House of Night

House of Night

Cover of Marked, the first novel in the series
Author P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Country United States
Language English
Genre Romance, fantasy, young adult fiction
Publisher St. Martin's Press, Atom/Little Brown(in UK)
Published 2007–2014
Media type Print

House of Night is a series of young adult vampire-themed fantasy novels by American author P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast. It follows the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a sixteen-year-old girl who has just become a "fledgling vampyre" and is required to attend the House of Night boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Books in the series have been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 63 weeks[1] and have sold over seven million copies in North America,[2] and more than ten million books worldwide, in 39 countries.[3][4] The series, published by St Martin's Press, is planned to include twelve books.[5]

The Vampyre World

Instead of vampire, the authors use the variant spelling vampyre throughout the book series. This convention is also applied to the words vampyric and vampyrism.

In the fictional world of House of Night, a small percentage of the world's teenagers are changed into vampires when adolescent hormones trigger a strand of what is otherwise junk DNA.[6] The change from human to vampyre takes four years, during which time the adolescents, known as "fledglings," must attend one of the "House of Night" boarding schools.[7] While there, they are required to take the Vampyre Sociology 101 course to learn the dangers they face.[8] If a fledgling is not in constant proximity to adult vampyres, the fledgling will die; so the fledglings rarely leave the school. About one in ten fledglings die anyway, since their bodies cannot tolerate the Change. For those who survive, there's a big reward: in the words of one of the authors, "Vampires are like Superman. They’re super-gorgeous. They’re super-talented. They’re super-men."[9] Vampyres are physically stronger than most adult humans, with accelerated reflexes, enhanced dexterity, life of more than five centuries, as well as heightened senses such as night vision.

The House of Night, Tulsa (In real life, Cascia Hall.)

Only vampyres and fledglings that have blue tattoos are not destroyed by sunlight, as in many vampire novels, but it is painful to them, so classes at the House of Night are held at night.[10] Fledglings are marked by a sapphire blue crescent-shaped outline on their foreheads; when they become full-fledged vampires, this mark becomes solid and they receive more 'tattoos' which extend over their cheeks (these usually represent some personality aspect; for instance, Zoey's equestrian teacher, Lenobia, has tattoos that look like horses.) Zoey is the only fledgling to receive a filled-in mark and tattoos. As she defeats evil,her tattoos extend over her shoulders, down to her lower back, around her waist, down her arms and palms, and across her chest. Older fledglings and adult vampires need to drink small quantities of human blood, but House of Night vampires do not attack humans to get it, instead getting it from blood banks. The taking of blood is pleasurable for both human and vampire, comparable to (and better than) sex and a drug rush, and may lead to a strong emotional bond, called "Imprinting" between the two. When an imprint is broken, either through death, Imprinting of another, or mystical means, it causes major anguish between the vampire and human. Like with Zoey and Heath.

Zoey and her friends also face the usual teenage issues. Zoey keeps some secrets from her friends and gets in trouble with them, forcing her to consider the nature of friendship. Kristin Cast said that these moral dilemmas were included because "those are issues teenagers deal with... We're not afraid to discuss things that are actually happening."[11] As with many contemporary vampire novels, exploration of human nature and social commentary forms a subtext.[12] and Tsi Sgili[13] are taken from real Cherokee legends.[14]

Outside in the human world, the "People of Faith" is a fictional Protestant religion that is highly intolerant of anything else but their own beliefs. (In an interview, P.C. Cast said that she modeled the People of Faith on the worst fanatics of all religions, not just Protestantism.[15]) Catholicism also plays an important role in the later novels, with the fledglings joining forces with Catholic nuns against Kalona.

The religious ambiance gives House of Night a strong moral perspective[16] as it is often enforced that Nyx gives vampyres and humans free will.[17] This theme takes special prominence in Tempted, where Zoey discovers that, although she is the reincarnation of a woman created to love Kalona, she has the power to choose whether she will follow her previous incarnation's path or reject it.[18] One of the characters dies because Zoey makes the wrong choice.[19] Also, in Burned, a Manichaen view of the Universe is presented, in which Good battles Evil: forces of Light combat forces of Darkness and characters must choose which side to be on. Also, the black and white bull are presented.[20] In Awakened, the theme of love is presented, in which love must battle Darkness, and life is really only, always, about love.

The Benedictine Abbey, Tulsa (In real life, St. Joseph Monastery.)

The Bulls

As noted above, a black bull, known as Light, and a white bull, Darkness, are introduced in Burned. The bulls were not accepted into vampyre society because this was too masculine, and vampyre society is heavily matriarchal.[21] Their counterintuitive colorings are said to signify that each possesses something that the other wants. The bulls often take a price, or a debt, from those who ask them for favors. When Stevie Rae accidentally calls the white bull forth, he answers her question, giving Stark passage to the Otherworld. In return, he drinks from her. When Stevie Rae calls the black bull forth to get rid of the white bull, the black bull makes her swear an oath that she will have a connection to Rephaim. It is noted by Aphrodite that if the white bull kills the black bull, the world will fall. The white bull has intervened many times in the series, always helping Neferet in her plans. He becomes her Consort, but his true plan is to destroy, and consume, the black bull. He will use anyone to do that, and destroy anyone as well.

