* * * *
There are gods among us...
Six young gods are hiding in plain sight among mortals,
living secretly in cities across the world. From lavish penthouse soirees to
pulsing underground clubs, for them, the party literally never ends. Until now.
On a hot June morning, the body of a beautiful girl is found
floating in the rooftop pool of the Jefferson Hotel, her white-ink tattoos
revealing the story of a life much longer than seems possible. Only the
immortals know the truth: Nadia was the goddess of hope. Now she’s gone, and
the world as they know it is ending. The Hudson River has turned blood red.
Storms rage overhead. Mania is rapidly spreading across the globe.
It is up to the remaining gods—Lola, Dean, Weston, Mark,
Nike and Peitha—to put aside centuries of betrayal and heartbreak, and stop the
mysterious source of darkness that is taking over… before the sun sets forever.
Carina Adly MacKenzie, writer for The CW's hit series
"The Originals," has penned a steamy, romantic, and ultimately
redemptive story of forgotten gods, the persistence of hope, and the power of
love to save us.
You see, it was the cover that grabbed me first then the
fascinating blurb. Eternal Night features several gods, each in their own isolated purgatory but brought together by an unfortunate tragedy. Mind you, I'm not normally keen on stories with multiple points of
view because I find them messy and I’m rather impatient about waiting
for things to tie in. I didn’t face that here because Eternal Night begins with
a central event – the mysterious death of one of the gods. The story then follows their individual
storylines which branch off and converge intermittently.
I’ll try not to reveal too much except to say that it was
nothing of what I expected. The author
takes the Greek mythology we’re familiar with and juxtaposes it against our modern world. This is no longer a society that fears all those mighty or vengeful gods. Instead, this is a new world where people
worship differently and fear repercussions of a different kind. Ancient beliefs no longer apply and
as a result, the old gods have been watching their powers wane through the
centuries. What can the gods do except resign themselves to their fate and try to fit in?
I was quite taken with how very human each of the gods is –
one makes jewelry, one makes music, one is in law school. They also have very real human emotions and
reactions that sometimes you forget that they're not really human. There’s definitely a nice pace between setting up each god’s viewpoint, their back story and how they've become what they are today. Aside from weakened powers, the other common thing between them is that they’re all feeling
displaced and disenchanted. They don’t necessarily long for the days when throngs of mortals worshipped them. They simply want to feel connected
to something. This whole living forever thing has made them feel so isolated that they're just floundering about. It's their very human experiences that make them all the more interesting. Some have taken to finding distractions to numb their feelings or bide their time until something, anything comes along. I liked all of the gods but one in particular, Weston, is probably my
favourite. You’ll understand why when
you read this.
Despite their individual and often entangled issues, they do
work well together to solve the troubling mystery of their friend’s death. If anything,
having something this urgent to work on as a team lifts them out of their stupor and brings them closer
to each other than they have been in ages.
And that’s no exaggeration. Finding their purpose again could just be their salvation...and the world's.
If you're looking for a different spin on Greek mythology and enjoy a bit of a mystery, I definitely recommend this.
~ Bel
Eternal Night is out August 26, 2014 and is available for pre-order now! Click on the links below to get your copy.
About the Author
Carina Adly MacKenzie grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut,
where she boldly defied the no-reading-at-the-dinner-table rule time and time
again. After studying English at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Carina
moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. Carina was a television critic
and entertainment reporter for Zap2it.com, the Los Angeles Times, and Teen
Vogue, among other publications. Currently, she spends her days obsessing over
vampire sibling rivalry as a writer for The CW's new drama, "The
Originals." She loves coffee, Twitter, and her little dog Pacey. Eternal
Night is her first novel.
What are the differences between writing a book and writing for TV?
They’re less than I thought they’d be, honestly. Obviously, I was much more isolated when I wrote Eternal Night – the bulk of The Originals is created in a room full of people, talking and learning and developing story together. I wrote Eternal Night on weekends, mostly alone in an empty office. However, it was still an immensely collaborative process with the Paper Lantern Lit editors – just a less social process, since they’re based in NYC and I live in LA. But really, it all comes down to working hard so that you don’t let people down. In both writing Eternal Night and episodes of The Originals, there was this anxious hope that I wouldn’t let people down – people who believed in me enough to hire me, fans of the show, people who took a risk and decided to pick up a copy of the book.
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