The ''Cal Leandros'' series was an ongoing series of ''The New York Times'' Best Selling novels by American author

Rob Thurman Robyn Thurman, writing under the name Rob Thurman, is a ''New York Times'' Best Selling American novelist. To date, she has written three series and two short stories, totaling 17 books, and has been published in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan. ...

about the fictional character of Caliban "Cal" Leandros. The first novel, ''Nightlife'', was published on March 7, 2006, through Roc Fantasy.

Synopsis

The series follows Cal, a man that is half-monster and half-human. His mother was impregnated by an Auphe, a bloodthirsty creature also referred to as a "

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...

". The series begins with Cal and his brother Niko living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, struggling to keep Cal's heritage a secret as they battle to survive those that would see them dead. Later novels deal more heavily with Cal's attempts to balance the dark nature of his father's race with his impulse to protect and defend others against the supernatural.

Major characters

*Caliban "Cal" Leandros Caliban is the result of his mother mating with an otherworldly creature, a

(Auphe). He is, as Thurman describes him, "half-human, half-monster, and all attitude." Cal inherited his Greek-

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

mother's raven hair, but has the pale skin of his father. Technically, Cal begins the books as 17 years old, but he was once kidnapped by the Auphe and spent two years in their home dimension called Tumulus, making him 19, since time in that place follows different laws than on Earth. *Niko Leandros Niko is Cal's older half-brother and only sibling. He is described as being handsome, with the nose of a Roman soldier. Because of this he is often referred to by Cal as Cyrano, which is a nickname given as a reference to Niko's nose. As their mother was neglectful and really didn't pay much attention to them, Niko took to looking out for his younger brother at a young age. Considered the "practical" one of the pair, Niko is calm, and enjoys meditation and natural foods. Although Niko has no relation to the Auphe, he is as tough as nails and practices many types of

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. Thurman compares him to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

, and

Sun-Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ...

. *Robin Goodfellow Robin Goodfellow, also known as Rob Fellows, is one of the last known Pucks in existence. He poses as a car salesman and due to his sly, sneaky nature, fits in very naturally. Having been alive for an extremely long time, he has made his way through history, and crossed paths with the likes of

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

, and

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

to name a few. Although seemingly hedonistic and selfish, he eventually proves to be useful to the brothers and becomes a good friend. * Promise Nottinger Promise is a vampire. She has an otherworldly beauty with an ageless quality. In several books her age is alluded to, but never explicitly given. She has had five rich, older husbands whose fortunes she inherited after their deaths. Caliban and Niko meet up with her after one of her husbands' descendants attempts to kill her. She denies having drunk blood for many years and instead relies on iron supplements. Promise has a romantic relationship with Niko.

Minor characters

* Georgina "George" George is a human female, who is a psychic. In numerous instances she has helped the Leandros brothers out by seeing events in their futures. She refuses to look far into her own future or to try to change future events. She is also capable of seeing certain past events. Her romantic attraction to Caliban was never fully reciprocated, due to Cal's fear of how his Auphe heritage would affect any relationship they could have.

Bibliography

#''Nightlife'' (2006) #''Moonshine'' (2007) #''Madhouse'' (2008) #''Deathwish'' (2009) #''Roadkill'' (2010) #''Blackout'' (2011) #''Doubletake'' (2012) #''Slashback'' (2013) #''DownFall'' (2014) #''Nevermore'' (2015) #''Everwar'' (Uncertain – Publisher cancelled)

Reception

Critical reception for the series has been mostly positive, with

RT Book Reviews ''Romantic Times'' was an American genre magazine specializing in romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typicall ...

rating several of the books highly and nominating ''Blackout'' for their 2011 ''Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Urban Fantasy Novel''. Sales for the series have been good, with several of the novels placing on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for

mass market paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Rob Thurman's websiteRob Thurman's Livejournal
American horror novels American fantasy novels Novels by Rob Thurman Contemporary fantasy novels Novels set in New York City