The Taker

The merger of alchemy and love in Maine makes for a strong rural fantasy

At Aroostook County Hospital in St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley works the ER graveyard shift. Sheriff Duchesne brings in a handcuffed young person covered with blood and wearing no coat on a freezing night. The sheriff believes Lanore McIlvrae murdered Jonathan.

In the ER with only Luke present, Lanny insists she is innocent. She explains her family exiled her to Boston to give birth to an illegitimate child in 1817. There she met ancient alchemist Count Adair and his retinue. The Count saved her life when he gave her an immortality potion but at the cost of her becoming his mistress. Lanny accepted what her savior expected of her until now when he went after her true love Jonathan.

The merger of alchemy and love in Maine makes for a strong rural fantasy. The story line starts a bit slow as the key players are introduced directly and indirectly in the present and the past; once done the plot accelerates as skeptical readers and a doubting Luke become hooked believers. The key to The Taker is that the audience accepts as true Lanny's Faustian cautionary tale of evil's eternal energy to remain alive at all costs to others.

Harriet Klausner

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Easy to read but not what I expected

Over all as I said it was extremely easy to read. I generally read about a chapter a night I was about 14 in before I put it down. I did think it was going to go a different way. The story takes a detour and thought it would just be a hiccup. But this small conflict that I thought would only take a few chapters to get out of ended up being the whole story. Not sure that I liked that but I buy and read it all so I guess it worked. Oh some discriptions I saw talk about what a good love story it is.. Nope. If you're into the whole onesided, he can't be faithful b/c he's so beautiful and women love him so I have to be okay with the short end of the stick type thing then you'll love this. But it is a good book. Dark sometimes but good.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

very interesting read

I found myself hooked. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next. Having said that, I was so frustrated with the main character, Lanny. She is obsessed with Jonathan and repeatedly makes one horrible decision after another because of this obsession. It did grow weary after a while. She is a forward thinker for her time. She knows her place in society and doesn't like it, but her decisions made me want to scream. Her story is at times amusing, dark, scary and romantic. Be forewarned, this book is violent and sex is used as a weapon. There is one scene that really disturbed me and I'm glad the author made it short. I gave this book a high rating because it evoked so much emotion from me. Isn't that what a book is supposed to do?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

4.5 out of 5 Stars, a must read for everyone!

There is NOT one perfect word to describe this novel. Matter of fact, there is not one perfect sentence to describe this novel. To express what The Taker is you must live the experience, every word, every laugh, and every despicable act that transpired. When I thought I had the heart story figured out, Katsu changed it up and made it into something else entirely. It was an intensely dark tale of unrelenting love and the struggle one woman went through to keep it in her possession. I also had the pleasure of interviewing Alma Katsu on my blog and it was absolutely wonderful! She is a delight and there is more than meets the eye with her characters.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Disturbing with a dash of intrigue.

This novel is not for the faint of heart. The Taker is the first in a trilogy by Alma Katsu.

Well written, well researched, descriptive and a little frightening, Alma tells the story of Lanny, a young girl from the 1800s, who is in love with the town founder's handsome son Jonathan, and what she does to keep him.

Luke - a present day doctor from the town that Lanny once grew up in - plays the role of the listener, and I'd venture to say that he's inconsequential to the story; though I'm sure in the remainder of the trilogy he will become important.

I was not a fan of Lanny, she was obsessed with Jonathan - who has very few redeeming qualities, other than his face - and mislabels her feelings for him as love. Her character seemed a bit creepy and self-serving. Her world resolves around Jonathan - who was promiscuous and hardly courageous - and she would do just about anything to have him. I'm not entirely sure what anyone in the town saw in him, other than his good looks.

Adair, the villan of the story, is quite intriguing. Upon meeting him, the story takes a turn for the disturbing. For fear of giving away spoilers, I wouldn't delve into the mystery around Adair, however, reading his storyline was probably the most engrossing part of the novel for me.

The thing that irked me the most was the improper use of love and sex among the characters. Though I believe this is on purpose, obsession was labeled as love and sex was used as a terrible weapon. It was a disturbing theme that ran though the entire story and not quite my cup of tea.

