3 stars

Mayra Calvani

Dark Hunger

Amber Quill Press

2000

ISBN 1-59279-074-7

As a child in Istanbul, Alana encountered a dark, mysterious figure in her dreams. For the next twelve years, she clings to the belief that the seductive presence was only a dream. When she accepts a job as a hostess at La Cueva del Vampiro, a nightclub in her native Puerto Rico, she meets the compelling yet terrifying Turk, Sadash, in the flesh. He has obsessively watched her for over a decade. Her fascination with blood, which she has tried to repress, springs from her unconscious bond with Sadash. Alana's lifelong "soul sister" Valeria and their childhood friend Humberto confront her with their anxiety about this shadowy man. Alana brushes off their concern, isolating herself, absorbed in her love-hate relationship with Sadash. He, of course, is a vampire, and he draws her into his world. Through her new perspective on reality, Alana seeks the truth about her mother's apparent suicide long ago and unearths buried secrets in her relationships with her family and friends, especially Valeria. Though the exotic locales of Istanbul and Puerto Rice contribute to the sensuous atmosphere of this novel, the real focus remains on Alana's emotional ordeal and her intimacy with her lover and her best friend. The Alana-Valeria bond, in fact, plays a larger role in the story than the Alana-Sadash bond.

This novel's vividly sensual style displays careful polish, marred by few typos. The only detail that grates with me is an occasional reference to "throbbing veins," one of my "pet peeves" -- arteries, not veins, throb, and fortunately the author remembers that most of the time. The emotional intensity of the story remains high throughout. Its strength lies in the portrayal of Alana's transformation, most agonizing not in the physical changes she endures, but primarily in the emotional pain that wracks her as she tries to deal with the passionately affectionate, even overdependent Valeria and with her own past. We see Alana, like many a fictional vampire, detaching herself from humanity, but not without suffering. The ecstasy of becoming more than human is balanced by the need to sacrifice the familiar joys of everyday life. One flaw, for me, lies in the character of Sadash, who reveals himself as deceptive, ruthless, sometimes cruel, with little regard for human life, the kind of arrogant vampire the average person would want to stake, not embrace. Yet Calvani manages to make us understand why Alana feels attracted to him despite the suspicion and anger that coexist with her fascination. The bleak vision of what it feels like to cut mortal ties is relieved, at last, by a bittersweet reconciliation. DARK HUNGER is well worth reading as a fresh rendering of two familiar themes, a fated love between vampire and mortal, and the wrenching adjustments a fledging vampire must make as she learns to exist as a creature of the night.

Reviewed by Margaret L. Carter