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in: Elementals, Shaman, Faeries as Main Supe,
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Dark Swan Series

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Dark Swan 1. Storm Born (2008) 2. Thorn Queen (2009) 3. Iron Crowned (2011) 4

Storm Born (Dark Swan #1)

Dark Swan Series ia written by Richelle Mead. 

Genre and Subgenres[]

Urban Fantasy for adults. 

Brief Series Description or Overview[]

Eugenie Markham (aka “Odile Dark Swan”) is a shaman living near Phoenix, Arizona. She runs her own business as a hunter of evil Fae creatures and other demonic beings from the Otherworld and the Underworld. She either destroys them or sends them back to the Underworld. ~ Fang-tastic: Dark Swan

Lead's Species[]

  • Shaman, demon & evil fae hunter-slayer

Primary Supe[]

  • Faeries, Shaman

What Sets it Apart[]

  • Shaman as lead

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • First person narrative told by Eugenie Markham, protagonist. 

Books in Series[]

Dark Swan series:

  1. Storm Born (2008)
  2. Thorn Queen (2009)
  3. Iron Crowned (2011)
  4. Shadow Heir (2011) ~ final book

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

none 

Other Series by Author[]

Themes[]

World Building[]

Setting[]

Phoenix, Arizona; Otherworld

Places:

  • Thorn Land: in the Otherworld
  • Rowan Land: at war with Thornland
  • Oak Land:
  • Alder Land:
  • Yew Land: Volusian was once a soldier of the Yew Land

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Shaman, Faeries, fae creatures, shape-shifters, Kitsune, spirits, Souls, demonic beings, prophecy, elementals, water spirits, Thorn Queen, Fae king, magical iron crown, Otherworld, Underworld, Thorn Land in the Underworld, Rowan Land, gentry, creatures that cause immense depression,

Glossary:[]

  • Kitsune: fox shape-shifter;
  • Iron Crown: A crown made of iron, which gives it's bearer the ability to separate a monarch from his/her land, without having to kill the monarch first.

Groups & Organizations:[]

World[]

Prophecy: Eugenie's first born son will conquer the human world

Eugenie is a powerful shaman who banishes spirits and fey out of the mortal world into either hell or back to their world, depending on their crime. She's never actually made a trip physically into the Otherworld, but when she takes the case of a kidnapped teenager who's being held by a Gentry king, the only way is to go in physically, grab the girl, and get out! Gr Reader | Julie

Protagonist[]

✥ Eugenie Markham (aka “Odile Dark Swan”) is a shaman living near Tucson, Arizona. She runs her own business as a hunter of evil fairy creatures and other demonic beings from the Otherworld and the Underworld. She either destroys them or sends them back to the Underworld. Eugenie learns of a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about both her past (particularly her powerful Fae father) and her future. She also attracts two handsome, sexy love interests: Dorian, a Fae king, and Kiyo, a shape-shifting fox (kitsune). When word of the prophecy gets out, every creature in the Otherworld is out to capture, kill, or copulate with Eugenie, and she must learn how to bring her powers to their fullest heights to save herself and keep the prophecy from coming true. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Richelle Mead: DARK SWAN

Sidekick[]

Name: — What: — Sidekick-to: — About: — Book First Seen In:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Eugenie Markham (aka “Odile Dark Swan”) Shaman / hunter of evil Fae other demonic beings Eugenie learns of a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about both her past (particularly her powerful Fae father) and her future. She also attracts two love interests: Dorian and Kiyo. When word of the prophecy gets out, every creature in the Otherworld is out to capture, kill, or copulate with Eugenie; daugther of the Storm King. She works as Shaman-for-hire in the human world.
Dorian Fae king of the Oak Land love interest; allied with Eugenie in War against Queen Katrice; Dorian is a warrior who protected Eugenie and took the ultimate retaliation on the man who harmed her; innate need for power; Eugenie's lover;
Kiyo Marquez half kitsune, veterinarian Eugenie's lover; pacifist through and through; refused to stand up for Eugenie at a critical moment; father of Maiwenn's child;
Volusian Soul; powerful spirit Eugenie's minion; spirit bound to Eugenie; obliged to follow Eugenie's orders;
Maiwenn Queen of the Willow Land; Eugenie's friend; pregnant by Kiyo;
Roland Markham shaman Eugenie's stepfather; slayer of the Storm King
Candace shaman Roland’s shaman friend
King Aeson King of the Alder Land enemy of Eugenie
Maiwenn Willow Queen Eugenie's friend; on/off-lover of Kiyo; mother to Luisa by Kiyo; the prophecy causes her to betray Eugenie;
Wil Delaney Paranoid 'psyco' blogger Looking for his sister; paranoid conspiracy theorist;
Jamie Eugenie's sister
Jasmine Delaney fae Tirigan Storm King's daugther; Eugenie's teen half-sister; Wil's sister; kidnapped; has magical powers over water;
Lara secretary Eugenie's secretary in the Human world; tiny blond, blue eyes;
Timothy Red Horse, "Poet" roommate, Polish pretends to be a Native American; Eugenie's housemate; does housekeeping & cooking for rent; dating Lara
Nandi Spirit Zulu black woman in life; bound to Odile's service for three years so she can find peace.
Finn Soul not bound to Eugenie but is interested in what she does
Shaya regent of Thorn Land King Dorian's right hand military woman; protects Dorian and his surrounding lands; healer that works for Eugenie in the Thorn and Rowan lands;
Rurik power of ice one of Dorian's men; takes care of Thorn Land politics and affairs; Shaya's lover; later: soldier of Rowan and Thorn; married to Shaya;
Gawyn Dorian's servant defected from King Aeson's side
Candace shaman
Ysabel Dorian's concubine; power over Air; Looks like Eugenie; hates Eugenie; Pagiel and Ansonia's mother;
Luisa baby Kiyo's new born daugther
Katrice Rowan Queen wages a war with the Thorn Land and Oak Land
Deanna: ghost seeks Eugenie's help to solve her murder
Enrique Valdez Private investigator hired to investigate Deanna's murder
Masthera seer Oak Land citizen; has a seer ability
Imanuelle de la Colline illusionist, assassin Girar's sister
Pagiel Air elemental Ysabel's son who acts as a bodyguard for Eugenie; has a crush on Jasmine;
Issac Eugenie & Dorian's son twin sister: Ivy; Thundro is the nickname given to him by Dorian;
Ivy Eugenie & Dorian's daughter twin brother: Issac; looked after by Candace and Charles and Evan;
Yaria Queen of Yew Land banished Volusian's spirit to the underworld; causes the winter blight;
Edira Ysabel's mother ex-mistress of Storm King
Candace Reed Shaman of Alabama married to Charles; protects Eugenie during her pregnancy; guardian of the twins while Eugenie's in the otherworld
Charles Candace's husband uncle of Evan;
Evan school teacher from Alabama; develops feelings for Eugenie; helps raise her children

