http://www.dailyinquisitor.com//hunter/intro.htmReading order:
1. Fantasy Lover
2. "The Beginning", also in the back of Sins of the Night
3. Dragonswan
4. Night Pleasures
5. Night Embrace
6. "Phantom Lover", in the anthology Midnight Pleasures
7. Dance with the Devil
8. "A Dark-Hunter Christmas", also in the back of Dance with the Devil
9. Kiss of the Night
10. Night Play
11. "Winter Born", in the anthology Stroke of Midnight
12. Seize the Night
13. Sins of the Night
14. "Second Chances", in Exclusive Dark-Hunter Collectible Booklet
15. Unleash the Night
16. Dark Side of the Moon
17. "A Hard Day's Night-Searcher", in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
18. "Until Death We Do Part", in the anthology Love At First Bite
19. Fear the Darkness, free e-book
20. Dream Hunter
21. Devil May Cry
22. Upon the Midnight Clear
23. Dark Hunter Companion
24. Dream Chaser
Dark Hunter series is about Greek Gods and what their folly has wrought. Its about Artemis, Godess of the Moon, creating an army of Dark Hunters, to battle the Daimons, the species that Apollo, God of the Sun had cursed. Dark Hunters are immortal warriors, who sold their soul to Artemis for one act of vengeance.
The acknowledged leader of the hunters, the first created, is
Acheron Parthenopaeus - pronounced in the old Greek way as Ack-UH-rahn Pahr-thin-OH-pay-us (as ms. sherrilyn kenyon posted in her site). His past and heritage will be slowly revealed to the readers as the series progresses. And he is the only one, who has a direct line to Artemis.
To better understand the series, let me give you a rundown:
Dark Hunters are immortal warriors, who defends humanity from Daimons who feed on human souls. The only way they can redeem their soul is that upon their death (they may be immortal, but when their weakness comes upon them, they will for a time, become mortal, therefore, vulnerable to being killed) the one they love will return their soul back to them. However, if the one who holds their soul, is unable to bear the pain that goes with returning their souls to them, then the Dark Hunter will die and spend their days in eternal suffering - feeling hunger and thirst but no way to assuage them. They are allergic to the sun, given that their allegiance is to Artemis, but except for a select few, they don't actually drink blood, though they do have fangs and their night vision is quite excellent.
Daimons are former Apollites who choose to live beyond their 27th bday, and eat human souls in order to maintain their bodies.
Apollites are the children of Apollo who he cursed to die a horrible death on their 27th bday. There are apollites who choose this life, and they belong to the Cult of Pollux.
Were Hunters are a different species altogether, and is composed of the Katagaria and the Arcadians. Their mates are decreed by the fates, and they know who their mates are by the matching symbols that will appear on their hands after tthey've been intimate.
Katagarians are born as animals, and walk as animals in the daylight. Their animal side governs their human half. They in turn have Slayers, who protect their kind from the Sentinels.
Arcadians, on the other hand, are born as humans and can walk as humans in the daylight. They have human hearts, but they have an animal half which they can change into. Out of the strongest patria, Sentinels are born who hunt down the Slayers. Sentinels are the guardians of mankind and werekind.
Both Katagaria and Arcadian are subject to the Omegrion, the governing body for their species, and the head of the omegrion is
Savitar ( you dont want to mess with this guy. He holds more power than Acheron, and he is easily pissed off)
Dream Hunters are traditionally called Oneroi. They patrol the sleep of the humans, apollites and immortals. They also act as bridge between the gods and the dark hunter or were hunter. They also are the ones who ensures that Skoti doesnt continue to drain their victims. They are cursed by Zeus to feel no emotion and the only way they feel emotions is when they are in dreams.
Within the Oneroi, there are three types. Those whose names start with
D aid and patrol the dreams of the gods and immortals,
M are enforcers, and
V help the humans and Apollites.
Skoti are the renegades who got addicted to feeling emotions, that they continue to visit their human host in dreams to continually feed on these emotions. Among the Skoti, there are those that specialize in eros, nightmares and others.
Squire council are composed of human helpers for the dark hunters. They are charged with keeping the dark hunter world, and all that entails (including the werehunters, daimons, dream hunters and the like) a secret from humans like us. They also help dark hunters when they are caught in the daylight hours with no refuge in sight.
And within the Dark Hunter series, we are introduced to these different types of characters. The most exciting in the series are those stories that are set in New Orleans, as this is where Acheron is normally found as he has developed a deep friendship with the dark hunters assigned to this area.
Each book in the series can stand on its own. But to better understand the story of Acheron, it is better to read the series in the order in which it was meant to be read.
As addicted i am to this series, i am eagerly waiting for the book of Acheron, the first in his two part storyline, scheduled for release on 08/04/08
