Children of the Night

Apparently Marc Ruby doesn't know the order . . . this is the FIRST book in the series, followed by "Burning Water" then "Jinx High." This book introduces us to the character of Diana Tregarde, a Guardian because of her strong psi(onic)(and psychic) talents. This books takes place sometime about a decade prior to the two other books in her series - in the early 70s, right after Watergate. Diana is helping out a friend by watching her occult shop when trouble walks in the door . . . *heh, couldn't help myself* A tall, Saturnine man with "predator" written all over him comes into the shop and starts to zoom in on some young girls in the shop, so Diana runs him off. Soon after, a very handsome young man comes in and is looking for this other fellow, so she points him off after him. Finally, after the shop is closed, a young Gypsy boy comes from the back of the shop - trying to escape from the first man. Don't want to give too much away, but as is made evident in the information about the book, the second man into her shop is Andre, a vampire spawned about the time of the French Revolution. I think this is my favorite of the three books, because it is the only one in which we actually hear ANYTHING about Andre, except when Diana talks to him on the phone in other books. At any rate, eventually Diana has to go up against 4 psi-vampires (they drain the energy from people and can project negative emotions into their prey in order to gain more energy from them) and a gaki, which is a sort of Chinese soul-sucker. Very spooky. Well written, fast-moving and exciting, I LOVE this book! For anyone who likes vampire books, the earlier Anita Blake novels or Mercedes Lackey.

This is the second of three books that Mercedes Lackey has written about Diana Tregarde, a psychic investigator and 'Guardian' whose job is to struggle with occult evil. The story is set in New York City, where Diana is working at an occult supply store making ends meet while she begins a career as a writer of romance novels. On this particular workday, she finds herself faced with an energy-draining hunter, a gypsy boy on the run from an unknown danger, and a different kind of hunter pursuing the first. Diana retreats to her apartment, baffled by these events.Elsewhere in the city, a bus with a ghostly driver runs its route, delivering death to its passengers. One of these is the close friend of and lover of people who are dear to Diana. When Lenny and Keith call her from the morgue, she rushes down to discover that something has torn the living soul from the victim, leaving him a worse than empty husk. Then the gypsy boy turns up dead in a nearby alley and Diana finds herself confronting the vampire that failed to protect him. Diana's investigations will bring back some of her worst fears, panic attacks that linger from a time when she almost failed.Somewhere else, a rock band relaxes at a Halloween party and they take a drug that makes a tiny adjustment to their metabolism. They find themselves feeding first on the appreciation and then on the fear, of their audiences. For all but Dave Kendall, once Diana's lover, this is a one-way spiral down to the darkest evil. Diana's energy hunter has made them, and a strange Japanese monster, a Gaki, is his companion. The Gaki takes what the energy vampires leave behind, the soul. To fight these creatures, human and not, Diana, Lenny and Keith team up with the most unlikely fourth, a true vampire. Even so, they are almost beaten before they start.'Children of the Night' is very much the best of the three Tregarde tales, and I would even go so far as to name it one of her best stories over all. She lavishes enough attention on the characters to make them all believable individuals. The story is one that naturally keeps the reader's attention, replete with the embellishment that adds interest, and that has become so rare in modern storytelling. And the romantic byplay between Diana and Andre LaBrel, the vampire, is done just right. It is a shame that Diana Tregarde never went beyond the three volumes. But, Lackey's writing skills are such that she does not like to get stuck in a groove, and for that I cannot blame her. Maybe, some day soon, we will meet Diana again.

Reading the other reviews, I will ostensibly agree that anyone coming to this book after reading Hamilton or Huff will probably be dissappointed. If you are looking for lots of action, lots of physical sensuality and a harder, 90's type heroine--you won't find her here. Despite that, this is a book I've read cover to cover so often my copy is falling apart. Mercedes Lackey has in this book what she does so well in her best writing, character vulnerability and sensitivity. Diana Tregarde is a mystical guardian trying to figure out her own identity and emotions. Readers who enjoyed the Last Herald Mage series will likely enjoy this book. YA readers can be reccommended this as a precursor to the more adult vampire fiction out currently. To be honest, this more a book about understanding and character growth than it is about vamps, magic, or things that go bump in the night. Sometimes the heart themes may overwhelm the action, but that is the more important focus of the books, just as the erotic elements in Hamilton's novels tend to be kept in the foreground. Particular readers will respond to each. In any case, I love both Hamilton and Huff, but this remains my favorite book.

I love this book and have read it several times. This book actually got me started reading Lackey's works. And to disagree with some of the other reviews, yes I did start reading it in my teens but I still like it now. And as to the omission of the sex scenes but still having a gay couple, one has to look at when this book was originally written. It was REissued in 1994, meaning it was written back in teh 80s I believe. And as to the omission of the sex scenes, this book is not a romance novel, and I believe that the omission of the scenes prods one to use their imagination, and in my opinion, they weren't neccessary. It has a great plot with interesting characters and some interesting ideas in it, that although might not be possible, it is a work of fiction and to be enjoyed as such. And I thought the characters were very entertaining and believable. All in all, it's a book deffinately worth reading.

This first book of the Diana Tregarde series is a Grand Romp, Sexy Vampire, Good over Evil, and a glimpse at those among us with inherited gifts. The cost & the joy of them. There will always be fools among us who will, as Di puts it"That will put anything in there mouths, up their noses etc." & There are worse things than death. LOVED IT.