Christine Feehan’s Dark Series – The Rerecorded Seven

Tomorrow, on December 31^st, Harper Audio is releasing seven titles from Christine Feehan’s Dark series. This completes the rerecording and releasing of the Feehan titles originally produced in audio by Books in Motion. This is cause for excitement among Feehan fans, with accomplished male narrators at the helm this time around.

#3 Dark Gold narrated by Marc Bachmann

#4 Dark Magic narrated by Sean Crisden

#5 Dark Challenge narrated by Sean Crisden

#6 Dark Fire narrated by Kaleo Griffith

#8 Dark Legend narrated by Patrick Lawlor

#9 Dark Guardian narrated by Patrick Lawlor

#12 Dark Melody narrated by Kaleo Griffith

For those unfamiliar with the Dark series, it introduces the Carpathians, a powerful and ancient race. Though they feed on human blood, they don’t kill their victims, which separates them from the evil that is Vampire. Despite their many unique gifts including shape changing and living indefinitely, the Carpathians are on the edge of extinction. Through the centuries, the female population from which they find their “lifemates”, has dwindled to nearly nonexistent. This weakens their race as males who age without finding a lifemate lose the ability to see in color and feel emotions. This lack makes them susceptible to the only feeling left – the thrill of making a kill. If a male succumbs to this desire, he becomes one of the despised enemies – the undead Vampires. The males live to defend their people from the vampire and to find a lifemate, the one woman who can restore their feelings and emotions, keeping them a proud Carpathian.

The Dark series was unique and innovative with its debut in 1999 and Ms. Feehan is credited with breaking ground for much of today’s thriving Paranormal Romance (PNR) sub-genre, earning her the title “the Queen of Paranormal Romance” from both Publishers Weekly and USA Today.

With that said, those who’ve come to PNR through Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight or other modern vampire fare could find Feehan’s heroes, with their overload of Alpha behavior, hard to take. We are talking about heroes who literally need their heroines for them to continue living as a respectable members of their society. This makes them determined to care for and extremely possessive of their lifemates once they find them.

There are various underlying stories running throughout the series which keeps it interesting outside of each romance featured. As the series progresses, the cast of characters grows and their intertwining relationships with each other as they work toward the goal of rejuvenating their people to a thriving race always has another twist.

Now for a few personal observations…..

Brenda: This series has been released and rereleased in print more than once and now we are seeing the audio versions reissued as well. I hope this bodes well for other titles with lackluster to down right detrimental narrations that are in need of rerecording.

Lea: Feehan’s Dark series was my introduction to vampire romance about ten years ago and seems to be seen as the series that inspired all the others. I recall loving the first book in the series, Dark Prince, in print format. I have yet to listen to one.

Brenda: I’ve read some of the entrants in this series but didn’t start my audiobook experience until book 18, Dark Possession, with the dual narration of Phil Gigante and Jayne Brown. The earlier narrators didn’t appeal to me outside of Eric Michael Summerer with the novella, Dark Dream, and Natalie Gold with Dark Descent , both of which I recommend in audio.

Melinda: My intro to PNR/vampire romance listening was with Feehan’s Dark series in audio many, many years ago. Juanita Parker, the first narrator, was so awful it was almost campy/good. I actually started a list of words she pronounced wrong – starting with the word “Carpathian” – and I found myself ripping my earbuds out and screaming in frustration. So I might be tainted from that experience, and I don’t particularly go for PNR and vampires much now. The occasional time travel, maybe a ghost or two… Vampires, not so much. Did the Dark audios do that, or was I never destined to be a vampire fan?

Lea: I still don’t read or listen to many vampire romances. I thoroughly enjoyed the first five books in J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, each and every entry in Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, and vampire Dmitir’s book, Archangel’s Blade, in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. But usually, I just don’t care for violence and all the blood. And all of these contained blood – but Feehan’s Dark series includes a lot of blood – or at least she did in the first eight or so I read. The blood and violence gradually drove me away.

