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Highgate #1
The Vampire of Highgate
Kathy Bilic is adopted. Until now, she’s had only a vague memory of her real family. But terrifying dreams and visions of her sister Amber are waking her in the night. When Amber starts giving her messages, Kathy gets a sickening sense that her sister is in danger – from a deadly, inhuman source. Kathy hits London to find her sister – but when she arrives at her aunt’s house in Highgate, she is actively dissuaded from pursuing the mystery.
Undeterred, Kathy’s trail leads her through a bloody murder in the British Museum to a charged meeting with the mysterious, hypnoptic Antwain and a final confronation with her sinister father. Before long, Kathy uncovers the full horror of her heritage and her sister’s fate at the hands of the Vampire of Highgate.
Gripping, atmospheric and sexy, this is British horror at its best.
Undeterred, Kathy’s trail leads her through a bloody murder in the British Museum to a charged meeting with the mysterious, hypnoptic Antwain and a final confronation with her sinister father. Before long, Kathy uncovers the full horror of her heritage and her sister’s fate at the hands of the Vampire of Highgate.
Gripping, atmospheric and sexy, this is British horror at its best.
352 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2012
7 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
About the author
Asa Bailey
1 book13 followersThe first book Asa Bailey ever read was about Vlad the Impaler. He was six years old. Since then he has been fascinated by vampire history, the gothic, the bizarre and the fantastic. Asa is a novelist and film-maker who after living in London and New York moved to a medieval village high in the Snowdonia Mountain range of North Wales. Today, surrounded by dark mountains, forests and rivers, he likes to create stories about worlds where anything is possible.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 2, 2012
My Rating 4.5 of 5 stars
This book was nothing like I expected. And while I can't say exactly what I was expecting, it certainly wasn't this. And I was most definitely not disappointed. I feel maybe I would describe this more as horror than paranormal, it was at times, scary and gruesome, but I was glued to it the whole time.
The vampires in The Vampire of Highgate are what I would describe as the old style vampires that I was used to (before I discovered Twilight and developed my paranormal addiction), not the romanticised version of today. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the romanticised guy, but this was a nice change. Real horror, real terror. These vampires are still affected by crosses and holy water.
Kathy goes to Highgate in London to search for her sister Amber. They didn't grow up together as their parents died when they were young, but since Amber disappeared, Kathy has been dreaming about her. Then she receives a package in the post from Amber and she knows what she needs to do.
Kathy is a really likeable character, very easy to connect with. She takes all of the revelations of horror and magic in her stride with courage and acceptance. Her character grows immensely while she's in England. She does things she never would have done in the States, where she was a shy, awkward girl who lacked confidence and suffered from panic attacks. She embraces her heritage and is definitely making headway towards becoming a kick ass character.
All of the characters in this book were well written with depth pertaining to their role in the book, be it a long or short appearance. My favourite character was Kathy, but Antwain would have been a close second. I'm really hoping to see a lot more of him in future books. There is no romance in this, which usually puts me off because I love some romance in the books I read, but it didn't take away from this one at all. I am hoping though that what we seen in this was the build up to something that may occur in future instalments. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There are flashes back to the past which I enjoyed as it enhances the present story for the reader.
When I started The Vampire of Highgate, I believed it to be a stand alone novel and was disappointed in the ending. But after some research, and a quick chat with the author, I've discovered that it's part of a trilogy. Yay! This totally changed my mind about the ending because I knew loose ends were going to be tied up. There's no cliffhanger, but the ending was open and I was left with some questions. And apparently, there is also going to be three movies made of this series and some spin off's. This sounds like it is going to be big, so make sure you don't miss out.
This book was nothing like I expected. And while I can't say exactly what I was expecting, it certainly wasn't this. And I was most definitely not disappointed. I feel maybe I would describe this more as horror than paranormal, it was at times, scary and gruesome, but I was glued to it the whole time.
The vampires in The Vampire of Highgate are what I would describe as the old style vampires that I was used to (before I discovered Twilight and developed my paranormal addiction), not the romanticised version of today. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the romanticised guy, but this was a nice change. Real horror, real terror. These vampires are still affected by crosses and holy water.
Kathy goes to Highgate in London to search for her sister Amber. They didn't grow up together as their parents died when they were young, but since Amber disappeared, Kathy has been dreaming about her. Then she receives a package in the post from Amber and she knows what she needs to do.
Kathy is a really likeable character, very easy to connect with. She takes all of the revelations of horror and magic in her stride with courage and acceptance. Her character grows immensely while she's in England. She does things she never would have done in the States, where she was a shy, awkward girl who lacked confidence and suffered from panic attacks. She embraces her heritage and is definitely making headway towards becoming a kick ass character.
All of the characters in this book were well written with depth pertaining to their role in the book, be it a long or short appearance. My favourite character was Kathy, but Antwain would have been a close second. I'm really hoping to see a lot more of him in future books. There is no romance in this, which usually puts me off because I love some romance in the books I read, but it didn't take away from this one at all. I am hoping though that what we seen in this was the build up to something that may occur in future instalments. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. There are flashes back to the past which I enjoyed as it enhances the present story for the reader.
When I started The Vampire of Highgate, I believed it to be a stand alone novel and was disappointed in the ending. But after some research, and a quick chat with the author, I've discovered that it's part of a trilogy. Yay! This totally changed my mind about the ending because I knew loose ends were going to be tied up. There's no cliffhanger, but the ending was open and I was left with some questions. And apparently, there is also going to be three movies made of this series and some spin off's. This sounds like it is going to be big, so make sure you don't miss out.
June 19, 2012
Welcome to the story of the Highgate Vampire...
Kathy has spent her entire life in New York being raised be her two adoptive parents, and aside from being adopted has she is just your normal girl. That is until she starts having weird dreams about her sister that she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Dreams that her sister is in trouble and needs her help. The only problem is that her sister lives in London. Doing what she feels she has to Kathy goes to London after a mysterious book shows up in the mail from her sister. A book in a weird language that she can't even read. All she knows is she has to try and save her sister, but from what? Landing herself in the in a world of vampires can Kathy save her sister? Or will she fall to the same fate at the hand of the Highgate Vampire?
