The Reckoning: Book Two of the Taker Trilogy

Book Two of The Taker Trilogy(The Reckoning)offered much more excitement and thrilling suspense than I expected. Instead of trying to match book one's horrors,the author seems to have added onto it in a very different yet surprising way.

I would call The Reckoning a very enjoyable read not only for Book One readers, but also for those new to Alma Katsu. This book can stand on its own because it reviews and clarifies much of what took place in book one. But I can't imagine anyone reading one without wanting to read the other. I'm not a trilogy story reader due to some past disappointments, but I gave The Taker a try and it has restored my faith in trilogies.

Like many of the characters, the story is one in transition. To say more could spoil it for readers so I'll just end my review by commending, yet again, author Alma Katsu for her entertaining gift of storytelling.

For true horror fans, Katsu's description of an aged corpse in a body bag as a gelatinous, sloshing mass of heavy black custard is enough to wanna see this book on film. Masterful!

It had been three months since Lanny ended the life of Jonathan, the love of her life, per his request. She and Luke have become close since then, and she'd promised to never leave him. That she'd spend the rest of his life with him. For the first time in Lanny's life she was with someone who took care of her and cherished her. It endeared Luke all the more to her. The relationship had changed her, grounded her and she was content.

She'd always known someday she'd have to once again face her maker.The one who'd made her immortal. She shouldn't have made a promise to Luke she might not be able to keep because now, after hundreds of years of feeling nothing of Adair's presence, she began to feel a slight humming. At first she didn't recognize it or understand what she was feeling, but soon enough she understood it for what it was--the presence of the one man she never wished to cross paths with ever again, Adair.

For two hundred years he's been imprisoned in a space no larger than a closet with no food and no contact with the outside world or another individual. He's had two hundred years to plot and scheme about how he'd get his revenge on the two individuals who had entombed him within the walls of his own home. Two hundred years to think about all that he's done and wishes to do. Two hundred years of solitude are about to come to an end.
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This is the second book of The Taker series. In the first book, Lanny was introduced to Adair's dark world when she'd been sent off by her parents to a convent in Boston to have the baby she and Jonathan had conceived. She'd never made it to her final destination. She'd gullibly accepted a ride with a couple who said they'd take her to where she needed to go. That had sealed her fate and that of the unborn child she'd never give birth to. She'd been inducted into a world of sin and indulgence where nothing was sexually unacceptable and refusal was not an option. When Lanore comes down with a fatal illness, Adair shed his own type of mercy on her and made her immortal.

At first she was seduced by Adair's world of over indulgence, lack of morality, and what most would see as sexually deviant behavior. Lanny, however, was not like the others although she didn't know it. You see, she did have a conscience, and she fell out of favor, or so she thought, with Adair when she attempted to save an underage girl from Adair's world and her ultimate death. Adair's punishment was designed to humilate and make the bearer afraid to ever again deviate from his wishes. Then she'd found out about his plot to switch souls with Jonathan, and that was when she decided to find a way to stop him, and when she saw a means to do so she took it. That had been two hundred years ago. Now she was fleeing for her life. From what she knew of Adair there would be no mercy.

In The Reckoning, we learn more about Adair. We find out how he became immortal and some of the things which molded him into the man he became. When faced with everlasting immortality one can see one's self as Godlike. Adair has no conscience, no one to account to for his actions. Being locked up for two centuries had done a number on him, but he was determined to get back to where he wants to be. He'll need to relearn how the world works because so much has changed. He'll also need to get back on his feet because all his possessions and money are gone. He'll not only attempt to track down Lanny, but also all his old converts who are still beholden to him and owe him their allegiance.

We also get to get a glimpse of the life that Lanny and Jonathan led after they first fled Adair. Ms. Katsu incorporates a touch of history, which centers around Lord Byron, into the mix. We learn more about Luke and the family he left behind. So if you read the last book, it was written similarly to this one where Ms. Katsu changes points of view to let you know what all the crucial players are thinking.

When Lanny feels Adair's presence she knows she needs help. She seeks out some of Adair's former prodigies hoping for their assistance. What she hadn't counted on was that not everyone resented Adair. She'll need to be careful in order to stay one step ahead of him.

There are a couple of quotes I'm going to list from The Taker that I feel are crucial to this book. The first is, 'I couldn't say, even to Jonathan, the heart of my secret fear--that my happiness mattered to know one, not even to my father or mother.' This is the key to understanding what makes Lanny tick. She wants to be loved. It also, I feel, answers the off handed question that Adair indirectly posed about Lanny, "I sense something about you...you're a kindred spirit in some way that I haven't figured out yet. But, I will." He has also never felt loved, but once upon a time sensed it in Lanny before he did the unthinkable to her.

Overall I gave this one 4 1/2 out of 5 roses. I'm loving the series, but I'm not sure what I think about Adair in this one. His character at one point seemingly does a total 180 and it just seems a little out of character. This could be a brilliant move setting up for the next book or it could be showing a weakness much larger than an Achilles' heel. That's the reason I'm torn between a 4 and a 5 rose rating. I can't wait to find out in the next book. By the way, Adair's change of character brought to mind a quote by Mae West that I felt catches Adair's essence in this one, "When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad, I'm better." lol While I don't necessarily like Adair at his worst, I think that some of that badness could never permanently disappear. It'll be fun to see what Ms. Katsu has planned for the next book. I just wish we didn't have to wait.

Lanore and Luke are back. They are attending the much anticipated museum exhibit titled "Lost Treasures of the Nineteenth Century". The exhibit is courtesy of Lanore. She is the mystery donor. While attending the exhibit, Lanore experiences a sharp, tingling pain. She knows instantly that it is Adair. This is not good news for Lanore as she was the one that put Adair away for what she thought was a very long time.

