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    Touch the Dark
    Touch the Dark
    Touch the Dark
    Audiobook12 hours

    Touch the Dark

    Written by Karen Chance

    Narrated by Cynthia Holloway

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Cassandra Palmer can see the future and communicate with spirits-talents that make her attractive to the dead and the undead alike. The ghosts of the dead aren't usually dangerous; they just like to talk...a lot.

    The undead are another matter.

    Like any sensible girl, Cassie tries to avoid vampires. But when the bloodsucking mafioso she escaped three years ago finds Cassie again with vengeance on his mind, she's forced to turn to the vampire Senate for protection.

    The undead senators won't help her for nothing, and Cassie finds herself working with one of their most powerful members, a dangerously seductive master vampire-and the price he demands may be more than Cassie is willing to pay.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateSep 29, 2008
    ISBN9781400178179
    Touch the Dark

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    Reviews for Touch the Dark

    4/5

    82 ratings44 reviews

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    • 4/5
      a solid 3.5 stars - starts off a little rocky, marred by some confusingly written action/body-swapping "mystical vision" sequences in the middle, but by the time the story finally lays all the pieces out on the board, a really fun ride.

      Cassie is a clairvoyant, occasionally inflicted with true visions of doom & destruction. she ran away from the vampire crime lord that raised her when she found out he was using her visions to further his business interests by knowing how everyone was going to horribly die, and she's been on the lam ever since. so how come all of a sudden, every supernatural political faction wants her in their clutches right now?

      Cassie gets tossed from one frying pan into another fire at every possible opportunity, sometimes begin bailed out by powerful friends, and sometimes using her own savvy and brainpower to escape danger, but never knowing until the end just what the hell is going on. her being in the dark means we're right there, too, and thought it's fun to be unable to solve the mystery too soon, some things aree just written so confusingly that it's distracting. that being said, Cassie herself is easy to care about, and it's refreshing to read a heroine who's neither dumb as a box of rocks nor a mouthy badass just for the sake of being edgy.

      the ending doesnt quite count as a cliffhanger, but it's certainly open (and compelling) enough to make you want to have the sequel handy immediately.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      light reading. lots of sex, especially given that virgin obsession, which she soon gets over. heroine's much too powerful to sustain: is that wish-fulfillment writing? more interesting vampires than Anita Blake ever offered, in more or less the same setting.{g} maybe it will aspire to more, over time? some of the quasihistorical detail's got potential. maybe i'll try another, say maybe five years down the road, see what she's doing with it by then. or maybe not.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      YAY!!!! I have found another likable adult vampire series! FINALLY. When I first picked up this book, and found that it was about a gun toting fem with a rocking body and zero guy experience, one disinclined to admit her feelings, I almost put it down and flushed it down the toilet. Memories of horrible books about Anita Blake flashed through my head, and I didn't want to go there again. But in the spirit of fairness, I decide to read two whole chapters, and I'm glad i did. The story is interesting despite the inclusion of every single paranormal myth in the collective American mind, and the fact that the plot is a little too busy. The heroine, unlike Anita Blake, is jaded but not bitter, tough but vulnerable, sexual but not a whore, talented, but not a ninja. K. Chance does well in arranging her new universe. Everything is sensible and logical, from the hierarchy of the vampire world, to the reasons why the vamps and other supernatural species might want to work together. Despite having talking inanimate objects, body switching, and a plethora of historical figures, now as vamps, Chance keeps things from getting too ridiculous, though i have to admit the time travel was pretty confusing. This is a promising series, one I would eagerly recommend. Though, be forewarned! Not a book easily put down. Yu might want to clear a big ole block of time before starting it!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      I tried. I'm giving up on this book about a third of the way in. The characters haven't grabbed me and explanation/descriptions of things are long winded. I find myself skipping over things and trying to find other things to do besides read. Might as well move on to another book that can hold my interest.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5


