Daylight

by Elizabeth Knox

Brian “Bad” Phelan, a New Zealand policeman and bomb disposal expert, likes to live dangerously. Bad is an expert climber and caver and, while on vacation on the French/Italian border, he helps bring a body out of a rocky, wave-swept cove. Curiously, the dead woman bears striking similarities to a young woman he met years ago, shortly before she disappeared in a flooded French cave. Haunted by the strange connection, Bad is compelled to investigate.

In following a series of increasingly eerie leads, Bad learns the story of the Blessed Martine Raimondi, a World War II resistance heroine and martyred nun. He also meets Eve Moskelute, the beautiful widow of a celebrated French artist; Daniel Octave, a Canadian Jesuit who investigates miracles; and most surprisingly, Dawn Moskelute, Eve’s twin sister, who just may be a vampire.

Sensuous and heavenly, Daylight combines Elizabeth Knox’s greatest her wildly imaginative storytelling and her clear eye for atmosphere and place. Daylight is set in one of the most beautiful regions on Earth, from the unspoiled beauty of the Cinque Terre to the antiquities of Avignon, yet much of the action takes place in a world the tourist never sees, a world of caves and secret passages, of hidden cloisters and the rooms behind doors in the vaulted tunnels of medieval streets. It is in this “world beneath the world” that Bad Phelan finds himself face to face with history and myth, with phantoms whose hearts are still beating, and hungry, and able to break.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Vampires, Horror, Paranormal, Historical, Religion

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Elizabeth Knox was born in Wellington‚ New Zealand‚ and is the author of eleven novels and three novella and a book of essays.

Reviews

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to go into a book without preconceptions. This is not always possible as I am a heavy Goodreads user, but I have a small pile of unread Knox books & I selected the oldest one I had - this one.

If I had read the blurb I would have seen the word vampire. Not my thing at all.

But at the start I was really engaged. Elizabeth Knox is such a talented writer, that she was keeping me interested in back & forth timelines. They were blended seamlessly. I was intrigued.

& at first I found the enigmatic hero Bad (what a nickname!) engaging.

But after an awesome beginning, it took way too long to get to the point - & the point was a vampire!

I don't like abandoning books by Kiwi authors, but I couldn't force myself along any further.

DNF at 50%.

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up almost entirely randomly at the op shop while my husband was taking too long finding toy musical instruments. I loved the Dreamquake series, so figured I might as well give it a go.
The pacing and structure of this book is strange and - for me - utterly absorbing. It's slow and wanders back and forth and in and out in a way that struck me as very adult: Knox trusts us to pay attention, to notice small asides that prove integral to the story, to stick with the unusually large cast of major characters. I liked being treated that way. I like a horror novel that abjures sensation and shock and creates subtle questions of identity and morality. And I like Knox's very oblique style.
I'll probably forget I ever read this book, and I doubt it will change my life, but I really appreciated the time I spent reading it.

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A literary vampire novel which I found more interesting than good. Elizabeth Knox is a writer of a big ideas, and I'm almost always glad that I've read her novels, even if they don't consistently work. She's always interesting and unafraid to explore strange territory -- such as this novel, which touches on subjects as diverse as cave-diving, the process of become a Catholic saint, ethics of biography, and introduces Knox's take on vampires as a kind of parasitic organism living within a human body. Juggling a wide cast of characters travelling through Italy and France, Elizabeth Knox explores the history of the vampire's lives, alongside the lives of the humans that they encounter, but this novel is more of a murder-mystery than a vampire fantasy, as well as a commentary on contemporary hetero relationships. All of the elements Knox explores are interesting, but this novel suffers from being overly ambitious, and none of the themes tie together well. I'm glad I read it, but I'd only recommend it if you're a Knox fan, or particularly interested in different takes on vampires.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exhausting to read.

[Anna Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I bought this book from a bargain table a few years ago I had no idea of it’s subject. I probably thought it would be a good holiday read so the joke’s on me. While it sat on my shelf I read a couple of other books by this author and enjoyed them, especially The Absolute Book, which I flat out adored. COVID lockdowns sent me back to my personal book store to find this read, which was a total, mind blowing experience.
Elizabeth Knox is a genius. Other reviewers have complained about her complexity. I loved worming my way through its layers, like the protagonist of this book negotiated his cave systems, yo at last burst through ti the glories of her painstakingly revealed literary treasures.
A Kiwi caver and bomb disposal expert, ancient vampires, Nazis, flawed priests, tortured nuns, artists, poets - Knox juggles them all and never drops the ball. Her writing delights me in a way few other authors do. From the trauma of a collapsed viewing platform in New Zealand’s South Island (a thinly disguised Cave Creek) to spooky caverns on the French/Italian border, and a maze of intersecting points between, young Brian ‘Bad’ Phelan loves, loses and comes of age in a fresh take on an old myth that loses none of its erotic, bloody allure in Knox’s telling.
If you’re looking for another Twilight, best pass by. This book is something entirely different that will have mature readers hanging on every page until the last one turned leaves them wanting. Yes, I did have to go back and check for things I’d missed; it’s peppered with symbols, clues and foreshadowing (literally). So what? The rewards of this book are so much greater than the effort required.

