Dhampir: Part Vampire. Part Human. Perfect Hunter

STORY: The "charlatan" vampire hunters Magiere and Leesil go from town to town exploiting the fears of the locals. Magiere is tired of such a life and without Leesil's knowledge buys a tavern on the coast announcing to him that she is retiring and he is coming with here. Little do either know, that the little coastal village where they are headed is a nest of vampires. Through the story Magiere finds out she is specially equiped to fight vampires for real and not pretend. Aided by Leesil, their "special" hound Chap and some townsfolk they fight for thier lives and future dreams.MY FEEDBACK:1) Setting - Could have used a map of the world. Each time a place is described I wanted to start drawing so I can get in my head where every city, town, or region is in relation to the others. This fantasy setting only has humans, quick reference to elves and of course vampires...no other races or monsters referred to. With that said, I didnt feel at any point that the story needed these things, YET. There is so much room for the authors to take and create a more vivid world. What they've created here is a functional envioronment that is very small in scope and works for this first story installment.2) Characters - a) Protagonists - I really liked the three main protagonists: Magiere, Leesil, and their hound Chap. Each had their strenghts, weaknesses, and secrets. It was a nice twist that all three have travelled several years together, yet there is so much they don't know about each other or themselves. Nice character growth and relationships through the story. b) Antagonist - The best thing about the vampires is that each one comes into his/her mental abilities differently. The authors played up on such strengths which helped define the individual vampires from the rest. Overall, the authors kept to most classic forms of killing vampires (garlic, stakes, etc) which was totally acceptable.3) Story - Great Action! Believable dialogue and decisions made by characters. The story is written to be the first book in a series. The nice thing is 98% of all story conflicts are resolved in the end so even if they never get around to writting more in the series this book is a self-contained story. No real major plot twists and turns or comments on society and life...it was simply a straight forward action story, which was ok with me.OVERALL: If you like what I said above, then you won't be disappointed by getting your hands on this book. I'm keeping this book in my collection and recommending it to friends. Fun story that I read in two-day's time. I'll be looking for any future installments of the Dhampire series.

For several years Magiere, Leesil, and Chap have been moving from village to village, earning their living by ridding frightened and superstitious people of the undead creatures that plague their lives. But the whole thing is merely a sham, an elaborate game they have concocted, and Magiere is no true Hunter. Or is she? Finally tired of playing `the game' for so long, Magiere is ready to call it quits and settle down to a simpler and easier way of life, running a tavern. But what she and Leesil don't realize is that Magiere really is a Dhampir, a Hunter, and what they have been playing at for so many years will soon become a shocking reality. Vampires (and other undead creatures) really do exist, and they have decided that the Hunter is a threat that must be eliminated. I am very, very impressed with how the authors have created a vampire story set in a true fantasy world. It felt real and natural, and was a refreshing change from the norm! The world building was very well done, the characters were vivid and compelling, and it had a nice dash of mystery and intrigue. There was also lots of great action, humor, sadness and grief, and questions of selfishness, sense of duty, and honor (or doing 'the right thing'). The story sucks you in from the very beginning and there is never a dull moment. I read this one from the first page to the last, without ever putting it down. I loved how Magiere and Leesil's relationship was portrayed, and how they were both far from perfect, even as far as having secrets that they knowingly, or unknowingly, kept from each other. We are introduced to them at an important junction in their lives, and along the way we are given tantalizing glimpses into their past which, amazingly, never breaks the flow of the story. And it was a joy to watch them grow and evolve, and learn to understand each other better, even though when we meet them they have already been companions for several years. We even get fascinating glimpses into the thoughts and motivations of the villains that make you feel very sympathetic towards them at times. All in all, it makes for a very complex, engaging, and emotional story that is not just as simple as good vs. evil.Towards the end of the book I was feeling a little disappointed that the adventure would soon be over. But to my surprise, and delight, it looks as though Dhampir will be the first in a series (or will have a sequel at the very least). I can't wait to read the next installment that holds the promise of more mysterious revelations, and greater things to come. Please don't miss this one, I HIGHLY recommend it!

