Vampire$ by John Steakley
- Purchase it here
- Published originally in May 1992 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on August 07, 2000
- One of the benefits about having a movie made of your book is that the book is usually better than the movie. So if you enjoy the movie, you're more likely to enjoy the book. This is another example that proves that hypothesis. Now if you hated the movie, are you going to hate the book? I don't think so. The plot of the movie is really only the first third or so of the book and the film does not make you care half as much about the characters as the book does. The rest of the story is all new and not part of the movie. Plus the story and feel of the book differs enough from the film that you'll shortly stop making any comparisons. The story is about a hard hitting squad who hunt down and kill vampires. Not romantic type vampires, but ones who degrade and belittle people while using them for their own amusement. Vampires that will slowly suck the life out of a person by months so that they can also enjoy pimping their victim out. The world within the book quickly unfolds as we meet character after character who are all solid people. They have their flaws, they have their strengths, and it is as a group that they work well. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us, their group runs in to problems as the vampires start to get the best of them. There is no denying that this book is a hard hitting and often intense story. Hell, one of the main characters is first seen getting drunk with Mexican whores while living in an abandoned boxcar. Now that I think about it a bit, Steakley's style of writing is similar to Joe Lansdale's style. If you like Lansdale, you'll like this book.
Vampyrrhic by Simon Clark
- Purchase it here
- Published July 2002 (Cemetery Dance signed limited hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on February 25, 2007
- I enjoyed the bulk of this book but had a couple of minor issues. David Leppington is coming back to the town of this birth to investigate the possibility of a job and to learn more of its history. Bearing the same name as the town, the Leppington family used to be prominent members but now are down to a sole uncle who is more loner than town leader. The usual spooky stuff and premonitions of evil occur as Leppington dives into the town history. And then the capper is revealed as his uncle informs him that the Leppingtons are descended from the Norse God Thor who gave them an army of the undead in order to conquer the other religions. With the last living heir in town, the uncle explodes the gates holding the undead back and a horde of vampires are unleashed. While maybe a little crazy sounding, it's no worse than a virus being accidentally released and killing almost everyone (The Stand) or any haunted house story. My first problem was with being told the same thing again and again. There were a few events that kept getting repeated and repeated and repeated. Enough already, I understand that he is supposed to lead the vampires in a fight against all religions. If I didn't get it the third time, I got it the fourth. No need to keep telling me. My other issue was an ending that was a little to easy. The final confrontation that was expected was there. However, it was how the hordes of vampires were suddenly dealt with that was too simple. Otherwise I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it. Try to not let these minor points be an issue for you.
Vampyrrhic Rites by Simon Clark
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2008 (Cemetery Dance signed limited hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on July 15, 2010
- I liked Vampyrrhic Rites a bit more than the previous book Vampyrrhic. The writing seemed stronger. The plot built nicely upon the concept introduced in the first book. And it seemed to build into a larger climax than the previous book. David Leppington, Electra Charwood and Bernice Mochardi have all moved on with their lives after defeating the vampire army. However, all of them are having dreams of their fallen friend Jack Black. Having stayed behind in Leppington, Electra notices weird things beginning to happen. It turns out the vampires are still around and hiding in a nearby lake. Events move to all three of them meeting up again in Leppington along with some new friends. The reason for the new activity? There is another Leppington which means the vampires once again have the chance to be led into a battle against all Christians. As I mentioned, the story builds upon the same idea as before by having a vampire army to be led in battle against all other religions. The events this time though struck me as more intense and involving. While I started the book reading it slowly (a few pages here, a chapter or two there), by the last half of the book I was only putting the book down when I had to. To me that is a sign of a good book: that I was pulled into the book so much that I didn't want to leave it.
The Vanishing by Bentley Little
- Purchase it here
- Published August 2007 (Signet Book paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 22, 2009
- Argh! After so many great books and the progressive improvements, Little turns out a non-so-great book. On the surface, the story is not bad. Two people start to investigate some killings which are happening across the country; the source turns out to be a big bad out of the California backwoods. Nothing wrong there and something that Little should have been able to turn into gold. This time though something went wrong. I had a hard time getting into the story and events. When something would happen, often it would seem unrealistic; not just the killings or gore but the events around them too. Maybe because of that I also found the characters weren't that interesting; it's hard to be interesting when all the events happening around them were hard to believe. I don't want to rip on the book too much because it doesn't deserve it. It's still readable and can be enjoyed to a degree. I wouldn't recommend this as someplace to start reading Little though. Pick up The Store or The Association or The Resort. This is one that you can skip if you want and not miss much.
Virgin by F. Paul Wilson
- Purchase it here
- Published originally in May 2007 (Borderlands Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 10, 2008
- F. Paul Wilson does his usual great job with this novel. I didn't find it quite as engrossing as most of his Repairman Jack novels but that might not be a fair comparison. Action and suspense does tend to pull you in a bit more than a religious mystery. The story follows Father Dan Fitzpatrick who receives a forged scroll on 2,000 year old paper. While he considers it a novel knickknack, the nun Carrie Ferris that helps him at a local homeless shelter sees it as much more. Upon investigation and pursuing the scroll, the two of them find something that could turn the religious world upside down. Having only seen the movie, I can't quite compare Virgin with Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code but it is in the same general genre. Wilson's story flowed more naturally and seemed more realistic to me. At least until the end where I kind of felt that he didn't know what to do. In all, the book is solid and a fun read but not some of the better material that Wilson has written.
Virtual Light by William Gibson
- Purchase it here
- Published originally in August 1994 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 12, 1998
- This is an excellent story. Gibson is definitely cutting edge in his writing with regards to incorporating technology and creating new terms. Everything that I've read by him has been based far enough in the future to be new, but close enough that the world is still real and not made up of flying cars and alien races. In other words, cyberpunk but try not to get the negative feelings about that word that a lot of people get. Instead this is an intense thriller incorporating virtual reality, designer drugs, new age weaponry, new religions and many other things which quickly pull you into this world rather than your own. It centers around two people: one an ex-cop and ex-rent-a-cop and the bicycle messenger. They quickly find their lives colliding over the theft of a pair of sunglasses. You definitely should read this and other novels by Gibson; I believe that he will continue to be a driving force in cutting edge suspense.
Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.