Born to Darkness

Won from Library Thing Early Reviewers
Challenges: Men in Uniform, Mystery/Thriller
Overall Rating 5+
Story Rating 5+
Character Rating 5+

First thought when finished: This packed a punch and it's one that I won't recover from lightly!

What I Loved: Born to Darkness is like 2.5 romances in one with some kick ass action and a little paranormal ability to increase it all! I don't know if it was my mood (Moody Reader Alert) or just the shear genius of Suzanne Brockmann (my first time reading her)but this book just clicked for me on every level. I must warn you that it could double as a weapon as it is quite lengthy BUT it is a super fast read. At the end, I was like I want more. The last book that made me do that was The Discovery of Witches. So show more needless to say, I just flat out loved it.

Final Thought: Can I give Born to Darkness a 5 plus? This book was just completely unique to me and I DEVOURED it :)

Seriously this review almost came down to this: Born to Darkness is a PNR (paranormal romance), PNT (paranormal thriller), and kick ass ride that will keep you mesmerized from beginning to end. I have no better way to put this but I at least tried LOL. show less

I have had this book on my to read list for months now. I went to look at the reviews, ready to read it at last, and was a little disappointed to see relatively low ratings for all the hype that it had gotten. As I made my way through the book, I was more and more confused as to the low ratings because the book is fascinating and well written. I will get more into these other reviews in just a bit.

Born to Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann is definitely not her first novel, but the first time she dabbles in the paranormal. She introduces several very interesting characters called Greater-Thans, including Mac, Diaz, and Joseph. These characters can use a larger percentile of their brains at a time, allowing them to develop "supernatural" show more powers such as telekinesis. This group is using their powers for good but a drug called Destiny allows Fractions (those who use the normal 10 percent of their brain at a time) to elevate themselves to higher levels-- but at a great cost. After the gang meets Anna, whose sister has been kidnapped, a sinister underworld of evil is revealed.

I rate this book 4.5 stars. I had fully intended to rate it five stars until the end because the characters are fully developed and the description rich, and the relationships even richer (I will get to the reasoning of the rating soon). Halfway through the book, I took a look closer at some of the negative or less than happy reviews. First issue: this book is too dark. I disagree. The whole intent of this book is to be dark. Perhaps coming from a medical background, I see the dark underbelly of society more than I would like. Just yesterday, I helped interview a mom whose 6 month old was sexually abused. How is this possible? Unfortunately, it is, and evil like this exists in our world. I admired that Brockmann looked at this darkness in the face and put it starkly on the page. Second, this book is not like her usual navy SEAL romance novel and has paranormal elements. I really don't like when people pan a book because they detest a whole genre or because it isn't exactly what the author has done before. I admit I have not read her other books, but I do love that Brockmann has tried something new-- she is taking a risk, and I feel she does a wonderful job at creating this atmosphere and supernatural world. At the same time, this creation of the new world does not detract from the development of her characters. Third, some people were very turned off by the character Mac because she is a very angry character with a terrible past. I get that. However, after having read two books in the recent past in FIRST PERSON of an angry person like this, I actually had no problem with Mac. This book is written in third person and she is one of 6 (or 7) main characters, which balance her out. And it's quite clear to me why she is the way she is. Lastly, some people are very against homosexual relationships being written about in books. The fact people had such a problem with this was actually quite disturbing, especially since to me, this relationship was probably the sweetest one in the entire book.

The reason I docked it at all is because there didn't seem to be as nice of a resolution of that particular relationship-- we barely get to see them in the final pages, which would have been nice since ever other character gets space to end their respective stories.

This said, this novel is extremely compelling, a worthwhile read with fantastic characters that will stay in your memory for a long time. I can't wait to see the next in this series. show less

I seriously almost loved this. Brockman can write. I liked the characters and the plot is an interesting one. But the fact that kept me from loving it and, in fact, coming to really resent large chunks of it is unfortunately so common in modern fiction it's hardly worth commenting on...except that we should all be commenting on it all the time.

The whole book hinges on cliched female terror. Almost every single female in this book, adult and child, is either raped or threatened with rape at some point in this book. This is used as character development shorthand. Want a villain to seem especially vile? Make him a serial rapist, better yet a serial child rapist or a knife wielding sadistic rapist. Want a woman to be especially pitiable? show more Make her relive the memory of her rape over and over. What her to be notably strong? Make her over come her rape. Want a girl to be especially terrorized? Make her witness another girl get raped or threaten her with rape. Want your heroes to be especially good guys? Have them overlook the besmirchment of the women they love and, unlike everyone else, not judge them for getting raped. Better yet, have them also save them from the after-effects of their rapes. Either teaching them how to not remain stuck on the memory or convince them it wasn't their fault. All of these are in this book. Every single one of them and more. It's common, trope-based characterization shorthand and it's LAZY writing! I expected so much more from this book. show less

Not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this! Action packed, emotionally charged, and highly readable. And difficult to sum up in a few sentences... but I'll give it a shot.

