Rating: 
Summary: A triad of writers each writing what they are best known for
Review: Christine Feehan does another Carpathian tale - Dark Descent. Triain is another of the hunters sent out so many centuries ago when the fate of the Carpathians was first anticipated by their prince. Traian's lifemate is Joie Sanders who is a bodyguard and security expert. She comes well armed and prepared to defend herself and those she loves. They meet in the Carpathian mountains, which is a nice return, although much of the story is set in an extensive cave system, or in Joie's hotel. Joie is sure she is going crazy, because after an `astral' meeting on her part, she keeps hearing a voice in her head. Triain is delighted to find his lifemate, although presently taken up with fighting a master vampire. Until Joie comes looking for her delusion, bringing her family too. The trio of humans are great, their relationship very strong and well developed in a short time. Gary (from Dark Magic) reappears here, and I was very glad to continue his byline in the connected tale. A great, if short, addition to the series.The Star Queen by Susan Grant jumps into the formation of the alliance that forms the Galatic Council and the writers of the Treatise of Trade (used so cleverly in `Star Prince'). I have enjoyed that a number of Grant's sequels (Contact and this story) have been prequels, each going back a step - we have the foreknowledge of our dealings with the ancestors and what they have wrought to add to the enjoyment of the struggle to get there. The premise of Susan Squires `Sacrilege' is a very interesting one. It treats vampirism and the need for blood in a religious way so that the blood lust can be overcome or at least managed. Magda has been one of the worst, but after over 800 years of tutelage, has emerged without wreaking havoc and drinking human blood for that time. Pietr, one of the Old Ones, was her tutor. She had long known she loves him, but it was only when she was sent out from Mirso Monastery into the world once more that he realises that he loves her too. Self flagellation and a series of essentially tortures follow, but ultimately he follows her into the world, casting aside at least a portion of his vows to go to her. But his own mentor is not best pleased with the defection of one of his brightest stars, and sets a horror on his trail. If you like any of the above authors, you'll enjoy their stories. I did not like them all equally - The Star Queen seemed to have great pieces of the story left out, constrained by it's short length, which was a shame. And Sacrilege did not have enough `good times' to counterbalance the pain - for example what Pietr went through before making his decision to leave the monastery. But I would have loved for them all to have been book length, and think that especially the last two suffered because of the page constraint. This is not to say I do not recommend the book - each author does her bit well, exhibiting in each case more of the reason why regular readers follow their work.
Rating:
Summary: A triad of writers each writing what they are best known for
Review: Christine Feehan does another Carpathian tale - Dark Descent. Triain is another of the hunters sent out so many centuries ago when the fate of the Carpathians was first anticipated by their prince. Traian's lifemate is Joie Sanders who is a bodyguard and security expert. She comes well armed and prepared to defend herself and those she loves. They meet in the Carpathian mountains, which is a nice return, although much of the story is set in an extensive cave system, or in Joie's hotel. Joie is sure she is going crazy, because after an 'astral' meeting on her part, she keeps hearing a voice in her head. Triain is delighted to find his lifemate, although presently taken up with fighting a master vampire. Until Joie comes looking for her delusion, bringing her family too. The trio of humans are great, their relationship very strong and well developed in a short time. Gary (from Dark Magic) reappears here, and I was very glad to continue his byline in the connected tale. A great, if short, addition to the series. The Star Queen by Susan Grant jumps into the formation of the alliance that forms the Galatic Council and the writers of the Treatise of Trade (used so cleverly in 'Star Prince'). I have enjoyed that a number of Grant's sequels (Contact and this story) have been prequels, each going back a step - we have the foreknowledge of our dealings with the ancestors and what they have wrought to add to the enjoyment of the struggle to get there. The premise of Susan Squires 'Sacrilege' is a very interesting one. It treats vampirism and the need for blood in a religious way so that the blood lust can be overcome or at least managed. Magda has been one of the worst, but after over 800 years of tutelage, has emerged without wreaking havoc and drinking human blood for that time. Pietr, one of the Old Ones, was her tutor. She had long known she loves him, but it was only when she was sent out from Mirso Monastery into the world once more that he realises that he loves her too. Self flagellation and a series of essentially tortures follow, but ultimately he follows her into the world, casting aside at least a portion of his vows to go to her. But his own mentor is not best pleased with the defection of one of his brightest stars, and sets a horror on his trail. If you like any of the above authors, you'll enjoy their stories. I did not like them all equally - The Star Queen seemed to have great pieces of the story left out, constrained by it's short length, which was a shame. And Sacrilege did not have enough 'good times' to counterbalance the pain - for example what Pietr went through before making his decision to leave the monastery. But I would have loved for them all to have been book length, and think that especially the last two suffered because of the page constraint. This is not to say I do not recommend the book - each author does her bit well, exhibiting in each case more of the reason why regular readers follow their work.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! Wow! Fantastic!
