Shadowspawn series

A Taint in the Blood (Shadowspawn -1) by S.M. Stirling — A Taint in the Blood (Shadowspawn #1) by S.M. Stirling

Shadowspawn series — S.M. Stirling

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Fantasy / Alternate History UF

Series Description or Overview[]

✥ It features "Shadowspawn", an ancient subspecies of Homo sapiens who formed the basis of legends about vampires and werewolves and have been secretly controlling the world for most of the 20th century. ~ Goodreads | Shadowspawn series by S.M. Stirling

✥ First in the new Shadowspan series from the New York Times bestselling "master of speculative fiction" (Library Journal). — Eons ago, Homo Lupens ruled the earth. Possessing extraordinary powers, they were the source of all of the myths and legends of the uncanny. And though their numbers have been greatly reduced, they exist still- though not as purebreds. Adrian Breze is one such being. Wealthy and reclusive, he is more Shadowspawn than human. But he rebelled against his own kind, choosing to live as an ordinary man. Now, to save humanity, he must battle the dark forces of the world-including those in his own blood. ~ Goodreads | A Taint in the Blood (Shadowspawn #1) by S.M. Stirling

Lead's Species[]

Shadowspan/Human

Primary Supe[]

Shadowspan — blood-drinking shape-shifters

What Sets it Apart[]

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

Third person narrative

Books in Series[]

Shadowspawn series:

A Taint in the Blood (2010)
The Council of Shadows (2011)
Shadows of Falling Night (2013)

Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides[]

"Pain and Suffering" in Down These Strange Streets (2011) Shadowspawn series #2.5

World Building[]

Setting[]

Santa Fe

Places: San Francisco, California, Mhabrogast, Rancho Sangre, West Coast, Doña, Calcutta, Tiflis, Paris, New Mexico, San Simeon, Congo, Santa, Long Life, Black Dawn, Los Alamos, Seversk, Siberia,

Supernatural Elements[]

Shadowspawn, Detective, vampires, werewolves, telepathy, scientist,

Glossary:[]

Shadowspawn: the ancient, shape-shifting, blood-drinking breed who secretly control the world—the sub-species homo sapiens nocturnis.
Nocturnus:
Lucy: living person used as a source of blood by a Shadowspawn
Renfield: living person in service to a Shadowspawn. Renfields were normally not used as a source of blood by Shadowspawn, although there were exceptions.

Groups & Organizations:[]

Council of Shadows: control the world— ruled the world by influencing the decisions of humans. Its predecessor was the Order of the Black Dawn. It was composed of thirteen post-corporeal Shadowspawn.
Brotherhood: resistance group dedicated to breaking the Council's hold on humankind...by any means necessary
Order of the Black Dawn: predecessor of the Council of Shadows. It was European-based and Euro-centric. It sent "missionaries" to other lands to seek out other Shadowspawn
Conspirators: Shadowspawn who were born in the twentieth century who intended to eliminate the older generation and take control of the Council of Shadows. The Conspirators were opposed to the plan to trim back humanity by using EMP.
Santa Fe Police:

World[]

The Shadowspawn is the sub-species homo sapiens nocturnis. They have a slightly different skeletal structure. They are able to mate with other humans and produce viable offspring. Their genes exist throughout humankind and may be measured on the Alberman Scale. Although small in number, it is the world's dominant subspecies. Doctor Fiona Duggan considered the name "Shadowspawn" to be ridiculously melodramatic.

Mhabrogast was the language of Hell. Members of the Shadowspawn use it to communicate between themselves and for wreaking. Adrian Brézé described it as an operating code. ~ Shadowspawn - S. M. Stirling Wiki

Protagonist[]

✥ Adrian Breze:

Sidekick[]

Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Shadowspawn Characters - S. M. Stirling Wiki