This isn't your swoon worthy vampire novel. No these vampires are the things of nightmares and legends. All fangs, blood, and thirst! And the same goes for this book. With page after page of suspense and running for your life from blood crazed vampires this book brings back the traditional vampires we loved to be scared of in Anne Rice novels. I loved how the story kept me on the edge of my seat, and even scared me a few times. It was a nice change of pace from our cuddlepires that we all swoon over these days.
The only thing that is keeping this from getting 5 stars is the the way it was written. The story is told from Kathy's POV and she is from New York, yet the whole book sounds like it is being told from a Brit's POV. Yes I get that the story takes place in London, but Kathy wouldn't talk like she was from there being that she has never left the United States until she flew over to find her sister. Personally I just think it should have a more American accent to it. And say things like "tennis shoes" instead of "trainers", or "flashlight" instead of "torch". Again I only say this because it is being told by Kathy and she is, as the Brits would say, a Yankee; therefore I think the story should be told like one.
Other than that this was a great, fast read with vampires that just mught keep you up at night.
Kathy has spent her entire life in New York being raised be her two adoptive parents, and aside from being adopted has she is just your normal girl. That is until she starts having weird dreams about her sister that she hasn't seen since she was a baby. Dreams that her sister is in trouble and needs her help. The only problem is that her sister lives in London. Doing what she feels she has to Kathy goes to London after a mysterious book shows up in the mail from her sister. A book in a weird language that she can't even read. All she knows is she has to try and save her sister, but from what? Landing herself in the in a world of vampires can Kathy save her sister? Or will she fall to the same fate at the hand of the Highgate Vampire?
This isn't your swoon worthy vampire novel. No these vampires are the things of nightmares and legends. All fangs, blood, and thirst! And the same goes for this book. With page after page of suspense and running for your life from blood crazed vampires this book brings back the traditional vampires we loved to be scared of in Anne Rice novels. I loved how the story kept me on the edge of my seat, and even scared me a few times. It was a nice change of pace from our cuddlepires that we all swoon over these days.
The only thing that is keeping this from getting 5 stars is the the way it was written. The story is told from Kathy's POV and she is from New York, yet the whole book sounds like it is being told from a Brit's POV. Yes I get that the story takes place in London, but Kathy wouldn't talk like she was from there being that she has never left the United States until she flew over to find her sister. Personally I just think it should have a more American accent to it. And say things like "tennis shoes" instead of "trainers", or "flashlight" instead of "torch". Again I only say this because it is being told by Kathy and she is, as the Brits would say, a Yankee; therefore I think the story should be told like one.
Other than that this was a great, fast read with vampires that just mught keep you up at night.
January 17, 2016
I loved this book immensely, on the edge of my seat waiting for another book. Fingers crossed.
did-not-finish
March 15, 2017Highgate Village is seriously my favourite place in all of London. It’s serene, has nice pubs, stunning Georgian architecture and of course two lovely Victorian cemeteries – overgrown and derelict, charming with a very peculiar atmosphere. What people do in Highgate is they flock to the cemeteries, Highgate East and Highgate West, find the graves of famous people, marvel at the opulent Victorian graves and then go take a stroll through Waterlow Park or get ice cream or have a pint somewhere. Highgate is lovely with a darker edge to it. It's often called one of the most haunted places on earth. It’s a great location for a vampire novel in general but there’s a history to it that makes it even more suiting: Have you heard of the Highgate Vampire?
HIGHGATE HORROR
Basically what happened is this: In the early 1970s there were rumours of vampire sightings in derelict and neglected Highgate Cemetery West that attracted ghost hunters, occultists and curious tourists by the dozens. There was an actual press covered vampire hunt going on in Highgate only forty years ago. It had some very ugly consequences. People started vandalising and desecrating random graves and remains in search of the vampire. That dark part of human nature is really scary to me – scarier than any fictional vampire stories could be. This is the backdrop to Asa Bailey’s “The Vampire of Highgate”. I love fiction with a bit of truth to its backstory and I’ll probably read about anything set in Highgate so I was really excited for this book. Long story short: it fell flat. It started out interesting enough though.
It’s obvious Asa Bailey really loves Highgate. He knows the place well which reflects in his writing. I enjoyed that a great deal as a fellow lover of Highgate Village but I do think it might be just a tad too much for people picking up this book for the vampire story and not for the setting. Either way it’s atmospheric. And scary. Damn, this book is scary. It’s marketed as teen fiction but there are some very gruesome depictions of the vampire killing people or scaring them as some kind of warning – fairly early on there is a scene of a man finding a rotting corpse behind the wheel of his locked car on a cold foggy London night. It’s not as much disgusting as it is hauntingly spooky. But also somewhat disgusting. This book is horror literature, guys, it’s classic gothic. Marketing it towards children might have been the wrong move on the publishers’ part, it might have appealed to adult horror fans a lot more. I love gothic stuff and to some extent I really like horror fiction so there was no problem there on my part other than mild bewilderment since I expected YA fantasy.
SEX SELLS?
What ruined this book for me was an underlying feeling of discomfort that wouldn’t go away once whilst reading “The Vampire of Highgate”. It’s been about a year now but that feeling is still there whenever I think back. It’s not the good kind sadly. It was just too weird – also not in the good way. Everything felt off. There’s a lot of tension, a lot of dark, a lot of trying to be edgy. I kept feeling like the author wanted this book to be special and different from other Young Adult fiction. It is – but, and I’ve said this before: Not in the good way. I can’t really describe where this discomfort stems from which is no good since this review is supposed to be helpful. “The Vampire of Highgate” just seriously rubbed me the wrong way. I guess it was the trying too much part. It’s just over the top. There is a lot happening, the vampire keeps killing people in flashbacks, also there’s a lot of cliché. And, oh yes, that weird sexual undertone that seriously irked me. I guess vampires are sexual beings, at least they are portrayed like that quite often, but enough is enough, especially when it's a book aimed at teenagers.
