The term Night World refers to both the title of a series young adult fiction novels by L. J. Smith and the secret society in the series The series (9 published novels with 1 remaining)
takes place in a universe very similar to reality, except that there are many supernatural races or species that have secretly existed alongside humanity for thousands of years. These supernatural races, collectively known as the Night World, include vampires, witches, werewolves, and shapeshifters, each of whom have their own histories, society, and relationship with the others. Humans greatly fear Night People and have a history of violence towards them (e.g., witch huntings in the Middle Ages). Because humans far outnumber Night People, the latter are forced to live in secret, despite their (general) attitude that they are superior.
Each novel is a separate story, always involving romance, sometimes involving a mystery or some other conflict. Like all of Smith's works, the story is always told from the perspective of a teenage female. In Night World, this character can be human, vampire, witch, or shapeshifter. Besides taking place in the same universe, all the novels are thematically linked with the concept of the "soulmate." In the Night World, the soulmate principle is an old witch legend. However, at the start of the series (with the main characters in Secret Vampire being the first instance), the soulmate principle seems to be making a return, this time linking humans with Night People, and attributed to forces only known to witches as the "old powers". In the first six books of the series, it appears that the overall message of the series is to be the unifying of humans and Night People with these inter-species couples leading the way towards peace. This seems to change in the seventh novel of the series, Huntress, when a new idea of the impending apocalypse is introduced. At this point, Smith reveals that there is a prophecy stating that the world is about to end unless four "Wild Powers" are found to fight together. Though the soulmate principle continues to be present in the later novels, the plot is now focused on finding the four Wild Powers. The conclusion of the series, Strange Fate has been delayed for several years and is now scheduled for release in summer of 2009.
Each novel is a separate story, always involving romance, sometimes involving a mystery or some other conflict. Like all of Smith's works, the story is always told from the perspective of a teenage female. In Night World, this character can be human, vampire, witch, or shapeshifter. Besides taking place in the same universe, all the novels are thematically linked with the concept of the "soulmate." In the Night World, the soulmate principle is an old witch legend. However, at the start of the series (with the main characters in Secret Vampire being the first instance), the soulmate principle seems to be making a return, this time linking humans with Night People, and attributed to forces only known to witches as the "old powers". In the first six books of the series, it appears that the overall message of the series is to be the unifying of humans and Night People with these inter-species couples leading the way towards peace. This seems to change in the seventh novel of the series, Huntress, when a new idea of the impending apocalypse is introduced. At this point, Smith reveals that there is a prophecy stating that the world is about to end unless four "Wild Powers" are found to fight together. Though the soulmate principle continues to be present in the later novels, the plot is now focused on finding the four Wild Powers. The conclusion of the series, Strange Fate has been delayed for several years and is now scheduled for release in summer of 2009.
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