Minion

The first Vampire Huntress Legend sets the scene nicely giving a lot of LA Banks take on the vampire mythology with a mix of demons thrown in for good measure. There is mention of other supernatural races which I hope feature in future novels too. Damali Richards is a young hip hop spoken word artist whose parents died when she was just a baby. She was destined to become the Neteru, basically the supreme vampire slayer, and is extra special being born to cross the millenium. The alignment of the planets becomes importnat giving clues as to the challenges she will face once she comes in to her true powers on her 21st birthday.

She works with a team of Guardians who work on the side of good and are descended from the original twelve tribes show more of Jacob's sons (remember Joseph of the famous dream coat was one of them). They fight alongside the humans against the fallen angels and monsters out there battling for peoples souls. A Guardian can be from any religion, as long as they have faith. They draw from ancient Egpyptian influences, Indian chakras all the way through to Buddhism and Christianity as their faith helps them in daily life.

Vampires are ruled by a Counsel based in Hell and are usually discret in their kills covering the puncture wounds so as not to arouse human suspicision. There has been a spate of brutal killings that look to be the result of a vampire aligning with a demon which has been previously unheard of. The combined creature brings a new set of powers and terror and Damali's team The Warriors of the Light must find the Master and put him down to release the lost souls and destroy his influence and the rest of his nest.

A great book. More in the style of Anne Rice than some of the newer series which I liked. I enjoyed the legend Banks put in place and it was refreshing to read about a vampire hunter who is not a perky blonde or smooth talking, gun slinging Lara Croft wannabe. Damali is a young black woman just reaching maturity and still trying to find her own identiy seperate from being the Neteru who is easy to empathise with. Her crew were distinct personalities and I enjoyed spending time with them all. I can't wait to continue their adventures in the nex book, The Awakening. show less

Minion is a delectable morsel that promises to be part of a much larger, tantalizing entree. Filled to the brim with genuine emotion, action around every corner, delicious characterization and an even, rapid pace -- this one's a definite addition to any vampire or horror addicts plate. When the ending came around I was drooling for more; my own bloodlust was so aroused I will personally hunt down the next addition just to sate my newfound hunger.

Minion kept me enthralled from the first chapter. Beginning with people from simpler times, it leaves the reader in a daze and a cliffhanger of sorts, only to lure us closer to the main co! urse . I wasn't quite sure what to think at different moments; I went from having my questions about a show more certain person, to trying to unravel the plot in my head, to trying to figure out the outcome. To my delight I couldn't accomplish ANY of these things, and as a result this story ended up as my favorite type: unpredictable and knuckle-grinding.

The only complaint I could find about this one -- and it took plenty of searching to conjure up ANY negativity, believe you me -- was that I wanted more. The ending left me unsatisfied simply because I am not the biggest fan of cliffhangers. I was rabid with curiosity about what bloody mess Damali and her crew would drop into my lap next, and I have to wait to get it. But of course that technique IS the best way to draw in faithful fans for the next installments. It brings to mind what the main big bad vampire Nuit said (although not in these words) -- the newly turned will want to return to the master's cup. That being said, I for one want to know more about that vampire!

Proper suspense was built at the right moments; there's plenty of violence to satisfy the graphic crowd. The atmosphere was tight, dark, gritty. But thankfully this book did not revolve around endless, pointless violence only for the sake of doing so -- it had a heart AND a soul. The style was all about realism in a fantasy we ourselves do not reside in.

Damali Richards is a character easy to identify with. Strong and somewhat stubborn, she is young, spirited, ambitious, but also very well-rounded. She has her doubts and is experiencing her own version of growing pains; being able to bond so well with her helped this reader keep her smile. The other characters all had their own personal magic, and while at time I had thoughts about whether I would have liked to slug the "mother" Marlene or not, in the end her personality shone through and it all made more sense.

Although the bulk of the story is through the eyes of the Vampire huntress Damali, Banks also changes pace by showing different avenues of interest through the minds and actions of other key players such as Carlos, a man with his own personal kingdom.

Walk, run, hitchhike to the nearest bookstore to pick yourself up a copy. Or else take the lazy route like I do and just click onto the Internet. show less

My vision of Hell? Being caught in traffic with a guy who insists on blaring rap music. This is the urban fantasy equivalent, and I'm so glad I could just shut the book and back away slowly. Awful writing full of romance aisle descriptions and ridden with cliches and mixed metaphors.

The prologue is hysterical--both in tone and hilarity, albeit unintentionally. A preacher's wife discovers her husband in what seems an embrace. With a man! Quel Horror! So naturally, leaving her baby with the prayer vigil, she goes out to perform a demonic ritual to get him back.

Soon after we're introduced to her baby girl all grown up! The "chosen one" and "vampire huntress" (sound familiar?), Damali Richards, a rapper by day and this is one of her show more introductory bits of dialogue:

"Aw shit--you the one!" Damali spun around and gave the people standing near her a high five. "All this time I've been coming in this place, gigging and doing my thing... and the Marlene Stone just rolls in here with brother 'Bazz? Daaaaym! Y'all really think I'm good and have a shot?"

