Dark Prince
Encyclopedia
Dark Prince is a paranormal
/suspense novel written by American
author Christine Feehan
. Published in 1999, it is the first book in her Dark Series, which to date has 20 titles.
, a powerful and ancient race. They have many gifts, including the ability to shape-shift, and extended life spans, living well over many years. Though they feed on human blood, they don't kill their human prey, and for the most part live among them without detection. Despite their gifts, the Carpathians are on the edge of extinction. There have been few children born to them in the past few centuries, those that have been born are all male and often die in the first year. It has been more than 500 years since a female has been born. Without females, many of the males are turning, becoming vampires, the monsters of human legend. After 200 years, a male Carpathian loses the ability to feel emotions and see in color. These will only return to him when he finds his lifemate
, the other half of his soul
.
Mikhail Dubrinsky, Prince of the Carpathians, has worked tirelessly for centuries to discover why so many of their children die in the first years. However, his efforts have come to no avail. It is at this time, when he is on the brink of despair and self-destruction that he meets a beautiful human psychic, Raven Whitney. Raven is a strong telepath, and has worked with the police to capture four serial killer
s. But her gift has come with a price: a life of isolation, and pain whenever she uses her gift. When he meets her, he is shocked and amazed when he suddenly is able to see colors in her presence; he realizes that she is his lifemate. Despite his joy, there is doubt in his mind. No human woman has ever been a lifemate to a Carpathian. All human females who were converted had become deranged creatures, feeding on children and had to be destroyed.
But he knows she is the only woman for him, the other half of his soul. He is determined to live as a human with her and to die when she does. However, this is not to be. Raven is attacked by fanatics, and he is forced to convert her to save her life. Her survival brings new hope to him and his people, for if one psychic
human female can be a lifemate, surely there are others.
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
/suspense novel written by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Christine Feehan
Christine Feehan
Christine Feehan is an American romance-paranormal writer. She has published more than 26 novels, including five series, and numerous novellas since 1999.-Biography:...
. Published in 1999, it is the first book in her Dark Series, which to date has 20 titles.
Plot summary
Dark Prince introduces the CarpathiansCarpathians (race)
Carpathians are a fictional race of people in the fictional universe of the Dark Series, a group of books by Christine Feehan. Carpathians survive by drinking the blood of humans, but unlike vampires, they do not kill their human prey...
, a powerful and ancient race. They have many gifts, including the ability to shape-shift, and extended life spans, living well over many years. Though they feed on human blood, they don't kill their human prey, and for the most part live among them without detection. Despite their gifts, the Carpathians are on the edge of extinction. There have been few children born to them in the past few centuries, those that have been born are all male and often die in the first year. It has been more than 500 years since a female has been born. Without females, many of the males are turning, becoming vampires, the monsters of human legend. After 200 years, a male Carpathian loses the ability to feel emotions and see in color. These will only return to him when he finds his lifemate
Lifemate
In the Dark Series by Christine Feehan, Lifemate is the term used to describe spouses of the Carpathians . However, the bond between lifemates is much stronger and different than that of humans. A male loses his ability to feel emotions after reaching the age of 200. Those emotions can only be...
, the other half of his soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
.
Mikhail Dubrinsky, Prince of the Carpathians, has worked tirelessly for centuries to discover why so many of their children die in the first years. However, his efforts have come to no avail. It is at this time, when he is on the brink of despair and self-destruction that he meets a beautiful human psychic, Raven Whitney. Raven is a strong telepath, and has worked with the police to capture four serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s. But her gift has come with a price: a life of isolation, and pain whenever she uses her gift. When he meets her, he is shocked and amazed when he suddenly is able to see colors in her presence; he realizes that she is his lifemate. Despite his joy, there is doubt in his mind. No human woman has ever been a lifemate to a Carpathian. All human females who were converted had become deranged creatures, feeding on children and had to be destroyed.
But he knows she is the only woman for him, the other half of his soul. He is determined to live as a human with her and to die when she does. However, this is not to be. Raven is attacked by fanatics, and he is forced to convert her to save her life. Her survival brings new hope to him and his people, for if one psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
human female can be a lifemate, surely there are others.
Awards and nominations
- Winner of 3 out of the 9 1999 Pearl ParaNormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature
- Best New Author of Paranormal Romance
- Best Overall Paranormal Romance
- Best Shape-Shifter
- 1999 All about Romance Readers Awards
- Honorable Mention - Favorite New Author
- Honorable Mention - Favorite 'Other' Romance
- Finalist - Most Luscious
- Finalist - Favorite Romance of the Year
- Finalist - Favorite Villain-Rand
- Finalist - Best New Discovery
- Finalist - Best New Author
- 1999 Romance Journal's Francis Award
- Semi-finalist - Best Other Paranormal Romance
- 1999 RBL Romantica Awards
- Best Paranormal
- Best Secondary Character (Gregori)
- 2000 Awards Romance Books and Readers
- 1st Place - Fantasy