The Triumph of Death (Alex Van Helsing, #3)

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The Triumph of Death (Alex Van Helsing #3)

by Jason Henderson (Goodreads Author)

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 54 ratings · 11 reviews

Within months of discovering he’s next in a long line of vampire hunters, Alex Van Helsing has already defeated two powerful vampire leaders. Not bad for a fourteen-year-old.

But when a newly risen vampire queen threatens the fate of the world, Alex faces his deadliest challenge yet. Teaming up with a motorcycle-riding witch, Alex jets between Switzerland, the UK, and Spain...more

Hardcover, 310 pages

Published July 24th 2012 by HarperCollins Canada / Other (first published April 8th 2012)

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HarperCollins YA & MG Books of 2012

126th out of 129 books — 78 voters

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

HarperCollins YA 2013 Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller books

108th out of 113 books — 207 voters

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Jul 31, 2012 Mitch rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-by-guys-for-guys, most-memorable

This is how you write a vampire book. The Triumph of Death is fast paced and action packed, yet with surprising depth and deceptively good plotting I'd never expected to see from this series. It's everything Vampire Rising aspired to be, just the right mix of vampire slaying action and historical nods, plot twists and character development that bring this series full circle.

The great thing about these sequels is that they go big right from the start. Fighting off vampire hijackers and jumping ou...more This is how you write a vampire book. The Triumph of Death is fast paced and action packed, yet with surprising depth and deceptively good plotting I'd never expected to see from this series. It's everything Vampire Rising aspired to be, just the right mix of vampire slaying action and historical nods, plot twists and character development that bring this series full circle.

The great thing about these sequels is that they go big right from the start. Fighting off vampire hijackers and jumping out of a plane, yeah, that's definitely big. But The Triumph of Death is about way more than just Alex offing various vampires in a string of spy thriller but with bloodsuckers type scenes, the plot's actually a desperate search for clues to stop the coming end of the world by combing through the backgrounds of the great nineteenth century poet and vampire inspiration Lord Byron and his fellow authors Mary Shelley and John Polidori. By now of course, three books in it's been pretty much drilled into me how Polidori founded the Polidorium, the vampire slaying organization Alex works for, to oppose the powerful and evil vampire Lord Byron and even had his friend Mary Shelley plant clues in her novel Frankenstein on how to defeat Byron. But this book ties together Byron's and Polidori's legacies in a way Vampire Rising just didn't, the story of Claire Clairmont and her daughter with Byron Allegra is integral to the plot rather than feeling like staid background material as in the first book. And it's all incredibly powerful too.

And this book in particular, Henderson's writing inspired by Bruegel's painting The Triumph of Death and Shelley's novel Frankenstein is just off the charts awesome. Rather than the usual stakes versus fangs fights of the million other vampire books, the scenes here of Claire's curse ending the world in night and death based on an insane sixteenth century oil painting is just wickedly cool. Some of the most creatively inspired I've ever read. In fact, I don't think the plot would've felt half as urgent if the curse had just plunged the world into a black pit rather than conjuring up the burning buildings and cages of bone. And although not every page can be a scene inspired by The Triumph of Death, the first clue to stopping Claire's plans, the rest is really good too, there's never a want for action, plus some pretty unique vampire attacks and a climax on a deserted island as bleak as anything from Frankstein. Absolutely love the writing.

Plus, there's a lot of heart too. Alex has had to confront the challenges of being a vampire hunter for three books now, and it all comes to a head here. There are some great questions about what it means to be evil, what it means to stop evil, and some great reveals on Lord Byron, on the Van Helsings, all leading to some great character development for both his character and his archnemesis Elle's. New girl Astrid adds another layer of tension with Alex's family that's been developing from the last book, it's nice to see Vienna back again, and although Sid, Paul, and Minh really only play minimal roles, they're still the normal half of Alex's life he's trying to balance with being a vampire hunter. All in all, a surprising amount of depth.

I can't believe this is the end - just when the books have exploded creatively. I close with something I don't normally include in my reviews but I think is appropriate here, an image, just to give an idea of the creativity and research here. Bruegel's The Triumph of Death.

(less)

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Aug 19, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Still reeling from finding out that his mother is a witch, Alex is on his way back to school from studying different creatures in Italy when the plane he is on is attacked by zombie vampires! Luckily, he keeps his wits about him and survives his plummet to earth with a parachute, but the training computer is stolen. No time to worry about that-- the town of Secheron is dark at noon, and the skeleton painted vampires are awaiting the arrival of Claire, the vampire queen. Sangster is on hand to he...more

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Jun 07, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror, young-adult-fiction

From my TOP SHELF review printed in The Monitor on June 7, 2012:

Teen Averts Vampire Apocalypse

The Alex Van Helsing series is about a teen who discovers he's heir to a long tradition of vampire hunting. While he attends boarding school in Switzerland he is also trained by the Polidorium, a group dedicated to the extermination of vampires.