      One of the times I disagree with poor reviews.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Eh. This book was WAY too detailed. I had to constantly re-read certain passages because TOO much was going on. It was a tad drawn out. I wish I could have gotten into the characters and the world Karen shaped, but it was just way too forced.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      My first attempt to read this book stalled last year. It is the first novel by Karen Chance, an Urban Fantasy featuring Cassandra Palmer, a clairavoyant, ghost-whispering orphan who ran away from the vampire she was bought up by. Fate and a reading challenge led to it resurfacing on my radar this month and I decided to give it another shot. This time I found it compelling enough to finish.As the plot unfolds Cassandra discovers that she possess various other powers (beyond just being able to see the past and future and communicate with ghosts), discovers that an entire cornucopia of villians, some hidden and others apparant, are after her, and discovers herself in the midst of a host of supernatural political machinations. And the reader discover a mess of a plot which weaves in a superabundance of various tropes of the genre. Karen Chance has taken the kitchen sink approach to this novel. Herein one finds hot vampires, ugly vampires, ghosts, gangsters, mages, witches, fairies, curses, Cleopatra, were-rats, possession, oracles, the FBI witness protection programme, time-travel, dracula's brother, magical bracelets, kinky vampire justice, dark magic, hell-themed casinos, Jack the Ripper, nightclubs, hunky-roomates-with a-terrible-secret, satyrs and a whole lot more. All of this is a lot of stuff to cram into 300 pages, so Ms. Chance resorts to the time-honoured art of info-dumping.The info-dump is that ugly but useful tactic used by authors who want to quickly get some world-building done and provide backstory to set up the story. Ms. Chance does not shy from info-dumping. A Lot. This has the undesired effect of repeatedly interrupting the flow of the story, often in the middle of some tense, action-packed scene, with chunky paragraphs of random information. The story thus tends to unfold in a tell, don't show, sort of a manner which can often be annoying.A second drawback with Ms. Chance's writing is that it is completely devoid of awe or mystery. Various supernatural ideas, creatures and activties are introduced in matter-of-fact, workmanlike prose. Upon being abducted by a vampire, in the beginning of the book, the protaganist helpfully informs us that he must be at least a Level 3 Master Vampire. At another point, someone ruminates that a vampire must have gone up a level (!!!) This RPG monster manual approach to describing creatures manges to leech any sense of mystery out of the proceedings. Upon meeting the afore-mentioned were-rats (in the middle of a battle), we are treated to an info-dump about what kinds of races can become lycanthropes, and which ones can't. (Apparently most supernatural creatures can't, but half-human hybrids can, etc.) Later in that same encounter some dark, mysterious villian shows up to wipe out our intrepid heroes - but he takes the time to first have a 'conversation' (or infodump in dialogue) with the heroine in which he helpfully informs her (and the reader) of the mythological connotations of her name, 'Cassandra'. Gee, good thing too, otherwise I would never have made the connection of her name and her power of being able to tell the future! How deep!So are there any positives to the book at all? Well, one advantage of all the info-dumping is that the author manages to set up an intricate,complex and rich world within which the story unfolds. Theres a fair amount of meat to it as well. The main character is interesting and faces some interesting quandries and the story picks up pace well in the second half of the book, when most of the info-dumping is behind us. Lastly the dialogue is mostly well done, with some amusing bon-mots thrown in to keep the reader entertained. The action (when not being interrupted by info-dumps) is also entertaining and varied. One feels that the author was trying to get as much world-building done in this book as possible so that she could employ some of these elements in future books in the series. As such, while I won't be actively seeking them out, I wouldn't mind reading the next in the series to see where the author goes with the characters. Otherwise, I'm guessing those readers who are fans of the genre might enjoy this more and be more forgiving of its shortcomings than I was.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I was very, very impressed by Touch the Dark. It had everything I look for in a good urban fantasy series - a strong, sympathetic protagonist facing a host of insurmountable challenges, a collection of interesting secondary characters, great worldbuilding and lots of action.

