Books
THE TAKER
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Dr. Luke Findley is on the midnight shift in the emergency room when the police bring in a young woman. Few strangers come to this remote town in northernmost Maine in the winter, and this stranger is accused of a bizarre crime: killing a man and leaving his body in the Great North Woods. The young woman, Lanny, tells the doctor that she and the man in the woods lived in this town at its founding two hundred years ago, until fate sentenced them to an eternity of unhappiness until they atone for their sins.
The man in the woods is Jonathan, son of the town's founder, and the love of Lanny's life. After Lanny commits a terrible sin in the hope of claiming Jonathan for her own, she's banished from town and sent to Boston to serve her penance. In Boston, she falls in with a beguiling yet frightening man, Adair, who has otherworldly powers, including the ability to confer immortality. His world is one of unknown sensual pleasures and seemingly limitless power, but at what price?
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Adair wants to add Jonathan to the collection of treacherous courtiers who do his bidding (but for unknown ends) and sends Lanny back to Maine to collect him. It seems like the answer to Lanny's deepest desire—to be with Jonathan forever—but once Jonathan has joined Adair's pack of immortals, she sees that Adair is not what he seems and his intentions toward Jonathan are far worse than she imagined. And now it is up to her to save her beloved—and herself—from a terrible fate designed to last for all eternity.
The Taker is a story of the power of love to corrupt, to drive us to do terrible things in its name, and the courage it takes to sacrifice in the name of love and ultimately be worthy of absolution.
Read an excerpt (PDF)
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Check out the Readers Guide (PDF)
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BOOK CLUBS: I'd love to speak to your book club, either live or via conference call or Skype. Please email me at almakatsu@gmail.com with a couple dates/times to choose from.
EXTRAS: Would you like a bookmark and signed custom bookplate for your copy of The Taker? Email me at almakatsu@gmail.com (while supplies last)
BUY THE BOOK (US):
Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
BUY THE BOOK (UK):
Amazon UK | Bookshops.co.uk | Waterstones | WH Smith
BUY THE AUDIO BOOK (US):
iTunes US |
Audible
BUY THE AUDIO BOOK (UK):
iTunes UK
AUTOGRAPHED COPIES AVAILABLE FROM:
Fountain Bookstore, Richmond VA
One More Page Books & More, Arlington VA
UK: Random House UK/Century, Hardcover (April 2011), 978-1846058172
US: Simon & Schuster/Gallery, Hardcover (September 2011), ISBN-13: 978-1439197059
Praise
"[An] imaginative, wholly original debut... Readers won't be able to tear their eyes away from Katsu's mesmerizing tale."
—Booklist starred review
"One Super(natural) Debut: ...Katsu has a knack for combining the supernatural with outstanding storytelling, creating characters who grab your attention and tug on your heartstrings... It shouldn't be set aside by more serious readers just because of its fantastical aspects. It's a well-written book that can resonate beyond its genre."
—Surrey Now Newspaper
"Alma Katsu's searing tale of otherworldly lovers and eternal obsession will seduce you from page one. With its elegant prose and riveting plot, The Taker is as irresistible as the hauntingly beautiful, pleasure-seeking immortals who scorch its pages. A wicked, sensuous, shattering love story that I can't recommend enough. You have to experience it for yourself!"
—Kresley Cole, New York Times bestselling author
"Alma Katsu's debut takes the reader on a spell-binding journey through time. This sensual tale of star-crossed love, betrayal and redemption is a rare and addictive treat. Pleasurable from page one."
—Danielle Trussoni, bestselling author of Angelology
"A centuries-spanning epic that will keep you turning pages all night.
This marvelous debut is a thinking person's guilty pleasure."
—Scott Westerfeld, author of Leviathan
"Alma Katsu's addictive tale of immortal love is brutal, wrenching, and ultimately moving. Gothic and richly detailed, THE TAKER is an astonishingly good read."
—Meg Waite Clayton, NYT bestselling author of Wednesday Sisters and The Four Ms. Bradwells
"This is a great book. And by great, I mean, devastatingly so, like reading the Scarlett Letter, while riding a roller coaster, on acid. Seductive, daring, soaring, and ultimately gut-wrenching, THE TAKER is a lush, historical rendering of transcendent love, paranormal beings, and the depths of pain that can be felt by immortal hearts."
—Jamie Ford, Bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
"Alchemy and love prove a volatile mix in Katsu's vividly imagined first novel, which toggles between the present and the past... Katsu shows considerable skill in rendering a world where Adair's unspeakable evilness and Lanny's wild passion make the supernatural seem possible. The result is a novel full of surprises and a powerful evocation of the dark side of romantic love."
—Publishers Weekly
"Alma Katsu's THE TAKER is a frighteningly compelling story
about those most human monsters—desire and obsession. It will curl your hair and keep you up late at night."
—Keith Donohue, NYT bestselling author of The Stolen Child
"THE TAKER is a sexy, dark romance. Alma Katsu's tale of immortality and unrequited love covers hundreds of years but never strays from this question: what price are we willing to pay to completely possess another?"
—Alexi Zentner, author of Touch
"This is one of those books you have to discover and hopefully lose yourself in... An astonishingly good read from start to finish... Completely draws you in to another world."
—The Book Bag UK
"It would be lazy to compare this half supernatural / half romance novel to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, but (OK, I admit it—I'm lazy) at least it gives you an idea of what you might let yourself in for. Actually, Alma Katsu's debut novel is much more grown up than the angsty vamp driven naval gazing of Edward and Bella, as we follow the story of Laney, a woman who would do anything for love—even turning to evil in order to capture her beloved Jonathan's heart forever. But after 200 years of immortality, Laney has /finally/ grown up and now must atone for her sins to save herself and old Johnny boy. More than a wee bit dark and super sexy, this will impress all Twi-hards who like their heroes to have graduated high school."