Adair escapes his prison, only to learn that the world his once knew has changed a lot. First off people use computers to communicate with each other and two to purchase anything plastic as in credit card is the way to go. Adair has to learn to navigate the new world, while trying to find Lanore. It won't be eary but that is ok as Adair has time. Once Adair finds Lanore, he will make her pay dearly for betraying him.

The Reckoning is book two in The Taker trilogy. I would suggest starting with The Taker. This is a trilogy where it is character driven. While, I could not wait to read this book, I did feel like it took me a little longer to jump right back into it. Lanora and Luke's relationship was more on the quiet side this time. I found Adair to have a stronger presence in the story. However, his and Lanore's reunion was short lived and I wanted more. The flash backs did not always seem to come at good times for me or it could be I wanted to hurry along the story to read faster. Overall, not a lot of action but still enjoy this trilogy. I am excited to read the third book and Adair's story of his life.

Despite the dark nature of this series and this book, I love, love, love it. Furthermore, the author is a master at the craft. She has done something not many authors can do. She has utilized multiple points of view in one story (she did this in The Taker, as well), and she's done it well. She uses first person for the heroine, second person for one of the side players, and what reads more like an omniscient point of view at other times. Only the most skilled writer can do that and pull it off. This book and author are truly amazing and inspiring. She wove me right into the story, and I'm hooked. More, please.

In 1817 immortal alchemist Count Adair saved the life of Lanore McIlvrae when he gave her an immortality potion but at the cost of her becoming his mistress. However, when her savior went after her true love Jonathan, she imprisoned him in a secret tomb in Boston (see The Taker). Now he is free though confused by contemporary Boston.

Still the Count knows achieving his objective is all that matters. He will break his betraying former lover who plans to own her for eternity. As he searches for his lost treasures and amasses a fortune, he knows the way to get to Lanore is through her mortal lover Luke Findley.

The second Taker paranormal thriller continues the adventures of Lanore and the three males in her life. The key players seem fully developed and remain in character from the first Taker tale. Fast-paced throughout, Lanore seeks redemption while the Count seeks possession. Although an obvious middle book as it sets the table for the climax, fans will enjoy this supernatural drama as the heart beat between love and obsession is very faint.

Harriet Klausner

'The Reckoning' by Alma Katsu is a timeless love story set in global settings and the story over hundreds of years. The author has done a skillful job of building the tension, the anticipation of the reunion of Adair and Lani. There are so many unexpected surprises during the course of the story. The characters are mesmerizing; will be indelible in our minds after reading her book. I recommend this book for all (over 15 yrs. old because of adult content) who enjoy dark fantasy/paranormal romance.

The Taker left off with everything calm and peaceful in Lanny's world yet there is foreshadowing that the peace is about to be shattered. After waiting a year to find out what danger that I had feared would befall Lanny in Alma Katsu's second novel in the series The Reckoning I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to find that my wild imagination had not produced any of the scenarios Katsu has come up with.

Suddenly Adair is free and his only thought is to find Lanore (Lanny) and make her pay for her transgression. The time has come for Lanny to pay the price for what she has done and her reckoning is upon her. We can feel the fear and anxiety she is feeling over the inevitability of this reunion as she races across the world trying to keep ahead of Adair. Katsu's exquisite writing takes us on twists and turns as Lanny has a few startling revelations about what she had thought love was and begins to confront emotions she did not realize she felt. Much like The Taker we are drawn between past and present as Lanny and Adair both remember events from their lives. This effectively helps us to see the person Lanny has been becoming over the past two hundred years as well as how Adair became the tyrant we have come to know him as.

One thing that I immediately enjoyed is the new perspective we gain on Adair. As you can imagine he has been entombed for 200 years and quite a few advances in technology have taken place. It is almost humorous to watch him learn about computers and debit cards. I found myself laughing out loud more than once at his thoughts on modern life. Adair has had two hundred years to think about his life choices and he too has come out a changed man. Many of the profound moments in the book revolve around Adair's battle between his nature and the new person he would like to be. The changes in him are intriguing and with the stories from his past a different more complex picture of him begins to emerge.

Love actually becomes a bigger theme in The Reckoning and we begin to see a little more about love lasting an eternity. Some of the characters from the previous book are revisited as well as a few new ones. Nothing is as it appears to be and Katsu continues to shake up your understanding of what has happened. Sometimes we believe what we have been told because we want to believe the story rather than face the truth.

The Reckoning will leave you wondering what new revelations will be unearthed about the main characters in the final installment. Can love last an eternity? Are some things beyond redemption? What makes Adair immortal? The character growth is so complex and so rich in this installment I personally can't wait to see what lies in store for Lanny and Adair.

I loved the first book in this series, THE TAKER, so I was really looking forward THE RECKONING. It does not disappoint! I found this book different than the first one - the first book wove backstories together as we learned about our immortal cast. THE RECKONING is the present, everything that's happening right now to all the broken characters we've grown to love or at least understand, and I still loved it. An amazing book and I can't wait for the third, THE DESCENT.

Lanore and Adair entanglement is more thrilling in the new book and take you on the best geographical local. Close your eyes and you are one of Adair's companion / minions. I can't wait for Alma katsu's final release of this Trilogy...

This series is Excellent. I couldn't wait to read this installment in this series. The Taker is book 1 and I didn't think it could get any better! This book picks up where the last ended and didn't miss a heartbeat! Great vision from Alma Katsu !! Can't wait for Book3