Black Dagger Brotherhood
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Romance author J.R. Ward's erotic paranormal romance series The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
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[edit] Summary
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race.
As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subject of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series tells of these highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. Members of the Lessening Society are called Lessers; de-souled humans who target vampires for extermination. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed, otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin and irises lose pigmentation until they are blonde, blushless and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the Society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Black Dagger Brotherhood
Wrath is the King of the vampire society. He is the last pureblood vampire remaining. Essentially blind, he is the leader who is not willing to lead. His story is told in Dark Lover.
Rhage is the strongest and most beautiful of the Brothers. Cursed by the vampire's deity, The Scribe Virgin, he is possessed of a dark side that is a danger to everyone. His story is told in Lover Eternal.
Zsadist is the scarred, menacing one. Taken as an infant from his family, he's forced into slavery until his twin, Phury, rescues him. His story is told in Lover Awakened.
Vishous is the most intelligent and the one who is specially gifted. His curse is his ability to prognosticate: he sees the future, though not the 'when' of events so he is tortured by his inability to save those he loves from danger. Tattooed over his eye, his genitals, and on his hand, he has the ability to disintegrate objects with a blast of energy from his hand. His story is told in Lover Unbound.
Tohrment took over leadership of the Brotherhood when Wrath took the throne. He is the steady one, the calm one.
Phury is Zsadist's twin brother and a celibate who cannot truly live because of everything his biological brother has lost. Used to giving rather than receiving, he needs love coming back at him to bring him alive. Phury is incredibly loyal to his brother, even shooting off his own leg to save his twin.
Butch is the only human to be allowed within the Brotherhood. He lives at the "Pit", a two bedroom house a ways from the mansion where the King and other Brother's reside, with Vishous and he is a friend to all the warriors. An ex-homicide detective, he was lovingly given the nickname "Cop" by the vampires. His story is told in Lover Revealed.
[edit] Lessers
Mr. X The Forelesser - leader of the Lessening Society. He was approached to join in the 1950s, when he was seventeen. A murderer before his induction, he joined in an attempt to satisfy his sociopathic tendencies. Calculating and powerful, he aims to achieve total extermination of the vampire race.
Mr. O An anomaly in the Society, O strives to stand out in a group where uniformity is upheld; and the longer one is a part of it, the more anonymous they become. He dyes his hair in an attempt to hold off the eventual losing of hair and skin pigmentation that occurs in lessers over time. He joined the Lessening Society for the opportunity of a lifetime of killing, but it is clear he is unhappy with his decision.
Mr. U joined the Lessening Society 200 years ago, which is evident in his pale skin and white hair. He has a 'by-the-book' mentality that does not encourage deviating from the Omega's goal of vampire extermination.
[edit] Other
The Scribe Virgin The vampire deity. She exists in a non-temporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
The Omega malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment toward the The Scribe Virgin. Exists in a non-temporal realm and has extensive powers, but not the power of creation.
[edit] The Series
[edit] DARK LOVER
Dark Lover is the first of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It tells the story of Wrath - the last purebred vampire left on the planet. The uncrowned king of the vampire species, Wrath lives only to fight in an endless war with the soulless vampire slayers, lessers, who brutally murdered his parents centuries ago. As leader of the Brotherhood, his only solace is in fighting, not looking to the past or future, shunning his duties as King.
Within the vampire world, Wrath is known as the Blind King, due to his extremely poor eyesight, though this does not affect his prowess on the battlefield nor his ability to sense the feelings of others around him.
Blaming himself for his parents death, Wrath has wrapped himself in a cocoon of self-hatred and unfeelingness, but Dark Lover tells of his enlivening. When the lessers kill one of his best fighters, Wrath is left with the responsibility to help the warrior’s half-human daughter, Beth, through her transition - this is a critical moment in a vampire’s life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, they must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and are unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally in the mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialise.
It is through Beth that Wrath learns to feel, and look toward the future, of his life and of the species as a whole.
[edit] LOVER ETERNAL
Lover Eternal is second in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It tells the story of Rhage, the strongest and best fighter of the Brotherhood. He is also considered the most attractive of all the Brothers, and his beauty earned him the nickname 'Hollywood'. However, Rhage was cursed in the early eighteen hundreds, for angering The Scribe Virgin. Due to his continued recklessness and uncontrollability just after his transition, The Scribe Virgin gave him The Beast. Fearsome in its beauty, the Beast resembles a huge dragon with massive claws and a jaw filled with sharp fangs.
It was a punishment designed to regulate Rhage's energy and moods. Whenever he gets out of control, the Beast comes out. When this occurs Rhage's eyes turn a brilliant white and his body mutates in a grisly display of tearing and ruptures - letting the Beast emerge. When it is out, Rhage is totally suppressed and he is in no way able to control the Beast, who knows neither friend nor foe. Because of this, Rhage has to keep the Beast from coming out, subduing it through the satiation of a good fight or sex.
Rhage's sexual exploits are the stuff of legend in the Vampire society. It is said that fathers tell their sons the story of Rhage when the time is right. But Rhage does not relish this reputation and is, in fact, eager to cast it off.
In Lover Eternal Rhage meets Mary, a human female who he is unexplainably drawn to. Mary is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage's protection. However, with a life-threatening curse of her own, she is not looking for love and lost faith in miracles long ago. But when Rhage's attraction turns to something more emotional, he has to fight to make Mary his alone.
[edit] LOVER AWAKENED
Lover Awakened is the third in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. It tells the story of Zsadist, the most lethal of the brothers. A former blood slave who was mercilessly tortured during the first hundred years of his life, Z is the one who has fallen farthest from grace. Lover Awakened tells of his worthy redemption.
As an infant, Zsadist had been taken from his home and forced to serve in the house of a vampire aristocrat while he was pre-transition. Years later, hours after his transition, he found himself tied down, with thick black bands being tattooed into the skin around his wrists and neck (his pulse points). Overnight he had become a blood slave - a male or female vampire who is subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. For a hundred years, Zsadist had to suffer through the horror of being at the mercy of a brutal vampire female, The Mistress. Over time, Zsadist became numb. His canary yellow eyes, similar to that of his twin’s, Phury, grew black and soulless, a reflection of how he felt inside.
Though Phury rescues Zsadist, Z still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. He becomes renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, especially where females are concerned. He is considered a savage, feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion and terror his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful female from the Lessening Society.
Bella had been instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses; and though he considers himself unworthy of her, she strives to prove her feelings and her belief in him. When Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness, Bella must help him overcome the wounds of his tortured past and find a future with her…
[edit] LOVER REVEALED
Fourth in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This is the story of Butch. Released 6th March 2007.
[edit] LOVER UNBOUND
Fifth in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This is the story of Vishous. Released 2nd October 2007.
[edit] Trivia
- Each novel is dedicated to the 'Brother' who is the hero of that book.
- In the Acknowledgement in Lover Awakened J.R. Ward gives a "shout-out to the Cellies". Members of her Black Dagger Brotherhood Message Board are called Cellies.
- There will be a female 'Brother' in future books, though nothing is known about her, except that her name will be Payne.
- According to the J.R. Ward Message Board, the number of books that will complete the series is as yet unknown, as is the order, however it is confirmed that Phury, Rehvenge, John Matthew/Tehrror, Payne and Tohrment will all have books.
- The J.R. Ward Message Board contains additional information not seen in the novels as of yet, from the author herself, about the Brothers and the vampire society. It also includes Slices of Life - glimpses of the Brothers in between books. The Brothers also visit the Board and make comments when they are so inclined.
[edit] External Links
Black Dagger Brotherhood Frappr Map
