters that I find incredibly useful research material. For a writer whose data banks on weapons only sadly include the sword and the bow and arrow, the chapter on weapons was extremely useful. Now I can actually describe what a katana is. The Philippines was even mentioned when the book described the butterfly knife.

Another extremely interesting chapter was the one on the gods and goddesses. I’ve loved Greek mythology since way before I actually had to learn it for school. I have two copies of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology which I bring everywhere. Although the The Dark-Hunter Companion does not discuss the gods and goddesses to an extent, I find I very useful material. I was happy as to how my favorite goddess, Athena was described anyhow.

I also found the chapter of New Orleans incredibly informative and fascinating with a list of points of interest both real and imaginary, like the Sanctuary Bar, the most famous of the limanis (safehouses) for the Hunter world and the very (in)famous Café du Monde on Decatur Street. The chapter even lists down the addresses, numbers and website addresses, pretty much like a travel guide to the Big Easy. I’m listing down New Orleans as one of my places to see before I die. Maybe I’ll pass by Café du Monde for a beignet and take a pic of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s home.

It doesn’t answer all the questions (“who is Acheron’s HEA?” is one of them), but it explains a lot of things about the books. It has minor inconsistencies, but Sherrilyn Kenyon and Alethea Kontis both have light, easy-reading styles that amuse and entertain the reader. Plus the fact that it addresses the rabid, obsessed fan as a new Dark-Hunter®. Makes you feel like you’re one of them.

Of course, if you don’t know the series, what’s the point in reading it? Thank the gods for Sherrilyn, her series had become an international success. And to think that she almost stopped writing! Sherri has a very, very inspiring story, which you can check out on her official website here.