Brenda: My habit of hitting fast forward when those scenes come in any audiobook is no secret! And I have to remind you of our mutual addiction to Cat and Bones in Jeanine Frost’s Night Huntress series as one more worthy vamp listen. Besides those you’ve mentioned, my other vampire listening has been the light and fun variety with Molly Harper and MaryJanice Davidson’s hilarious series. Oh, and I like the vampires found in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series. She’s probably the closest in writing the type of uber alpha heroes women want to kick. But then, isn’t there just something about powerful males with authority, confidence, humor, and undying devotion?

Lea: Ahh, yes there is. Okay, I’ll admit it. I love an alpha hero and will tolerate over-the-top alphas when they are in high protection mode. I can even get all caught up in intense action scenes and frantically think, “Why aren’t you just doing what he says and staying safe?! This is no time to show your independence!” The sheer alpha-ness of Feehan’s heroes didn’t bother me back then – sometimes they seemed to be just the thing. But that was years ago. Would I still think the same today? I don’t know – I have my doubts. I’ll be listening to a couple of these titles to see if she can still work her magic for me.

And, oh, how did I let Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series slip my mind?! My favorite vampire series and one of my overall favorite audio series when considering all genres. I encourage listeners to take a look at Halfway to the Grave.

Brenda: Listening is an overall experience for me – give me a great narrator voice and I can handle a lot. As Melinda notes, Ms. Feehan has a habit of reusing the same words and phrases which can be grating along with her tendency towards repetition – sometimes you wonder if you’re restarting the chapter you just finished. Despite those flaws, if I wade through I usually find a story I enjoy within. It’s harder to skim in audio so Whispersync will be my friend when it comes to these new audiobook releases. ;)

Lea: Repeated phrases can be grating in audio format since you can’t skim. You’re right Brenda, Whispersync would be the way to go – not only for repeated phrases but doesn’t Feehan tend towards super long love scenes? If I remember correctly, those could use a little trimming as well.

Brenda: Yes I find them a little too drawn out and frequent at times. On the positive side, once they start you can usually skip ahead to the next chapter and be back to the actual story. :D

Lea: Although I believe there are many Feehan fans eagerly anticipating these rereleases, I have to wonder about the success of this series with today’s romance listeners. These audios need to come with a warning, “Extreme alpha vampires ahead – no excuses – heroines must understand.”

Brenda: Although I can point out that the Dark series consistently rates four stars and higher at both Amazon and Audible, I encourage anyone new to Ms. Feehan to do their research. Read reviews by those you generally agree with or try library copies to see if her style fits your tastes.

Lea: Why do you think Harper chose not to include Books One (Dark Prince) and Two (Dark Desire) when rerecording these seven? These are all definitely hero centric tales and cry out for male narrators. I see Abby Craden narrates these first two.

Brenda: Harper chose Abby Craden when they reissued Dark Prince in 2011 and Dark Desire in 2012. They also chose female narrator Jennifer Bradshaw when rerecording the two novella’s found in Dark Nights. I’m thinking they too have realized the hero centric nature of these stories and went all out with male narrators for these seven. I hope their insight pays off!

Lea: Part of me hopes for success with these rereleases merely to reward Harper for choosing to rerecord. That had to be based on listeners’ responses to earlier narrations.

Brenda: Maybe so but the fact remains these titles are a viable commodity with a solid fan base. Why else would a second publisher pick them up and rerecord them? Here’s wishing Harper and Dark series fans the best with this endeavor.

Lea: We’ll see what four of our reviewers think of these rereleases tomorrow. We’ll have reviews of Dark Melody, Dark Challenge, Dark Legend, and Dark Magic.

For more details… 

You’ll find a complete list of the Dark series below in a separate article with the date of the original print release, the featured couple, the current audiobook release date, and the narrator.

Brenda