Darksome Thirst
Morven Westfield
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Darksome Thirst is Morven Westfield's entry into the world of fiction
and is, hopefully, the beginning to a long career. It is a
vampire thriller that preys on our fears of the commonplace becoming
the unknown.
Alicia is a hard working computer technician who is under valued and
over looked at work. She knows more than her supervisors but, due to
lack of formal education, she is always passed over for promotions. She
works long hours on the second shift, laboring in her windowless
cubical. She is the epitome of "being the job," no time for friends or
lovers. Meg is Alicia's newly hired boss. A product of the harsh
world of corporate life herself she understands and sympathizes with
Alicia's predicament. But she is unable to do anything to change the
status quo. Alicia is trapped in her situation. It is into this that
comes Wesley, the vampire that decided she should be his woman for
eternity. His power brings the loneliness of her life to her
realization, the longing for a change becomes unbearable.
Janith is the fairly new leader of her own coven. With her husband, she
is teaching their new initiates the intricacies of becoming wiccan.
Matricaria, one of their students, begins to have dreams of danger and
evil. It is as they come together to face the root of this malevolence
that they truly understand the depth of the danger. Wesley will not
leave easily and has had close to a century to hone his skills. Can a
newly formed coven of beginners stop the progress of the determined
vampire?
The setting of modern technology (ok- not so modern- it takes place in
the computer land of the 70s) is a wonderful contrast with dark powers
of the hidden. Westfield has created characters that get our
attention, keeps our interest and . Although we may not think our
friends or coworkers could be practicing witches or fodder for a
vampire, this seems entirely possible after meeting Alicia, Janeth and
Matricaria. It is this ability to give credibility to the other worldly
that is this author's strength.
Her past job as a second shift computer
operator lends the authenticity that rings throughout the book. The
lovely twist at the end should keep the reader racing to the finish. It
may keep you up late at night to get to the ending (with lots of light
on) but it is worth every hour of lost sleep.
Luckily for us, this is the first in a planned series of books that
will star the same main characters. The next one, The Old Power
Returns, is in the works.