Book Review: Mortal Path Book One: Dark Time by Dakota Banks

In the seventeenth century, a young mother-to-be is accused of witchcraft, and burned at the stake. As the flames engulf her body, a demon of the underworld hears her longing to wreak vengeance on the woman who accused her and offers her an ultimatum: death — or life as his assassin.

Three hundred years later, Mahlia Crayne is getting tired, sick of murdering innocent people at the behest of the demon. Yet she manages to find a way to break out of her sentence: for every life taken, should she save another, she will be released. Of course, the small print makes this more difficult for her. As well as being robbed of her superhuman speed and strength, she will also age faster than she had previously. Her time is running short.

Fear not, she does not turn into a girl scout, pulling old ladies out of the way of oncoming lorries, and stopping babies in their prams from rolling down a long flight of steps. Saving a life can often mean taking another.

Maliha is a mix of Lara Croft and a human Terminator; she would be marvellous in a video game. She is also a strong character in any book. The real heart of the story lies in Mahlia’s past, at what she lost; her husband, her baby, her life. Now she is living in our present, moving with the times, making herself comfortable, creating a public identity for herself with a career that brings in a lot of money, and educating herself.

She tries to have some semblance of normality by having close friends, but living in an apartment with a security system that puts Fort Knox to shame makes it slightly difficult. Add to that her constantly youthful looks raise a few eyebrows.

In Dark Time, Dakota Banks combines daredevil action, poignant romance, the past, the present, the paranormal, all infused with modern technology. It is the first in a series of books that looks set to be a strong, intriguing storyline, and I intend to find out what happens at the end.

Article Author: Catherine Tuckwell

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