Monday, September 21, 2009

The Flip Side of Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- I give you Danali Richards, Vampire Huntress!

Minion by L. A. Banks is Book One of a thirteen book series written by L. A. Banks. I have to say, Minion was a tough read for me. Not because the content was "bad" but -- I'm a die-hard Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and this book initially reeked of rip-off innuendo from that series. Buffy is a Vamp Slayer. Damali Richards is a Vampire Slayer. Buffy - One Slayer dies - another is "activated". Minion - Slayers are born - but Damali is a MILENIUM Slayer. (Yeah this dates the book a little but go with it). Buffy is trained by Watchers. Damali has a group of Guardians. So you can see the similarities are a bit irritating.

However Banks is able to take this similar "type" of storyline and urbanize it. Damali is a rising African American spoken-word performer and her Guardians are her band members. By day, they perform concerts all over country and by night they are a kick-ass, vamp slayer group hunting and killing vamps and demons in the traditional good against evil war. Minion takes it’s time setting up the background for the reader, explaining the history of the Neteru, (Vampire Slayer) weaving in tons of paranormal, astrologic, Judeo-Christian, pseudo-African and mystical mythology that can at times, leave your head spinning. But the relationships between Damali and her Guardians and love interests lends for a great backdrop.

So I guess you’re wondering why I’m talking about this book at this point right? Well for all the crammed details – and mind blurring “think deep” pockets of the book – Bank’s creates the perfect setting for her Vampire Huntress Legend series that makes you want to move on to Book 2, The Awakening. The urban-hip-hop style of writing can be hokey at times – but when you focus on the storyline, you can see the potential.  As you continue through the series, you'll definitely get hooked.

BVC Rating: **** (4 Stars)
Avail on Kindle?: Yes


and the hunt continues....

No comments:

Post a Comment