The setting

The series is set in Tulsa, in a small and reclusive part of Midtown. The House of Night campus is in the real life campus of Cascia Hall, and the climactic scene of the first book in the series takes place in the extensive gardens of the Philbrook Museum. Zoey sometimes sneaks off-campus to the elegant shops of nearby Utica Square, and several important confrontations take place in Utica Square's Starbucks coffee shop. Some of the novels' most dramatic scenes take place in a catacomb-like network of tunnels under downtown Tulsa built by bootleggers during Prohibition; though a few such tunnels do indeed exist,[22] and can be visited,[23] they are far less extensive than the tunnels described by Cast. The abandoned Art Deco train depot where the tunnels begin, however, is real[24] and is slated to become a concert hall.[25] The location of Aphrodite's parents' mansion, South 27th Place, is a real street, though the mansion itself is fictional. Though Aphrodite's father, Mr. LaFont, the very rich and old mayor of Tulsa, has a name similar to the former, very rich, mayor of Tulsa Bill LaFortune, his character is very different, and the author has stressed that her fictional mayor is indeed fictional.[26]

In a blizzard similar to that described in Hunted, 14 inches of snow fell on Tulsa.[27] This photo was taken about 100 yards from the route Zoey used to flee the House of Night.

The Benedictine convent to which Zoey and her friends flee.[28] is real; it is called St. Joseph Monastery.[29] And the devastating ice storm through which they flee was based on a real ice storm that hit Tulsa in December 2007.[30] The climactic scene in Tempted takes place far from Tulsa, on San Clemente Island near Venice, which in real life called Isola di San Clemente and is part of the small island around Venice. The church at which the Vampyre High Council meets was built in 1131.[31]

Much of Burned takes place on the Inner Hebrides island of Skye, in the palace of Sgiach, the Vampyre queen. According to Scottish tradition, Sgiach (usually spelled Sgathach) was a princess many centuries ago who ran the best warrior training school in Scotland.[32] Princess Sgathach lived in Dunscaith Castle, which is today a ruin. (Seoras Wallace, the doughty Scottish historian who provided P.C. Cast with a background on Scottish mythology, became her boyfriend, and the Burned character of Sgiach's consort is modelled on him.[33])

Novels

  1. Marked - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312360269
  2. Betrayed - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312360283
  3. Chosen - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312360306
  4. Untamed - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312379834
  5. Hunted - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312577995
  6. Tempted - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312609382
  7. Burned - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312387969
  8. Awakened - St. Martin's Press = ISBN 9780312650247
  1. Destined - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312387983
  1. Hidden - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9781250041746
  1. Revealed - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312594435
  1. Redeemed - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312594442
The Fledgling Handbook 101 - St. Martin's Press - ISBN 9780312595128
The Nyx in the House of Night: Mythology, Folklore - BenBella Books, Inc. - ISBN 9781935618553
Wisdom of the House of Night Oracle Cards: A 50-Card Deck and Guidebook - Ten Speed Press - ISBN 9780770433444
House of Night: Legacy - Dark Horse Comics - ISBN 9781595829627

Marked

Marked is the 1st installment of the House of Night series, published May 1, 2007.

Betrayed

Betrayed is the 2nd installment of the House of Night series, published October 2, 2007.

Chosen

Chosen is the 3rd installment of the House of Night series, published March 4, 2008.

Untamed

Untamed is the 4th installment of the House of Night series, published September 16, 2008.

Hunted

Hunted is the 5th installment of the House of Night series, published March 10, 2009.

Tempted

Tempted is the 6th installment of the House of Night series, published October 23, 2009.

The narrative mode is told from multiple points of view in third-person limited including Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, Rephaim, Heath and Stark and first-person narrative in Zoey's point of view, as in Tempted.

Burned

Burned is the 7th installment of the House of Night series, published April 20, 2010.

The narrative mode is told from multiple points of view in third-person limited including Stark, Kalona, Aphrodite, Heath, Rephaim, and Stevie Rae and first-person narrative in Zoey's point of view, as in Tempted.

Awakened

Awakened is the 8th installment of the House of Night series, published January 4, 2011.

Destined

Destined is the 9th installment of the House of Night series, published October 25, 2011.

Hidden

Hidden is the 10th installment of the House of Night series, published October 16, 2012.

Revealed

Revealed is the 11th and penultimate installment of the House of Night series, published October 15, 2013.

Redeemed

Redeemed is the 12th and final installment of the House of Night series, published October 14, 2014.

Novellas

Dragon's Oath

House of Night: Legacy

PC and her editor worked together with Dark Horse Comics to create a graphic novel version of the House of Night.

