Dark Side of the Moon

A Dark-Hunter Novel

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed

Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Susan Michaels was once the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until a major scandal ruined her life and left her writing stories about alien babies and Elvis sightings. Life as she once knew it is over, or so she thinks until she gets a lead on the biggest story in town: The Seattle Slayer. She heads to the local animal shelter, expecting a tip on the latest rash of killings. Instead, she gets a story about the mayor feeding citizens to a ring of vampires. Yeah, just another day in her life.

Then she gets talked into adopting a cat she's allergic to. Her first thought is to neuter the cat. But when he turns out to be a gorgeous shapeshifting man who claims to be an immortal vampire slayer she thinks: not so fast. Next thought: seek professional help.

Susan doesn't know what to believe, but as she's drawn into a paranormal world, she comes to realize that the story that could bring her credibility is too unbelievable to expose. Now it's no longer a question of bringing the truth to her readers, it's a matter of saving lives and souls, and her only ally is a man she's allergic to.

In the world of the Dark-Hunters, it's always dangerous. But never more so than when one very human woman can shatter their entire world with just one story. The only question is...will she? Dark Side of the Moon is full of Sherrilyn Kenyon's trademark sexy humor and breathtaking imagination.

Love in vein: listen to another Dark-Hunter novel.

©2006 Sherrilyn Kenyon (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"A delicious balance of suspense and sensuality." (Publishers Weekly)
"Poignant yet action-driven romance." (Booklist)

Disappointing!!!

What disappointed you about Dark Side of the Moon?

The fact that it was abridged was bad, it was made worse because the book was very choppy and not enjoyable. Terrible job. In addition the narration was horrible! I have listened in order to all the books in this series up to this point. I have enjoyed them all. I will continue to listen but not with this narrator and never again an abridged version. I DID not finish the book. It was that bad.

What could Sherrilyn Kenyon have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I am not sure it was the writing of this book that was bad. I have not read the printed work. I suspect the original unabridged version was as wonderful as her other books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I just could relate to this narrator, it took away from and already choppy and abridged book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment , the other books were so good. I would skip this audio version and read it.

Any additional comments?

Love the SERIES!!! Just pass this one and keep going =)

Fast, Funny, Confusing, Truncated

Abridged novels are annoying -- they are missing plot (by default), and situations evolve a little too quickly for my taste. But I think this is only part of the problem here.

BAD things: this is definitely one of a series book (of which I have read none, which probably tempers my review). Significant time is spent discussing people and backstory with which I was not familiar, at one time a scene juggled 20 or so characters, the vast majority of whom had nothing to do with this particular story, but came with a litany of recap-history. Smacked of soap-opera. There were entire subplots started with characters which went nowhere in this book, perhaps interesting to those who are following this series, confusing and a little annoying for myself. As well, our hero (who has the smoldering good-looks and tortured thing going, which I do like), turns out to be quite the wimp. This guy is supposed to be 100s of years old and fighting the forces of darkness regularly, but he manages to get himself into almost-lethal situations three times in this book. If these dark-hunters were really that inept, I would expect them to all be dead by now!

GOOD things: some funny dialogue/situations (our heroine is allergic, literally, to her beau). I rather liked our lead lady, but she evolved from reporter to warrior woman a little too conveniently. In fact, she seems more kick-ass than our hero. The narrator does a fairly good job (particularly considering the number of characters she has to manage).

Overall: 2.5/5. The romance evolved too quickly for this to be considered a romance novel, and the fantasy was too episodic for it to be a stand-alone fantasy novel. A weak recommendation if you need something fast and light to fill four hours, but be prepared to feel slightly ripped-off story-wise once it is done. If you are a Kenyon fan-girl/boy, then this book probably rates higher.

good series bad book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

narrator was awful and not a lot put into the story

Has Dark Side of the Moon turned you off from other books in this genre?

almost

How could the performance have been better?

change all

What character would you cut from Dark Side of the Moon?

none

Any additional comments?

bad book good series

...Really?

I have listened to all the other Dark Hunter Books here & loved each one. I was so surprised and dissapointed in the fact that the story line was very boring & the relationship development was almost non-exsistent (and way... less steamy than all the others).

Abridged, so not cool.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

For the short amount of time (4 hrs 39 mins) that I was given, yes. I was surprised to see a book so far into this series be an abridged recording and that is why the Overall rating is low.

Would you be willing to try another book from Sherrilyn Kenyon? Why or why not?

Of course, I have listen to most of the Dark Hunter Series, all of the Belador series, and I plan on listening to The League series and Chronicles of Nick.

Do you think Dark Side of the Moon needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not really a follow up...just an UNABRIDGED audiobook option.

Any additional comments?

I usually don't write reviews, but I thought somehow the powers that be will see this and say "ok she has a good point".

Considering Kenyon's Menyon base is quite large, why in the world did a decision maker just randomly decide, "hey this is book number 9 in this wildly popular series we are going to abridge this book." I mean really. I have listened to all of the Dark Hunter books thus far and love them and not because they are romance novels. I love mythology and everything that goes along with it. So now to get the rest of the story I will have to buy the book again in print :(

Not a favorite

I have to say that when I heard the change in narrators, I was caught off guard but kept listening because I am in love with the series. However, I just couldn't get into this book. I found myself not listening to the story and that never happens when I listen to this series. Not sure if it was the story line or the narrator.

Disappointed - because it was abridged

Would you try another book from Sherrilyn Kenyon and/or Maggi-Meg Reed?

I love all of Sherrilyn's books! And I will "READ" this one as I started to listen to it and it did not make sense.

What could Sherrilyn Kenyon have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Audible needs the unabridged version. Sherrilyn's books cannot be cut up as you need all the background info to know what is going on.

What didn’t you like about Maggi-Meg Reed’s performance?

She is terrible...Fred Berman is the only one for me when it comes to the Dark Hunter series.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Dark Side of the Moon?

I wouldn't have cut anything...this book needs to be redone in an unabridged version.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this book for my nook so I can read it and know what is going on.

Disappointing Performance and Abridgement

What disappointed you about Dark Side of the Moon?

I've read all of Sherrilyn Kenyon's books, so let me first say that the story isn't what disappointed me (although it wasn't her best work, it was enjoyable and moved the DH universe along at the pace I've come to appreciate).... it was the performance and the abridgement of the work which were severely lacking in my opinion. I absolutely would not recommend wasting your time with this one - just buy the book and take the six hours or so to read it yourself. That way you'll get the whole story without the weird gaps which tend to detract from this production. I also felt the performance was quite jarring and the voice wasn't right for the characters.

Would you recommend Dark Side of the Moon to your friends? Why or why not?

I have certainly recommended the book, but I do not recommend the audiobook.

What didn’t you like about Maggi-Meg Reed’s performance?

it was jarring, too breathy, sometimes lisping and sometimes harsh, making it difficult to stay in the story.

Awful, pointless, dreadful

So very badly written! The person who reads it does so in a monotone.