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Richelle-Mead-fence

Richelle Mead

Author[]

Richelle Mead

Bio: (born November 12, 1976) is a bestselling American fantasy author. She has three ongoing series: the Georgina Kincaid series, the Vampire Academy series, and the Dark Swan series. All are available internationally, including countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. She was born in Michigan, and now lives in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Washington. She has three degrees: a Bachelor of General Studies from the University of Michigan, a Master of Comparative Religion from Western Michigan University, and a Master of Teaching from the University of Washington. Her teaching degree led her to become an 8th grade teacher in suburban Seattle, where she taught social studies and English. She continued writing in her free time, until she sold her first novel, Succubus Blues. After quitting her job to write full time, her other books quickly followed. Mead actively writes books in three different series. The schedule for this is so demanding that she has to turn out a draft for a new book every three months. This is an extremely fast turnaround compared to the year that most authors take to write a book. ~ Vampire Academy.org

Cover Artist[]

Artist: Paul Stinson — source: Bibliography: Cover: Storm Born

Publishing Information[]

  • Publisher: Zebra
  • Author Page:
  • Bk-1: MM-Paperback, 361 pages, Pub. Aug 1st 2008, ISBN-1420100963

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Storm Born (2008): Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants. Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy—one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it. Now Eugenie is a hot target for every ambitious demon and Otherworldy ne'er-do-well, and the ones who don't want to knock her up want her dead. Eugenie handles a Glock as smoothly as she wields a wand, but she needs some formidable allies for a job like this. She finds them in Dorian, a seductive fairy king with a taste for bondage, and Kiyo, a gorgeous shape-shifter who redefines animal attraction. But with enemies growing bolder and time running out, Eugenie realizes that the greatest danger is yet to come, and it lies in the dark powers that are stirring to life within her. ~ Goodreads | Storm Born

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Thorn Queen (2009): But something happened after her last battle. She became queen of the Thorn Land. With her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind, the job's really not all it's cracked up to be. Now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one seems willing to find out why. Or to put an end to it. Not that Eugenie's fazed by spilling fey blood, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and dangerous—and nursing a very personal grudge. Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in a power she can barely control. She may be a reluctant queen, but she's vowed to do her duty, even if it means facing the darkest and deadliest side of her nature. ~ Goodreads | Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2) by Richelle Mead

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB— Iron Crowned (2011): An embattled mystically entwined with our own, the Otherworld is at the mercy of one woman... Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear… Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation—one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril. ~ Goodreads | Iron Crowned (Dark Swan, #3)

✤ BOOK FOUR BLURB— hadow Heir (2012): #1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own—and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage... Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld... The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't—or won't—reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon—and risk the ultimate sacrifice.. ~ Goodreads | Shadow Heir (Dark Swan, #4)

First Sentences[]

  1. Storm Born (2008) — I'd seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many.
  2. Thorn Queen (2009) — Sad fact: lots of kids know how to use knives and guns.
  3. Iron Crowned (2011) — Don’t confuse fairy queens with fairy princesses.
  4. Shadow Heir (2011) — I'm sure Ohio's a perfectly nice place, once you get to know it.

Quotes[]

Read Alikes (suggestions)[]

— If you like these, you may like this:

Awards[]

Trivia[]

LISTS PER BOOK:

Notes[]

See Also[]

Category links at bottom of page

External References[]

Books:

Summaries:

World, Characters, etc:

Reviews:

Artist:

Author, Misc:

Community and Fan Sites: 

Gallery of Book Covers[]

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