Plot summary
Following on almost immediately from the events of Seduced by Moonlight , A Stroke of Midnight begins with Merry and the Ravens attending a press conference in the sithen. This is highly unusual as the home of the sidhe is usually off-limits to the human press. However, it is felt that it is more secure than holding the conference elsewhere.
This opinion is challenged almost immediately by the deaths of Beatrice, one of the lesser fae, and a human reporter. Merry, assigned to solve the murders by her aunt, Queen Andais, opts to bring in human forensics in the hope that science might be able to succeed where magic has so far failed - and bring a murderer to justice.
The entire novel takes place within approximately one day.
The fairies of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh folklore have been classified in a variety of ways. Two of the most prominent categories, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court.
Changeling: The Dreaming was part of White Wolf Game Studio's original "World of Darkness" role playing game line. Player characters are changelings, fae souls reborn into human bodies, a practice begun by the fae to protect themselves as magic vanished from the world. The game explores the balance between imagination and practicality, and the struggle of art and beauty against the dark, mysterious "Gothic-Punk" World of Darkness. Changeling draws primarily from Gaelic mythology, particularly stories of the sidhe and Tuatha Dé Danann, but also uses mythology and folklore from various other cultures including Native American nations, Greece, India and Yoruba mythology of Africa.
Meredith "Merry" Gentry is the protagonist of an eponymous fantasy series by US writer Laurell K. Hamilton, best known for her other fantasy series Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. Since 2000, she has been alternating between the two series, publishing nine Merry Gentry novels as of 2014. The most recent book, "A Shiver of Light" was published June 3, 2014.
Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, where "she is the fairies' midwife." Later, she appears in other poetry and literature, and in various guises in drama and cinema. In the play, her activity is described in a famous speech by Mercutio written originally in prose and often adapted into iambic pentameter, in which she is described as a miniature creature who performs midnight pranks upon sleepers. Being driven by a team of atomies, she rides her chariot over their noses and "delivers the fancies of sleeping men." She is also described as a midwife to help sleepers "give birth" to their dreams. She may be a figure borrowed from folklore, and though she is often associated with the Irish Medb in popular culture, and has been suggested by historian Thomas Keightley to be from Habundia, a more likely origin for her name would be from Mabel and the Middle English derivative "Mabily" all from the Latin amabilis ("lovable").
War for the Oaks (1987) is a fantasy novel by American writer Emma Bull. The book tells the story of Eddi McCandry, a rock musician who finds herself unwillingly pulled into the supernatural faerie conflict between good and evil. War for the Oaks is one of the first works in the subgenre of urban fantasy: although it involves supernatural characters, the setting (Minneapolis) is decidedly real-world.
Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale is a young-adult urban fantasy by Holly Black. It was published in 2007 by the Margaret K. McElderry imprint of Simon & Schuster, who recommended it for readers age "14 up".
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Holly Black. It was published in 2002 by Simon & Schuster, who recommended it for "ages 12 up". Sequels--Valiant (2005) and Ironside (2007)--completed a trilogy that is sometimes called [A] Modern Tale of Faerie, the subtitle of volume two.
Seduced by Moonlight is the third novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
A Caress of Twilight is the second novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
A Kiss of Shadows is an erotic horror novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the first book in the Merry Gentry series.
Mistral's Kiss is the fifth novel in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton, and was released December 12, 2006.
Summer Knight is a 2002 New York Times Bestselling contemporary fantasy novel by author Jim Butcher. It is the fourth novel in The Dresden Files, which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago's only professional wizard.
A Lick of Frost is the sixth book in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Faerie, The Fair Lands or The Twilight Realm is one of two fictional otherdimensional homelands for the Faerie, as published by DC Comics. The Vertigo Comics realm of Faerie is an amalgam of the mythological realms of Álfheimr, Otherworld, the Fortunate Isles, Tír na nÓg and Avalon. This mix is heavily influenced by Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is home to the faeries and other mythical races, ruled over by the Seelie Court and King Auberon and Queen Titania. Faerie debuted in The Books of Magic #3, and was created by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
Swallowing Darkness (2008) is the seventh novel in the Merry Gentry series written by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Divine Misdemeanors is the eighth novel in the Merry Gentry series written by Laurell K. Hamilton. The book was one of the top selling novels of 2009.
The Merry Gentry series is a series of urban fantasy novels by New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. The series is narrated in first person format through the eyes of the series' title character Meredith "Merry" Gentry, a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries exist and are known to the general public. The first book in the series, A Kiss of Shadows, was released by Del Rey on October 3, 2000. As of 2019 there are nine books in the series.
Darkfever is the first novel in the Fever series written by #1 New York Times best-selling American author Karen Marie Moning. The book was published in November 2006 by Delacorte Press. The romantic fantasy novel tells the story of the main characters journey into the supernatural world of fairies after she travels across the world to find her sister's murderer. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland and involves Celtic mythology.
Lord of Shadows is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the second book in The Dark Artifices, which is chronologically the fourth series in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. The book is set in the Los Angeles area in 2012. The titles from each chapter are derived from the poem Dreamland by Edgar Allan Poe.
Queen of Air and Darkness is the third and final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare, which is the fourth chronological series in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. This series follows the characters of the LA Institute in 2012 and features characters from all of the previous series. The chapter titles all come from the poem City in the Sea by Edgar Allan Poe.