I think the mystery of the book and Lanny's quick thinking will appeal to a number of readers. The story has a strong conclusion, while still leaving it open for future books.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Live To Read

Lanore is one of the main characters in this book and she is the quality of the book that really draws the reader in. She's a bit of an enigma; Luke, another main character, does not know what to make of her. He meets her under odd circumstances...she is a possible suspect in a brutal murder case. She begins to tell her tale to him as a way of getting him to open up to her and maybe believe her. Where she lived, women were thought of as fixtures in a house, meant for the "women's tasks" and not much else. There were fairly rigid rules. Jonathan comes along and really shakes her up. Their relationship grows from friends to "something more" and then goes a step further-she discovers she is pregnant with his child.


She is sent away from home to give birth, shamed. She is supposed to return without the child, she cannot keep her own baby. However, she is apprehended and taken by an evil man called Adair...her tale gets more and more sordid and horrible from here, the story really takes off.


The plot is interesting and, in part, horrifying. The reader will be captivated by some of the more lengthy descriptions of Lanore's experiences. She is a sympathetic character who is likable and the reader will have no trouble enjoying her character. The secondary characters vary widely; some are nice, some are cruel, and other are more..."eh." This novel is, if nothing, interesting and worth a read. This book would be great for adult readers who enjoy mystery and drama.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

After an inevitable divorce and the death of his parents, Luke i

After an inevitable divorce and the death of his parents, Luke is unable to sell his parents farm and move on. His life has become a monotonous holding pattern of regret and indecisiveness until Lanore is brought into the E.R. Covered in the blood of her true love, Lanore must prove to Luke that she’s not a murderer and solicit his help in escape. To get his attention, she reveals a secret and weaves a tale that is so unbelievable it forces Luke to turn away from his inherent belief of right and wrong, and follow his heart, and soul.

Lanore’s story begins with Jonathon; the beautiful and alluring son of the town’s founding family. Overcome with her emotion and want to singly possess him, she corners him and professes her love. Born with an almost otherworldly beauty, Jonathon’s face is the kind that turns every head in the room. Men despise him, women want to own him and through it all Lanore is his only friend and confidant.

The story is almost painful to read as the two get older. Jonathon grows into his beauty and the attention it draws causing Lanore’s love for him to reach a turning point and go beyond normal to a dark possessiveness and leading to her forced departure. Alone and in a strange city, she’s lured to the house of Count Adair and forced into a hidden world of excess, depravity, and immorality. Adair’s apparent obsession with the collection of beauty and vitality threatens the one person Lanore holds dear. Because of Lanore’s love and protectiveness of Jonathon, the two embark on a dangerous path that could ultimately lead to the loss of his soul.

Back in the present, Luke is captivated with Lanore’s story. Her inconceivable loss, loneliness, and amount of love she has to give brings out an inherent belief that he must protect her at all costs, as well as an emerging affection for her that he can’t explain. As she draws them deeper into her past, she provides the ability for him to finally move on from his own.

Memorable Quotes:

Lanore’s taker...
“I´ve always wanted him to love me the way I loved him. He did love me, I know he did. Just not the way I wanted him to.

"And it´s so different for a lot of people I´ve known. One partner doesn´t love the other enough to stop drinking, or gambling, or running around with other women. One is the giver and one is the taker. The giver wishes the taker would stop."

"But the taker never changes," Luke says, though he wonders if this is always the case.

"Sometimes the giver has to let go, but sometimes you don´t. You can´t. I couldn´t give up on Jonathan. I seemed to be able to forgive him anything.”

The deception of youth...
“We were arrogant and naive, thinking we knew what we felt then was love. Love can be a cheap emotion, lightly given, thought it didn´t seem so to me at the time. Looking back, I know we were only filling in the holes in our soles, the way the tide rushes sand to fill in the crevices of a rocky shore. We-or maybe it was just I-bandaged our needs with what we declared was love. But, eventually, the tide draws out what it has swept in.”

