|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
It is hard to know where to begin in a review of this book. Some events and characters seem real enough for a tale of hostages and nuclear bomb threats. Joe Ledger is part of Echo Team, an elite unit extracting American hostages from an Iranian prison. But before he can get out of Iran, he is sucked into a bizarre plot that threatens the world. Chapters set in biblical times show us the start of a murderous cult—a cult which seems to be operating even into the present day. Father Nicodemus, the actual founder of the cult, is still alive. Or is he? Then we have red-eyed vampires, Upierczi, who live under the ground in dark caves and rip out the throats of their victims. One group of monsters seems to be plotting to use another group. As Ledger says several times, they are "vampires with nukes." A sect of murderous religious fanatics called the Sabbatarians travel with garlic and stakes looking to kill the Upierczi. Mistaking Ledger for a vampire, they throw garlic powder in his face before he disposes of a group of them. Joe Ledger is a difficult hero to identify with. Sometimes he seems like a grown-up with world-class fighting ability. But when he speaks to his superiors, he often sounds snarky, like a teenager who doesn't like what his moms and pops are telling him. He is a self-identified psychopath, who acknowledges that he has more than one personality. Yet he is one of our good guys. Ledger's safety is severely compromised. He is greeted with violence and death at each of the safe houses he ventures into. Each house he enters is awash in blood before and after he leaves. He is accompanied by his dog Ghost, a trained military animal that is Ledger's constant companion and knows exactly how to go for the jugular. There are groups with odd names trying to kill him for various reasons, and some trying to protect him as well. Arklight (women only), led by Lilith, is one of the latter. He is being watched by both Upierczi and Violin, a trained assassin and the part-human daughter of Lilith. The vampires live underground and breed by forcing enslaved women to have their children. Lilith and the Mothers of the Fallen—named because their sons are vampires--escaped from this horror. This book requires attention to detail. The convoluted nonsense of the plot makes you want to read every word in the hope that you might find out what was going on. Seven--no, eight nukes have been distributed around the world. An ancient book filled with mathematical errors may hold the key. The key to what? What you discover is that the plot is basically a way of tying together a number of violent bloody encounters between the good guys and the bad guys. Red-eyed monsters with vampire fangs, super-human strength and no mercy kill anyone they want…except of course Ledger and most of his team. If the chief vampire has his hands around Ledger's throat and Ledger knows he will die in ten seconds, then he makes a move in five. This book will have strong appeal to a certain kind of reader. If you enjoy a thriller full of action and death and strange religious fanatics, and you do not pay attention to the quality of the writing, then this book is for you. Personally, I was most concerned about the dog, but if "vampires with nukes" is your cup of tea—then pick up this book and start pouring. § Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, May 2012
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