      I read Touch the Dark in one sitting, couldn't put it down. I thought it was well-written, well-paced, so brilliantly imaginative. I kept thinking of Jim Butcher as Cassandra Palmer nosedived from one problem into a bigger one. I loved the romantic elements, which are pretty hot but very complicated - the men most interested in Cassandra are also poised to betray her. This book was just bursting with ideas; historical characters like Casanova and Christopher Marlowe pop up, and there are interesting spins on how they came to be immortal; there's a bar in Vegas modeled after the seven circles of hell, staffed by randy satyrs; and ghosts, in this universe, are excellent spies. It was a really satisfying read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I wasn't impressed with this book. I thought there wasn't really a plot. The story was overall good and an easy read. I did like Cassie's character. I wasn't expecting the bad guy/traitor to be who it was. The story/series has potential. Right now I don't see myself reading the next book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      surpisingly good

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It's hard to write a semi-decent review without spoilers, but I'll try.Cassandra grew up in a vampire-gangster's house, and turned state's evidence against him, getting into the Federal Witness Protection Programme. The bad guys find her, she's rescued unexpectedly, more weirdness happens as she finds out some of the truths about her parents and herself.There are a couple of characters who seem too much like ciphers, although there are a few glimpses behind the façade that make me think there might be interesting developments later on if this turns into a series, which I really hope it does.Excellent first book.
    • 2/5
      This book has been in my TBR pile for a very long time. That is because I thought it sounded fabulous and I was saving it until I wanted to treat myself. I don't know why but I just thought this was going to be something special. I did the same thing with the Ilona Andrew's "Magic" series and wasn't disappointed. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing here. The first chapter or so was fine. I didn't really understand everything going on but I figured in due time it would all be explained and make sense. Not so much. There were so many seperate plots and so many different groups with different motives, and so many different supernatural species that I was hopelessly lost. To add to that confusion, Cassie, our heroine, has special powers. She is clairvoant, she can talk to ghosts, she can enter other people's bodies, she can go into the past, and oh yeah, she has a magical tatoo on her back. All of these powers probably should have been slowly revealed over the course of the book (or better yet, over the series of books). So many times, I lost track of what was going on or who was who. This just shouldn't happen in a fiction story. Now, I did give this book two stars so there are some positives. I kinda like Cassie, and I definitely like her ghostly sidekick. There are some characters I can't decide if I like or hate, so there is at least a little intrigue there. If this book would have been one of the plots to kill Cassie, by one of the organizations in the book it would have been a decent book I think. It was just so overwhelming. I feel like the trips back stopped the momentum when things started to get interesting in the present. I really like the scens where there was a lot of dialouge. I think that dialogue is a stregnth of the author's. Above all, I gave this story two stars because despite all my frustrations with it, I immediately started the second in the series. I am about 100 pages into it, and so far its about a thousand times better than this messy story.
    • 4/5
      This grabs you and I read it quite quickly but it leaves a certain amount of dissatisfaction behind. There just isn't enough in the story to be great, and the sex seems almost pasted in.It's almost a toned down version of Anita Blake. Fans of that series would probably like this one.
    • 4/5
      This was pretty good. Interesting character, interesting plot twists. Not a lot of character development on anyone other than the main character, but interesting none-the-less. Only suffered from an ending that came out of nowhere and left you wondering what the fuck happened. It's like they reached page three hundred and suddenly discovered that they had to end it by 307 so every plot got one or two sentences to wrap things up in. Still not sure what happened there at the end. Guess I'll have to read the next book. Since most of the major plots were NOT wrapped up, I'm assuming a trilogy (or never-ending series) is in order.
    • 3/5
      Meh is how I will describe this. The book is solidly written, but the plot has a lot of problems. At times, it rushes. Others, its too slow. The world is strange - lots of magic, lots of supernatural creatures - but it seems like the normal world doesn't know about it - even with the headquarters acronymed "Magic".As for the character, Cassandra - she is rather annoying. Her Vampires are scary, but I trust them thing was damned annoying. She is too chipper about her situation when she gets caught. She is also stupid. You don't go into a vampire headquarters to question a person without a plan. On top of it, I found her virginity to be annoying. Other things - I found that the transition between change of location hard to follow.Overall, its mediocre urban fantasy book. Not that good, but not that bad either.
    • 4/5
      Cassie is a clairvoyant who was raised by vampires, but wait it gets better. She also talks to ghosts. She is on the lam from the vampire mafia she grew up with, and is doing pretty well until she is warned that they have found her. She is rescued by the vampire senate but that is sort of a pot/fire situation. It is a fairly complicated story that includes witches, were-rats, satyrs(that is new),and time travel. And that is only part of it. It also seems that every evil or mysterious person in history has ended up as a vampire. I actually like the mythology of the book and the characters are interesting. Like another reviewer, I thought the sex scenes were over the top and there are some some pretty graphic torture scenes I could have done without. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I plan to read the second in the series.
    • 4/5
      Gypsy is a racial slur against the Rromani. Really wish she had used the correct phrasing for us. Françoise is Romani and should have been called that instead. She's French, she's probably manouche. And the family that curses Mircea into vampirism could be kalderaş, ruska, any number of natsyas (tribes) of our people.