A warning taken in stride, but neglected...
“I've come to warn you, too. It's a dangerous game you're playing. There's a reason the rest of us maintain a distance from Adair, and we've learned our lesson the hard way. But now you've shown him love and that's given him the notion that he is deserving of such devotion. Did you ever think that perhaps the only thing that holds the devil in check is that he knows how despised he his? Even the devil longs for sympathy at times, but sympathy for the devil is fuel for the flame. Your love will embolden him--likely in a way that will bring you regret.”

If you liked The Taker...
If you enjoyed The Taker and are looking for more dark tales of unrequited love, passion, and possession, don’t miss E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, a memorable story of passion, discovery, and the ultimate control.

Final Thoughts:
The Taker is gripping, desolate, and beautiful. Katsu’s way with words and ability to leave the reader on the edge of their seat as she maneuvers through past and present, love and lasciviousness, keeps your eyes glued to the page and your heart in your throat. The Taker is a must-read!

I had to read this book. The reviews alone had me so intrigued I

I had to read this book. The reviews alone had me so intrigued I had to see what this hype was all about. This is one of the more graphic and dark novels that I've read. The story shifts from present day to historical but in a way that keeps the reader completely engrossed and utterly thirsting for what happens next. With all the vampire, angel and demon young adult novels that are out right now this book, while quite dark and at times horrifying, is a welcome breath of fresh air.

The story of love and betrayal between the main characters Lanny and Jonathan covers over two centuries of time and the writer has done an amazing job of immersing the reader in the story. You can close your eyes and picture the grand masion and the beauty of the chracters. The sadness of her families troubles, while making Lanny's heart ache, does not stay her from her scandalous mission to bring Jonathan back to Boston to the mysterious Adair. The character of Luke seems more a neccesary character then an essential character, but you do tend to find yourself sympathizing with him and the role he plays.

This was an amazing story but definitely not for the faint of heart. You will find yourself losing track of time because you are so into reading this book. I am dying to read the next book in this series and see what happens to the characters next.

It had elements I expected and some that made me squeamish. Ove

It had elements I expected and some that made me squeamish. Overall I enjoyed this strange and dark tale. Katsu is a talented writer and her writing style captivated me. Some of the subject matter made me uncomfortable and I found myself skimming through those scenes. Ordinarily I would have stopped reading, but I had this overwhelm need to know Lanore’s story.- that is the beauty of Katsu’s writing.


The tale begins at a rural hospital in Maine. Dr. Luke Findley is just beginning his shift and is told the local police are bringing in a murder suspect and need him to check her over. When Lanore McIlvrae walks in, he is shocked that this tiny, beautiful blonde, with cork-screw curls and blue eyes is involved in a murder. She is covered in blood and won’t speak. The police leave a guard and head out to the woods to find the body of the man she confessed to killing. Once inside an exam room, Lanore (Lanny as she prefers), asks Findley to help her escape. She claims that she only helped a friend die at his request and that there are things he cannot understand. Not easily duped he proceeds to examine her, removing Lanny’s bloody clothing and looking for injuries. It is then that Lanny grabs a scalpel and shows Findley something he won’t soon forget. She then proceeds to tell him her story….the tale that unfolds is romantic, dark, gritty and spans nearly two hundred years.

Lanore shares her life story with us. She begins her tale in 1809 set against the Maine Territory. The author skillful takes us from the present to the past. Lanore tells the past, and Findley the present. This was clever because Findley could clarify things by asking questions about what we had just read. The tale that Lanore share’s with us is so unbelievable that it had a ring of truth to it. It is a one-sided love story about her and a man named Jonathan. It is filled with obsession, alchemy, and magic. Some of the events that occur in Boston, supernatural elements aside, are probably based in truth, but nevertheless made this reader uncomfortable. There are two sides to Lanore and I found her to be complex and interesting. When it came to Jonathan and her feelings for him, she was a naïve, love sick child. Then the author shows us the darker side of Lanore and I was entranced. At times I questioned her feelings for Jonathan, especially after his selfish acts. Findley is captivated and horrified by Lanore and her story. Yet he is unable to resist hearing it to its conclusion. Lanore’s story contains lots of sex, some implied and others graphic. It contains all forms of sexual encounters and may offend some readers. Think of an opium house and you will get the idea.

