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Originally Posted by jeffcobb
You were right the first time; I was asking if it was targeted at YA. Like Roswell books were and some others I need not mention. I am not looking for adult/sexual content but rather something that doesn't talk down to me. I have been disappointed with many in the past and it would take a strong recommendation to get me to get into something new of a speculative nature...
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Here's what I can say about her writing. My understanding is that Barbara Hambly has a black belt in some martial art and an academic Masters degree, which explains the interest in characters who are both smart and able to defend themselves. Her writing style is reasonably spare - not very "flowery". Her stories are character-driven and often have some sort of low-grade mystery (not like a traditional "mystery" book, more in the sense of unexplained happenings that have to be explained).
Those Who Hunt the Night is a bit more of a traditional mystery. It's set in Victorian (or possibly Edwardian) England. "Someone" is killing vampires during the daytime. One vampire (Simon Ysidro) blackmails a human (James Asher) to investigate. James is asked to investigate since he can move around in daylight (like the killer). However, none of the vampires (including Simon) like the idea of a human learning *anything* about vampires. James has to balance progress in his investigation with becoming too much of a threat. The strength of the book is in the slow unfolding of the relationship between James and Simon...they both slowly grow to like and respect each other, while both continuing to find each other more and more of a threat.
This tension is what makes the book. It's not "cliffhanger" tension, but, I find it very effective.