      That said, one of my favorite books and series. Hate the pronunciation of Mircea's name, but overall a really good read.
    • 2/5
      I think I read this before as it seemed really familiar, but I couldn't find it in my read list.
      This story was interesting
    • 3/5
      Good world building but still it didn't work for me. All that exposition during the sex scenes sort of took the heat out of the book, and while I liked Cassandra and her toughness I didn't really care for anyone, they were all the usual motley crew. I read 3 other books while I was reading this one. I guess it just didn't keep my attention. Just as a memory jolt - it was the one with the wererats, lots of vampire politics, a bit of time travel (still not sure or care how the other guys did it) and the sybil becoming the oracle. That was a nice, new/old touch.
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this book. Karen Chance is always in anthologies I read for other authors, and constantly shows as a recommended author based on all my other favorite authors.I just could not get in to this book so I did not finish it. I might try again, so I have it by my bed in case I feel like giving it another try, but because I didn't finish it and couldn't get in to it, I'm giving it 2 stars for now.
    • 3/5
      The Cassandra Palmer series is really interesting. Karen Chance does a wonderful job of combining paranormal with mystery and romance. Touch the Dark starts with the protagonist, Cassandra Palmer, nicknamed Cassie, living in hiding. She has been on the run for three years from her vampire “master,” Tony. He killed her parents and took her in as a clairvoyant when she was a little girl. Now, in her 20s, Cassie works as a tarot card reader at the same club as her roommate, Tomas. One night Tony’s men come to find her, and kill her. She manages to escape, thanks to a mysterious tattoo and Tomas. Cassie is now in the hands of the vampire Senate and Lord Mircea. All Cassie wants to do is be free-she doesn’t want to belong to Mircea, Tony, or the Senate. Simply running away isn’t going to help. Those who don’t want to control her, want her dead because she has inherited the powerful pythia’s power. Touch the Dark is filled with time traveling, sexy men and vampires, and a lot of action scenes. Cassandra Palmer has one goal in mind-to get her father’s ghost from Tony and be free. Everything she does is to get that done. She doesn’t want power. She doesn’t want to be under the protection of Mircea and the vampires. By inheriting the pythia’s power, Cassie finds herself thrown back in time. This is mostly because Myra, the girl who was supposed to become the next pythia, has decided to mess with the timeline. Lord Mircea, a very sexy vampire, has appointed himself as Cassandra’s protector. He knew where she was when she “ran away.” I’d love to believe that he loves Cassandra, but I’m not sure. His actions show that he does. But at the same time he’s a first class manipulator so I’m not sure. Same thing with Tomas, I think he has feelings for Cassandra, but at the same time, not too sure. Karen Chance made sure the reader is never bored. There is so much going on that you feel like you ran a marathon by the end of the book. The only problem I had was that I felt thrown into the middle of everything. There were so many action scenes, I would have loved it if the story slowed down for bit. The time traveling scenes were a bit confusing, but still quite interesting to read. The series is quite interesting-mixing mages/magic, vampires, fey, and even historical figures into a series of books. I will definitely keep reading the series. Warning: 18 yrs. and older.
    • 3/5
      meh...I will reserve judgement and possibly read the next one. I liked the idea, but about halfway through the book it became drudgery for me.
    • 2/5
      Couldn't finish it. Too many things going on. Kinda blah. Jumping from one thing to another it seems. From the reviews I've read, I see I'm not the only one who put the book down. I don't feel so bad now
    • 4/5
      While running from a Mob Vampire. Cassandra must find a way to survive. Even if that means siding with others that she may no trust. I found this book to be very intriguing. This is one of the first books that include characters in regards to the fae. This is a very good storyline. I will be reading on in this series.
    • 4/5