[Alesia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this at my local library in the horror section. The only thing horrific about it is how slooooooooooooooooowly it is paced. I was nearing the halfway point before the author finally got out of the exposition.

Giving the autor her due, she has come up with an interesting & unique take on vampires. However, the characterisations for the most part are so bland that it's really hard to care about them.

Unless you are "hardcore-must-read-absolutely-everything-vampire", I say skip it.

[Libby Hobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long winded but amazing background information had been researched.
The topic of vampires and sport of cave-ing not things I would normally persevere with in a book!

[Cheryl Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because Knox's novel Wake is an all-time favorite. This one opened on an intriguing note: a cave-diver with PTSD sent to recover a body that looks strangely familiar. Enter a priest and a dead nun who is up for sainthood, the widow of a famous artist, and—probably a third of the way through the book—vampires. I love a slow boil, but strangely enough, the book started to meander and drag for me a little bit here. It seemed like a lot of build-up and a lot of European lore that I wasn't super into all for...vampires. But then I got to know the vampires. And Knox slowly and ingeniously connected pretty much all the loose ends in a conclusion that blurs the lines of good and evil and life and death.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trademark Knoxian - evocative and lyrical but so in its own world that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Knox writes so casually about various elements of vampiricism that it slows you down (rather than pulls you in, like magic realism does) because you’re constantly just doing these little double takes.
Having said that, it was a memorable read. I haven’t read much vampire literature as it’s not really my wheelhouse but this was a fun introduction.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is the Catholic Church beatifying a martyr of the Resistance—or a vampire?

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I found the story so slow that I eventually began skimming ahead and finally gave up on. It had mystery and intrigue but the progress towards some kind of answer was snail like...

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF... I love Elizabeth Knox when she's created fantastical worlds, but find the real world ones a bit harder to imagine. I also struggled with the Vitners Luck so it may be the setting?

[Cheryl Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Detailed. Great research and detail and, as usual, wonderful writing.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth of Elizabeth Knox's books that I've read, and it confirms that her biggest strength is in her ability to create setting and atmosphere. Like The Vintner's Luck and The Angel's Cut (both of which I liked better than this book, although I preferred it over Billie's Kiss), this story puts supernatural creatures into a richly-described historical time period, although this one also has several storylines that occur in modern times. In this book, the creature of choice is vampires, and although Knox uses the typical vampire lore (averse to light, sucks blood erotically) as the basis of her myth, she takes some interesting twists in this story about a caver, a Jesuit priest, an artist's widow, and their connections to a vampire named Dawn. I occasionally found it difficult to follow all of the interconnecting and diverging storylines, as it sometimes seemed as though the action was jumping from time period to time period within a single chapter or even passage, and I never really felt an emotional connection to these characters as I have in some of her other books (*cough* Xas—and although I said I would put this above Billie's Kiss, I was far more interested in the protagonist of that book than I was in Brian "Bad" Phelan). However, as usual, Knox's prose was beautiful and she really delved into creating the backdrop, so the richness of the writing made up for what was lacking in the story and characters.

[Kamilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as vampire novels go, this one wasn't too shabby. It respects the general rules of light allergy and blood addiction, while it innovates with some new ideas and concepts. I loved a lot of the characterization, though it seemed the author spent more time developing the personalities and backgrounds of secondary characters, primarily Daniel. That was fine with me, since I thought the secondary characters were a little more interesting. The protagonist, Bad, gets practically no screen time, and we are only given only one strong backstory, which is then supposed to give you all you need to decipher every trait he has.
All in all, the backdrop of the French coast and provinces was beautifully done, the small details of the plot were clever and enticing. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'd kill to be able to eat some of the things described... Besides the blood, that is.

[Jacqueline Brocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book, in a rather captivating way. I felt that Knox was rather more interested in Daniel Octave then Bad, which is a pity, because both were interesting characters, and I think more time with the two of them interacting would have given the novel more weight. Her writing is entrancing, though (when not bogged down in the caving details which I skimmed) and the professional reviewers commenting on her ability to achieve a sense of place are accurate. Unfortunately the ended revelations already seemed a forgone conclusion, but I did like the resolution for Daniel and for Ila (though his introduction to the story felt a little bit too late for a truly good impact). I would have also liked the key truth of what the mysterious women in fact were to have come out sooner than it did - I do get that it keeps the pages turning and the reader wondering, but I think that if a writer is going to make it a theme to explore it needs to be brought up sooner.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it took too long to get to the idea behind the book. There were lots of wonderful, detailed descriptions, plenty of back story, but it wasn't interesting. I stuck with it because a friend said "keep going".

