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Skarlet
by
Thomas Emson
Fear grips London as dozens of clubbers die after taking a sinister new drug. Forty-eight hours later, the dead clubbers wake up-and it's open season on the living, who are butchered for their blood. London gives a name to its terror: VAMPIRES. But the vampire plague unleashed in London is nothing to what lurks beneath the streets.
Published
October 2nd 2012
by Macmillan
(first published March 2nd 2009)
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Let's start with one likely hero: Jake Lawton, an Iraqi war vet recognized as a great leader by all who followed him when he was in the Army. Next, we'll give him the a team of people LEAST LIKELY to follow him:
- The reporter instrumental in getting him unfairly branded a war criminal
- The drug dealer who dated his ex-girlfriend while he was in Iraq
- An academic never out of the ivory tower
And those four are teaming up to save the world against a conspiracy dating back to Alexander the Great and...more
- The reporter instrumental in getting him unfairly branded a war criminal
- The drug dealer who dated his ex-girlfriend while he was in Iraq
- An academic never out of the ivory tower
And those four are teaming up to save the world against a conspiracy dating back to Alexander the Great and...more
Il libro di Emson è una boccata d'ossigeno, dopo l'invasione di vampiri belli, buoni e profumati che ha colpito le nostre librerie. Ho apprezzato in particolare l'idea di un vampirismo trasmesso attraverso una partita di ecstasy tagliata male e diffusa proprio attraverso le feste dei "real vampires". Il ritmo della narrazione è incalzante e distribuito su più piani temporali e locali e ricorda Stephen King per come sono sviluppati alcuni scenari secondari di vittime e personaggi di minor rilevan...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I took a chance on this book when I found out the audio was narrated by Arthur Darvill, who is a great performer, and hopefully will continue on with the series. This is the first in a “Vampire Trinity”, but unlike some of the more recent take on vampires, these are definitely “bad-guys”. They smell like death and decay, and only crave blood. There is no good or moral vampire in this story. It’s a straight up action book, and I like how it jumps perspectives to give a broader account of events....more
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/11/...
Jake Lawton, back home in England in ’08, 2 years after fighting in the Iraq War, is passing the time (and collecting a regular paycheck) as a doorman at a nightclub called Religion. On a night when the “vampires” come out in force, goths and sanguinarians (blood drinkers) alike, he’s frustrated that the club manager has let a known drug dealer back into the club after being banned for life. There’s really nothing Jake can...more
Jake Lawton, back home in England in ’08, 2 years after fighting in the Iraq War, is passing the time (and collecting a regular paycheck) as a doorman at a nightclub called Religion. On a night when the “vampires” come out in force, goths and sanguinarians (blood drinkers) alike, he’s frustrated that the club manager has let a known drug dealer back into the club after being banned for life. There’s really nothing Jake can...more
Apr 04, 2012
lanalang
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alphabetchallenge2012
In tutta onestà mi aspettavo di più da questo libro. E’ freddo, impersonale, non ti lascia nulla. C’è tanta azione e un ritmo narrativo che mira a tenerti con il fiato sospeso, eppure nel leggerlo mi sono ritrovata spesso a pensare ad altro, mi sono distratta e questo significa che non mi ha coinvolto.
Non mi ha catturato perché prevedibile negli eventi e con personaggi troppo stereotipati. Insomma c’è una trama che potrebbe funzionare, ma non c’è l’anima. Sembra scritto seguendo le classiche re...more
Non mi ha catturato perché prevedibile negli eventi e con personaggi troppo stereotipati. Insomma c’è una trama che potrebbe funzionare, ma non c’è l’anima. Sembra scritto seguendo le classiche re...more
THE BLURB:
Fear grips London as dozens of clubbers die after taking a sinister new drug.
But that's only the beginning. 48 hours later, the dead clubbers wake up - and it's open season on the living, who are butchered for their blood.
Soon, London gives a name to its terror: Vampires.
