Sherrilyn Kenyon / Dark Hunter Novels

The Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my all time favorites.
The Books are well written, pee in your pants funny and sexy as hell!

Reading Order
Dark-Hunter
1. Fantasy Lover
2. "The Beginning", also in the back of Sins of the Night
3. Dragonswan, reprinted singly by Berkley (2005)
4. Night Pleasures
5. Night Embrace
6. "Phantom Lover", in the anthology Midnight Pleasures
7. Dance with the Devil
8. "A Dark-Hunter Christmas", also in the back of Dance with the Devil
9. Kiss of the Night
10. Night Play
11. "Winter Born", in the anthology Stroke of Midnight
12. Seize the Night
13. Sins of the Night
14. "Second Chances", in Exclusive Dark-Hunter Collectible Booklet , free giveaway. Is included in the Dark-Hunter Companion!
15. Unleash the Night,
16. Dark Side of the Moon
17. "A Hard Day's Night-Searcher", in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
18. "Until Death We Do Part", in the anthology Love At First Bite
19. Fear the Darkness, free e-book
20. The Dream-Hunter
21. Devil May Cry
22. Upon the Midnight Clear
23. Dark-Hunter Companion
24. Dream Chaser

There are many different species and branches who make up the world. But for those who are new to the universe, here's a quick tutorial:

Dark-Hunter: An ancient warrior who sold his/her soul to the Greek goddess Artemis for a single act of vengeance. Now they protect mankind from the Daimons who want to claim our souls.
Apollite: A member of a race cursed by the god Apollo. They cannot be out in daylight and they must live on the blood of each other. At age 27, they die a slow and painful death unless they decide to turn Daimon and prey on human souls.
Daimon: An Apollite who refuses to docilely die over a curse s/he had no part in creating. They feed on human souls and fight the Dark-Hunters.
Were-Hunter: Originally part of the Apollite race, their DNA was magically spliced with animals. Now they are shape-shifters who are embroiled in a war against each other.
Dream-Hunter: They are the gods of sleep who were cursed by the Greek gods to feel no emotion whatsoever. But they carry within them a dark secret that could completely shake the world in which they live. The Oneroi branch are often helpers to the Dark-Hunters.
Charonte: A race of demons who are extremely violent and amoral. They have a very interesting code of ethics.
Squire: A human who is employed by a Dark-Hunter or a human who has skills that make a Dark-Hunter's life a bit easier. They have an entire organization set up and are willing to die or kill to protect the secret of the DH world.
Oracle: One who speaks with the gods. They tend to be really crusty/cranky people.
Chthonian: A race of... well that would be the question. There are only a handful of them left and they are a CRANKY bunch.
Savitar: Yeah... in a class by himself ;) Ditto on Acheron.


The Dark-Hunters are fictional immortal warriors in the Dark-Hunter series who sold their souls to the Greek goddess Artemis for one single act of vengeance after being killed. Afterwards they are bound to protect mankind from the Daimons who want to claim human souls.

Becoming a Dark-Hunter
Whenever a person dies wrongfully, their soul screams out for vengeance. The strongest and angriest of the screams echo through the halls of Olympus, Artemis then offers them a deal. Once the bargain is accepted, the new Dark-Hunter is branded with Artemis's double bow-and-arrow wherever she touches them. They then are allowed their Act of Vengeance.

In exchange of their souls, Artemis allows all new Dark-Hunters to have twenty-four hours to exact revenge on those who wronged them during their human life. Most notably the Dark-Hunters usually go after people who killed them. After the twenty-four-hour period, they belong to her and get sent to Acheron, the leader of the Dark-Hunters.

After training with Acheron is over, the Dark-Hunters are assigned a location somewhere in the world. Then the Dark-Hunter spends the rest of eternity fighting with Daimons and other evil.

Artemis pays them well for their services and provides them with human helpers known as Squires.

Dark-Hunter Code
Honor Artemis. Drink no blood. Harm no human or Apollite. Never touch a Squire. Speak with no family or friends who knew you before you died. Let no Daimon escape alive. Never speak of what you are. You walk alone. Keep your bow mark hidden.

Becoming free
The only way for a Dark-Hunter to be freed from Artemis's service is to find the one true soul who loves him or her enough to pass Artemis's test. That person must take the medallion that contains the Dark-Hunter's soul and hold it to the double bow-and-arrow mark until Dark-Hunter's soul returns. However the task is more difficult than it sounds, as the medallion becomes as hot as lava during the process and permanently scars the holder's hand. If the holder can't maintain his or her grip and the medallion is dropped, the Dark-Hunter's soul is lost forever. This traps the Dark-Hunter into a very painful existence known as a Shade, the same as if the Dark Hunter died. However, if the lover succeeds, the Dark-Hunter is once again a mortal with a soul, restarting life at the age they were when they first died.

Weaknesses
They can be killed by:
Sunlight
Beheading
Total dismemberment
Piercing the double-bow-and-arrow mark, as revealed in Dance With The Devil, can also kill a Dark-Hunter, but Acheron keeps this a secret from them to protect them.
They also have a weakness to bright, halogen lights, which harm their sensitive eyes. Even Acheron succumbs to this weakness.

Appearances
While still containing the looks they lived with as a human, the Dark-Hunters gained fangs and light-sensitive eyes like the Daimons which they kill. Each Dark-Hunter also has a double-bow-and-arrow mark. Artemis is notorious for mostly choosing tall, handsome men and tall, beautiful women to be Dark Hunters.

Known Dark-Hunters
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
*Acheron- The first Dark Hunter ever made. Once in love with Artemis, he is now bound to her by the events of the past and must obey her. He is the protector of the Dark Hunters and suffers greatly for them, even though most of them resent him. He has to bargain with Artemis to gain the souls of Dark Hunters to set them free - often resulting in his torment at her hands. The last of the Atlanteans, Acheron is the son of Apollymi, the Atlantean goddess of Destruction and thus is a god in his own right, not just a powerful Dark hunter. His 'true' form is said to have blue skin with a marbled appearance. He also has two scars that only appear in this form, one being a hand print on his chest, like someone held him down whilst the other scar was inflicted, a slash across his throat. The few that are able to see this form are warned not to look at the hand print scar.
*Alexion- Helper of Acheron, was born Ias. One of the first Dark-Hunters after Acheron, he was killed by his wifes lover and the true father of the three children he had raised. He was turned to a shade when Acheron mistakenly thought his wife would hold the burning amulet to his bow and arrow mark, but instead she dropped it. Said wife is now a statue outside Alexions room in Katoteros, where he resides with Dangereuse (Sins of the night). Acheron brought him out of Shadedom and now Alexion feeds from Acherons blood everyonce in awhile(in a glass, not from the neck). As helper of Ash, he goes to earth whenever they run into troubles with roage Dark Hunters and 'Judges' them.
*Arien
*Belle- Deceased. Murdered by Daimons.
*Blade
*Cael- A Dark Hunter married to an Apollite, meaning that he will have to watch his wife die at
the age of 27.
*Corbin
*Dangereuse- A rare short female Dark Hunter that Artemis obviously took a liking to. She died in a battle and became a shade. She currently resides with Alexion in Katoteros.
*Diana
*Diego
*Dragon
*Hawke
*Kassim
*Kell
*Kyrian- His story is told in Night Pleasures. Kyrian was a prince of Macedonia before he was betrayed by his wife Theone and killed by the Romans. Kyrian is one of the few Dark Hunters to regain their soul.
*Nick- Friend to Acheron during his life, Nick unintentionally slept with Simi, Acheron's demonic 'daughter' and companion. Enraged upon finding out, Acheron damned Nick with his words. Later that same night, Nick's mother was murdered and Nick killed himself in order to claim vengeance. Due to the circumstance of his death, Artemis, whom he had summoned seconds beforehand, was unable to grant him revenge, but she did make him a Dark Hunter. He now harbors a deep hatred and resentment for Acheron for what he did to him. It is alluded to that he will play a crucial part in Acheron's potential future downfall and the plot against him.
*Phobos
*Ravyn- A rare Were-Hunter/Dark Hunter, Ravyn is a Arcadian, a human that can take animal form. His story is told in The Dark Side of the Moon, where he falls in love with Susan, a woman who is allergic to cats, which happens to be Ravyn's Arcadian side. His family dis-owned him, because his mate turned and let in enemies, while the males were out hunting, to kill the woman and childer and in turn killed all the male were-hunters bonded to the females.
*Renegade
*Retta- Wife of Velkan Danesti and the daughter of Vlad Tepes, followed her husband into being a Dark Hunter.
*Samia
*Sin- Aka Nana. Once a god, his powers were taken from him by Katra Agrotera, Artemis's and Acheron's daughter. He doesnt hunt Daimons like other dark hunters: He hunts Gallu Demons instead. He has an extream dis-like for Artemis, because he thinks she took his power. He falls in love with Katra in ' the Devil May Cry', but soon finds out she took his power. He tries to forget her, but soon she is attacked and the only way to save her is to bond himself to her.
*Talon- A Celt warrior that angered a god, Talon was forced to watch his sister die in an attempt to appease the god, as well as suffer his own death to the same end. Nevertheless, Talon became a Dark Hunter and spent his days in solitude and torment over his sister's death and his wife's death in childbirth. He has a unique ability to take other's wounds into himself, a form of healing due to the Dark Hunter's tolerance to wounds. His story is told in Night Embrace.
*Valerius- A Roman Dark Hunter, he is unusual because Artemis is a Greek goddess. He is also thusly hated by the other Dark Hunters due to his birthright as a Roman and the prejudice that comes with it. His grandfather murdered Kyrian and Valerius' resemblance to him is torment for the other Dark Hunter, fueling his hatred. Valerius is also the half brother of Zarek, who likewise hates him for the way he was treated and would torment Valerius when he was a Dark Hunter and Zarek had the powers of a god. Due to the way he is seen, Valerius adopted a cold and aloof personality as would be befitting his Roman heritage. His story is told in Seize the Night where he falls in love with Tabitha.
*Velkan- Wife of Retta, was born of a king and a witch and magickally combined their souls at their marrige not long before he was killed and became a dark hunter, brigning her into immortality with him. *Sundown- American Dark Hunter, once an outlaw.
*Xander
*Wulf
*Zarek- Once a Roman slave, Zarek became a ferocious and feral Dark Hunter who spurned all kindness and civil contact. Barely controllable, Artemis long wished for his destruction, and it was only Acheron's intervention that kept that from coming about. He is a half brother to Valerius and mistakenly blames him for many things that he suffered in his past as a slave. His story is told in Dance with the Devil. Astrid is sent down to choose if Zarek is worth saving. She soon falls in love with him, because she sees who he really is. Zarek becomes a Demi-God and is fond of throwing lightning bolts at Valerius.
*Zoe- An Amazon Dark Hunter. She hates men, to the point as prefering women as her intimate partners.

Find out more about Sherrilyn Kenyon here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherrilyn_Kenyon

Visit Acheron on Myspace:
http://myspace.com/acheronp

The Dark-Hunter website:
http://www.dailyinquisitor.com/hunter/