Dhampir: Part Vampire. Part Human. Perfect Hunter (Noble Dead, #1)

by Barb Hendee

She hunts the realm’s most dangerous game.

Her fees are exorbitant.

She’s worth every coin she receives.

Or is she?

 

Magiere has earned a reputation as the most formidable vampire slayer in the land. Villagers far and wide welcome her with both awe and disdain—grateful to her for ridding their towns of the undead menace, but finding themselves made poorer for their salvation. Magiere knows she’s dealing with simple folk, who only wish to have their superstitions silenced, and sees nothing wrong with exploiting them for profit.

 

Now, tired of the game, Magiere and her partner, the half-elf Leesil, are ready to hang up their weapons and settle down in a place they can finally call home. But their newfound peace will not last—for Magiere has come to the attention of a trio of powerful and dangerous vampires who know her true identity—and fear the birthright that flows through her veins. And they will stop at nothing to keep Magiere from fulfilling her destiny.

 

• ISBN10: 0451459067
• ISBN13: 9780451459060
• Publish Date: 7 January 2003
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 April 2012
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Dutton / Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451459060

Reviews

[mitabird]

4.5 stars

Dhampir was quite good. It starts off a little slow, but quickly picked up and became hard to put down. Magiere is a "vampire" hunter. What she is really doing is swindling villages out of their hard-earned cash. She, along with her half-elf partner, Leesil, set up schemes to make is seem as though these villages are being plagued by vampires and she is the only one qualified to rid them of these abominations. The vampire is really Leesil in disguise. After four years of playing this game, Magiere decides she had enough and wants to retire. Leesil is not too thrilled with this at first, but eventually agrees. She purchases a tavern in a town called Miiska and wishes to live out a peaceful existence. Little does she know that vampires do exist and some currently reside in Miiska.

What follows is a tale full of action, suspense, intrigue and some behind the scenes machinations. Magiere comes to find out that she is a Dhampir, half mortal, half vampire. She has the natural skills and talents to kill vampires, but it's not something she truly wishes to do. There's a man in the village who seems to know quite a bit about Dhampirs, but is not very forthcoming with the information. I felt for Magiere struggling to figure out what was going on with her, even though it was difficult for me to like her at first because she was a con artist. The vampires did not really appear evil and we do get to learn quite a bit about them. I liked them almost as much as Magiere and Leesil. This is a story that I would recommend.