Katsu offers us an intriguing look at unrequited love. While some of the subject matter was dark, I ultimately enjoyed the Taker. Days after reading it, I find myself thinking about Lanore and Jonathan.

Good book, but not great!

Interesting book, easy to read. The character of Lanny is shallow and not very likable, but I was still drawn into her story. Parts of the book were a little wordy and overly written, and I was able to skim entire paragraphs without losing the story line. Even though Katsu was able to sustain my interest with some plot twists, I am not sure if I am intrigued enough to will the sequels.

Riveting

WOW! I rarely say that about a book.

Spin on Immortality

I know what you’re probably thinking, not another vampire story about immortality and love! Once a fan of the vampire lore, I’ve come to loathe each new release because of the over and poorly done books flooding the market. However, I’m not completely jaded and I’m glad I gave The Taker a chance to seduce me back into the underworld. The story alternates between past and present combining modern with historical fiction. A spin on immortality, or how it came about for these characters, adds a fresh twist that is interesting and captivating. Author Alma Katsu establishes her own style combining fairy tale lore with an Anne Rice like voice providing the story with an old school vamp feel that made me grin and turn page after lovely page. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not redundant or copied by any means, but if you prefer tradition with a turn, you’ll enjoy reading The Taker.

Not what I expected

Instead of a love story, this book is a story of obsession. The fatal flaw committed at the end sets up the next book. Not sure if I'll continue the journey

A must read!

I'm not going to go into great detail about why you should read this book. Just do yourself a favor and read it! I could not put it down! I would carry it with me everywhere, just incase i got an opportunity to sneak in a few pages! The sequel come out this fall, and i can't wait to see what kind of revenge Adair has in mind for Lanny!!!

Dark & Beautiful

Life in St. Andrews has no more to offer to Dr. Luke Findley, that is until a spark of exitment comes his way as he meets murder suspect Lanore McIlvrae one night in the hospital. It was supposed to be an easy and fast check up before she was taken to the police station but the moment she grabs the scalpel and slices herself and the wound starts to heal before Luke's eyes. His fascination for this strange women and the promise to know her story are enough to make Luke help her escape.
Lanore story begins in the 1800's where she takes us in her life as a mortal and how she comes to be what she is now and how she ended up a murder suspect.

I must start with the fact that I didn't really liked Lanny the main character of this story yet the story she tell is so compelling, so addictive to the point that I couldn't bring myself to put the book down and when I put it down for whatever reason I couldn't wait to pick up where I left, for it was imperative to know what happened next. This story is not one of happy endings or one where good will prevail. The only warning you should have is that it's accompanied by some sexual references, so you have been warned.
This is a dark, beautiful, compelling and addictive story. The way it develops is a little slow so it makes it great to read when you just want to read something and really enjoy it, and the fact that you may have some other stuff to do will only had excitement to your book reading experience. Be ready to feel, this is book brings out all sorts of different emotions and comes with the probability of tears so be ready.

Awesome

Waiting for next book

Will keep you guessing

The Taker gets 4.3 stars and I don't know what you've heard about it, but it isn't anything you're going to expect. I spent 3/4 of the book trying to figure out what it was actually about...because this thing really makes you think while you're reading it. I finally decided the best description I can give without totally giving the complex story away (if that's even possible) is: this is a tale about yearning to be accepted. It will take you places you never expected to go and is not a book to take up lightly. It may even make you re-evaluate decisions you've made in your own life. Nicely done, Alma Katsu.

Great Modern Take on a Gothic Novel

It isn't easy to describe or categorize THE TAKER by Alma Katsu. It is a dark tale with gothic elements. It is a love story featuring twisted notions of love and plenty of jealousy. It is also a historical novel, spanning more than 200 years in the life of the main character, Lanore or Lanny. It may not be easy to describe THE TAKER in terms of genre, but I can say that this was an enticing read from beginning to end.