Damali aka Mary Sue got on my one nerve right there. All throughout, besides the charming S-word there were f-bombs going off to the left and to the right of me. So I ducked and covered and threw this back on the store shelf before fifty pages had passed. And I resent every minute I gave this crap a chance. show less

Minion - a Vampire Huntress Legend is an incredible awful book. The world Banks has created is clichéd, and lacks in credibility as well as originality. The writing style is beyond choppy, dialogs are incoherent and nonsensical (though that may be due to bad editing), half of them consist of expositional monologue explaining at length things that should be basic knowledge for all participants in the conversation. The slang used makes several exchanges unintelligible, and it grates on the nerves when white characters use terms like 'Lil’ sis'

All the characters are two-dimensional cardboard cutouts, made up almost entirely by clichés lifted from popular culture, and lacking believable motivations.
The book contains pages on end of show more descriptions (also clichéd) which fails to build any kind of atmosphere or make any impact other than incredulous irritation at the lack of skill evident.
The constant mixing of metaphors set my teeth on edge.
The interactions between characters are disconnected, and the inner monologue that is substituting actual action in many scenes is badly executed.

The plot is unoriginal and uninteresting; a Neteru girl (the Vampire Huntress) is created every 1000 years, and this one - Damali - is born just before her priest father is seduced by a vampire, and her mother calls up a vengeance demon to get revenge on his seducer. She is found by a Guardian when she is fifteen and has lived in a Guardian compound for five years, while she grew into her Neteru powers. While she is battling the onset of powers that accompanies the Neteru coming of age, she is taking on a race of hybrid vampires created by her mothers summoning of a demon in a vampire lair, and trying to save her old flame from becoming one of them.
The flame is turned, and recruited by both the originator of the hybrid, and the vampire council - whose members live in one of the middle reaches of hell, and only ascends once a year. Both parties are eager to impregnate the Neteru, to create a daywalker offspring. This is supposed to be accomplished by possessing a virile body and have intercourse with her.

This novel has absolutely no redeeming features. show less

This review is for all of L.A. Banks' Vampire Huntress series. The last book just came out, though I'm still on #5 (out of 12). It is, as you could guess, yet another paranormal romance series about vampires, but what made me pick it up is that our heroine is a Black woman, her love interest is not a white man (he's Latino), and her supporting cast is made up primarily of POC. The first two books got off the ground a little slowly, but they're short and entertaining enough to get through quickly - and once I hit the third book, the series really seemed to hit its groove and it's been rocking along ever since. (Book 3 is also a story in which the history of colonization in Brazil plays a large part.) It's a lot of fun, if not high show more literature, and has enough worldbuilding to keep me as a SFF fan satisfied.

I have some quibbles with Banks' treatment of race and gender, but really, those are "why this is not quite perfect" criticisms rather than "why I want to throw this book against the wall" criticisms. *** I have read 2 of the L.A. Banks "Vampire Huntress" books. I'm very torn on them. I like the vampire hunting genre but am constantly annoyed by the whiteness of it. I love that this series centers itself in communities of color. That is seriously awesome. I love that there are strong PoC who are a variet of ages. I like that vampire huntress has a love interest is a Latino guy. I do not love is that he is also a drug dealer.

What I'm torn on is that the communities of color the book focuses on are crime ridden inner city areas. Banks does it well, but it's not what I personally wanted from the series. There is also an uncomfortable scene in the beginning of the first book where a character has a homophobic freak out, which leads to her killing her husband. It really left a bad taste in my mouth.*** Point well taken. In a later book, it's pointed out that the Guardians are chosen according to "the first shall be last and the last shall be first," hence so many of them being poor people of color - but that was a choice Banks made, and yes, the result is that the communities of color we see fit into stereotypes. As you said, though, her portrayals are done pretty well - for instance, Carlos' choices in becoming a drug dealer are neither romanticized nor reduced to mere greed. I don't think that Banks should've written a different story so much as I think that there ought to be more stories about communities of color in the popular mainstream, to fill in the holes left by her portrayal.

One possible reading of the homophobic scene in the first book is that the character in question allowed evil an opening through her own failure - a mirror to her husband's arrogance in choosing to pursue a vampire on his own. I admit that's a generous reading though - particularly since there haven't been any positive portrayals of queer characters to support that reading. I'm willing to keep reading and see if Banks remedies this, but I wouldn't blame anyone for not being willing to extend that trust. show less

I'm not 100% sure what to make. I like the book well enough to look for later ones in the series. That said there are some really deep flaws.

A white ex-biker who was sewing his wild oats in the 70's speaking black 1990's/2000's street slang (or that's what I assume it is) doesn't work for me. The change of heart of the flawed character who has been hiding things from the vampire huntress seems too easy, on both sides. Several of the characters, who are part of the "posse" of heroes remain sketchy at best, nebulous is rather more like it.

Despite that, there's a good story in here. The opening scenes almost made me give up, but I'm glad I didn't. Some of the action scenes are excellent and the portrayal of the anti-hero as I suspect he's show more going to be and the heroine are pretty strong throughout. Worth a look and short enough to be an easy read. show less

This story about a young vampire huntress was very confusing to me. I liked that it started by putting you in the thick of the action; however, the action made no sense. I also didn't get a back story until much later in the book and it was all too brief. I still don't know how this group got together or even what type of music they play. And how did they get that wealthy?

The vampire and demon hierarchy was way too confusing and I think my eyes glazed over a few times during the long winded explanations of who, what, and why. I do own some of the books in this series so I will continue on to the next one. I hope this gets clearer.

This wasn't a very scary book. At this point I'm not attached to anyone so they could all get ambushed and show more killed and that's okay. On the plus side, it was nice that everyone in this book isn't white; the diversity was refreshing. show less