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Master of the Night
by
Angela Knight
paranormal romance in a Kindle edition that was published by Berkley on October 5, 2004 and has 326 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Master of Smoke, Beyond the Dark, Bite, Master of Shadows, Master of Wolves, Hot Blooded, Hot for the Holidays, Master of the Moon
First in the Mageverse paranormal romance series and revolving around changed Knights and their ladies of the Round Table. The couple focus is on Erin Grayson and Reece Champion whose story starts in Atlanta, Georgia.
My Take
It helps that Knight uses third person global subjective point-of-view, as it allows us access to any character’s thoughts and actions, opening us to the character arcs Reece and Grace must each face. Primarily the perspectives are from Reece and Erin, but we do hear from Parker, the Magekind, Geirolf, Llyr, Janeida, and some others.
Knight sets up Reece’s background with a look back in history — to 1780 when a Magi falls in love with an agent. Reece also relates how Merlin and Nimue’s culture evolved. More back history comes from Geirolf as he notes where he and his people came from, how they terrorized earth, and how they were put down.
I’m sure all spies love a drunk, lol. Ooh, Reece believes that romantics are more dangerous than barbarians. And I think he’s right!
I gotta laugh (and, ahem, enjoy thoroughly) the critical aspects of life as one of the Magekind. Both sexes are encouraged to have sex to ensure descendants who could be Latents. Descendants who have the potential to be Changed, to be one of them. A Change which requires, ahem, sex, lol.
I reckon all those years of making love have made Reece quite the expert — Erin certainly thinks so. Be warned there is bondage, role-playing, and more.
Knight has also made a fascinating premise with these Knights of the Round Table, immortal (mostly), who have survived the centuries, poking at the legends. It seems that Galahad is not the saint he’s been painted. You can’t help but imagine them as men of A.D. 500 who embrace the Grateful Dead, T-shirts, and jeans, the Majae’s version of a medieval dance performed in miniskirts and tight leather pants, yep, Lancelot loves progress, lol. As for Avalon’s architecture, oy! Disneyland is restrained compared to Avalon, lol. I doubt there’s an HOA here.
Merlin and Nimue created the Magekind to prevent humans from destroying themselves, and it sounds like it’s been quite the job. Naturally, their existence has to be kept secret, which adds conflict, the sex adds romance, and I love Knight using the story to promote honor, loyalty, and the desire to do the right thing. Grace is certainly pushing at Lance on this note!
Reece has “spied, lied, and killed” for the US over the past two hundred and twenty-eight years. For some reason, he wants a vacation.
It’s a typical bad guy scenario. They want to use the good guys to build their own army and see nothing wrong with how they intend to do it. Their love of killing is disgusting.
Hmmm, we could use some Mageverse energies here for our own energy needs.
Master of the Night is funny with a good bit of snark, sexy, and a relaxing read.
The Story
Death cults have sprung up all over, committing murder and spreading terror, horrors that Erin is determined to stop, to avenge her partner.
Only, their leader has plans for Erin. A spell that will kill every last vampire and witch in the Mageverse.
The Characters
Reece Champion, the Champion of the United States, is a vampire (and walking lie detector) who was changed somewhen between the French and Indian Wars and the Revolutionary War. (He served with George Washington!) Champion International is the company Reece founded shortly after he was Changed to help provide for his descendants, starting with his son, Caleb. Rebecca Champion had been Reece’s human wife who died birthing Caleb. Today, the cover is that Reece is a second cousin, and he’s listed as a junior VP. The current CEO is Steve Champion.
Former FBI Agent Erin Grayson now works for the Outfit. Erin is determined to take down the man who murdered her partner, David Jennings. Her granddad had fought in World War II; her father had been a Marine who died in Vietnam.
The Magekind
The Magekind High Council is in charge, and they weren’t happy, back in 1780, to be siding with the Colonies. The High Council is a blend of the Magi’s Council and the Majae’s Council, women-only, and only the women can determine if a potential person can survive the Change.
Arthur (Champion of Britain) and Guinevere; Lancelot du Lac (a former Court Seducer) and his new bride, Grace (Hot Blooded: “Seduction’s Gift”, 0.5; Grace is also Morgana’s granddaughter); Galahad (Lancelot’s son); Gawain; Morgana Le Fay (Arthur’s sister, and they did have a son, Mordred); Bedivere (Reece thinks Grace is one of his); and, Sebille, who was the Maja sent to seduce the human Reece, are some of the Magekind. The Grimoire is a sentient book left by Merlin.
The Sidhe . . .
. . . also live in the Mageverse where Llyr Aleyn Galatyn is king of the Cachamwri Sidhe. Janieda is Llyr’s jealous mistress. Ahern, a wise counsel and friend to Janieda, is a unicorn. Llyr’s brother, Ansgar, rules another kingdom and is a psychopath determined to get someone to murder his brother. Oriana is their grandmother.
The Outfit, a.k.a. . . .
. . . the Office of Foreign Analysis, a secret counter-terrorist agency loosely connected to the FBI that breaks the rules. James Avery, her FBI mentor, is the agent who recruited Erin to the Outfit. Steven Parker is the nominal head of this particular operation. Mike Richards is Reece’s counterintelligence contact.
Corporal Thomas Rysentat spilled the beans. George Gavel is the CEO of ComTec, a company in which Champion International is interested.
Death’s Sabbat is one of the cults, which are led by Geirolf, who claims he’s a god. His second-in-command is a necromancer. Gary Evans was a serial killer.
1780, Charles Town, South Carolina
Reece Champion is the spymaster for Charles Town, for the Colonies. Thomas Westlake, another vampire and spy, had been Reece’s mentor when he was first turned. Benjamin is Thomas’ valet. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Thompson is human and part of their spy ring. She’s also a Latent who loved Tom, and who should not be Changed. Francis Marion, a.k.a. the Swamp Fox, is a Patriot commander. Mrs Mason is giving a party.
Merlin and Nimue were indeed powerful in their magic, but they were aliens, the Fae, on a mission. The Mageverse is a twin universe to ours, where magic is a law of nature. The grail is a cup from which drinking will change your genetic structure, if you can survive it.
The original Lords and Ladies of Camelot were the seed for Magekind: The males are Magi, vampires, and the females are Majae, witches, each necessary for the other to survive. Latents are their descendants who might be able to transform. The Magekind live in Avalon, located on Mageverse Earth. Those vampires chosen to work more openly with mortal governments are Champions. A Truebond bonds a couple for all time, able to feel the other’s emotions, their location, and speak to each other mentally.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a background that starts with purple at the top and descends into green teals with a full moon and the silhouettes of trees with the colorful energy bursts of the Mageverse slashing across. A bust of a naked Reece with his wavy dark hair is in the bottom left. At the top is the author’s name in white with a deep pink outline. An info blurb is beneath her name on the right in white. Just above Reece’s shoulder is a quick summary of the story, also in white. The title is centered over Reece’s torso, in purple with a white outline.
The title is an introduction to this story on vampires, for Reece is indeed a Master of the Night.
