In this follow-up to Minion (2003), Banks proves that vampire novels, like their vampire characters, often spawn progeny all too much in their own image. Events begin precisely where they dead-ended in the first novel, with rock 'n' roller cum vampire-slayer Damali Richards the prey of renegade vampire-master Fallon Nuit, who wants her eliminated for the grief she's caused him and his hybrid demon-vampire minions. The Vampire Council also seek to vampirize her and the child they scheme to seed her with before her 21st birthday. The council is depending on newly un-dead Carlos Rivera, Damali's ex-lover, to find her weak spot-but Carlos has his own agenda to retrieve his soul before he becomes an irredeemable vampire, and he secretly plays the council, Nuit and even Damali and her band against one another to achieve his goal. For all the double-crossing intrigue, choreographed bloodshed and physical mayhem, readers will find little in the plot to distinguish this novel from its predecessor. The author devotes most of her energies to fleshing out minutiae of her weird world, which includes elaborate hierarchies and biological imperatives that govern its hordes in the afterlife. The result is an ambitious but often slow-going fantasy that will appeal mainly to Banks's loyal minions.
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Picking up where Minion [BKL My 1 03], which launched her Vampire Huntress series, left off, Banks throws her heroine into the middle of a vampire power struggle. Damali Richards is about to turn 21, and if the vampire council can get to her, they can impregnate her with a child who will grow into a daywalker--a powerful vampire that can withstand daylight. The council wants to use her former love, Carlos, now a master vampire, as the lure, but Fallon Nuit, a fugitive from the council who wants to start his own vampire empire, also expects Carlos to deliver Damali. A group of Templars claims to want to keep Damali safe. Carlos is torn. He still cares for Damali, but his lust for her blood is growing more powerful each time he is with her. With The Awakening, Banks solidifies her intriguing, dark series as a project worth watching, and readers will be pleased to learn another installment is on the way. Kristine Huntley
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