Book 3, The Triumph of Death, opens with a dizzying, James Bond-style action piece as the plane returning Alex to school is hijacked by vampires that hack a Poli...more From my TOP SHELF review printed in The Monitor on June 7, 2012:

Teen Averts Vampire Apocalypse

The Alex Van Helsing series is about a teen who discovers he's heir to a long tradition of vampire hunting. While he attends boarding school in Switzerland he is also trained by the Polidorium, a group dedicated to the extermination of vampires.

Book 3, The Triumph of Death, opens with a dizzying, James Bond-style action piece as the plane returning Alex to school is hijacked by vampires that hack a Polidorium computer and disable the cockpit, requiring Alex to fight them in freefall without a parachute. After surviving this harrowing experience, he gets to briefly catch up with his friends Paul, Sid and Minhi (and meet new student Astrid Gretelian) before the vampire organization known as the Scholomance attacks the Swiss town of Secheron. Throwing a veil of darkness around the town, the vampires—under the command of Elle, Alex’s undead nemesis—commence to construct a bizarre tableau heralding the arrival of Claire Clairmont, resurrected queen of the dead and former lover of Lord Byron, now known as the vampire Icemaker. The Scholmance is finally driven off by the Polidorium with help from Alex and Astrid, who turns out to be a young agent of the Hexen (a world-wide organization of witches to which Alex’s mother belongs).

Alex and Astrid help decipher the meaning of the incursion: Claire wants to enact the Triumph of Death, famously encoded in a painting of the same name—eternal night on an earth ruled by vampires. Soon the two teens must race against the clock to find clues in art and literature that will show them how stop the destruction of all they hold dear. Alex suffers several crises that help him to understand why his father could have abandoned the Polidorium and raised him to know nothing of his family’s past. Kept from his friends and the relative normalcy of school life, the young man is forced more deeply into darkness than ever before as he struggles to unearth the secrets of Byron and Clairmont’s twisted family in order to save his own.

Triumph is the best of the series so far, expanding the mythos and forcing Alex to face the implications of his choices in rewarding, resonant ways. The book is still action-packed and fast-moving, but the horror and indignation Alex feels—not only toward the vampires, but also about the measures humans must take to fight them—elevate the narrative, adding depth and gravitas. All the hallmark Henderson genre nods are in place, and literate fans won’t be able to stop smiling. My only complaint? I’d love Harry Potter-length novels in this universe. The ride is over too fast!

Triumph of Death will be released in hardcover on July 24.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Up until the end I would have said I liked this one best of all the Alex VanHelsing books. The action never stops and it's awesome!

Until the end. I thought it was because I fell asleep reading late one night. But I went back and reread several pages and the action still felt ... a bit broken. LIke it didn't all lead smoothly to the end?

Which makes no sense, I know. #workonreviewwritingskills #orkeepreading #whichonedoyouthinkwillwin? ;)

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Feb 02, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 26, 2013 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This third book is the most exciting in the trilogy and I've sad that there is not a fourth book.

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Oct 21, 2012 Nancy/girlsinthestacks.com rated it 4 of 5 stars

review to come

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Feb 07, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Better even than the first two, the third book about Alex Van Helsing is fast-paced and full of excellent twists and turns.

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Jul 28, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the best of the three!!! But wait, is it really the last one? No, say it isn't so!!! It can't be left like this! Did this one answer some questions and come full circle? Yes, but new questions have been introduced!! It's left open-ended!! If this really is the last one, I'm truly devastated!!

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Dec 30, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I LOVE this YA vampire series!! Cool weapons, exciting fights, Alex gets to miss school to go on save-the-world adventures and he has great friends...what more could you ask for in a vampire series?! Another great installment in the Alex Van Helsing series!

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Feb 04, 2013 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gothic-my-guilty-pleasure, just-plain-awesome, love-that-cover, scary, vampires, ya-paranormal, title-i-love

An awesome (and scary!) end to an awesome series.

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May 12, 2013 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-and-fiction, loved-to-death

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About Jason Henderson

I've been writing comics for a long time, and games, and-- well, I write, so there's always *something.* But now I've gotten into modern-day YA novels with the Alex Van Helsing series.

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Books by Jason Henderson

Voice of the Undead (Alex Van Helsing #2)

Highlander: The Element of Fire (Highlander)

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The Triumph of Death (Alex Van Helsing #3)

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