Black Dawn is a young adult Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy novel by L. J. Smith. It's the eighth book in the Night World series and was published in November 1997. It was later reissued in the omnibus Night World 3, along with Huntress and Witchlight.
Maggie Neely and her family are devastated when they're informed that Maggie's older brother Miles has died in a climbing accident. However, Maggie notices there's something off about Miles' girlfriend Sylvia, the only witness to his accident. Suspecting that Sylvia is hiding the truth about Miles, Maggie tries to follow her, only to be abducted and find herself in the Dark Kingdom, a secret Night World enclave hidden in the Cascades, ruled by a cruel vampire prince.
Maggie believes that Miles could still be alive and trapped somewhere in the Dark Kingdom, setting out on a perilous quest to find him and rescue the other humans held captive alongside her. Her search leads her to cross paths with Prince Delos Redfern himself, but despite his cold demeanor and warnings to stay away from him, Maggie starts to wonder if there's more to him than meets the eye. Delos could mean the difference between life and death for Maggie and her loved ones, but will she be able to convince him to help her before it's too late?
Tropes found here include:
- Bathroom Break-Out: Or rather, a bathroom break-in. When Maggie has to sneak into Black Dawn Castle to find Delos, the only way in is climbing up through the garderobe, which she finds out is a medieval toilet. This was actually a legitimate tactic for sneaking into castles back in the day.
- Big Fancy Castle: Black Dawn Castle in the Dark Kingdom is a massive, centuries' old castle made of gleaming black stone that dominates the landscape and looks straight out of a gothic novel/film. Naturally, it's the home of the resident Vampire Monarch and lends its name to the title of the eighth book.
- Bittersweet Ending: Delos kills Hunter Redfern and several Dark Kingdom nobles, finally freeing himself from their control and robbing the Night World loyalists of valuable allies. The slaves of the Dark Kingdom are freed, Maggie and Delos both decide to devote themselves to helping them heal, and Delos pledges his allegiance to Circle Daybreak. Miles is found alive and although he'll always be a shapeshifter, he's taking it well and will likely adjust. The repentant Sylvia is killed helping Delos, although she is acknowledged for her sacrifice. Maggie knows that her life will never be the same and will likely be filled with danger, what with Delos' status as a Wild Power putting a target on his back and the upcoming apocalypse (which may spell doom for humankind), but she feels strong enough to face it, especially with her soulmate at her side.
- The Chase: After escaping from the wagon, Maggie and her companions run into the forest, pursued by shapeshifters Bern and Gavin. They end up separated, with Maggie sticking with Cady, who is weakened by her illness. After a period of running and hiding, Maggie and Cady get cornered by Bern at the foot of a mountain, with Maggie standing her ground and attempting to fight him. She's clearly no match for him...but luckily for her, Delos happens to be nearby.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The falcon Maggie sees Sylvia carrying on her arm during a hunting trip. In the end, she realizes that the falcon is in fact a shapeshifted Miles; Sylvia tells her she had Miles transformed so she could keep him close, and a falcon is easier to do that with compared to a larger animal. Maggie also guesses Gavin is a falcon shapeshifter and could've easily turned her brother into one at Sylvia's request.
- Continuity Nod:
- Hunter tells Sylvia that the witches already have one Wild Power on their side, referring to the discovery in Huntress that Jez Redfern is a Wild Power and her allegiance to Circle Daybreak.
- Sylvia seethes about having to watch half-humans be accepted as Harmans due to gaining their Harman lineage through the female line; this presumably refers to Gillian Lennox's discovery in Dark Angel that she is a lost Harman witch (Gillian's father is human, while her mother is unknowingly a witch, though it's possible her mother may also know of her true heritage by this point).