      3.75 stars. I had very low expectations for this book. The reviews for this book were all over the place, many people thought it had too much world building and info dumping in the beginning and others thought the beginning was choppy. This is obviously the first book in a series, it seems to suffer the first book urban fantasy syndrome – but I still really enjoyed it. There is some info dumps and world building in the first 50 pages or so that is done outside of telling the story. It didn’t bother me, but I can see where it may get to some people. I did think Ms. Chance took a few chapters to get her pacing down, but once she did I enjoyed the story a lot. The characters are the stereotypical ancient and beautiful vampires, Cassie is (of course!) an orphan with powers she is yet to understand, however, there is enough uniqueness in this tale that kept me reading. Cassie (the heroine) is able to communicate with ghosts and encourage them to help her when she needs it, Cassie has the ability to time travel and change history, and she is coming into scary powers that she doesn’t fully understand. The vamps seem to be not all bad and on her side – it is the human mages Cassie needs to watch out for in this story. There were hints of other supes – Fey, demons and weres – that I think as the story develops it will be interesting to see what gets added in. The “bad” guy and the traitor – hmm, I am not sure if he is all bad and I really liked him (I could see where he was coming from ). I am looking to see how this story develops. Right now it is not in my top 7 favorite UF, but it is very enjoyable, I like the characters and the world, and I am definitely reading the next one … soon.
    • 5/5
      the story was chaotic, but a refreshing change from the pace of other books. My only criticism would be about the character development of a few characters. the change in the dynamic closeness to the main character felt disconnected at times. But I love the story overall.
    • 5/5
      In reading Touch the Dark, I found myself in a familiar and very real world as Chance takes the everyday and weaves a darker side to it which includes vampires, werewolves, and all manner of otherworld beings which she fleshes out for us through the story of Cassie Palmer; human, clairvoyant, spirit wrangler (for lack of a better term). As the story begins, we learn that Cassie has been on the run from her former owner, vampire boss Tony who had her parents killed when she was 4 to acquire her. She's had three years of freedom, but as we join the story, it looks like the jig is up and Tony and his minions have finally caught up with her and she's about to be on the run again...it's her refusal to put her new roommate in danger by leaving without telling him that puts her on the road to an thrilling, complex and life threatening adventure. I am reminded of another character after reading Touch the Dark...Cassie has that same moxie and resilience as Gwen from Cunningham's Changeling series, but with slightly more innocence (Cassie is barely out of her teens) and both series have a kind of melding of Otherworld meets the Sopranos that is surprisingly appealing. Cassie is appealing many levels, but most importantly she is a gutsy heroine and I love her character for it! Having survived many years with Vampire Mafioso, she is both streetwise and savvy but we are blessed to find that Cassie is not as hardened as one might expect as she still has a charming touch of naiveté. She is aware of her unusual talents but is only just now beginning to understand that there are many who would like to "acquire" her as Tony did and learning more each day exactly WHY they are so interested in her and her abilities. This is the story of the unveiling of Cassie's growing skill with prophecy and visions and the battle between various otherworld elements for her (and her abilities)...it seems there isn't a supernatural creature (or group of) that don't have a hand in winning (or stealing) Cassie for their own, we've got Vampires (a good number based on historical figures) and the Vampire Council, Mages (light and dark), Witches (light and dark), fey, shrunken heads, ghosts, were-creatures, and on and one. It's almost too much, but in the end, it all works. Touch the Dark weaves a story that is mostly modern, but flows back through history...there is quite a bit of back-story and it's sometimes given in odd, not quite right moments of extended dialogue or text...ultimately brining it all to a mostly satisfying conclusion which beyond a doubt leaves room for follow up books in an on-going series. I've seen this listed as dark fantasy, paranormal romance, horror, and many combinations of the three...my best "classification" here is dark urban fantasy (you're not traveling to otherworlds here....this is very much a modern urban setting with brief flashes of historical locations/events) with paranormal romance leanings and just a smidge of thriller thrown in. Overall, its good fun reading...is this going to become a new bench mark for the horror/dark fantasy genre...probably not, but I couldn't put it down and read it in a matter of hours, so it is engaging. I loved the historically drawn characters and was pleasantly surprised by the various methods of vampire feeding wich Chance introduced...very plausible and not something I've seen before. I thought they lent a nice touch to the novel and provided a good "reason" how vampires could exist mostly undetected in the world today. I thoroughly enjoyed Touch the Dark and if you love all things vampire, I'd recommend it heartily! I give it a solid A, it's not great literature, but it's engaging and I'm waiting excitedly for the next in the series (due out in April 2007), if that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!
    • 3/5
      Touch the Dark
      3.5 Stars

