Nightlife by Rob Thurman

Pretty sure I first read Nightlife before I watched Supernatural. That said, this time around, Nightlife is giving me Supernatural vibes. It’s probably due to the similarities. Cal and Niko are brothers. There’s a “hidden” supernatural world they’re having to navigate through. Cal and Niko are working under the table for money. Cal and Niko have fairly similar banter to Sam and Dean. Both Cal and Sam have supernatural powers… I mean, Cal’s are admittedly much, much less impressive than Sam’s, but there that is. Their names are ordered the same and it’s weird if you switch them around: younger brother’s name first. Ya know, just stuff I’ve noticed this reread.

Nightlife was my first introduction to Robin Goodfellow. I’m not entirely sure if that’s colored my later readings of other Robin Goodfellows, but I definitely think of this one when Robin Goodfellow or Puck are mentioned. This particular version of Robin also got mixed with Lorne from Angel, in mannerisms if not looks, so that’s where my head’s at.

This time around, I’m wondering why Cal and Niko have to be so off the grid. The Auphe/Grendels are presumably the only things trying to track them down and they certainly aren’t looking at credit card records so… what gives? Seems to me Cal and Niko could pretty much have regular jobs and stuff, just, ya know, they have to move around a lot. Just strikes me as odd now.

The werewolves of this universe are interesting. Don’t really get to see the human side with animal mutations a lot — or at all —, mostly it’s human form, animal form, and half-form.

I quite like the concept of the Darkling. He’s a neat take on the banshee legend. Kind of wish there was more about his powers, but what’s there suffices for the story. I also liked Darkling as a character. Switching and yet not switching POVs mid book is bold for a first book in the series, but I feel like it was done well enough.

Nightlife is honestly fun. Not particularly deep, but fun. It’s got its own mythology that’s pretty neat. Cal, Niko, and Robin are quite vivid as characters. The threat both personal and not, which makes it more engaging than it otherwise might have been.

Favorite Line

"We all have security blankets in this world. Some are just sharper than others." - Caliban Leandros