I seriously didn’t need that one scene fairly early on where Kathy is at a party back home in America and starts a sexy dance session with another girl. There’s a whole passage about how Kathy is straight but still desires that other girl. It’s never brought up again, not once. For the rest of the book, Kathy is comfortably heterosexual and doesn't question her sexuality once. So it's save to assume Kathy is neither a lesbian nor is she bisexual. What’s the point of that scene then? Was it fun to write two straight girls nearly making out? Who needs actual LGBTIA representation when we have male authors writing about straight girls thinking about how sexy their friends are, am I right? It felt objectifying, like the light version of lesbian porn aimed at straight man. It felt wrong. Skeevy and unnecessary.
There were lots of mentions of sex in the weirdest places too. Take this line for example: "Kathy felt the thumping drive of the music through her feet, up into her core, driving into her like sex.” It’s so unnecessary. Was there really no other way of describing this feeling? Everyone who has ever been to a party could probably describe this feeling without any sexual references but Bailey had to go for it. I don't have any problems with sex in YA but this is just weird, it feels really icky to me. In the same scene a girl is introduced, the author tells us she’s good at blow jobs and then we never see her again. She is completely unimportant and that's the only information about her we get. Why did Bailey have to go for this blatant oversexualisation of teenagers in a YA book? Kathy also keeps dreaming about her missing sister dancing half naked at a burlesque club. I don't know, if this happened to me I wouldn't focus on the sexy aspect of the scenario. Kathy does. Asa Bailey keeps mentionint it. I don’t know, I feel like Bailey was trying to make this all realistic and “this is what girls these days think about” but it turned out just a tad skeevy and objectifying.
It’s just so obvious this is a male writer trying to write from a teenage girl's perspective. I’m not saying men can’t write convincing female characters. There are a lot of great male YA writers writing believable and likable girls. But Kathy did not convince me at all. She was very stereotypical, a prime example of what men think teenage girls are like. The writing was weird too. It seriously gave off a very pretentious vibe, as though someone was trying to not sound like a YA writer – whilst writing YA. It’s clunky. The dialogue is stilted. Teenagers don’t speak like this. Do I even have to mention that Kathy’s love interest is our old friend the bad boy? He belittles her, he talks down to her, I don’t even want to get into this too much. I disliked it a lot. I wasn’t a big fan of the characters overall. Kathy is selfish, her love interest is a horrible person, everyone else is either only mentioned twice or arrogant and unlikable. The only character I liked got killed off for absolutely no reason other than to make him look heroic – that’s when I stopped reading by the way. The plot is all over the place, the pacing is weird and nothing really makes sense.
BEEN THERE, READ THAT
There’s also way too much going on. The pacing is seriously off. The plot can be summarised quite easily: American teenager Kathy Bilic goes to London to find her missing sister, stumbles over age old family secrets and has to face the vampires of Highgate. This is basically quite a good idea for a YA book but it's done badly. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition in the beginning before Kathy finally goes to England. A good quarter of the novel, maybe more, is set in America before Kathy even leaves for London and none of it is actually important. There’s a party, we learn a lot about Kathy's ill father, her school and her friends and that’s all very nice but it’s not what I want to read about when the book is called “The Vampire of Highgate”. Once she’s finally arrived in England, there’s a lot of filler. Unnecessary dialogue and such. We also get a lot of flashback chapters covering the history of Highgate from Roman times up to the 1970s. It’s always the same really: Some characters are introduced in detail, then get killed by the vampire and it has nothing to do with the story whatsoever. Later on the flashbacks tie into the story but the first few are just there as some kind of exposition for the Highgate vampire but overall they feel out of place.
This book is kind of a mess: Unlikable characters, a lot of filler, the story is all over the place, the writing is clunkly, there's something very pretentious and try hard edgy about it - the only thing "The Vampire of Highgate" has going for it is the well-described, atmospheric setting and Highgate lore woven into the story. There's only one problem: It has been done before and it has been done so much better. In 2010, two years before "The Vampire of Highgate" was published, romance author Tasmina Perry published "By Midnight" together with her husband John Perry under the pen name of Mia James. "By Midnight" is a beautifully written, Young Adult fantasy novel set in Highgate, doing the Highgate vampire myth way more justice than "The Vampire of Highgate". Looking for beautifully written Young Adult fantasy about the Highgate vampire? Great, grab "By Midnight".
But it's not just "By Midnight". Asa Bailey relies on a lot of tropes concerning vampire hunters, vampires and even the Highgate vampire lore itself that I've read about before - just done so much better. The thing is... I'm sorry for Asa Bailey in a way. I just feel like he put a lot of work into this book but it just doesn't deliver. I'm so sorry to say this but I'm going to be honest: If you're interested in the Highgate vampire story and would like to read some paranormal teen fiction rooted in Highgate lore and the 1970s vampire craze get Mia James' "By Midnight" and pass on "The Vampire of Highgate". There are a lot of similarities, it's just so much more enjoyable.
HIGHGATE HORROR
Basically what happened is this: In the early 1970s there were rumours of vampire sightings in derelict and neglected Highgate Cemetery West that attracted ghost hunters, occultists and curious tourists by the dozens. There was an actual press covered vampire hunt going on in Highgate only forty years ago. It had some very ugly consequences. People started vandalising and desecrating random graves and remains in search of the vampire. That dark part of human nature is really scary to me – scarier than any fictional vampire stories could be. This is the backdrop to Asa Bailey’s “The Vampire of Highgate”. I love fiction with a bit of truth to its backstory and I’ll probably read about anything set in Highgate so I was really excited for this book. Long story short: it fell flat. It started out interesting enough though.
It’s obvious Asa Bailey really loves Highgate. He knows the place well which reflects in his writing. I enjoyed that a great deal as a fellow lover of Highgate Village but I do think it might be just a tad too much for people picking up this book for the vampire story and not for the setting. Either way it’s atmospheric. And scary. Damn, this book is scary. It’s marketed as teen fiction but there are some very gruesome depictions of the vampire killing people or scaring them as some kind of warning – fairly early on there is a scene of a man finding a rotting corpse behind the wheel of his locked car on a cold foggy London night. It’s not as much disgusting as it is hauntingly spooky. But also somewhat disgusting. This book is horror literature, guys, it’s classic gothic. Marketing it towards children might have been the wrong move on the publishers’ part, it might have appealed to adult horror fans a lot more. I love gothic stuff and to some extent I really like horror fiction so there was no problem there on my part other than mild bewilderment since I expected YA fantasy.
