Rating: 
Summary: A Lost kingdom of vampires
Review: This is the 8th book in the Night World series, and the second to deal with the millenium prophecies. The prophecies tell that without the help of four wild powers,all teenagers, on the side of good the human world will be plunged into destruction and chaos as the Night World takes over. This particular title deals with Maggie and Delos who are soulmates, Delos is a wild power a weapon for the millenium battle he can be used for good or evil. Maggie is a human girl who stumbles into a hidden Night World kingdom looking for her older brother Miles who has been kidnapped by one of the wicked witches. She must convince her soulmate Delos to choose to fight for good, and free the human slaves in the hidden enclave which has been a secret for hundereds of years. With me so far? This is a so so title in the series, it has some very good ideas and quirks that make it stand out. The idea of a hidden vampire kingdom remote from humans for a hundred years was cool and reminded me oddly of Brigadoon. I like Maggie and Delos both are well drawn characters but they don't have the same immediacy of other couples in the series like Jez and Morgead, or Quinn and Rashel, so I forgot all about them when I finished the book. It's good to see L J Smith move away from her archetypes by deliberatley making Maggie quite plain in comparison with previous heroines, so she seems more normal. The slavery idea and an introduction to more of Night World history was especially welcome as the books move away from the romance angle. In short its a good stand alone book that only seems a little dull when compared to the rest of an exceptionally good series.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the Lot
Review: In my opinion, this is the best book in the Night World series and it's all because of a detailed, layered plot, and Maggie Neely. L.J. Smith finally gives us a heroine who is brave and heroic, but also a *real* person. All her other heroines are grouped into three catagories - the tough girls (Rashel, Jez and Keller) who don't really have much personality and are magically cured of their pessimissim at the end of the books; the wise, docile, tree-hugging girls (Hannah, Mary-Lynette and Thea) who are the standard damsels in distress, and the downright irritating girls (Poppy and Gillian) who flounce around without any idea of what their doing. But Maggie is a successful break-away from these stero-types, simply because she is a mix of all three - she is strong, determined and willing to put up a good fight (thus her nickname Steely Neely), kind and compassionate, as we see when she refuses to abandon 'Cady' but still is realistically unsure and scared when it comes to some of the decisions she has to make. All this makes her a realistic and enjoyable heroine, someone to relate to, as well as someone to admire.
The second thing that makes this the best book is the number of sub-plots and characters that are ultimately all linked. Within the Night World there is a kingdom in the mountains called the Dark Kingdom where Night People reside, served by human slaves, and relatively un-touched by the outside world. They are so un-touched that they are all still living in a castle known as Black Dawn, and have their own monarchy (L.J. obviously wanted to go medievial). But this kingdom is soon to be over-run by many different characters, each with their own adjendas. Delos the Prince, is the second Wild Power, and struggling to know who he can trust, and what he should use his power for. Hunter Redfern has just found the kingdom, and eagar to exercise dominance over his great grandson in a subtle but cruel mind-game. Jeanne McCartney and P.J. Penobscot are two young slaves, desparate to escape captivity, and Aradia, the Maiden of all the Witches is on a diplomatic mission to the kingdom when disaster strikes. Maggie herself, is brought to the kingdom against her will by her brother's girlfriend, Sylvia Weald who claims her brother Miles is dead. Maggie doesn't believe her, and is desparately searching for him, but before she can get far, she is kidnapped by the Night People. All of these plotlines are weaved up, along with the elements of political upheaval in the Night World when the witches leave the Joint Council, a prophesy concerning Maggie as the Deliverer of the slaves, and the impending battle between the forces of good and evil.
Black Dawn leaves the rest of the Night World books in the dust, so make sure you read this one!
Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: As a reader who has read this seiries as well as the Dark Visions and the Forbidden game series, I can say that anyone who is a L.J. Smith fan is sure to love this book. It has romance that is not over the top mushy, and Smith incorporates real feeling into believable characters in a story that is sure to hold your attention until you have finished reading and even after you're done. I highly reccomend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The vampire prince and his slave
Review: Black Dawn is the second book about Wild Powers in the Night World Series. All the characters in this book are new with the exception of Hunter Redfern the leader of the vampires and Aradia the Maiden of the witches. It's the story of Maggie Neely searching for her missing brother Miles and her vampire soulmate, a prince named Delos. When Miles disappears on a trip with his girlfriend Sylvia, Maggie senses something strange about Sylvia and follows her back to her apartment where she is drugged and captured as a slave. Shipped with other human slaves to a hidden place where ruthless vampires rule and slaves are a source of food for the insatiable vampire hunger for human blood. Once there, Maggie meets Aradia, Maiden of all the witches and other slaves who look to her as their fabled Deliverer. Maggie has a strange dream in which a handsome vampire with golden eyes appears to her and tells her to escape. Unable to forget the dream, she is astonished when the vampire from her dreams saves her from a shapeshifter turned bear. He is Delos, descendent of Hunter Redfern and prince of the place Maggie has entered. The storyline is very different from the other plots but it does retouch on book five 'The Chosen' with the slaves and vampire enclaves (places that vampires are safe in). Another nice touch was Maggie. Usually the heroines are beautiful but Maggie is a bit more average and unsure of her ability to save the slaves who view her as their Deliverer. She is determined to find and save her brother no matter what and I admire this quality in her. However, I found that she didn't really have a lot to do in the second half of the book which was a bit disappointing. Personally, I think Delos was a little bit wimpy considering he never did anything although his family were trying to use him. He was also a bit gullible when it came to Hunter Redfern and Sylvia. It was cute to see him interact with Maggie - at first he was frustrated at her stupidity but it was very sweet at the end. I would have liked to see more about Maggie's role as the Deliverer as it was only mentioned briefly. The slavery setting was quite interesting and added to the appeal of this book. Some of the subjects mentioned in this book were a bit deeper than in some previous books.
Rating:
Summary: Maggie and Delos are great together but.......
Review: imo the rest of the story seemed alittle bit, I don't know it's hard to put my finger on it, but I quess it just seemed a little slow to me. The story is about Maggie who is trying to find her supposedly dead brother and who, because of her dangerous quest, is dragged into a land unchanged by time, a place of castles, and witches, and gorgeous vampire princes with hearts of ice. The chemistry between Maggie and Delos is great and Maggie, like Poppy, is not drop dead gorgeous as a human. She's just an ordinary girl with a big heart and extrodinary courage which Delos see's in her eyes and it attracts him to her. She is the warmth that is missing in his cold existence and the scenes where they are together just make me want to go "awww" because of how tender he is towards her.
Maggie seems, I don't know, I quess less archetypal to me then some characters and like a real girl. Like the kind who would at school get voted most popular simply because she's so nice to everyone.
An L.J. Smith book that in my opinion is not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: one of the greatest night world books ever!!!
Review: this is really one of the greatest books i have ever read and own. i was fortunate enought 2 own all 9 night world books and im still waiting 4 strange fate 2 come out. neways this book tells about a gurl name maggie who searches for her missing brother miles after when he and his girlfriend slyvia goes out mountain climbing but then disappears without a trace. maggie doesnt trust slyvia and thinks she is lying about her brother's disapperance so she follows her and then is captured and taken as a slave 2 a kingdom that is owned by the Night World and is ruled by a young vampire prince name delos. this is one the books that deals with finding the wild powers and needing 2 find all 4 of them that are needed at the end of the millenium. this is one of the best lj smith has written and i hope she will continue writing more books for the series. keep up the great work. and i pretty much think that strange fate is NOT the last book in the night world series.
Rating:
Summary: Black Dawn
Review: Lisa J. Smith is one of the most believable horror-fantasy writers for teens (if not, just plain the MOST)that I've come across. She takes the reader easily into a world where creatures such as vampires and werewolves do exist... and she makes the reader become part of that world. It's a shame that the final book has not been written... or if it has, that it was never published. L.J. .. if you hear your fans, please publish that last book?
Rating:
Summary: Where's the rest
Review: I have read and own every L.J. ever printed (and loved every one of them), and am going crazy waiting for the last of the night world series!!!!! It's been years and still no book!!! HOW CAN SHE DO THIS TO US READERS!! (I'm sure it's not all her fault)...