Well, I kept going and found it more interesting after the first 120+ pages but it became creepy and erotically cruel. Ok, so vampirism is the theme but it was sadistic and the continued detail didn't give it the suspense it needed to make it unputdownable.

Characters - Bad is the central one, I guess, but he was a bit of a drip so I didn't enjoy him much. Martine was a bit distant, Dawn was ok, Tom was hideous and yet the best baddies in literature have something sympathetic about them. We like them but we increasingly dislike them or believe they may change. Even Voldemort had the distressing upbringing. Tom was just a jerk.

So not great. I wanted to like the book, I loved the Dream books, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

[Madly Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Fascinating story told within a set of flashbacks that work as nested stories, providing a rich and thick history about a group of vampires living in the south of France. These are some of the most original and interesting vampires, but you really don't want to know them too well. The center thread works around two people, Bad Phelan and Daniel Octave, the former a caver and policeman, the latter a priest who works in history and testimony for Sainthood. The two are them are interested in a woman named Martine Dardo. Their hunt for truth leads one to love and the other to a life he never expected.

I would have given this novel a 5 star, but the flashbacks, nested stories, and point of view are difficult for any reader, however, this is a brilliant piece of fiction, finely written, and it's an engaging and powerful story. I loved it.

[Abbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like it, but I didn't find it as captivating as some of her other books, such as Billie's Kiss or The Vintner's Luck (or Dreamhunter/Dreamquake, for that matter). The characters ranged from "okay" to "somewhat interesting", and I never really felt attached to any of them. The writing was pretty, but didn't make me stop to reread bits like the other books. I hate to say that I was disappointed, because if I hadn't read her other books, I would have really liked this - but my expectations were incredibly high because of how amazing her other books are. Overall, a good read, but I had been hoping for better from this author, just because of the very high standards she had set (with me) based on her other books.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the easiest read & in terms of Elizabeth Knox books there are 4 others that I certainly prefer ahead of this. It took a while to settle into the story and I became lost several times as the story jumped between characters and through history but it did all pull together eventually in an intriguing portrayal bringing together Brian 'Bad' Phelan a NZ survivor of the Dart River (really read 'Cave Creek') Tragedy; French Jesuit Father Daniel Octave and vampires spanning decades and in some cases centuries of European existence. Whilst Knox's writing creates fascinating imagery this does not always emerge easily and deeper understandings of the book seem to come on later reflection through adding my own interpretations. In other words not a smooth or comfortable read.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This didn't quite come off. I think she tried to do too much--information about cavers AND a priest with a miserable past AND the story of a WWII nun AND a old-timey Provencal translation/romance AND vampires. And some other stuff. Yes, the strands came together eventually, but there were too many characters, really, and although the writing was, as ever, mesmerizing, and this is probably one of the best "vampire books" I've ever read--really, her vampires are original and interesting--and the book is ultimately not really about vampires at all, but about choices we get to make/have to make and about loss, it was still too much. Still love Knox though. Still think EVERYONE should read Dreamhunter.

[Shazzt]

This story has considerably more "bite" than Twilight - much better written too (some might say that is not a high bar). I found a couple of things jarring - the nickname of a main character for one. I just never not used to seeing him called Bad. The incident with the viewing platform was another one - it kept bringing me out of the story and into the real life tragedy it was based on. Probably, that wouldn't be a problem for a non-NZ reader. At times I found the episodic nature of the story telling frustrating too. However, overall I was engrossed by the plot, the characters and the writing. It is an interesting take on what vampires might be like.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to see a new twist on an old theme. The characters were interesting and likeable. I found some transitions between the past, characters memories and the current action difficult to follow at times. One transition in particular finds Eve in her present day apartment at one point, and then picking up her dead sister from a night club the next with no explanation. I thought I was reading a dream sequence.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an unfortunate fact that I almost never enjoy adult works by writers whose YA writings I love cases in point, Ursula Le Guin and Diana Wynne Jones (I'm still waiting for the kamikaze sex, Diana). This, sadly, is no exception. It's a vampire story, with a very original and different take on the mythology, but I found it slow and dull, and the characters unengaging.

[Alison Kagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! An absolutely staggering work of imagination, beautifully written, cleverly/carefully plotted. Difficult to read on the bus to & from work because a) I had to keep re-reading the last bit to keep on top of the convolutions of plot & activity & b) I wanted to find out what would happen next. I've not read anything else by the author before, but now will read everything I can.

[Ngaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this one because the author is a Kiwi, and because of the connection with the Cave Creek tragedy. Interesting - took ages to get into, but about halfway through I was totally hooked. Gotta have my vampire stories.

[Audrey Snowden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5...I wanted to like this so much more. I wanted to find another Laura Hame.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it to see what happened. It was hard to keep my focus on it. I guess I have been expecting more since reading Dreamhunter. Some language and sexual content.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book was difficult to get into. definitely not written like some of her other books. i felt she jumped around the story line and sometimes was hard to follow

[Deirdre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed after dreamhunter and dreamquake. But then... I'm not really into the vampire scene!