The story begins in present time with Lanny taken into a hospital for evaluation after admitting to killing a man in the woods. Dr. Luke Findley isn't quite sure what is going on with this young woman, but he is quickly beguiled by her tale. Lanny begins to tell Luke about her life in the town of St. Andrews, a life that began more than 200 years earlier. Her story tells of the hard life experienced by her family in the wilds of Maine in the early 1800s, as well as her friendship and then affair with Jonathan St. Andrews, scion of the St. Andrews family, founders of the town. Lanny's tale moves to Boston, where she encounters Adair and his entourage.

Lanny's tale is not light and happy but filled with pain, dark and twisted desires, love and jealousy, as well as alchemy and magic. Lanny has become immortal at the hands of Adair and also suffers untold horrors at his hands. She is also exposed to culture and beauty that she had never dreamed possible. Unfortunately her abiding love (or possibly obsession) for Jonathan, as well as her description of his physical beauty and attraction, results in Adair's desire to meet this object of beauty and desire. Lanny does return to St. Andrews but finds that she no longer fits in with her family and worse, Jonathan doesn't want to leave his little fiefdom. Tragedy lends a hand and circumstances force Jonathan to leave Maine for Boston, where Lanny is forced to share Jonathan with Adair and others.

Ms. Katsu has woven an intriguing tale about love and relationships. Lanny describes this relationship dance perfectly in the following exchange with Luke:

"...One is the giver and one is the taker. The giver wishes the taker would stop."
"But the taker never changes," Luke says . . .
"Sometimes the giver has to let go, but sometimes you don't. You can't . . . "

Love is supposed to be a give and take relationship, but who is really the giver and who is the taker in this tale is up to the reader's imagination. Lanny is far from perfect and must learn to deal with the repercussions of her decisions, decisions that have spanned 200 years and adversely affected many lives. I don't think her story would be so interesting if it were all sweetness and light. It is the darkness, the jealousies, and her willingness to do pretty much anything for love that made THE TAKER such a wonderful read.

If you loved either The Gargoyle or The Historian, you will love this book

When Lanny McIlvrae is admitted to the ER in the small town of St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is intrigued. As she tells her story he becomes more and more involved.

This is the debut novel by author Alma Katsu, and the beginning of the series or trilogy, I believe. I certainly hope so, as I think that Lanny still has a lot of story to tell, and Katsu has a lot of questions still to answer. There are so many things that I liked about this story, that I'm not sure what I liked the most. There were a number of fascinating characters throughout the book whose stories really drew me in. I found that as the book progressed, I was eagerly anticipating where the author was going to take me next.

The synopsis for this books calls it "part historical novel, part supernatural page turer". While that is an apt description, I would say that it is part The Gargoyle, part The Historian, and part a story all it's own. All of which I would love to visit again and again.

Take me away to better days...

Dr. Luke Findley thought he knew the difference between life and death, and he was getting tired of this black-and-white life. When he watches murder suspect Lanny McIlvrae heal instantly before him, suddenly Luke¿s life takes a walk on the gray side. Before he stops to consider the consequences, Luke helps this mysterious young woman escape from the authorities and inexplicably tags along. While on the run, Lanny reveals her story which dates back to the early 1800s. It revolves around an unfortunate and unrequited love that leads to a life of immortality with an evil man and ends with Lanny left alone in the world, unloved but unable to die.

The Taker is fantastic love story that is full of tragedy, and Alma Katsu captures the fragile beauty of Lanny¿s emotions and injects it with a dose of Faustian bargrain-making. The narration is absolutely mesmerizing that the pages turned by themselves, and I got lost within the mysterious and terrifying events that surround Lanny¿s past. I did not quite understand the role of Luke. He mostly served as Lanny¿s listening board, but I wished he had more of an impact to how Lanny¿s story ended. Of course, one can argue he DID impact it at the very end ¿ but then again, I also wished the ending had played out differently. It felt a little too tidy and too perfect ¿ and I wanted a little mess beforehand ¿ a dramatic struggle or something ¿ because it felt that Lanny¿s story is not quite over yet.