Mr. Twilight

The Trine #2

by Michael Reaves, Maya Kathryn Bohnhoff, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff

In bookshop specializing in rare volumes, an avid fan of horror fiction seizes a tome too valuable and too incredible to fathom. In the end, the man was too curious to live. . . .A few miles away, in a Manhattan brownstone, another man learns about the explosion that left a gaping hole in the fabric of reality. Colin–he has no other name–has been an unrelenting warrior against the dark, the demonic, and the damned. A man who has angels at his side and hell staring him in the face, he has devoted his life to solving magical crimes and tracking down–and neutralizing–the perpetrators of those crimes, human and nonhuman alike. Now Colin is about to team up with a beautiful Native American a long way from home and a tough NYPD detective who seems to be immune to magic. Together, in a funhouse of evidence and apparitions, they are chasing a killer and untangling a tale that leads from the infamous Vlad the Impaler to a dead twentieth-century occult author and his gorgeous daughter–who is as seductive as the devil himself.Mr. Twilight combines the mystical and the mysterious, the supernatural and the primitive, in a rich, steamy brew of otherworldly adventure. From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Horror, Fantasy

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Michael Reaves is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and screenwriter whose many credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone, Batman: The Animated Series, and Gargoyles. His novels include the New York Times bestseller STAR WARS: Darth Maul- Shadowhunter and STAR WARS: Death Star. He and Neil Gaiman cowrote Interworld. Reaves has also written short fiction, comic books, and background dialogue for a Megadeth video. He lives in California.

Reviews

[Jarizza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly... don't understand what I feel about this book. Don't think I can write it down in a nutshell either, but...

The story revolves around Colin. He doesn't have a last name—a detail which, if not at all part of the conspiracy to make the protagonist painstakingly cryptic, is too darn much of an excuse to skip coming up with a foolproof character history. He's a powerful mage, on the run from the forces of evil; an angel and a demon sitting quite literally upon either of his shoulders. A rift in the fabric of reality sends him on a dangerous investigation, teaming up with a Native American shaman and an NYPD detective. Together, they untangle all the mysteries and patch together evidences to solve the series of murders, and catch a killer that's most definitely operating on the arcane. But, that may be a lot to handle for a guy whose past won't let him rest.

Okay. I knew I can't properly summarize it like the pros. Anyway, I tried to form a decent paragraph but that didn't end well, so here's an additional bulleted list:
* There's a dead occult author thrown in the mix
* Said author has a daughter who's also dragged in the plot
* Vlad Tepes was an irrelevant mention, but he's there too
* There's more Hell than Heaven

A mouthful and yet, I've already tried cutting away the spoilers. Sigh.

THERE ARE TWO MONSTER PLOTS IN THIS BOOK. And they weren't perfectly cohesive, I'm sorry. It felt like there should have been a prequel—which would have saved the time grabbing at footholds in the world-building. More or less, the actual plot kickstarts on the fifteenth chapter.

Also, that ending made it sound like a sequel is on the way though I'm not sure I'd pick it up.

For what it's worth, I've gone through pages of this with gooseflesh riddling my body, especially when Gabrielle was working her mojo. Her sort of magic was more believable, as Colin's leaned heavily on the fantastical (uttered spells, teleportation devices, enchanted book—the whole shebang). The story is also pretty rich because the mysteries stacked on top of each other would keep you up on your toes. Add to that, there's heavy unpredictability which is always a guaranteed charm.

But, er, it just wasn't for me. It was hard relating to any of these characters. Apart from that, I'm still figuring out how everything unfolded within a single week because... Damn, that's some timeline. It's also kind of difficult to chew up everything—the Vlad Tepes cameo alone didn't really steer the plot forward; neither was it a pivotal moment. The resolution to the first dilemma was a bit anticlimactic. And, the first dilemma didn't contribute anything to the bigger picture. Arc-wise, Colin's lacked development that his realizations right by the end almost sounded like a last-minute decision.

It was uncomfortable, being left with questions that weren't entirely plot-related. Nevertheless, it's entertaining to some degree—not a gigantic waste of time or shelf space.

[Maya Bohnhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rating is from Amazon. The reviews below are from readers:

I couldn't put this book down!

Part magic realism, part urban fantasy, with more than a passing nod to Lovecraft and his ilk, but not too much for the horror-squeamish. It's got a whole lot of what always draws me to Charles de Lint, and I think de Lint fans would enjoy it. It also shares elements with the Magic Time series: parallel narratives, separate stories that gradually come together, and the gradual reveal of an overall picture that's bigger than you imagined.

Mages, shamans, angels, demons, historical figures, fictional monsters, and rifts in reality. Who could ask for anything more?

===================

I have read books, some best sellers, that have a great opening and middle but fizzle with a weak ending. It is at these times that I often think of the question posed by the late wonderful singer Peggy Lee: 'Is that all there is?' To Ms. Lee's question, I have good news. MR. TWILIGHT more than satisfies. Besides having a tantalizing opening and a remarkably well sustained middle, it has a knock out ending that makes the reader say wow! Ms. Lee would be proud.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book a few years ago at a online conference's contest. I thought it was time to read it and try it out. This is a cross between sci fi and fantasy, when Colin, a soul who hasn't crossed over yet and going after Lilith, his love, when someone opened a rift to let bad things happen. From there, it's up to Colin, an angel named Zoel, a demon named Asdeon, and a shaman named Gabrielle, to fight those forces, when a few people have died, even if they have to join forces with the police. In the end, at the battle of Good vs Evil, there's a shocking twist to the end. I thought this was all right, somewhere around 2.5 stars. It gets an average rating for me.

[Brian Bollert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but it the way it is written seems to imply that there is/will be a sequel and just maybe a prequel, but although I've checked a few times over the years, I've never found any information. It's still a good book to read as a stand-alone novel, but it leaves the reader a little unfulfilled with the seeming promise of more to come.


I stand corrected, while I apparently had no luck finding what I now know to be the first book over the years, it does exist, and is called Hell on Earth, also by Michael Reaves. Whether a third novel was every written and released remains to be seen. But here is a link to Book 1 - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...

[Susan Bertke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin doesn't know who he is. He was found wandering around speaking an unknown language near the castle of Vlad Tepes (Dracula). He escaped the Schoolomance only to discover someone has set him up with a trust fund and a house so he can use his magical abilities to "do good" with the help of an angel and a demon. Oh, and a sexy female Dine shaman who's being stalked by the ghost of a evil brujeria.

There just wasn't much character development and I kept seeing bits and pieces that reminded me of other series.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but the author refers too often without enough detail to other adventures. Great to know there will be more, but not the best for a new reader.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this occult mystery thriller, which pays homage to pulp writers like H.P. Lovecraft, and has a demon providing comic relief. The pacing of the story was good as well.