Review: Christine Feehan's Dark Descent was incredible. Joie and Traian's story looks like it might continue a bit in a following book - yay! I love her "Dark" series -- can't get enough of them. All of the stories in this book are good.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Descent by Christine Feehan
Review: Courtesy of Love Romances Traian Trigovise is one of the ancient Carpathian hunters, sent out over a thousand years ago by the former Prince. He has dedicated his life to hunting the undead, evil vampires, once Carpathians, who have chosen a life of evil and power. Traian was returning home to see his new Prince when he happened across a pack of vampires working together, incessantly searching for something unknown to him, that can only be incredible power, the only thing strong enough to make these usually solitary creatures join forces. He was severely injured in a battle with them, and was going away to heal when a vision of beauty, unlike anyone he had ever known, comes to him. Joie Sanders is a self-employed bodyguard, selling her protection services to those in need. She is injured on the job, not for the first time, and uses her psychic abilities to astral project out of her body and away from the pain of her wounds plaguing her. While free and floating she ventures far, into the Carpathian Mountains, where she happens upon a beautiful ice cave and sees him.... One she thought but a dream. Both are startled to find each other, Traian especially, when he sees color for the first time in hundreds of years, realizing she is his lifemate, the other half of his soul. As they both heal from their injuries, much time passes while they take advantage if their mind link, though Joie is convinced she is going crazy... hearing that voice in her head. When she is on a caving expedition, they meet in the flesh, him again being severely injured, trapped by the vampires, in a mysterious wizard's cave, where Traian is sure the answers sought by the evil ones can be found. Joie comes to his rescue, with the help of her brother, Jubal, and her sister, Gabrielle. All is still not well though for Joie and Traian. While she adjusts, remarkably well, to being mate to such a wonder of a man - who is very old-fashioned - the vampires are still seeking their elusive answers, which Traian needs to prevent, as he is convinced only something able to grant unsurpassable power would be reason enough for vampires to unite. They are in a race against time... to prevent the vampires from finding their answers, all the while they lean what it is to be lifemates. Ms. Feehan has written yet another gripping tale of passion in the incredible Dark saga. Joie is probably one of the most memorable heroines to date in this series, showing a fierce independence and strength of her own, as do all the heroines, but she just stands out in the memory banks, making her a more then perfect mate for one of the ancients, the strongest of the Carpathian race. Traian is the typical alpha male in most ways, his desire to protect his mate as strong as is normal for his kind, but with an understanding and respect for Joie's need to feel empowered and strong in her independence. Also of note, Ms. Feehan expands her world even more, adding a fantastical element in the form of the wizards' world, complete with magical spells, curses, and dragons. She has added new factors, evidence that her world is far from being complete. As always, one will be captivated from the first paragraph, featuring the vivid battle of Traian vs. the band of evil undead. She holds the reader in her spell all the way through the final climactic scene resolving one storyline, but leaving another wide open, hopefully to be carried into future books in the series. Those skeptics out there who claimed the Dark saga was getting old and stale are in for a surprise as that couldn't be farther from the truth. Ms. Feehan's voice is as fresh as ever, and with all the new elements to the saga being added in this story, the excitement is bound to continue for a long time coming. The only thing wrong with this story was that it was way too short! © Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2003. All rights reserved.
Rating:
Summary: A fun storyline!
Review: Hey, what's wrong with you (readers!) -- I loved this book and all of the stories! I don't understand why people want to slam someone's hard work! What is wrong with you guys? I'd love to see the shoe on the other foot (meaning how would you feel if Ms. Feehan found out you had worked for months on a novel and then she went to the product page of your book and slammed you!!! If you can't say something nice then keep it to yourself! -- Gee, some of you people make me so angry!
Rating:
Summary: The Only One/Dark Descent
Review: I absolutely loved this anthology. The only thing I could have asked for was more. I hope we get to see more of Joie and Traian. I think the story foreshadows more adventures to come and this one is another brillant addition to the dark series. Christine Feehan builds the characters and their story with a passion for everything that touches your heart and soul. I even found myself in tears at times when you feel the love between the two growing. I've read everyone of her books and this is a wonderful addition to my collection. Can't wait for next book to be published.
Rating:
Summary: Not The Only One - Just 3's A Crowd !
