Dawnbreaker: Perfectly fine book

Dawnbreaker by Jocelynn Drake

“And where does that leave us?” Jabari demanded.

To my surprise, a half smile tweaked one corner of her mouth as she looked from me to Jabari. “On hold.”

This bit of dialogue, taken from one of the final chapters of Dawnbreaker, sums up my experience with the Dark Days series a little too well.

There’s nothing wrong with Dawnbreaker. It’s a perfectly fine book. Jocelynn Drake’s prose is competent and vivid, and there are several interesting surprises tucked into the storyline. Mira uncovers an unpleasant clue to the origin of her powers, Danaus struggles with his own humanity, and a family feud among the naturi comes to light.

The narrative begins in Savannah, Mira’s home, to which she has returned after the events of Dayhunter. We watch as Mira attempts to shore up her power base and prepare for the imminent showdown with the naturi. Later, Mira and her band of uneasy allies travel to Machu Picchu, hoping to stop the naturi from opening a gate there, even if it means their own deaths. It’s an exciting story, yet at Dawnbreaker’s end, I found myself disappointed with the series as a whole.

I spent some time collecting my thoughts and trying to figure out why. What I’ve finally come up with is this: Dark Days either needed to end here and be a trilogy, or it needs more subplots. I’ve found that the most successful fantasy series fall into one of two categories: either they run for a predetermined number of books and then end, or they run indefinitely but explore a large number of plots and subplots. (For example, many urban fantasy series feature a protagonist who works as an investigator, and the character’s job generates an endless supply of plot hooks. While each book advances the metaplot, it also introduces and resolves a smaller plot.)

In Dark Days, we’ve been focused almost solely on the conflict between nightwalkers and naturi for three books now, and Dawnbreaker ends in a stalemate of sorts. The only other prominent thread is the romantic tension between Mira and Danaus, and that plot doesn’t move much either. It makes me worry about future books in the series. If they consist of “Mira has several small conflicts, Mira banters a little with Danaus, Mira travels to an ancient monument and has an indecisive fight against the naturi, The End,” it’s going to get tired.

However, there are hints that the next book, Pray for Dawn, may not deal much with the naturi at all. It may explore nightwalker politics, and definitely has something to do with the Themis Society, so I’m curious enough to read it and find out.