- Crapsack World: Jeanne describes the Dark Kingdom as "hell" and she's not far off. The kingdom is ruled by cruel nobles consisting of Night People, primarily vampires and witches, who keep humans as slaves, keeping them in squalid conditions, forcibly using them as a food supply (vampires drink their blood and shapeshifters eat their flesh), occasionally torturing and killing them for their own amusement and not even permitting them proper names. Any slave who tries to escape is brutally punished and may be executed as an example to the others. There are few wild animals in the valley because the Night People have hunted them all to extinction, so they bring in animals from the outside to hunt, including endangered exotic creatures. Life isn't always so peachy for the upper class either; the previous king was a cruel tyrant who would sometimes kill his own subjects with minimal provocation, and there's the shadow of a prophecy foretelling the end of the world looming over them. The king's own son has been abused and controlled most of his life by either his father or the nobles. Some 'lesser' Night People like shapeshifters can also apparently be killed by nobles with no consequences, given how little most people react to Delos killing Bern.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": This is enforced in the Dark Kingdom when it comes to the human slaves, who are all referred to by their job titles to further dehumanize them. Some of them are especially humiliating, such as Chamber Pot Emptier; Maggie can't bring herself to call her by her full name and so calls her Emptier because it's so degrading, and later encourages her to choose a proper name for herself. Some slaves like Jeanne had these names forced on them when they were captured, while others born into slavery have likely never had other names.
- Foreshadowing:
- At the start, Maggie has haphazardly pulled on mismatched socks, one red and one blue. We're told that this will actually save her life eventually. When Laundress is prepared to kill Maggie for fraternizing with a witch, Soaker notices and points out Maggie's socks, which as it turns out is a sign she's the slaves' prophesied savior - it is said that the Deliverer will come "shod in red and blue".
- Besides the reader's awareness of her true identity, there are a few hints that Cady isn't an ordinary captive for the Dark Kingdom. Bern and Gavin mention the importance of getting back a "maiden", saying Sylvia had personally ordered she be brought to the castle. Both Sylvia and Maggie had dismissed her as being of any importance, PJ was taken by Bern and has never met Sylvia, and Jeanne was captured trying to escape from the valley, so that just leaves Cady. Given her blindness, Cady also doesn't seem a likely candidate to be taken as a slave. PJ further mentions that she saw Cady a few days after PJ was kidnapped, which happened on Halloween, around the same time Miles went missing. Cady later explains that she was trying to get into the Dark Kingdom on a diplomatic mission, but ran afoul of an avalanche and was unlucky that Sylvia was the one to rescue her. Miles tried to defend Cady and was taken captive as well.
- From Bad to Worse: Things are already dire for Maggie and her companions, trapped in the Dark Kingdom with few supplies, little hope of rescue, slavers actively hunting them and Cady getting sicker by the moment. Then Maggie learns from Jeanne that the reason she was trying to escape is because the end of the world is believed to be coming soon and Hunter Redfern is trying to persuade Delos to leave the Kingdom to rule over the world at his side, which will include slaughtering all the slaves.
- Gone Horribly Right: Aradia wanted to get into the Dark Kingdom to meet with its rulers on a diplomatic mission. Her efforts inadvertently result in her being brought in as a captive.
- Gothic Horror: The novel draws a bit on this genre, with Maggie herself even remarking early on that it all feels "way too Gothic". A naive but plucky heroine enters an otherworldly land resembling a medieval kingdom to find a missing sibling, encounters vampires, witches and werebeasts, and meets a brooding Romantic Vampire Boy. There are prophecies, prophetic dreams, a castle, misty forests and mountains, the curse of family legacy and so on.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Jeanne says that the nobles will sometimes hunt human slaves through the valley for their amusement, usually to punish slaves who tried to escape. After they're captured, Hunter decides to organize a special hunt with Maggie, Delos and Aradia as the prey, though Aradia is able to convince Sylvia to intervene.
- Internal Reveal: The reader will likely be aware from the start that the mysterious 'Cady' is actually Aradia, the Maiden of the Witches, though it takes a lot longer for this to be revealed to Maggie and her companions. There are plenty of hints, such as Aradia subtly using magic to aid them, the slavers emphasizing that it's vitally important they get back a "maiden", Maggie mishearing Aradia's name as the similar-sounding Arcadia, and her physical description - especially her blindness - matching Aradia's. Even if the reader hadn't read Spellbinder (where Aradia was introduced), they will probably be able to figure out she's someone important before Maggie. It's actually a testament to Maggie's character that despite having no idea who Aradia is, she goes out of her way to help her because as far as she's concerned everyone is important. It just helps to have a powerful witch in your corner.
