The Bitten (Vampire Huntress Legend Series #4) by L. A. Banks

From the Publisher

The vampire civil war has been averted, deadly were-demons have been beaten back and now it Damali Richards and Carlos Rivera (now a Council level vampire) will finally have the chance to settle in and explore their deeper, sexier love. But Carlos and Damali should know by now that there is no rest for the saviors of the known world. One of the four topside Master vampires has stolen one of the Keys-the living blood of Christ---that opens the sixth seal as foretold in Revelations. He who possesses the Key and the Seal can decide to the outcome of the Final War, a.k.a. Armageddon. With a vampire in possession of the Key, the balance between the Light and the Dark have been thrown off and even Damali is deeply effected. She is now sporting a pair of fangs. In order to retrieve the Key, Carlos and Damali are quickly thrust into a web of vampire politics and intrigue. And when Carlos's secret drug, Oblivion, finds its way into the hands of the enemies, even the seventh level of Hell comes calling.

Publishers Weekly

At the start of Banks's seductive fourth Vampire Huntress Legend fantasy (after 2004's The Awakening), former crime lord/master vampire Carlos Rivera bites his lover, hot hip-hop artist/gifted slayer Damali Richards, and she bites back. This passionate exchange puts Damali's humanity and the fate of the world at risk. As Damali and Carlos struggle with the implications of their bond, the pair work with Damali's Guardian team to recover a "key" containing the blood of Christ (extracted from the Shroud of Turin), which another master vampire has hijacked and injected into an unwilling human. The key's spilled blood could open the seal that unleashes Armageddon: "If he's able to open that seal, then everything you learned in Catholic school about the book of Revelations will go down. All Hell will literally break loose, hombre. You feel me?" To prevent this cataclysm and the sacrifice of an innocent victim, the couple travel to Australia, where they play a high-stakes game with four topside master vampires, with life-changing results. Mixing religion with erotic horror dosed with a funky African-American beat, Banks blithely piles on layer after layer of densely detailed plot, which might overwhelm new readers but will delight established fans. Banks creates smokin' sex scenes that easily out-vamp Laurell K. Hamilton's, though they sometimes scream for tighter editing. Agent, Manie Baron at the Claudia Menza Agency. (Feb. 9) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Reading Group Guide
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Table of Contents

Reading Group Guide

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Now that Damali is twenty-one and can hook up with Carlos, do you think she should have?

• Early in the series, what did you think about Damali's need to remain celibate until her twenty-first birthday? Would that fly in the "real world"? How do you feel about the whole issue surrounding the "choices" women must make regarding childbearing?

• Which character in the book is your favorite hero/heroine and why?

• What character do you love to hate and why?

• What did you think about the depiction of the levels of Hell?

• Have you visited the Web site at www.vampirehuntress.com to see how each level isorganized by a governing structure? If so, what parallels does that possibly have to some of the "real world's" social, political, and economic infrastructure?

• Do you believe a person can be redeemed after they've lived a wild life?

• Are there types of characters (or creatures) you would like to see in the upcoming novels within the series? If yes, who or what?

• Discuss the role of the Chairman versus Father Patrick as father figures to Carlos Rivera.

• Remember that bad boy, Fallon Nuit? What did you think about his near sexual encounter with Damali on the astral plane (from the special edition scene in the mass market edition of Minion)?

• Discuss the metaphor of "vampirism" as a seductive force to draw humans into a lifestyle of violence, crime, fast money—but ultimately incarceration into "a system."

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: L. A. Banks lives in Pennsylvania, a paranormal hotspot. Her unforgettable vampire characters, she says, are drawn from past experience, but she isn't naming names. But if you look closely you may be able to figure out who they are.

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