SEX SELLS?
What ruined this book for me was an underlying feeling of discomfort that wouldn’t go away once whilst reading “The Vampire of Highgate”. It’s been about a year now but that feeling is still there whenever I think back. It’s not the good kind sadly. It was just too weird – also not in the good way. Everything felt off. There’s a lot of tension, a lot of dark, a lot of trying to be edgy. I kept feeling like the author wanted this book to be special and different from other Young Adult fiction. It is – but, and I’ve said this before: Not in the good way. I can’t really describe where this discomfort stems from which is no good since this review is supposed to be helpful. “The Vampire of Highgate” just seriously rubbed me the wrong way. I guess it was the trying too much part. It’s just over the top. There is a lot happening, the vampire keeps killing people in flashbacks, also there’s a lot of cliché. And, oh yes, that weird sexual undertone that seriously irked me. I guess vampires are sexual beings, at least they are portrayed like that quite often, but enough is enough, especially when it's a book aimed at teenagers.
I seriously didn’t need that one scene fairly early on where Kathy is at a party back home in America and starts a sexy dance session with another girl. There’s a whole passage about how Kathy is straight but still desires that other girl. It’s never brought up again, not once. For the rest of the book, Kathy is comfortably heterosexual and doesn't question her sexuality once. So it's save to assume Kathy is neither a lesbian nor is she bisexual. What’s the point of that scene then? Was it fun to write two straight girls nearly making out? Who needs actual LGBTIA representation when we have male authors writing about straight girls thinking about how sexy their friends are, am I right? It felt objectifying, like the light version of lesbian porn aimed at straight man. It felt wrong. Skeevy and unnecessary.
There were lots of mentions of sex in the weirdest places too. Take this line for example: "Kathy felt the thumping drive of the music through her feet, up into her core, driving into her like sex.” It’s so unnecessary. Was there really no other way of describing this feeling? Everyone who has ever been to a party could probably describe this feeling without any sexual references but Bailey had to go for it. I don't have any problems with sex in YA but this is just weird, it feels really icky to me. In the same scene a girl is introduced, the author tells us she’s good at blow jobs and then we never see her again. She is completely unimportant and that's the only information about her we get. Why did Bailey have to go for this blatant oversexualisation of teenagers in a YA book? Kathy also keeps dreaming about her missing sister dancing half naked at a burlesque club. I don't know, if this happened to me I wouldn't focus on the sexy aspect of the scenario. Kathy does. Asa Bailey keeps mentionint it. I don’t know, I feel like Bailey was trying to make this all realistic and “this is what girls these days think about” but it turned out just a tad skeevy and objectifying.
It’s just so obvious this is a male writer trying to write from a teenage girl's perspective. I’m not saying men can’t write convincing female characters. There are a lot of great male YA writers writing believable and likable girls. But Kathy did not convince me at all. She was very stereotypical, a prime example of what men think teenage girls are like. The writing was weird too. It seriously gave off a very pretentious vibe, as though someone was trying to not sound like a YA writer – whilst writing YA. It’s clunky. The dialogue is stilted. Teenagers don’t speak like this. Do I even have to mention that Kathy’s love interest is our old friend the bad boy? He belittles her, he talks down to her, I don’t even want to get into this too much. I disliked it a lot. I wasn’t a big fan of the characters overall. Kathy is selfish, her love interest is a horrible person, everyone else is either only mentioned twice or arrogant and unlikable. The only character I liked got killed off for absolutely no reason other than to make him look heroic – that’s when I stopped reading by the way. The plot is all over the place, the pacing is weird and nothing really makes sense.
BEEN THERE, READ THAT
There’s also way too much going on. The pacing is seriously off. The plot can be summarised quite easily: American teenager Kathy Bilic goes to London to find her missing sister, stumbles over age old family secrets and has to face the vampires of Highgate. This is basically quite a good idea for a YA book but it's done badly. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition in the beginning before Kathy finally goes to England. A good quarter of the novel, maybe more, is set in America before Kathy even leaves for London and none of it is actually important. There’s a party, we learn a lot about Kathy's ill father, her school and her friends and that’s all very nice but it’s not what I want to read about when the book is called “The Vampire of Highgate”. Once she’s finally arrived in England, there’s a lot of filler. Unnecessary dialogue and such. We also get a lot of flashback chapters covering the history of Highgate from Roman times up to the 1970s. It’s always the same really: Some characters are introduced in detail, then get killed by the vampire and it has nothing to do with the story whatsoever. Later on the flashbacks tie into the story but the first few are just there as some kind of exposition for the Highgate vampire but overall they feel out of place.
This book is kind of a mess: Unlikable characters, a lot of filler, the story is all over the place, the writing is clunkly, there's something very pretentious and try hard edgy about it - the only thing "The Vampire of Highgate" has going for it is the well-described, atmospheric setting and Highgate lore woven into the story. There's only one problem: It has been done before and it has been done so much better. In 2010, two years before "The Vampire of Highgate" was published, romance author Tasmina Perry published "By Midnight" together with her husband John Perry under the pen name of Mia James. "By Midnight" is a beautifully written, Young Adult fantasy novel set in Highgate, doing the Highgate vampire myth way more justice than "The Vampire of Highgate". Looking for beautifully written Young Adult fantasy about the Highgate vampire? Great, grab "By Midnight".
But it's not just "By Midnight". Asa Bailey relies on a lot of tropes concerning vampire hunters, vampires and even the Highgate vampire lore itself that I've read about before - just done so much better. The thing is... I'm sorry for Asa Bailey in a way. I just feel like he put a lot of work into this book but it just doesn't deliver. I'm so sorry to say this but I'm going to be honest: If you're interested in the Highgate vampire story and would like to read some paranormal teen fiction rooted in Highgate lore and the 1970s vampire craze get Mia James' "By Midnight" and pass on "The Vampire of Highgate". There are a lot of similarities, it's just so much more enjoyable.
