A complex tale of vampire warriors

Son of No One

By Sherrilyn Kenyon

St. Martin's Press. 432 pp. $27.99

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Reviewed by Lidija Dorjkhand

Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series centers on a group of vampirelike warriors who protect humans from the creatures that would prey on them. It is a rich, detailed world Kenyon has created, combining Greek gods, shape-shifting weres, demons, and all manner of ancient and powerful beings. Unfortunately, that often unwieldy world can be confusing to readers not familiar with her books.

Son of No One tells the story of Josette Landry, who is no stranger to bad luck. Jobless and broke because of a divorce from a cheating husband, she takes a job with a group that investigates paranormal activity in New Orleans. While investigating a haunted mansion, she falls through a mirror and finds herself in a "creepy fairy forest" with no sign of the mansion or her companions.

Jo is set upon by zombielike creatures, but a man with a sword comes to her rescue. She learns that this handsome Welsh warrior is Cadegan, and that he was banished to this shadow realm by his brother almost a thousand years earlier for killing some humans while in a rage. Cadegan is part demon and has some major powers that others in that realm covet.

Cadegan knows he must help Jo get back home and away from all the dangerous creatures in that gray hell, including himself. He feels himself falling in love, but he is wary.

Jo learns about Cadegan's tragic past and demonic side, but she also learns that he is a man of honor that would never hurt her.

The emotional journey of how the two of them learn to love and trust each other despite past betrayals and escape the dangers they face makes for a moving, if challenging, read.

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