This book is a promising beginning to a great new adventure series. Magiere and her half-elf sidekick Leesil have been making a dishonest living running scams on foolish superstitious villagers whom Magiere promises to rid of evil spirits--for a stiff fee. Having spent her life persecuted by superstitious fools, she feels little remorse at taking advantage of what she views as their stupidity in believing in something she is sure does not exist. At the start of the book, she tires of this kind of life and decides to buy an inn and settle down. Little does she realize it, but the town she chooses is also the home of a nest of undead vampires, and they recognize her for what she really is--a Dhampir--a slayer of undead, and they quickly move to elimate her. Only if she comes to terms with her true self will Magiere and those dear to her survive what is coming...Magiere and Leesil are fascinating characters. Both have been badly hurt in their childhoods and their motivations and feelings are well drawn. They are not perfect--Leesil drinks to deaden memories of his terrible deeds in his sad past, he picks pockets and routinely gambles away all his money. Magiere resists getting involved, is quite selfish at the start, scamming poor villagers of thier life savings. They make some missteps and people die. Both of them change over the course of the book from bitter loners to the kind of people you can truly call heroes. And these two people are made for each other! While there is no obvious romance in this book, but I am hoping for a bit of romance between them in future volumes--there are definite hints of it here! Secondary characters are well designed too, brave Beth Rae and Brendan, even the vampires are given at least some background and bits of history. These characters are not just cardboard cutouts. Fans of Patricia Briggs and Dawn Cook will probably enjoy this book--the characterization and writing style is similiar.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope there will be more adventures of the captivating main characters!

Mixing the high fantasy genre with tales of undead hunters, DHAMPIR refreshes both genres with a mixture of wit, humour, adventure and gothic flavor that I've not seen in a while. Magiere and her partner, Leesil the half-elf, begin the tale as not very likeable charlatan vampire hunters in a dark medieval-like world. They make their living scamming villages out of their hard-earned money by pretending to rid the area of imaginary undeads. At least so they think. And when they finally decide they've had enough and want to settle down in the quiet life, they're in for a big surprise. (Personally, I loved the twist where instead of adventurers just hanging out in a tavern as part of the tale, they'd rather buy the place and run it themselves). But they unwittingly settle in the home town of three true vampires, or Noble Dead as they are called in the book. Both Magiere and Leesil have dark pasts, which begin to creep up upon them from memory as they must deal with illusions and superstitions turned real. (The author's site now lists THIEF OF LIVES as the coming sequel to be released in January 2004.)

As a child Magiere was shunned by the townsfolk because her father was a traveling noble and her mother was a peasant woman. They made her life so miserable that she ran away from home at seventeen carrying only a magical knife and two amulets that her father left behind for her. She worked at any job she could find, traveling from town to town until she met the half-elf Leesil. Together they worked the perfect con, pretending she was a vampire hunter who could rid the town of a vampire that was in the area.After she saved enough money, Magiere bought an inn in the town of Miiska. Nobody could be more surprised than Magiere and Leesil to learn that a trio of vampires lived in the town and what's more they know about her since she killed one of their kin. Magiere comes to learn she is the natural enemy of the vampire, a DHAMPIRE born of a mortal woman and a vampire father, with powers she must learn to use if she doesn't want to end up being a vampire's meal.Barb and J.C. Hendee have written a refreshingly innovative horror novel where the protagonists and antagonists act according to their own nature. The vampires serve as worthy adversaries for the Dhampir to destroy if she can and the reader will be rooting for her all the way. After years of being homeless, Magiere and her half elf companion finally have a home and they will do everything in their power to protect it. The plot is meaty and juicy with unexpected turn so that readers are already anticipating the next surprise.Harriet Klausner