July 26, 2012
I found this one to be very chilling and spooky; there is an undercurrent of tension that runs through this book which only adds to the heightened darkened mood.
What I found interesting was that this novel was based on the real life story of the vampire of Highgate. This is really exciting as it adds extra oomph to the story. I have a friend who lives in the area and she was very excited to find a book about the local folklore. There is certainly no glamorising of the vampires in this books, it is hard, ruthless and not at all romanticised.
I must admit I did take a couple of chapters to settle into the story, but once I did I really loved it. The main character Kathy is flawed, but she shows real power when it comes to finding out what happened to her half sister Amber. I think she is a very brave girl and you can certainly see her character develop throughout the book. She is a much different person from the girl who left America at the beginning of the book.
This book is dark and gothic and you can get to feel the real terror of some of the victims that befall the vampire. The scene is set well and you can certainly get the feel of the locations, this for me is a must in a book. I really want to feel that I am walking the streets with the character whilst also feeling their raw emotions.
It does jump period a little and I did have to re-read some of the pages again just to make sure I didn’t miss any detail out. These flashbacks were very useful as it made the story more detailed.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect of this book, but it did not disappoint me. I would recommend this book as I do think it is a chilling and worthy read. I thought the writing style flowed nicely, but like I said before I did have to re-read a few pages just to make sure I hadn’t missed out any of the vital details.
Overall summary:
If you want a dark, gothic and chilling read and don’t mind vampires being terrifying then this is the book for you. It has an added bonus of being based on a real life story of the Highgate Vampire.
What I found interesting was that this novel was based on the real life story of the vampire of Highgate. This is really exciting as it adds extra oomph to the story. I have a friend who lives in the area and she was very excited to find a book about the local folklore. There is certainly no glamorising of the vampires in this books, it is hard, ruthless and not at all romanticised.
I must admit I did take a couple of chapters to settle into the story, but once I did I really loved it. The main character Kathy is flawed, but she shows real power when it comes to finding out what happened to her half sister Amber. I think she is a very brave girl and you can certainly see her character develop throughout the book. She is a much different person from the girl who left America at the beginning of the book.
This book is dark and gothic and you can get to feel the real terror of some of the victims that befall the vampire. The scene is set well and you can certainly get the feel of the locations, this for me is a must in a book. I really want to feel that I am walking the streets with the character whilst also feeling their raw emotions.
It does jump period a little and I did have to re-read some of the pages again just to make sure I didn’t miss any detail out. These flashbacks were very useful as it made the story more detailed.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect of this book, but it did not disappoint me. I would recommend this book as I do think it is a chilling and worthy read. I thought the writing style flowed nicely, but like I said before I did have to re-read a few pages just to make sure I hadn’t missed out any of the vital details.
Overall summary:
If you want a dark, gothic and chilling read and don’t mind vampires being terrifying then this is the book for you. It has an added bonus of being based on a real life story of the Highgate Vampire.
August 25, 2012
Firstly I just want to say how refreshing it is to read a book about vampires, in which the vampires are actually scary and they kill people. This is good, a return to the gothic horror, Bram Stoker type of vampire that you can actually fear.
The descriptions of Highgate Cemetary set the whole tone and atmosphere for the novel. It is an old, spooky place with plenty of legends attached to it so it's the perfect setting for paranormal/horror fiction.
I liked Kathy's character, she isn't your typical heroine, she's vulnerable yet draws strength from her family background to survive in the dangerous situations she finds herself in. I would love it if this was the start of a series as I don't feel like the characters have been explored fully yet and there seems to be a lot of scope to take this forward. I would especially like to see where the relationship between Kathy and Antwain goes, and how they will trap Aliza should anything happen to Kathy's Dad!
The descriptions of Highgate Cemetary set the whole tone and atmosphere for the novel. It is an old, spooky place with plenty of legends attached to it so it's the perfect setting for paranormal/horror fiction.
I liked Kathy's character, she isn't your typical heroine, she's vulnerable yet draws strength from her family background to survive in the dangerous situations she finds herself in. I would love it if this was the start of a series as I don't feel like the characters have been explored fully yet and there seems to be a lot of scope to take this forward. I would especially like to see where the relationship between Kathy and Antwain goes, and how they will trap Aliza should anything happen to Kathy's Dad!
January 26, 2025
This book was soooo good. I loved the characters, the setting and the excitement of it all. I definitely want to go to Highgate and see if the legend is real. I would love to go to The Church nightclub too. The author writes horror so well I hope he releases more.
March 6, 2018
Um.. this was a very interesting read for me definitely. I can say I expect a lot of outcomes in books, but, um, I definitely did not expect that.
December 27, 2019
I read this book last year in october I remember thinking it was okay but that's about it. It's not a must read if you know what I mean
July 23, 2016
There are few things I'm super obsessed with in the folklore category. Having such a short list of things that preoccupy me makes me very ardent about those few things, and The Highgate Vampire legend is probably top of my list. It's sat at the top of my list for several years, and as such, I have very high expectations when other writers work with the legend. Neil Gaiman's done it, Audrey Niffenegger's done it, and Bram Stoker's... well, Bram Stoker is probably responsible for most of the legend hacking that surrounds the lore and legend of the cemetery. I was hoping that The Vampire of Highgate by Asa Bailey would become an esteemed member of the bloodsucking book club that draws inspiration from the folklore.
The anticipation is roughly the equivalent of waiting for the movie adaptation of your favourite book, and you think of that book so highly that you're possessed with a certain degree of fan entitlement and terror that they will somehow screw it up.
I think of Highgate like that a lot.
I was considerably impressed, then, that Asa Bailey took the legend of the Highgate Vampire and translated it accurately, respectfully, and in a way that delivered the backstory with a sense of authenticity. He lays the groundwork for the legend as its often retold today, and drew another story out of it entirely.
Following that, one third of the book was a delight for me as a fangirl. On the downside, the story itself wasn't compelling at all. I was completely and utterly disenchanted by the time I reached the 50% mark of the book, and the remainder was a begrudging slog to get it finished so I could move on to something else.
