Nocture

(Companion to A Practical Guide to Vampires)

by
L.D. Harkrader

Wizards of the Coast, June 2010, 245 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-7869-5502-2

Genre: Young Reader
Subgenres: Fantasy / Paranormal

World: Dungeons & Dragons
Reviewed: 6/14/2010

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

The lock clicked, and the book fell open in Pascoe's hands.

Lord Blakely's invitation fluttered to his feet. He scooped it up and started to hand it to her, then stopped. He stared at it for a moment, rubbing his thumb over the Blakely coat of arms.

He looked up, his pale eyes wide. "You've received correspondence from Lord Blakely?"

"Oh. No. Well, rather, I suppose." Flan shrugged and reached for the parchment. "It's merely an invitation. To a late supper. Nothing of significance."

Pascoe pulled the invitation away. "You're not thinking of going?"

Flan raised her chin. "Yes, actually." She plucked the parchment from his fingers. "I am."

The lace handkerchief slipped from the parchment, and Flan snatched it from the counter.

Pascoe frowned. "What is that?"

She shrugged. "Only a handkerchief."

"From Lord Blakely?" Pascoe's face grew dark. "He sent you"--he reached out to touch the slip of fabric in her hand--"he sent you a lace handkerchief? Flan." He looked up. "Please. You can't go."

Something about the way he said her name--and the way he looked at her with such alarm in his eyes--disarmed her for a moment.

But only for a moment. "I can," she said. "I've been invited to supper. There's no reason I shouldn't go."

"There every reason you shouldn't go."

"Such as?"

"Such as--" Pascoe swallowed. "It's not fitting."

"Not fitting?"

"Not safe. A young woman like you shouldn't be venturing out alone. There are things going on here, Flan. Things you know little about."

"Is that so? Well, Mr. Pascoe Christopher." She raised her chin. "Perhaps I know more than you think. Perhaps I know that a vampire walks among us, and perhaps I know who he is. Perhaps that is my very intent in going to Blakely Manor."

"Your intent?" Pascoe stopped. "So you think--you believe--Lord Blakely . . . ?"

She took a breath. "It seems ludicrous when I say it out loud. The Blakelys are vampire hunters, not vampires themselves. And yet"--she studied the invitation in her hand--"there's the holly, and the lilies, and the kitchen garden with all the herbs. Anything that could prove toxic to a vampire. He took those out. And the stream." She looked up. "He damned the stream."

Pascoe nodded. "A vampire cannot cross running water."

Synopsis

Fifteen years ago, Wicker Street's most powerful wizard, Anatole, found a baby that was left on his doorstep in front of his shop. The female baby had an intricate lace-edged dress on and a piece of burlap that had the words "Flannery Lane" on them. A note also said that the baby would be better off with someone of her own kind. That is when Anatole noticed that the baby could do magic.

Today, Flannery "Flan" Lane is a young woman who practices light magic with her Uncle Anatole in his shop called Monsieur Anatole's Books, Wonders, and Charms. Uncle Anatole does not want Flan to learn and use the stronger magic . . . magic that he can do. After the last Lord Blakely, the town's protector, was killed by a vampire years ago, the populace turned to Anatole for protection. People in town used to come to Anatole for magical protection, but now he is considered a doddering old fool with useless magic.

One day, the butcher, Master MacDougal, comes to Anatole's shop wanting some magic to capture a person that has been sneaking into his butcher shop at night and cleaning up the place. All of the tools are put away every night and every speck of blood is cleaned up. Anatole gives Master MacDougal a charm to ward off a brownie, but that fails.

Later, when Anatole tries to use some magic, he is struck down with a fever and becomes very sick. Flan, who promises her uncle that she won't do any magic, feels that she must clear her good uncle's name and help out the butcher with his issue. She finally figures out that it is a vampire that has been visiting the butcher's shop at night cleaning up all the blood. She gives the butcher new magical items to place around the shop, but they fail when the butcher and his wife do not follow her instructions properly.

Meanwhile, a new Lord Blakely has appeared at the Blakely Mansion and has begun the process of cleaning up the wretched-looking grounds and crumbling house. One night, a young man appears at Anatole's shop and asks Flan, whom he mistakes to be the proprietor, if he can come into the shop. After inviting him in, he asks Flan to make his a Talisman of Undead Mastery (see A Practical Guide to Vampires) and claims that he is a vampire hunter. Flan is stuck by the beauty of this pasty youth, whose name is Pascoe Christopher, and she becomes entranced by his charm.

During the next few days, two girls go missing from the town. Flan starts to fit all the puzzle pieces together and comes up with the shocking truth. When she returns home to find that her Uncle Anatole has been taken away by the vampire, Flan realizes that she must somehow defeat a creature of the night that is stronger, quicker, smarter, charming and more magical than she is. The only way she can figure out how to do it is to walk directly into the vampire's lair and battle him face to face. Her only worry is whether she is truly prepared to battle a creature of the night.

Nocturne is the fantasy book in the Dungeons & Dragons World and is written by L.D. Harkrader. This is a companion series to the book A Practical Guide to Vampires. This book is intended for young readers 8 and up.

Review

Nocturne is the first companion novel for the informational book entitled A Practical Guide to Vampires. It is the story of a magical girl and her town's struggle with a vampire that returns to a haunt the place he used to live when he was a human.

This story has both the old and new types of vampires. It has the classic vampire that I grew up knowing about. You know what I mean . . . the bad type. The type that only cares about sucking a person dry and leaving the corpse behind. He is not the sexy vampire that young girls have fallen for lately and want to spend the rest of their life with, like in the Twilight books. There is also a vampire that considers himself good, a vegetarian vampire that seems to be doing research on how vampires can return to their human form. He is young and good-looking and is the type of angst-ridden vampire that teenage girls swoon for.

I found that story by L.D. Harkrader to be an interesting departure from all of the other vampire books on the shelf today. What sets this book apart from others? The fact that it takes place in the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons. After watching every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I seem to only think about vampires in our times and in our world. It was cool to read a story about vampires in a world that is filled with magic and creatures with magical abilities. Flannery Lane is a good example of of this. She is naturally talented with magic. She could cast magic from the time she was born. So, if a vampire were to attack her, she could put up more of a resistance than a mere mortal girl in our world. She could fight back with magic, which she ends up doing.

Young, female readers will love the character of Pascoe Christopher. He is just the type of tormented vampire hunter that girls today go for. Flan is also a highly likable and strong female lead character that girls will enjoy reading about. Then there is the vampire. Boy, is he ever a nasty one, but not as bad as some I have read about. Combine all this together with a town feeling trapped and hunted, and you have a wonderful story.

Overall, Nocturne is a great first companion book for A Practical Guide to Vampires. I highly enjoyed reading this book and loved the strong female lead character. I hope that there are more companion novels for A Practical Guide to Vampires in the future. I know I want to read more of them, and I'll bet that you will too.

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.