Retired secret spy turned university professor and his wife (a medical researcher) get blackmailed by a vampire into solving the mystery of who is killing off London's vampires. They search through endless paper trails in England and travel abroad to underground crypts of Paris, tracking down a legendary vampire older than the Black Plague- only to find in the end that the answer to their questions is closer to home -and far more horrifying- than anyone could have imagined.

This book was definitely creepy. Hambly's descriptive writing and fascinating characters kept me intrigued from the beginning. Some parts of the mystery I never really followed well (including Asher's backstory, that was confusing). But I loved the historical details of Victorian-era London, and the examination of vampire physiology. The development of Asher's relationship to Ysidro is one of the best parts of the novel. Some themes of morality and redemption thread through: Asher wrestles occasionally with his conscience over murders he committed when he was a spy, and one of the vampires they encounter is an ancient priest wracked with guilt over what he has done to survive as a vampire. Ysidro himself appears to have a sense of integrity which sets him apart from others of his kind, that and his sense of humor make him a bit sympathetic, even though he's still a malevolent character.

more at the Dog Ear Diary ( )

This is one of my favorite vampire books. It brings to mind Dracula, but it has its own tone and style, and is one of the better books that features a vampire we can sympathize with. Excellent reading, though Anne Rice fans may find it tame. ( )

I’ve revolted against the current vampire books. I’m tired of reading things like what Laurell K. Hamilton writes (for all that she lured me into the genre), and I’ve lately made a deliberate attempt to track down and revisit the vampire books I read when I first began reading vampire books. And this has been hard. Do you know how many thousands of vampire books have been published in the last 20 years? Yikes. The trees are weeping.

Fantasy books hit me hard as a teen and young adult. Back then, I read like the words were on fire. In my haste to pick up a new book as soon as the last one ended, I’ve forgotten all sorts of the little things, things like the book title, author, and basic plot. And this has made things like tracking down Those Who Hunt the Night rather difficult.

In this case, I remembered the details of a specific scene, and nothing about anything else of the book. The scene was good. I remember an overpowering feeling of dust and age and pity, and also a claustrophobic library. Fortunately, the NoveList search program did not let me down.

Imagine, remember, back when reading a vampire novel meant being scared of the dark. Of the things in the dark. Of walking out into the dark to meet those things. Has a book like that been published in the last 10 years?

James Asher knows about the dark. As a college don and former spy, he knows about a lot of things. What he doesn’t know is about to kick his ass.

Simon Ysidro knows about safety and politics. Four of his fellow vampires have burnt to ash within their coffins, and it’s no longer prudent to ignore the problem. Someone is hunting the hunters. And the vampires have no idea how to stop it.

An unwilling ally is lead easily enough with death threats. A temporary master isn’t going to give out any more information than he has too. And the newest thing lurking in the darkness is closer to home than either of them ever feared. ( )

Still the absolute best vampire novel I have ever read.

And only part of it is the fact that I have a weakness for action heroes, like Dr. Asher, who in civilian life are - *ahem* - cunning linguists. Or the fact that I'm madly in love with Don Simon.

This book does a great job of balancing an Edwardian feel with modern storytelling methods - it's a bit more formal in diction and style and loose in pace than your average modern fantasy book, but not enough so to make it difficult for the modern reader, though it is a bit of a slow start.

The main thing that keeps me re-reading this, though, is her vampires. She has created the vampires who *must* exist - if vampires actually existed - who are believable, who are just tragic enough and just human enough and just *utterly terrifying* enough to take the concept of a vampire right to the edge of where it can go without ever chickening out on where that's leading her - or descending to sensationalism.

And the human characters' reactions to the vampires are exactly human enough, as well; the way a human can become accustomed to *any* sort of horror, simply by being around it long enough - and the characters' own self-disgust as they find themselves coming to respect the vampire characters, despite what they are - is all just perfectly drawn without ever going too far.

The murder mystery is fun, too. But this book's really about the characters and what necessity makes of men. ( )

Barbara Hambly is probably one of my more favorite authors. For those who like the Victorian era and vampires, this is the book for you. ( )