The setup follows the typical hero story landmarks: mysterious circumstances surrounding Kathy Bilic's birth, a missing sister and a quest to find her, a journey to a distant land (London), that encounters certain perils and reveals a few uninteresting tidbits about how the protagonist is special. Protagonist meets a couple of people who help her, she loses her mentor, and there's a contrived bit of romance with one of the head honcho vampire's acolytes.
Please understand that I am down with the monomyth. I've written the monomyth myself. I'm still working at hiding it, but when I see it I often can't unsee it and it drives me crazy. The skill when working with it is the ability to disguise it, or compel your reader to look at your structure and doubt that you've used it at all (or forgive you and forget that you're doing it because the story's just so damned good that you can't help yourself.)
The Vampire of Highgate is mottled with tidbits of backstory that slow down the read, and there's not really enough development of any of the supporting cast to really care if they live or die. It's the unfortunate circumstance of feeling very "meh" about the whole situation the characters are in.
Sometimes, the thing that saves a story for me is a monster with a great motive, but unfortunately the vampires were the cut and dry bloodsucking variety and there was no real consequences to the magical system used by the characters to save themselves. (I might compile a post about magic and its cost at some point. I feel very strongly about it and as a reader, it's great to see magic used successfully but not easily.) Not enough trauma for me to worry for anyone's safety, which usually results in my gleefully chortling for everyone's deaths.
Tomorrow's post follows this book review with a giant collection of Highgate Vampire-centric articles, and I do hope you take the time to pop back in and check them out as a follow-up to give you better context of the legend behind this story's origins.
One last note: The Vampire of Highgate by Asa Bailey is billed as British horror, but I'd suggest a reclassification of the book: it's more paranormal than anything else, and not particularly horrifying.
The anticipation is roughly the equivalent of waiting for the movie adaptation of your favourite book, and you think of that book so highly that you're possessed with a certain degree of fan entitlement and terror that they will somehow screw it up.
I think of Highgate like that a lot.
I was considerably impressed, then, that Asa Bailey took the legend of the Highgate Vampire and translated it accurately, respectfully, and in a way that delivered the backstory with a sense of authenticity. He lays the groundwork for the legend as its often retold today, and drew another story out of it entirely.
Following that, one third of the book was a delight for me as a fangirl. On the downside, the story itself wasn't compelling at all. I was completely and utterly disenchanted by the time I reached the 50% mark of the book, and the remainder was a begrudging slog to get it finished so I could move on to something else.
The setup follows the typical hero story landmarks: mysterious circumstances surrounding Kathy Bilic's birth, a missing sister and a quest to find her, a journey to a distant land (London), that encounters certain perils and reveals a few uninteresting tidbits about how the protagonist is special. Protagonist meets a couple of people who help her, she loses her mentor, and there's a contrived bit of romance with one of the head honcho vampire's acolytes.
Please understand that I am down with the monomyth. I've written the monomyth myself. I'm still working at hiding it, but when I see it I often can't unsee it and it drives me crazy. The skill when working with it is the ability to disguise it, or compel your reader to look at your structure and doubt that you've used it at all (or forgive you and forget that you're doing it because the story's just so damned good that you can't help yourself.)
The Vampire of Highgate is mottled with tidbits of backstory that slow down the read, and there's not really enough development of any of the supporting cast to really care if they live or die. It's the unfortunate circumstance of feeling very "meh" about the whole situation the characters are in.
Sometimes, the thing that saves a story for me is a monster with a great motive, but unfortunately the vampires were the cut and dry bloodsucking variety and there was no real consequences to the magical system used by the characters to save themselves. (I might compile a post about magic and its cost at some point. I feel very strongly about it and as a reader, it's great to see magic used successfully but not easily.) Not enough trauma for me to worry for anyone's safety, which usually results in my gleefully chortling for everyone's deaths.
Tomorrow's post follows this book review with a giant collection of Highgate Vampire-centric articles, and I do hope you take the time to pop back in and check them out as a follow-up to give you better context of the legend behind this story's origins.
One last note: The Vampire of Highgate by Asa Bailey is billed as British horror, but I'd suggest a reclassification of the book: it's more paranormal than anything else, and not particularly horrifying.
August 14, 2016
4.5 stars
I'll admit, when I first started reading this book, I was expecting to hate it. Why? Well, there's a number of reasons:
1. It was in a clearance offer in a discount bookstore. From my experience, that isn't a good sign.
2. I only bought it because it was in one of those buy-three-get-one-free offers and it looked the least horrible of the remaining options.
3. My vampire phase ended a long time ago. In recent times, I've tried to avoid buying new vampire books (with the exception of anything written by Richelle Mead) because YA vampire romances are really starting to bore me now.
4. Last I checked, only 17 Goodreads users had written a review of this before me. Even though most of those reviews were popular, that made me feel a little sceptical about whether I'd enjoy this.
But despite all that, I absolutely loved this book. I don't think I've ever been more wrong about a book before and I can only apologise for my pre-conceived notions about it. The Vampire of Highgate is everything that I've longed to see within the YA vampire genre but haven't seen before. It's dark and sexy and the foundations of its story lie within real vampire myths, so it isn't as far-fetched or completely ridiculous as some other novels in its genre. It had characters which I loved and cared about and who I felt developed beautifully. I adored the way it was written using flashbacks to earlier attacks of the Highgate vampire and I loved how all of these flashbacks ended up linking to aspects of the plot in the end. And my favourite thing of all? Minimal romance and a focus on family. This book summarises everything that YA vampire books should be and I can't believe it isn't more popular. Anyone out there who's looking for a dark, thrilling vampire book to sink their teeth into, I would heartily recommend this to you. A beautiful surprise.
