Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Vrolok by Nolene-Patricia Dougan


Vrolok
by Nolene-Patricia Dougan
Author House
1163 Liberty Dr., Ste. 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
9/28/06
ISBN: 1-4208-8163-9
Do you love a good vampire story? Do you find yourself sucked into the tale? Love adventure of the dark side?
The setting takes place in historic Eastern Europe Transylvania.

The story begins as Vlad Dracula having fought a battle with his enemies, and a young girl’s curiosity ignites her. A historic vampire tale, occurring over a time span of five hundred years. The story follows the protagonist, Isabella, as a young vampire. Isabella is rebelling as her father rejects her; he is unable to overcome the loss of his wife while giving birth to their daughter Isabella. Isabella travels to the castle of Vlad Dracula, where Vlad develops strong feelings, and falls in love with her. What else would a vampire who is in love do? Vlad turns Isabella into a vampire, his mate for life. Do not be fooled this is not a loving match, it is the opposite, they have a long love-hate relationship, spending more time apart than together. Over time Isabella can no longer deny her love for Vlad and upon his demise she vows revenge and to bring his killers down with the help of Nicolae. Isabella and Nicolae leave America and travel back to England to bring down the English Vampire hunters and avenge Vlad’s death.

Isabella struggles with her guilt and makes a vow to only kill those who deserve to die. She never allows anyone to hinder her revenge against those who have wronged her throughout time. Over the centuries of her existence she meets many famous historical figures. She encounters such historical figures as Napoleon, Bram Stroker, to the western figures of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, as well as many other figures throughout the selected eras. She travels throughout Europe and America. Nolene-Patricia Dougan has performed vast research and the historical figures mentioned in her book are remarkable.

Vrolok is a compelling and gripping tale of a young beautiful vampire’s dark journey through the centuries. Vrolok has a strong plot throughout, and the characters are so well developed and intensely interesting. This is no traditional vampire story; you may think well the story involves Vlad Dracula, it is like all the other stories, it is so very different, do not be fooled. This is a superior spine tingling dark fantasy written be a very imaginative author, her work embraces hundreds of years of history and maintains vivid descriptions of various people, places and events.

This book will hold your attention to the very end, and you will find it is very difficult to put down, a definite page turner well until the late night. I could find no fault in this tale. I highly recommend this story, it is unlike any other vampire story I have ever read. So if you are looking for a different twist from the norm, are seeking a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable read, look no further. All vampire enthusiasts as well as all Anne Rice fans will not want to miss this one, you will get lost in this adventure, and you will not be disappointed. I am looking forward to Dougan’s new release with anticipation.
A definite 5 star read!

For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison


For A Few Demons More
by Kim Harrison
www.kimharrison.net
Harper Collins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Fiction 456 pages
ISBN: 978-0-06-078838-4 $21.95


For A Few Demons More is the fifth installment in the Hollows series by Kim Harrison.

Rachel Morgan is a witch and freelance bounty hunter that is woken from her sleep to find a powerful demon wrecking her home and claiming she posses something of hers. Rachel resides in a sanctified church and in disbelief and being scarred that the demon can enter the church.

Rachel is an interspecies consultant for the police force which is run by humans; she is called down to the morgue to look at the bodies of murdered werewolves. Rachel starts piecing it all together and realizes the reason the women werewolves can not be traced is because they are not registered in the were registry. What does this mean, the conclusion must be they were not born as werewolves; they must have been humans that had been changed into weres.

Rachel recognizes that the Focus, which is a demon artifact she has been hiding, has been turning humans into weres spontaneously. If the artifact were to fall into the wrong hands it would start a new interspecies war between the vampires and the weres which would be disastrous for the entire world.

For A Few Demons More is an action packed fantasy delivering a mix of action, horror and imagination. And some of her characters from the series are back in this edition. Kim Harrison has introduced us to some intriguing and interesting new characters that hopefully will make appearances in future Hallows series. I will have to give praise to the author for taking risks with her characters, and with the killing of one of her main characters.

Harrison has intriguing plot twists and incorporates taking her characters in such amazing directions to leave you with much anticipation of the next in the series.

Readers will not be disappointed. I look forward to reading all her novels for years to come. Reviewing this title was a delightful pleasure. I recommend it without hesitation and give it two thumbs way up. A definite 5 stars! I do highly recommend if you have not read the others in the Hallows series that you pick those up and start with the first in the series.

13 Bullets A Vampire Tale by David Wellington


13 Bullets
A Vampire Tale
by David Wellington
Fiction 323 pages
Three Rivers Press an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
A division of Random House, Inc.,New York
www.crownpublishing.com
ISBN: 978-0-307-38143-9 $13.95
www.davidwellington.net


Do you really believe in vampires? Would you be willing to seek out their lair knowing that you were a sensitive? Such questions had never entered Laura Claxton’s mind. Until she met US Marshall Jameson Arkeley, that would devastate her life as she knows it, her thinking and beliefs are all about to change.

The story begins in 1983; Special Deputy Jameson Arkeley and his partner Webster are on a stake out outside a diner where Piter Byron Lares is inside talking with the waitress. What happens next is rich with moments of terror and the horrifying events that follow will leave you breathless. Lares takes everyone in the diner out in a matter of seconds, Arkeley is in for a terrifying ride of his life. Lares takes Arkeley after killing most of the SWAT team, when Arkeley comes to he finds he is in a ships hold and focuses in on five coffins, only one is empty. The other four coffins contain decaying remains, Arkeley fight for his life, and removes Lares heart and as the sun comes up he burns the boat, believing he had killed them all.

But one single survivor remained, Justinia Malvern, who now has been kept alive at a sanitarium in Pennsylvania. Arkeley believed all the terror was over, he was dead wrong.

Now 20 years later, Arkeley travels to Pennsylvania as a US Marshall and meets with State Trooper Laura Caxton. Arkeley partners up with Caxton to exterminate all the vampires once believed to be extinct. Malvern is being kept alive by minimal life support, the sanitarium has installed special blue lights as she is sensitive to regular lighting, she is being fed fresh blood by her caretaker who has inserted a shunt into his arm to feed her. Why has Malvern been kept alive all these years? There are bizarre laws preventing her extermination, and she seems to be of no threat, until now.

Arkeley and Caxton are on a mission to find the vampires lair and exterminate them before they can get the blood Malverne needs. Then Arkeley is kidnapped in order to use his blood to replenish Malvern’s powers, Caxton must now forge ahead and destroy them before they can unleash unspeakable horrors upon everyone.

David Wellington is the author of the Monster Island trilogy, and is no stranger to this genre.

13 Bullets is the first book in the trilogy by David Wellington, and is a tantalizing wild high octane ride. Wellington weaves his plot line together and has developed some very intriguing characters. This vampire tale is relentless, gripping, powerful and a genuine page-turner, that is horrifying and rich with moments of terror.

The reader is thrust into a state of uncertainty filled with nervous anticipation as the conclusion nears to find that we must wait for the next edition to this trilogy to tie up the loose ends.

13 Bullets is a blood curdling tale to sink your teeth into. I look forward to reading his novels for years to come. Reviewing this title was a frightening pleasure. I highly recommend it to the horror fans everywhere.