Characters

Some of the characters in House of Night:[34]

Adaptations

Film adaptation

In November 2011, it was announced that the film rights to House of Night had been acquired by producer Samuel Hadida's company, Davis Films. P.C. Cast also said through her live stream chat that she confirmed for five movies. Currently, an outline of the screenplay has been written. The authors, Kristen and P.C. Cast, have been unable to get in contact with the producer therefore there are no known future plans for the movies as of now.[35]

Comic book adaptation

P.C. Cast announced on her website that a graphic book adaptation of the House of Night series will be published in monthly issues by Dark Horse Comics starting the 9 of November 2011.[36] The comic book will only span 5 issues, each relating to a different element. The action takes place between Marked and Betrayed concerning Zoey's struggle to become a good leader for the Dark Daughters. To help her learn, Nyx places five tests in her way, each dealing with a story from the Fledgling Handbook.

The drawings will be done by Joëlle Jones, cover by Jenny Frison.

Reception

The series has received generally good reviews, reaching 5th in the New York Times Children's Bestsellers list.[37]

Awards won:

The sixth novel in the series, Tempted, went on sale in October, 2009 with a first printing of a million copies,[41] entered the USA Today bestseller list that week at #1.[42] In January, 2010, Gezeichnet, a German translation of Marked, reached the #1 spot on the Der Spiegel bestseller list.[43] The seventh novel, Burned, was released on April 27, 2010,[44] and like Tempted, entered the USA Today bestseller list at #1.[45] Awakened, released in January, 2011, also entered the list at #1.[46]

Bans and challenges

In 2009 Henderson Junior High School in Stephenville, Texas, banned the entire series from its libraries, including the books that had yet to be written for "sexual content and nudity".[47]

Notes

  1. ↑ "San Francisco Chronicle article". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ House of Night Shines for SMP, article in Publishers Weekly
  3. ↑ article about P.C. Cast in The Oklahoman
  4. ↑ "P.C.Cast interview at OSU Tulsa".
  5. ↑ "Young Blood: Vampires go to finishing school in a mother-daughter team's best seller", Wall Street Journal article. See also the article in Publishers Weekly
  6. ↑ Cast, Marked, p. 23
  7. ↑ Cast, Marked, p. 6
  8. ↑ Cast, Marked, p. 102
  9. ↑ "P.C. Cast interview".
  10. ↑ Cast, Marked, p.51
  11. ↑ Wagner, Vit (March 29, 2009). "Toronto Star article". The Star.
  12. ↑ Template:Cite porn1&output=html
  13. ↑ Jones, Evil in our Midst p. 219.
  14. ↑ Much of the Kalona myth was apparently made up by the authors, since it refers to events a thousand years ago in Oklahoma, and until 1830, the Cherokee lived not in Oklahoma but in the region of New Echota, Georgia
  15. ↑ "P.C. Cast interview May 3, 2010".
  16. ↑ P.C. Cast; Kristin Cast (2007). Marked. Help me know the right thing to do and then give me the courage to do it.
  17. ↑ P.C. Cast; Kristin Cast (2008). Untamed. p. 72. We all have bad things inside us, and we all choose either to give in to those bad things or to fight them.
  18. ↑ see e.g. Tempted, page 206
  19. ↑ Tempted, page 316
  20. ↑ Cast, Burned, p. 83-85
  21. ↑ Burned. p. 84.
  22. ↑ "map of tunnels".
  23. ↑ "Tasha Does Tulsa" blog telling how to tour the tunnels
  24. ↑ "P.C.Cast's blog with photos of Tulsa Depot".
  25. ↑ "Tulsa Symphony website".
  26. ↑ "P.C.Cast interview".
  27. ↑ "Tulsa World article".
  28. ↑ Cast, Hunted, p. 289
  29. ↑ "St. Joseph Monastery website".
  30. ↑ P.C. Cast Blog, 6:08 p.m. comment
  31. ↑ "Venice tourist website about the island".
  32. ↑ The Brave Sons of Skye, p. 1.
  33. ↑ "Daily Mail article (6/23/10) written by Cast". London. June 23, 2010.
  34. ↑ http://www.houseofnightseries.com/characters
  35. ↑ "P.C. Cast's Website: Latest News". Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  36. ↑ Comic book Archived 2011-09-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  37. ↑ New York Times "Children's Bestseller" list
  38. ↑ Marked on Romantic Times
  39. ↑ Tempted on Romantic Times
  40. ↑ Burned, summary data and ratings on Goodreads
  41. ↑ "Tulsa World article".
  42. ↑ "USA Today lists, search archive for Nov 5".
  43. ↑ "Der Spiegel list for 2/1/10".
  44. ↑ "P.C. Cast official blog for Feb. 2010".
  45. ↑ "Bestseller list retrieved May 10, 2010". USA Today.
  46. ↑ "USA Today Bestseller List 1/16/11".
  47. ↑ ALA Banned Books Week
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