Characters	What	About
Adrian Brézé	vampire	has expensive tastes, loves Ellen, sibling rivalry with Adrienne
Adrienne Brézé	Adrian's twin sister	violent and ruthless, adores her children, and cunning
Harvey Ledbetter	Adrian's father figure	has powers, resourceful and cunning, and dangerous
Ellen Tarnowski Brézé	Adrian's wife	degree in art history and strong, cares about others, and weird tastes
Anjali Guha	member of the brotherhood	intelligent, and has powers
Peter Boase	scientist	one of Adrienne's Lucy, and interested in unlocking vampire's abilities
Jack Farmer	fanatic	member of the brotherhood, dislike vampires,and has powers;
Cesar
Hajime	vampire	controls California side of the council of Shadow and Mikiko's father
Leila:	Adrienne's daughter
Michiko	Adrienne's friend	violent and ruthless
Eric Salvador	detective	Santa Fe police
Dmitri Pavlovitch Usov		Adrienne's associative
Leon:	Adrienne's son
Dhul Fiqar	black market dealer
Monica	Adrienne's lucy,	likes helping people, and has two children
Arnaud
Eusabia Cortines
Dale Shadowblade
Mrs. Lopez
Duggan
Jose
Ms. Demarcio
Doña
Theresa

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table or Column (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column.

Author[]

S.M. Stirling

Website: S.M. Stirling
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Bio: I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft?I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby. ~ S.M. Stirling

Cover Artist[]

Artist: Chris McGrath

Other Contributors[]

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Author Page: S. M. Stirling - Penguin Books USA
Author Page: S.M. Stirling | Authors | Macmillan
Author Page: S.M. Stirling from HarperCollins Publishers
Author Page: S.M. Stirling | Official Publisher Page

A Taint in the Blood: Hardcover, 432 pages, Pub May 4th 2010—ISBN: 0451463412
The Council of Shadows:
Shadows of Falling Night:

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—A Taint in the Blood (): Eons ago, the powerful Homo Nocturnis ruled the earth. While their numbers have been greatly reduced, they still exist-though not as purebreds. Adrian Breze is one such being. Wealthy and reclusive, he is more Shadowspawn than human. But he rebelled against his kind, choosing to live as an ordinary man. Now, to save humanity, he must battle the dark forces of the world-including those in his own blood. ~ A Taint in the Blood | S.M. Stirling ~ Author's site

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—The Council of Shadows (2011): New from the New York Times bestselling author of A Taint in the Blood. Adrian Brézé defied his own dark heritage as a near-purebred Shadowspawn for years, until his power-hungry sister Adrienne kidnapped his human lover Ellen. Now, Adrienne is dead, and the Council of Shadows is gathering its strength. To stop the Council from launching an apocalypse, Adrian and Ellen must ally with the Brotherhood, a resistance group dedicated to breaking the Council's hold on humankind...by any means necessary. In the coming confrontation, Adrian must fight not only the members of the Council but also his own nature-and, as he will come to suspect, traitors within the Brotherhood itself. ~ The Council of Shadows (Shadowspawn 2) by S. M. Stirling ~ Shelfari

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Shadows of Falling Night (): At last, S. M. Stirling, the New York Times bestselling author of the Novels of the Change, presents the stunning climax to his Shadowspawn trilogy—the ultimate confrontation, in which the fate of all humanity hangs in the balance.... She’s back.... Near-purebred home nocturnus Adrian Brézé and his human mate, Ellen, thought they had dealt with his twin sister, Adrienne. In fact, they thought she was dead. But she survived and now leads a faction of the Shadowspawn—the ancient, shape-shifting, blood-drinking breed who secretly control the world—that wants to leave just enough of the human race alive to satisfy their hunger and serve their needs. She has nothing but hatred and contempt for her brother, who remains on the side of humanity, fighting with the Brotherhood against the Shadowspawn. To defeat him, she has suborned his mentor—the greatest warrior of the Brotherhood. The man thinks he’s bringing a weapon to the Council of Shadows that will wipe out the Shadowspawn’s leaders. In truth, his actions will make Adrienne demon-goddess of the world...unless Adrian and Ellen can turn him back in time. ~ Shadows of Falling Night (Shadowspawn 3) ~ Shelfari

First Sentences[]

A Taint in the Blood (2010) — Ellen Tarnowski pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the engine; utter silence fell, save for the pinging sound of hot metal contracting.
The Council of Shadows (2011) — Ellen Tarnowski ran through the darkness, darkness so thick that the jungle was merely shapes of a deeper black.
Shadows of Falling Night (2013) — "This fascination with vampires . . ." the young Frenchman said as she finished the song and collapsed backward onto the sofa.