The protagonist, Kathy, is a perfect example of a well-developed character. She grew from a shy, awkward human girl into a strong, fierce vampire hunter. Unlike some other books in this genre, the transformation wasn't instant or far-fetched either. It happened slowly throughout the course of the book and it felt natural and realistic, which I highly commend. The way that Kathy's story in particular concluded was a little bit of a let down for me, hence the 4.5 rating instead of 5, but I mainly loved her as a character. The only other thing I love as much as great character development is a great antagonist, and this book definitely had that. Bishop was an excellent villain with just the right balance of creepiness and authority. Antwain, the only character in here who could evenly vaguely be interpreted as a love interest, was very different to what I anticipated. I expected him to shun his vampire nature for Kathy's love and I thought I would hate that, but instead he seemed to embrace the vampire within him and his 'romance' with Kathy was very subtly done. It's always nice to see a male character whose function is more than just to be the romantic lead. And an honourable mention goes to Viduc, Elizabeth, Oliver, Amber, Becky and Draco as minor characters too. It's always lovely to see such a varied ensemble of likeable, realistic and three-dimensional characters. Excellent.
I can't recommend this highly enough. I really hope that no one else out there writes this book off in the way I did because the cover doesn't stand out or it's unpopular or it's cheap or whatever. This is one of the best YA supernatural books I've read in ages and I'm so glad I picked it up. Maybe now I'll pay more attention to the books I find in discount stores.
I'll admit, when I first started reading this book, I was expecting to hate it. Why? Well, there's a number of reasons:
1. It was in a clearance offer in a discount bookstore. From my experience, that isn't a good sign.
2. I only bought it because it was in one of those buy-three-get-one-free offers and it looked the least horrible of the remaining options.
3. My vampire phase ended a long time ago. In recent times, I've tried to avoid buying new vampire books (with the exception of anything written by Richelle Mead) because YA vampire romances are really starting to bore me now.
4. Last I checked, only 17 Goodreads users had written a review of this before me. Even though most of those reviews were popular, that made me feel a little sceptical about whether I'd enjoy this.
But despite all that, I absolutely loved this book. I don't think I've ever been more wrong about a book before and I can only apologise for my pre-conceived notions about it. The Vampire of Highgate is everything that I've longed to see within the YA vampire genre but haven't seen before. It's dark and sexy and the foundations of its story lie within real vampire myths, so it isn't as far-fetched or completely ridiculous as some other novels in its genre. It had characters which I loved and cared about and who I felt developed beautifully. I adored the way it was written using flashbacks to earlier attacks of the Highgate vampire and I loved how all of these flashbacks ended up linking to aspects of the plot in the end. And my favourite thing of all? Minimal romance and a focus on family. This book summarises everything that YA vampire books should be and I can't believe it isn't more popular. Anyone out there who's looking for a dark, thrilling vampire book to sink their teeth into, I would heartily recommend this to you. A beautiful surprise.
The protagonist, Kathy, is a perfect example of a well-developed character. She grew from a shy, awkward human girl into a strong, fierce vampire hunter. Unlike some other books in this genre, the transformation wasn't instant or far-fetched either. It happened slowly throughout the course of the book and it felt natural and realistic, which I highly commend. The way that Kathy's story in particular concluded was a little bit of a let down for me, hence the 4.5 rating instead of 5, but I mainly loved her as a character. The only other thing I love as much as great character development is a great antagonist, and this book definitely had that. Bishop was an excellent villain with just the right balance of creepiness and authority. Antwain, the only character in here who could evenly vaguely be interpreted as a love interest, was very different to what I anticipated. I expected him to shun his vampire nature for Kathy's love and I thought I would hate that, but instead he seemed to embrace the vampire within him and his 'romance' with Kathy was very subtly done. It's always nice to see a male character whose function is more than just to be the romantic lead. And an honourable mention goes to Viduc, Elizabeth, Oliver, Amber, Becky and Draco as minor characters too. It's always lovely to see such a varied ensemble of likeable, realistic and three-dimensional characters. Excellent.
I can't recommend this highly enough. I really hope that no one else out there writes this book off in the way I did because the cover doesn't stand out or it's unpopular or it's cheap or whatever. This is one of the best YA supernatural books I've read in ages and I'm so glad I picked it up. Maybe now I'll pay more attention to the books I find in discount stores.
January 7, 2017
Actual rating - 2.5
May 19, 2014
The novel's plot follows the main character Kathy, as she travels from New York to London in search of her family. However, she discovers that her sister has disappeared and might have been kidnapped by vampires and that this has something to do with the Highgate Vampire. She also finds out that she is a vampire hunter and that she must face all the vampires to save her sister. She has dreams/visions which guide her and she receives a book sent from her sister, which contains information about vampires.
Whilst, the plot at first seems interesting it relays on coincidences and obvious twists to see it through. Ever event and plot point seems to work out far too nicely. To me this means that some of the realism gets lost and that there's not much of a mystery to things. Overall, though the plot does work and it does grab you enough to keep reading till the end. There are linking in sub-plots, which focus on the background of other characters and the victims of the high gate vampire. These are marked by a changed in the date and often appear at the beginning of the chapter. They give out some information, but for me I felt they digressed and it slowed down the flow of the story too much. I'd have liked this to be more incorporated.
The characters are well described and developed. Kathy and her sister Amber have large roles in the novel as well as their aunt and a vampire hunter. The vampires seem to be on the side and though there is a lot about them, for me I'd have enjoyed this book more if it was told from their point of view. The sub-plot of the vampires is that they know that the sister know where the Highgate vampire, who is their king, is hiding in the cemetery. He is been trapped there and comes out to feed every ten years if possible. The vampire leader kidnaps the sisters and makes then show him the right tomb, so that he can release the king.
The narrative is very structured and simple, which is understandable for the young adult audience. I did enjoy this because it meant that more was left to the imagination and I could read the novel faster. However, I felt it needed more description in some areas, just to improve the writing. The dialogue also felt a little un-real for me. It was too simple, too many questions/answers and to obvious in establishing what was going on.
Overall, I'm rating this novel as a good read. It's suitable for adults as well as teenagers. It has good characters and an interesting plot. For me I wanted a little bit more, but I did enjoy reading it and it captured the urban legend of the Highgate vampire nicely.
for full review see: http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Whilst, the plot at first seems interesting it relays on coincidences and obvious twists to see it through. Ever event and plot point seems to work out far too nicely. To me this means that some of the realism gets lost and that there's not much of a mystery to things. Overall, though the plot does work and it does grab you enough to keep reading till the end. There are linking in sub-plots, which focus on the background of other characters and the victims of the high gate vampire. These are marked by a changed in the date and often appear at the beginning of the chapter. They give out some information, but for me I felt they digressed and it slowed down the flow of the story too much. I'd have liked this to be more incorporated.