Rating:
Summary: Castles, Prophesies and a Night World Prince
Review: The Night World is all around us - a secret society of creatures of darkness. There are only two rules to the Night World - 1) Don't let a human find out about the Night World, 2) Never fall in love with one of them. MAGGIE NEELY - a young girl trying to find her brother Miles when she is kidnapped by his girlfriend and made a slave in a Night World kingdom cut off from the rest of the world. Escaping with three other slaves into the wilderness, she is chased by two bloodthirsty shapeshifters, mets a Night World Prince, is identified as the Deliverer - liberator of the slaves, and uncovers a conspiracy in the castle Black Dawn. DELOS REDFERN - the second discovered Wild Power, with a powerful blue magic in his blood which will one day be needed to safe the world. He struggles to find out who he can trust and which side to be on - his great, great grandfather Hunter who is speaking his language (the survival of the fittest, kill or be killed) or the human Maggie who tries to teach him that ALL human beings are worth something, and all have the right to live. SYLVIA WEALD - a spellcaster excluded from the witch circles because she does not bear the 'Hearth-Woman' name. She has grown bitter and joined forces with Hunter Redfern, against her former sisters, and uses her magic as she pleases. When she decided to bring her boyfriend Miles into the Night World she unintentially got Maggie involved, and is the reason Maggie is in the Dark Kingdom in the first place. JEANNE McCARTNEY - a slave who escaped but was re-captured and tortured. When she makes her next bid for freedom she comes across Maggie, whom she has never seen the likes of before. She desparatly wants to escape, and knows her best chance is to abandon the others, but something compels her to help out...and keep helping out until she finds herself about to be hunted down by a mob of Night People. HUNTER REDFERN - the powerful vampire lord who has only recently discovered the kingdom of his great, great grandson and is eager for himself to exercise his dominance over the young prince, close down the kingdom, kill the slaves, and prepare for the coming apocalypse. ARADIA - the Maiden of all the Witches who was travelling to the Dark Kingdom as a diplomat, attempting to sway Delos to join Circle Daybreak. But when she is found and kidnapped by Sylvia, she is quickly transported to the kingdom in the back of a slave cart instead. Destined to face Hunter, she escapes with the help of Maggie who thinks she is merely a human girl called 'Cady'. However, she becomes very ill, and the human healer-slaves aren't that keen on helping a witch. MILES NEELY - Maggie's brother and the object of her search. Sylvia claims he was killed while mountain climbing, but Maggie isn't convinced. But then where is he? No one in the Dark Kingdom seem to have seen him.
P.J. PENOBSCOT - a nine year old girl who was captured by slave traders on Halloween when trick-or-treating with her friend Aaron, and thrown together with Maggie, Jeanne and Cady. GAVIN and BERN - Sylvia's lackeys, slave-traders and shapeshifters, they hunt the escaped girls through the Dark Kingdom. But one of them may just have a clue as to what's happened to Miles. THE SLAVES: LAUNDRESS, SOAKER, FOLDER, FALCONER, CURRIER, OLD MENDER, SWEEPER, CHAMBER-POT EMPTIER - live their barren lives with as much dignity as they can muster, till the day 'The Deliverer' comes - one who is clothed in flowers, shod in blue and scarlet and speaks of freedom. But is Maggie in her pyjama top and mismatched socks really their saviour? Black Dawn: Good Points
-a strong, well-developed heroine in Maggie
-multiple, detailed plot lines on varying scales
-an array of interesting, unique characters Black Dawn: Bad Points
-the time-travelling dream doesn't quite make sense
-the whole concept of a castle in the mountains is a bit unbelievable
-the first few chapters are quite rushed, and the sequence of chapters on Sylvia's apartment, Maggie's dream and her waking up in the slave cart leave us as confused and disorientated as Maggie was.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book, but Not the Best in the Series
Review: This book is good, though certainly not the best in the series (that exalted position would belong to Soulmate). The part where Delos and Maggie realize they're soulmates is a little hokey. It's like 3 pages of cheese. After that part is over, you almost want to look around you and make sure you aren't lying in a vat of cheese. Otherwise, it's an awesome book! I can't wait for Strange Fate! I love all of LJS's books except for the Hidden Game series.
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