      On the run from her former employer, Cassandra Palmer is not your usual fugitive. First, she is clairvoyant and second, her boss is a vampire. When her past finally catches up with her, Cassie realizes that not only is she the focus of several factions within the supernatural world including the vampire Senate, the Mage circles and the Fae, but that she cannot escape her ultimate destiny…

      An interesting story with an engaging heroine. Unfortunately, it suffers from first book syndrome with excessive amounts of information on the world building including the natures and skills of a variety of magical beings as well specific details on the main and secondary characters. Interwoven with all of these details is a convoluted story involving time travel, assassination attempts and a complex love triangle.

      Despite these issues, Cassie is a charming heroine with a very practical approach to living her life amongst things that go bump in the night. Nothings seems to phase her - not hairy satyrs, blood sucking vampires or aggressive war mages determined to end her at all costs.

      The basic story revolving around a conspiracy to undermine the vampire Senate is compelling although it is overshadowed by the above mentioned information dumping. The same is true of the romantic aspects with Cassie attracting the attention of two very different men, both of whom with apparent ulterior motives. By the end of the book, Mircea does seem to have the edge on Tomas and for good reasons - his unfailing honesty and pure sex appeal.

      Cynthia Holloway’s narration is never going to be a favorite. Her pacing is too slow, her male voices are indistinguishable from her female and her accents need a lot of work. Nevertheless, she is not completely unbearable so its possible to muddle through, especially as there is no alternative for those, like myself, who cannot read 1st person POV.

      All in all, not a bad beginning to a series and I will continue with it.
    • 4/5
      For some reason this book took me a little while to get into. The writing style was still unsure of itself in the beginning and that might have caused me some distraction. Yet, after the third chapter, I was hooked. It was lots of fun. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
    • 4/5
      Fast paced, interesting worldbuilding and a protagonist to root for -- one with a good sense of when to be kickass and when to use your brains. Not the same trope paranormal stuff. Almost too quick a read and who betrays who a bit convenient. Not a cliffhanger ending; although, heroine just coming into some interesting powers that foreshadow a sequel.