Review: I am a great fan of Mrs. Feehan Dark Series books. I have just finished Dark Symphony and I enjoyed it very much. I ordered this book "The Only One" book from Amazon.de and I had to wait so long for this book (I don't know why it took so long to get here). I was really excited when I finally got it last week. But after reading 3/4 through the book, I was ready to chuck it away. Sure, the story of Dark Descent by Christine Feehan was good (though not long enough! what happened to the evil vampire?), and The Star Queen by Susan Grant was also OK - not so exciting and looked like rushed writing, it seemed. But the vampire story by Susan Squires was really a yawn. There were many terminology/events in there that it took me a while to read and grasps the story. I realized it's even more far-fetched and unbelievable than the Carparthians series by Mrs. Feehan. After reading about evil vampires in Mrs. Feehan's books, I can't switched immediately to read about good vampires after that. Hence, it would be advisable in the future not to mix them in one book! It's really a turn-off. That's why I am giving this book a 3-stars. My recommendation is that if you have not bought this book, I would advise you to just either read Mrs. Feehan's story in the bookstore or borrow the book from a friend. Don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY DISAPPOINTED
Review: I AM A HUGE CHRISTINE FEEHAN FAN, I HAVE ALL HER BOOKS. I LOOKED FORWARD TO THE RELEASE OF THE ONLY ONE AND WAS SO DISAPPOINTED. THIS STORY SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FULL LENGTH NOVEL. THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON THAT COULD NOT BE FULLY DEVELOPED IN SUCH A SMALL BOOK, THE CHARACTERS GOT CHEATED BECAUSE THEY HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL BUT WERE NOT FULLY DEVELOPED AND THE END JUST LEFT YOU HANGING. I HOPE THIS BOOK IS REWRITTEN FOR A FUTURE RELEASE DATE BECAUSE IT COULD BE GREAT.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed....another ho-hum from Feehan
Review: I bought this book because of Christine Feehan because until recently, she has been one of my auto-buy authors. Unfortunately, I haven't been enjoying her new books all that much. Lair of the Lion was the last new book I've enjoyed from her, albeit it had a hokey ending. Although, Dark Fire is my favorite of the Carpathian series, Dark Legend and Gaurdian seemed to be exact replicas of Dark Fire in that so many of the phrases and sentences were exactly the same. Dark Symphony just made me grimace, as I couldn't stand either the hero or the heroine. Feehan appears to be stepping away from the Alpha Male character which her previous books focused on. Instead now, her heroine's are independent plucky females who just happen to partner up with a Carpathian. For the Carpathian characters she's been writing so long, the romanctic intensity just isn't there. In this anthology, Dark Descent, the story starts out interesting enough, but because of the amount of time spent with the misc characters like the family member it just took away the romantic elements. In Dark Symphony, so much dialogue from the various members were distracting and non romantic. The same thing happens in Dark Descent. I just could not find myself caring either way what happened to the characters. Of Feehan's short stories, I would have to say Dark Dream was my favorite, here you see the intensity of the need for both the hero and heroine had of each other. In addition, it was nice plot from beginning to end. Whereas in Dark Descent, if a new reader of Feehan was reading, you're kind of thrown into this plot device of researching at what vampires are looking and the whole thing about wizards that really is never resolved at the end of the story. Sorry, but the plot was not that interesting in itself. Interesting in seeing how it fits in with the wider picture of all the Carpathians, but as a short story it was not easy to follow. I have never read a Susan Grant book because the heroines never seem to be the type of heroines I would like to read about. The Star Queen kind of proved me right. How an aplha male could have waited years before claiming his love for a girl just seemed ridiculous especially waiting out her love affair with some other man. I really did not understand the world they live in, nor the quick epilogue like conclusion. After reading this very un-romantic sci-fi peace, I'm still not inclined to read Grant's books. The surprise of the three stories was the Susan Squire story. This is my first introduction to her writing. I have to say that of the 3 stories, this by far was the best story. I would have given the other 2 stories about no star to 1 star, but Squire story was about 4 stars. I liked the heroine having been the bad person and now is looking for redemption and forgiveness. It was easy to understand her pain and her motives. In fact the star couple from Squires other book is seen from the eyes of Magda, the bad girl. The plot worked very well within the limited pages. Both hero and heroine work hard at trying to ignore the love they have for each other because of different reasons. The hero is a monk with rigid moral codes, and the heroine hides her feelings for Pietr because he has been her mentor for the past 2 centuries. I enjoyed the love story between Pietr and Magda. But reading from Madga's point view I began to dislike her orginal creator and his mate Sara as well. The blood sucking was a little gross and unromantic. And all the calling to this Companion within themselves was confusing. Overall, I would not recommend buying this anthology.
Rating:
Summary: Another Loser from Feehan
Review: I bought this book specifically for Feehan's contribution, and sadly it just wasn't up to par. I am all for an author refreshing serial stories like Feehan's Dark series, but she has completely abandoned the formula that has successfully worked for 7 books. Dark Prince through Dark Guardian were excellent and well worth the wait. The other two after that, Dark Symphony and Dark Descent, were just plain wierd and silly. This book lacked any sort of premise and it went completely south when it started to introduce numerous characters (who really didn't need to be there) and numerous sub plots (that frankly didn't make sense). I didn't particulary like the hero, and the heroine got on my nerves very quickly. I had to force myself to finish a story that is barely 150 pages long. Someone needs to tell Ms. Feehan that Alpha males are what makes the Carpathian men so yummy. You don't abandon a winning formula half through the game. The sad fact is I have little anticipation for Dark Melody which is Dayan's story because the plot is so outrageous. I only hope that someone gives her a quick check on reality so she can return to writing the stories that readers truly love. Unfortunately, I was so disgusted with Feehan's story that I didn't even bother to read the other two. After the horrible beginning from CF I throw the book in the MAT Pile (Maybe Another Time Pile).
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