- Love Transcends Space Time: Early on, Maggie has a dream in which a handsome boy with golden eyes is looking for her, tells her she has to escape and shows her how to find the mountain pass. He also tells her that he loves her and Maggie genuinely feels a connection between them, even though she's never seen the boy before. Then she meets him in person and learns he's Prince Delos; she also figures out they're soulmates, though Delos isn't too impressed at first. It's later revealed that Delos had somehow managed to send his consciousness back in time to contact Maggie in her dream (which is an unusual occurrence even in this series), in a futile attempt to get her to leave before she was captured. This only made Maggie more determined to stay and find out who Delos is, as well as convincing her of his goodness. Delos also believes it only worked because of their soulmate bond.
- Medieval Stasis: The Dark Kingdom was founded in the 1400s and hasn't progressed beyond that time period culturally or technologically. This is justified in that up until three years ago, there was little contact between the Dark Kingdom and the outside world. Those that venture outside do make an effort to blend in with late 20th century America, such as wearing modern clothes and using cars, though in the Kingdom itself everyone looks like they belong at a Renaissance faire, as Maggie puts it.
- Muggle in Mage Custody: In the Dark Kingdom, which is ruled by vampires and has witches and shapeshifters in its ruling class, this is done en masse to humans; all humans in the Kingdom are slaves to the Night People. Hunter Redfern has grand plans for the Night World to Take Over the World and enslave the entire human population.
- Mysterious Mist: During Maggie's dream where she first encounters Delos despite never having met him before, the area is filled with white mist, which is an indicator this isn't an ordinary dream.
- Ominous Fog: The Dark Kingdom is constantly filled with eerie, swirling fog and mist that blots out the sun, likely an effect of the spells that keep the place hidden from outsiders. The fog finally dissipates in the end, once the slaves are freed.
- Plausible Deniability: When Sylvia questions Delos about Gavin's report of Delos killing Bern, interrupting his capture of two escaped slaves, Delos says he killed both Bern and the two slaves for disturbing his peace. As Maggie notes to herself, Gavin ran off after Bern was first struck by the blue fire, his body fell down a ravine out of sight, and there's no sign of the slaves, so as far as everyone can tell Delos is telling the truth and Gavin can't prove otherwise.
- Slave Liberation: Maggie orchestrates an escape for herself and three other slave girls, Cady, Jeanne and PJ, shortly after they're brought into the Dark Kingdom; they're able to overturn the old covered wagon they're being transported in, damaging the sides enough to get out and make a break for the forest. This eventually turns into a plan to free all the slaves in the Kingdom, after Maggie learns that Hunter Redfern plans to slaughter all the slaves. After Hunter and the nobles loyal to him are dead, Delos frees the slaves immediately, inviting them all into the castle.
- Snow Means Death: Aradia explains that while trying to use spells to find the Dark Kingdom's hidden entrance, the other witches she was with accidentally triggered an avalanche, killing everyone save Aradia; she was subsequently stranded in the mountains until Sylvia and Miles happened to find her.
- Title Drop: Black Dawn is the name of the castle in the Dark Kingdom where the royal family and court reside.
- Wham Line: "Somebody had been playing Tic-Tac-Toe there." And by "there" we mean on the skin of Jeanne's back, with a knife and perhaps a cigarette. It's at this moment Maggie - and the reader - truly grasps how terrible the Dark Kingdom is and how much danger they're in.
- Wham Shot: Jeanne's horrific back scars serve as this to Maggie, who feels faint at the sight. Much later, Maggie insists on showing Jeanne's scars to Delos, who is equally as horrified, finally realizing just how awful things are in the Dark Kingdom and being convinced he can (and must) help stop them.
- You Already Changed the Past: Prince Delos projects his consciousness back in time to warn Maggie to leave the Dark Kingdom, so that she won't be captured and endangered later. However, when Maggie sees Delos in present-time, the fact that she recognises him from her dream ensures her determination to learn more about him, and events proceed as they originally did. Interesting, as she tells him about the dream, so he is aware that he already changed the past."I know," [Delos] said, and his voice was tired and a bit forlorn. He sounded very young, just then. "But it was worth a try."
