Gwen’s review of One Silent Night (Dark-Hunter, Book 16) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Paranormal fiction long novella released by St. Martin’s 4 Nov 08

Kenyon’s site calls this a “long novella” and says OSN is a book to bridge the gap between the older books and the ones coming.  It serves to fill in some battles and back-story, I suppose.  Read on to see what worked and what didn’t work for me. 

To begin with, OSN doesn’t have much of a romance, which is why I didn’t label it such. I think that only fans of the series will find it interesting, and I don’t recommend it if you’re new to the series.

In this entry, we stay down the “not-so-Dark-Hunter” path and focus more on the alternate pantheons and baddies.  I’m okay with that – I figure Acheron ended the original storylines and we have ventured into another world.  It’s just that this other world seems overly complex and unknown.  I’m having a very difficult time keeping track of who’s who and what’s what in this new realm Kenyon is creating.  I mean, Nick is now something else entirely?  Really??  Why???

The story was okay.  We get a taste of romance between Stryker (normally Mr. Bad Guy Himself) and his first wife (all around Ms McNasty), but it’s just a taste. We’re supposedly introduced to a variety of main characters we’re going to see get their HEA’s in future books; Kenyon does a good job of making characters be there for a reason and avoids the “trot them out to perform for the company” style that can sometimes afflict an established series.  But I was underwhelmed.

I can only recommend this book to fans of the series.   Not awful, but, well, meh.  Now the little smackerel we get on her site promises MUCH better things to come in her Feb release, Dream Warrior, not to mention the cover is yummy and (gasp) doesn’t have Nathan Kamp on it.

Grade: C-

Summary:

While the world carries on unawares, Stryker, who leads an army of demons and vampires, is plotting an all out onslaught against his enemies-which, unfortunately for us, includes the entire human race. To avenge his sister, Stryker prepares to annihilate the Dark-Hunters. But things go awry when his oldest enemy returns. Enter his ex-wife. Zephyra. Just when he thought nothing could stop him, he’s now embroiled in a centuries old war with a shrew who gives new meaning to pain.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series (in suggested reading order, most recent print release linked where possible):

and Book 18, Bad Moon Rising, coming Aug 2009