Review: Nightlife ( Cal Leandros #1) by Rob Thurman

There are monsters among us. There always have been and there always will be. I’ve known that since I can remember, just like I’ve always known I was one . . . 
. . . Well, half of one, anyway. 
Welcome to the Big Apple. There’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side – and that’s only the beginning. Of course, most humans are oblivious to the preternatural nightlife around them, but Cal Leandros is only half human. 
His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares – and he and his entire otherworldly race are after Cal. Why? Cal hasn’t exactly wanted to stick around long enough to find out. 
He and his half brother, Niko, have managed to stay a step ahead for four years, but now Cal’s dad has found them again. And Cal is about to learn why they want him, why they’ve always wanted him: He is the key to unleashing their hell on earth. The fate of the human world will be decided in the fight of Cal’s life . . .

I started reading this last year then put it aside. That in no way means the book is boring, I suppose if I had a physical copy I would have finished it way earlier. 

Cal is named after a character from the Tempest, Caliban.  Caliban(from The Tempest) is a halfbreed,born of a demon and a witch. Cal is also a halfbreed although nobody knows of what. I like this book. It was funny, action packed and full of monsters. If you're a fan of Supernatural then you'll love this book.

Cal and Niko's relationship is a lot like Sam and Dean's. Niko's the oldest and looks out for Cal.  Cal's the little brother who has issues because he's actually half something evil. He thinks he's a monster and that Niko should acknowledge that fact.  Niko refuses ,to believe that Cal could be evil, by not calling him by his full name "Caliban". 

The story is about how the auphe want to open a gate and return to a much preferred time where they ruled earth. If they succeed then the present time(world /mankind) ends. To open this gate they need a key and the key just happens to be "Cal". The first chapters are funny to read. A lot of banter between the brothers. They suspect something's wrong/going on and are getting ready to run again. In their need of a car they meet Goodfellow (THE Robin Goodfellow), who tells them a lot about the auphe and grendels and sheds light on their predicament. Goodfellow becomes their friend and informant.

The story picks up when Cal gets possessed by the Darkling. The Darkling merges with Cal's body as to open the door.The book is told from Cal's pov but there's no Cal after the merging. There's just a lot of narrative from the very very arrogant Darkling.  I'm talking my-god-shut-up-arrogant!!

After that the story picks up a nice pace. A lot of fighting and  saving the world. 

I guess the resolution is Cal accepting who he is. He's a monster but not necessarily evil.

"I watched Catcher cavort under a scarlet sky and marveled at the beauty of him. He might not be a human,but neither was he a monster. The lack of one didn't necessarily equal the other. There was something so simple about that,yet it had taken me until now to figure it out. Catcher was no monster and neither was I" ~Cailban

Grade: 

E