—Debbie McQuoid, Cosmopolitan UK
"Alma Katsu takes the reader by surprise in the first chapter of her mesmerizing debut and never stops delivering. What a wonderful book! A dark, gothic, epic worth savoring. A sweeping story that transcends time as it moves effortless from the tempestuous past to the frightening present. Enchanting and enthralling! No question—I was taken!"
—M.J. Rose, international bestselling author
"Part historical novel set in fictional nineteenth-century St. Andrew, Maine, and part supernatural novel rich with immortality, sensuality, and alchemy, The Taker is a page-turner to keep you up late."
—DownEast, the magazine of Maine
"Reminiscent of the earlier writings of Anne Rice, this novel plunges the reader into a dark world of beings cursed with the gift of immortality. This story spans centuries, but in the end it is the depth of characterization that keeps the reader riveted."
—Denver Public Library
"...this novel's greatest strength is its characters."
—Danvers Public Library
What Bloggers are Saying
"This is one of the best historical/paranormal books I have read since Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire. It is sensual and haunting and it felt like it stayed with me for a long time after I had finished the book."
—Hippies, Beauty, and Books. Oh My!
"THE TAKER was surprisingly dark and twisted, and yet beautiful and hopeful. It's a journey, and you should take it."
—Vampire Book Club
"Heartbreaking, Fascinating, Mysterious
Immortality without all the blood drinking but with emotional blood-letting"
—Fangs, Wands & Fairydust
"I absolutely LOVED this book! Do yourself a favor and get a hold of a copy of THE TAKER, somehow, some way. This will make for perfect fall/winter reading."
—Tethered Mommy
"This is hands down one of the best books I have read so far this year. So many books with immortal characters feel the same because they are based on the same myths we have read about over and over again. But, the author of this book creates her own immortality tale based on an ancient alchemic secret."
—My Vamp Fiction
"...a heartwarming story that transcends time with its tale of love lost and found again."
—Night Owl Reviews
"THE TAKER is definitely one of my favorite books of 2011. From the very first page I was captivated...REALLY captivated."
—ReadingTeen
"[THE TAKER] still hasn't let me go, months after finishing it."
—S. Krishna's Books
"THE TAKER is unlike any of the other supernatural romance stories that have flooded the media in the past few years. Katsu weaves a story that is both elegant and well-constructed, so that every chapter pulls you deeper into its dark, luscious web of mystery and mythology. The Taker is at once gruesome and opulent, disturbing and enthralling, bitter and poignant. But most of all, it is utterly unforgettable."
—Diary of an Anomaly
"THE TAKER [is] nearly impossible to put down... beautifully written, heartfelt narrative; compelling, unforgettable characters; and a mesmerizing blend of history, romance, and the supernatural... a captivating novel and one of the better debuts of the year."
—Fantasy Book Critic
"Rich and involving... One of the best books I have read this year."
—Broken Teepee
"One of the most immediately engaging yet subtle books I've read in awhile..."
—Adam Wilson
"Hard to believe that THE TAKER is [a] debut novel... enthralling... an extraordinary book that stays with me, hauntingly, long after I turned the last page."
—Just Another New Blog
"I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! It is the perfect mix of mystery, suspense, romance, and the paranormal. Katsu's use of the English language is absolutely phenomenal. Every sentence is perfectly tailored to fit the novel. Lanny's story turns from compelling to exciting within just a few chapters. This is a book that readers of every and any genre will love."
—Book Addict Katie
"...a literary ride that I will never forget. I think after reading this story I am kind of obsessed with it. The story itself was amazing, but so was the writing, so were the characters...I had a hard time putting it down. It was full of suspense, and twists and turns, and thrills."
—Just Another Story
"This is an astonishing debut novel... it turned out to be a completely different story to the one I was expecting and you know what? I think I loved it more because of that fact."
—Narratively Speaking
"There is NOT one perfect word 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 of the 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."
—Mother/Gamer/Writer
"Beautifully written, mesmerizing... The Taker is a dark, gothic tale of obsession, betrayal, sex, and debauchery. It was most definitely gripping, the type of story that will stay with you after you've read it."
—Book of Secrets
"Pick this one up for a great story that enthralls you!"
—Bless Their Hearts Mom
"I kept telling myself just one more page as I read deep into the night. I couldn't tear myself away... This is unlike anything else I have ever read... This is a book that is meant to be read with only a brief idea of what to expect. Part of the pleasure is uncovering the secrets, scandal and drama while reading."
—The Fiction Enthusiast
"[Katsu] creates a deeply atmospheric novel where readers are combing through the mist to grasp the truth of Lanny's story and to unravel the mystery of her immortality...The Taker is dark and decadent; an excellent debut novel for those looking to tantalize their darker senses with interminable consequences."
—Savvy Verse and Wit
"Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption."
—Book & Movie Dimension
"Her writing is taut and elegant and it has to be considering the plot that she has invented is fascinating. Love is of many kinds and in The Taker, Ms. Katsu reveals the obsessive nature of love and yet not once will it leave a bad taste in your mouth. The Taker has all elements of a great goth romance and it so delivers."
—The Hungry Reader, Of Books and Reading
"Bottom line this was a book that had me hooked from page one."
—Charlotte's Web of Books
"The Taker by Alma Katsu has to be one of my best reads of 2011. The minute I put it down, I had the urge to pick it up and re-read it, though the mystery had unraveled itself for me. The Taker is not like anything else you've read before."
—BookReviews for Booklovers by Booklovers
