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This is a reread and so will its sequel be, to remind me of events before I read the third book. It has been quite awhile. When I bought it, I asked somewhat suspiciously if the bookseller - ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stephen_dedman - could assure me that the vampires weren't sparkly.
He did and they weren't. They are truly monstrous creatures who think of humanity as nothing more than a food source. If you think of this book as a modern day retelling of Stoker's Dracula, set in New York, you wouldn't be too far off the mark. Stoker tells of a schooner, the Demeter, blown into Whitby Harbour, apparently with no one on board. When it runs aground, a wolf jumps from the deck and runs away; Dracula, shapechanged. In this book, a plane lands at La Guardia airport and stands dark and silent on the runway. Inside is the Master, a king vampire seeking to take over the continent.
The book was rather too drawn out for my liking, but this could be because I am very familiar with the Dracula story and wanted the story to get to the action. Like Stoker, there is a wise old man with previous experience of the supernatural, and a small but determined team of supporters, including a doctor from the CDC and a pest exterminator.
The origin of the vampires is as scientific as the authors could make it, and the ensuing mayhem far more dramatic and destructive than Stoker's book, which leaves the characters' society intact and unaware. Since this is the first of a trilogy, there is no real resolution, but the characters do get a chance to get their breath and contemplate what lies ahead of them.
I think I should start using the Goodreads stars system as a rating, i.e 1 for "I want my life back" and 5 for excellent. I did find the style annoying from time to time, with the authors habit of dropping into present tense to explain "as you know, Bob" items, and the aforementioned slowness to get going. It definitely got me to read the sequel, The Fall, and I will be ordering the last one, The Night Eternal, very soon. So I would give it 3 and a half stars.
stephen_dedman - could assure me that the vampires weren't sparkly.He did and they weren't. They are truly monstrous creatures who think of humanity as nothing more than a food source. If you think of this book as a modern day retelling of Stoker's Dracula, set in New York, you wouldn't be too far off the mark. Stoker tells of a schooner, the Demeter, blown into Whitby Harbour, apparently with no one on board. When it runs aground, a wolf jumps from the deck and runs away; Dracula, shapechanged. In this book, a plane lands at La Guardia airport and stands dark and silent on the runway. Inside is the Master, a king vampire seeking to take over the continent.
The book was rather too drawn out for my liking, but this could be because I am very familiar with the Dracula story and wanted the story to get to the action. Like Stoker, there is a wise old man with previous experience of the supernatural, and a small but determined team of supporters, including a doctor from the CDC and a pest exterminator.
The origin of the vampires is as scientific as the authors could make it, and the ensuing mayhem far more dramatic and destructive than Stoker's book, which leaves the characters' society intact and unaware. Since this is the first of a trilogy, there is no real resolution, but the characters do get a chance to get their breath and contemplate what lies ahead of them.
I think I should start using the Goodreads stars system as a rating, i.e 1 for "I want my life back" and 5 for excellent. I did find the style annoying from time to time, with the authors habit of dropping into present tense to explain "as you know, Bob" items, and the aforementioned slowness to get going. It definitely got me to read the sequel, The Fall, and I will be ordering the last one, The Night Eternal, very soon. So I would give it 3 and a half stars.