Most people are ten-percenters, using only ten percent of their mental capacity at any given time. But for a select few, more is possible - this is the beginning of their story.

War has devastated the United States, sending the economy and infrastructure of society into a serious tailspin. Unemployment is rampant, law and order are crumbling. In the midst of chaos, the Obermeyer Institute is a bastion of research, wealth and stability, its researchers devoted to furthering humanity's mental integration.

Integration can happen with discipline and practice, or it can be show more forced with drugs, and a new drug known as Destiny is gaining popularity among those rich and powerful enough to afford it. But making it requires NASTY steps, and taking it means a huge risk of Jokering, complete with raging insanity and unstable, uncontrollable mental powers. The Organization - the makers of Destiny - doesn't care.

Dr. Bach and his team, Mac and Diaz, are Greater-Thans, integrated at much higher than ten percent. Operating out of the Obermeyer Institute, they're dedicated to bringing down Jokers and the Organization, but are they fighting a losing battle?

Warning! There are a few seriously raw scenes. And if you aren't open-minded enough to handle same-sex partners in a loving relationship, don't bother picking this up. But if you like your romances spiced up with action (of the non-bedroom variety) and you're into the paranormal, this might just be your cup of tea. show less

This was fun. It's a Brockmann - multiple romances, medium explicit (far from "curtain drops on a kiss", but also not details of fingers and so on), several variations on true love. Oh, and one M/F romance, one M/M, and a maybe M/F one - that's got barriers, which are not resolved by the end of the book. And an ex-SEAL hero, for one of the romances. But it's also a fascinating (though extremely grim) near-future SF story, with the "corporate arm of the government" running most things, and a drug that gives people superpowers and then kills them, after they go on a rampage. Our Heroes are a group that has the same sort of superpowers, not drug-derived but earned through practice and hard work (we get no details on that). The bad guys are show more the ones making the drug - in a truly foul and horrific way. But they snatch the wrong kid... The biggest problem I have is the timing - fifteen years or so they've been working together, and all three of them simultaneously(ish) find their partners? But it's not that simple; external obstacles (a few) and internal ones (a lot) complicate all three; and as I said, one is not completed by the end of this book. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have written a sequel yet - here's hoping! The short story prequel at the end fleshes out the story Shane tells Mac during the book; it doesn't add much, but is mildly enjoyable. show less

I didn't love this book as much as I had hoped to. I loved the story line between Shane and Mac. I felt it was complex and interesting. I did not like the story line between Elliot and Diaz as much. I didn't feel like there was sufficient ground to base their feelings on which made it hard for me to care one way or the other about their relationship.

I did enjoy the suspense side of the book. The story flowed and was easy to read. I was left wondering what was going to happen next without the events being so unpredictable that the book was ridiculous. I will most likely read the next book in this series.

This was ultimately just okay. It had the usual SB strengths of realistic dialog and fast action. I really love SB's dialog. The characters sound as if they are really speaking not reciting lines. The characters for the most part were appealing.

The action was interesting for the most part but I felt that some of the powers were kind of ludicrous. Do we really believe if we start using more of our brain power simultaneously that we will be able to fly? That's not brain power related, that has much more to do with the laws of physics. I think a lot more thought should have been put into what powers a person could realistically have. More than that really, I can see that if this series continues for several books it could fall victim to show more the ever expanding powers trap. Each book the main character will have to have some new and novel power and since she seemed to use a lot of the really interesting ones in this book, what will be left? Pretty soon everyone will be so powerfull that it won't be believable that they would have any problems they couldn't just snap their fingers at.

Also the conflict here about the kidnapped girls while a good story driver seems a little too unbelievable. I'm sure that more realistically 50 years from now it would be more rationale to think that adrenaline would be easier synthasized that taken from scared little girls.

My biggest problem with the book is that the relationship between Shane and Mac was 100% totally unbelievable. Mac was the worst heroine that SB has written to date and I've never felt that her heroines were all that wonderful. SB does a much better job writing men than women. But Mac takes the cake. She was a whining bitch throughout and there was absolutely no reason for Shane to fall for her except her powers. They never had any time together were they were just hanging out and getting along and learning to care for each other. They were either having sex or Mac was being a bitch and Shane was begging her like a sick puppy. I really had high hopes for Shane after reading the little prologue novella. Severely disappointed. Absolutely no romance at all there.

Elliot and Stephen at least had some feelings and some basis for those feelings since they had known each other a long time. Bach and Anna or Nika was not resolved so we'll see how that developes. show less