Touch the Dark

I long ago lost track of how many times I’ve read these books. Touch the Dark is the doorway to an amazingly detailed and fantastic world of characters and chaos of which I’ve yet to see the equal.
Cassie is a wonderfully ‘real’ heroine with her personal flaws, insecurities and honest reactions. She is supported by a cast of characters so rich and vivid that any one of them could carry a series all of their own (...and I sincerely hope that they do!!) I love the emotional depth of the characters connections and Karen’s chaotic ‘warts and all’ approach to creating a wonderfully 3 dimensional read (4 if you count time travel!!)

With a very happy and content sigh, I read the last page of the book (again).
I would like to say that my first thought was: 'omg I forgot pretty much everything that happened in this book.' But of course, it wasn't, it was the second thought. The first was more among the lines of 'Holy mother of... Mircea I have missed you!! And Pritkin, don't forget about him, though he was a real dick.'

Worldbuilding:
There is a lot going on, and as a first book in the series, there is always the necessary groundwork to be laid out. But really, it didn't feel like that. We learned through memories Cassie revisited about her time with Tony, how she got to meet Mircea and how she got stuck with Billy but never did it feel it was forced upon you as a show more reader. It followed a very natural flow and integrated perfectly in the story.

Character development:
What's not to love about the characters?
(yes yes, sometimes even the bad ones, except Tony)
Cassie gets thrown into a near-constant fight for her life right from the get-go. Her abilities acting in strange ways, assassination attempts and let's not forget a volatile battle mage thrown in the mix would make anyone question themselves what the hell is going on. I like Cassie because she doesn't wait for anyone to come and save her, nope, she does that herself, thank you very much. Well... with the help of her friend (and ghost), Billy. All she wants is to be free and left alone, but apparently, that is too much to ask for.
An impressive cast, with many delightful diverse individuals, makes me want to read the rest of the series asap. I just want to get to know them all over again. But Mircea *sigh*...

Pacing and flow:
It was over way too fast :) And I say that not in a bad way, it wasn't rushed at all, it just flowed its natural course. That course was just rife with a lot of action :)
Be advised you won't put this book down before the end, that's all I'm saying.

The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 307 pages long, spread over 14 chapters and is told from Cassie's point of view (POV).

Final thoughts:
This book really had it all, I loved it from start to end. So yeah, it really does deserve that 5* shine and a spot in my all-time favorites list. show less

I’m re-reading this series...again (that’s how much I LOVE the Cassie Palmer and Dory Basarab series!) and wanted to finally post reviews of all the stories in the intertwining timeline.

In Touch the Dark we meet Cassie who is a clairvoyant. She has visions of future and past horrors while also being able to see/talk to ghosts. And as if that isn’t enough to deal with, she’s on the run from the vampire who raised her...after murdering her parents. Now the North American Vampire Senate needs her help and promises to protect her from the Silver (“good” mages) and Black (bad mages) Circles. Yeah, right.

I love Cassie because while the world isn’t real, she is. She has flaws, she’s not perfect. And while she does ok at show more protecting herself she’s not kicking major a$$. But she’s also smart. “Where my life was concerned, I’d learned long ago that everyone wanted to use me for something.”

What made me pick up the next book is the writing. Karen Chance is absolutely amazing. I also love the world. In this book you’ll meet satyrs, weres, witches, a pixy and war mages. And there are so many more throughout the series. Plus it’s almost non-stop action.

One of my favorite bits:
“I just stood there, not able to believe I was watching a pixie have a conversation with a shrunken head. I think that was about the time I gave up on logic and just decided to go with the flow. If I was lucky, someone had spiked my drink and I was hallucinating.” show less

Its been a few years since I wrote my last review. Let's try this again. Cassie Palmer works at a travel agency, but she isn't an ordinary human. She's clairvoyant and can see and communicate ghosts to start. She was raised in a vampire court and made enemies with the Master, Tony, who killed her parents. Her revenge was to collect his crimes and give the information to the FBI. Now he wants her dead and she's been in hiding for three years.

She's been found.

The supernatural world wants her for more than retribution, however. Cassie's life is about to get much much more complicated.

As the first book in the series there is (like always) a good bit of info dumping. Not only the world building kind, but Chance knows her history and will go show more on the occasional tangent. The story drags during them. On top of that, Cassie is one of the lowest powered people in every room. She doesn't have a lot of agency when surrounded by Master vampires. When she breaks free of their grasp, Cassie makes an impression. She may not be as powerful as most of the introduced characters, but she uses all of the weight she has and it works. She leaves everyone stunned by what she can accomplish.

Touch the Dark is an okay start to my all time favorite series. 3.5 stars.



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Cons:
-lots of info dumping
-not very much action
-practically every vamp is historically famous or is well connected to one

Pros:
-the action when it happens is fun to read
-the writing is detailed, easy to picture, and easy to get lost in when not conscious of the info dumping

Skim some info dumping. Pay attention and look forward to the action. Have fun exploring a new world. show less

I was very, very impressed by Touch the Dark. It had everything I look for in a good urban fantasy series - a strong, sympathetic protagonist facing a host of insurmountable challenges, a collection of interesting secondary characters, great worldbuilding and lots of action.

I read Touch the Dark in one sitting, couldn't put it down. I thought it was well-written, well-paced, so brilliantly imaginative. I kept thinking of Jim Butcher as Cassandra Palmer nosedived from one problem into a bigger one. I loved the romantic elements, which are pretty hot but very complicated - the men most interested in Cassandra are also poised to betray her. This book was just bursting with ideas; historical characters like Casanova and Christopher Marlowe show more pop up, and there are interesting spins on how they came to be immortal; there's a bar in Vegas modeled after the seven circles of hell, staffed by randy satyrs; and ghosts, in this universe, are excellent spies. It was a really satisfying read. show less

Touch the Dark is one of those vampire novels that uses "vampire politics" to weave a plot, and it succeeds admirably. Our heroine Cassie finds herself in the center of a war between mages, vampires and fey. Chance's master vampires, Louis-Cesar and Mercea, can easily rival Jean-Claude and Lestat for their allure, ruthlessness and sheer sexiness. Additionally, her take on vampire existence/powers has nice new twists. I also liked that the heroine has a different, but potentially powerful, ability - clairvoyance. It's not your typical offensive weapon (like magic, or supernatural strength etc) but the possibilities are even more intriguing.

The world is well developed and sucks you in. Some found the backstory interrupted the pacing of show more the novel, but I disagree. Action is great, action without plot is less so. I can hardly wait for the sequel and strongly recommend this title to fans of Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher, Laurell K Hamilton etc. show less

I definitely liked the strong female character who isn't being pushed around. But the digressions were distracting. Interesting world.