The characters are well described and developed. Kathy and her sister Amber have large roles in the novel as well as their aunt and a vampire hunter. The vampires seem to be on the side and though there is a lot about them, for me I'd have enjoyed this book more if it was told from their point of view. The sub-plot of the vampires is that they know that the sister know where the Highgate vampire, who is their king, is hiding in the cemetery. He is been trapped there and comes out to feed every ten years if possible. The vampire leader kidnaps the sisters and makes then show him the right tomb, so that he can release the king.
The narrative is very structured and simple, which is understandable for the young adult audience. I did enjoy this because it meant that more was left to the imagination and I could read the novel faster. However, I felt it needed more description in some areas, just to improve the writing. The dialogue also felt a little un-real for me. It was too simple, too many questions/answers and to obvious in establishing what was going on.
Overall, I'm rating this novel as a good read. It's suitable for adults as well as teenagers. It has good characters and an interesting plot. For me I wanted a little bit more, but I did enjoy reading it and it captured the urban legend of the Highgate vampire nicely.
for full review see: http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/
February 21, 2017
OMG!! this is such a good book
all of u better read this
(and i just found out now that theres also a book No. 1!!!)
all of u better read this
(and i just found out now that theres also a book No. 1!!!)
June 24, 2012
When I read that this book was based on the real life story of the Highgate Vampire I was immediately interested in reading it. Although Asa Bailey has built on original elements of the story, he's also crafted something new.
Kathy arrives in London from America, hunting for her sister Amber who has gone missing. She gets more than she bargained for when she finds out about the legend of the Highgate Vampire and discovers a secret about her own family history which has enormous repercussions.
Set in London, near Highgate Cemetery, this was the perfect backdrop for the story. Creepy and spooky, I got cold shivers whenever they entered the Cemetery, as it seemed that danger was lurking around every corner. It was also nice to see a British setting for a change as the majority of the book takes place on this side of the ocean.
Having read a lot of vampire books, I didn't feel that this title offered anything particularly original within the genre, although these were definitely not friendly vampires...you would want to avoid them at all costs! The mythology was interesting but I never properly connected with the main character Kathy and I thought there wasn't enough character development to sufficiently draw me to her.
The time frames jumped forwards and backwards a lot, which I found quite confusing at times. Although I understand this was designed to fill the reader in on the history of the Highgate Vampire, I thought there were a few too many jumps which interrupted the overall flow of the story.
Dark and dangerous, this is a book where anyone's life can be placed in danger and where you are never sure which of the cast of characters will survive until the end. Although it wasn't for me, fans of the genre may like to give it a try.
Kathy arrives in London from America, hunting for her sister Amber who has gone missing. She gets more than she bargained for when she finds out about the legend of the Highgate Vampire and discovers a secret about her own family history which has enormous repercussions.
Set in London, near Highgate Cemetery, this was the perfect backdrop for the story. Creepy and spooky, I got cold shivers whenever they entered the Cemetery, as it seemed that danger was lurking around every corner. It was also nice to see a British setting for a change as the majority of the book takes place on this side of the ocean.
Having read a lot of vampire books, I didn't feel that this title offered anything particularly original within the genre, although these were definitely not friendly vampires...you would want to avoid them at all costs! The mythology was interesting but I never properly connected with the main character Kathy and I thought there wasn't enough character development to sufficiently draw me to her.
The time frames jumped forwards and backwards a lot, which I found quite confusing at times. Although I understand this was designed to fill the reader in on the history of the Highgate Vampire, I thought there were a few too many jumps which interrupted the overall flow of the story.
Dark and dangerous, this is a book where anyone's life can be placed in danger and where you are never sure which of the cast of characters will survive until the end. Although it wasn't for me, fans of the genre may like to give it a try.
September 17, 2015
I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I like vampires and am fascinated by the legend of the highgate vampire of which this is based on so thought I'd give it a go. I really liked not only Bailey's twist on the tale and the elements that he created to pad out the original urban legend but also the traditional parts of the highgate vampire that he retained.
January 3, 2013
At first it started out like any typical book, but it soon started to get better and better. There was hardly any romance in it, but there was a teensy bit, enough for a girl to be able to read on with. The reason I picked this book up was because of the fact that it was based on actual things that were going on in London in a certain period of time. Intriguing, isn't it? For me; HELL YEAH! Because I live in London, and I find that the savage things that used to happen here in the past are interesting (even though I hate the sight of guts, gore and blood when it comes out of huge cuts.) Nonetheless I liked this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's like me, and adores books based on paranormal beings.
One last thing, this book is kinda scary in the fact that it sort of makes you squirm (if you're like me) when it comes to describing the gory parts.
One last thing, this book is kinda scary in the fact that it sort of makes you squirm (if you're like me) when it comes to describing the gory parts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2013
At first, I thought this book wouldn't amount to much and it was quite confusing with the time changes and what have you, but as the book progressed, I found myself hooked. The development of each character no matter how little or how much time they had in the book was extraordinary, and I found myself attached to almost every one of them within a few pages of their first appearances. There are so many things that eventually fall into place that I would never have anticipated and I could have cried at several points but restrained myself from doing so... Just about. This book is fantastic, and I can't wait for the second one to get into my hands.
May 8, 2014
It was a very good story, although I did figure out a couple of the plot shocks. I feel so sorry for Kathy especially how her family just won't let her remember anything. But it was very good! And yes I am wondering if there will be another! But not sure how that would work.
review-wishlist
April 7, 2012July. <3
December 2, 2012
it was okay
March 28, 2013
it was quite interesting but not amazing
October 31, 2013
It was really interesting
October 12, 2014
I LOVED this book!!! I really couldn't get enough. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good vampire story. A MUST read!!
Want to read
July 14, 2011July 7th
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews