If you are looking for a fantasy book with court political intrigue, vampires, and a lot of action, then Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco is the book for you. This novel follows Remy Pendergast, a Reaper who is unfortunately the son of Duke Valenbonne and an outcast from all of the other reapers. He has been trained to be a human weapon, and it seems as though everyone in Aluria is content with that except for Remy himself.
When Remy discovers a haunting new breed of vampires, he decides to take action by himself. In doing so, he reluctantly teams up with a married vampire couple, the lovely Lady Song known as Xiaodan and her brooding husband Zidan. The two vampires might hold the answers to what is causing this new disease among vampires and humans, also known as the ‘rot’, but Remy is faced with a choice. Should he go against his fathers orders or team up with the vampire couple he has complicated feelings for?
Chupeco does an amazing job at representing polyamory between Remy, Xiaodan, and Zidan. They explore power balances within the relationship in a realistic way, and I loved the chemistry between the three of them. There is a good balance of action and romance in here too. As I mentioned before, Remy’s feelings towards the couple are complicated. He has never been in a romantic relationship before where he is not being used by his lover, and throughout the novel he explores his own needs, desires, and learns what it means to be deserving of love. He has a personal history of being in toxic relationships and this is addressed appropriately throughout the novel. There is so much communication between the three of them, and I loved that as well.
Apart from the focus on the relationship, there is a lot of mystery surrounding the past of Remy’s mother, who was rumored to elope with a vampire, and suspicious rumors surrounding vampire courts. Chupeco has written some organized world building and politics in this first book, and I enjoyed this aspect of the story greatly. So much depth in every single character introduced as well. Everyone feels well rounded and you will want to pick up the second book immediately when you are finished.
For fans of fantasy, vampire politics, and the animated series Castlevania, Silver Under Nightfall is definitely a novel that you will enjoy.
By Merryn Overbeck, ’28