Jake Lawton, bitter and betrayed after the Iraq War, finds himself fighting another battle - against the growing army of immortal hunters and their human cohorts. Lawton joins forces with the journalist who brought abo...more
Fear grips London as dozens of clubbers die after taking a sinister new drug.
But that's only the beginning. 48 hours later, the dead clubbers wake up - and it's open season on the living, who are butchered for their blood.
Soon, London gives a name to its terror: Vampires.
Jake Lawton, bitter and betrayed after the Iraq War, finds himself fighting another battle - against the growing army of immortal hunters and their human cohorts. Lawton joins forces with the journalist who brought abo...more
Thomas Emson is an extremely exciting author whom I happened to stubble upon at Waterstones and have to admit, I am in awe of the man. I picked up his book and thought I would give it a try and have to say, I couldn't put it down from page 1 through the end. I read it within two days because I couldn't stop.
Skarlet is an exciting book with a unique take on Vampires and the mythos surrounding it. The characters are well rounded and the plot keeps driving forward at a 100mph to its wonderful concl...more
Skarlet is an exciting book with a unique take on Vampires and the mythos surrounding it. The characters are well rounded and the plot keeps driving forward at a 100mph to its wonderful concl...more
This book was gritty and contemporary to say the least. It had no fluff, no prettiness about it and it blurted out to anyone in bold letters 'if you don't like it, TOUGH'. It's not for the faint hearted. For those who want happy endings and fluffy, puppy-love romances, skip away now.
It's real, it's scary and not to be messed with.
Thomas Emson is a brilliant writer who makes other vampire and werewolf novels look like baby books in comparison.
I liked the idea that the vampire virus was harnesse...more
It's real, it's scary and not to be messed with.
Thomas Emson is a brilliant writer who makes other vampire and werewolf novels look like baby books in comparison.
I liked the idea that the vampire virus was harnesse...more
Il libro di Emson è una boccata d'ossigeno, dopo l'invasione di vampiri belli, buoni e profumati che ha colpito le nostre librerie. I vampiri di Emson non hanno nulla a che fare con quelli di Stephanie Meyer, né con il tradizionale vampiro ottocentesco codificato da Stoker: somigliano più alle creature frenetiche e animalesche di Matheson in Io sono leggenda. Ho apprezzato in particolare l'idea di un vampirismo trasmesso attraverso una partita di ecstasy tagliata male e diffusa proprio attravers...more
4 Stars
*this is an advanced readers copy*
Jake Lawton, an angry ex-Soldier accused of a horrible war crime, finds himself the target of false accusations again when a new drug, Skarlet, being distributed kills its users. When those killed rise up and bring terror to London the myth of vampires becomes reality. When it seems that all hope is lost for humanity Jake teams up with his foes, not to prove his innocence, but to put a stop to those who are behind the evil and to save the lives of the peo...more
If you've ever read Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain trilogy this book will feel oddly familiar. The similarities between the two are uncanny, right down to similar origins of the vampires, character names, writing style, and general plot elements.
My advice, read The Strain. It's better written, and the author doesn't make nearly as many references to urine, or "pee" as Emson is so fond of calling it.
In closing, bad writing, plot holes, and poor pacing earned this book one star....more
My advice, read The Strain. It's better written, and the author doesn't make nearly as many references to urine, or "pee" as Emson is so fond of calling it.
In closing, bad writing, plot holes, and poor pacing earned this book one star....more
More solid entertainment from Emson. For the first two thirds, it's an intriguing horror. The final third, building to the dramatic face off, is fairly predictable, but it's sufficiently well delivered that I could enjoy it anyway. I like my vampires the way Emson plays them here, as savage beasts rather than impotent intellectuals, and the nightclub set up is a neat way into the well played origins of his bloodsuckers. Not quite on a par with Maneater for me, but never less than enjoyable. It's...more
Back again with another review this time this book was a ARC given to me in a Goodreads giveaway of Skarlet by Thomas Emson. I am going to give this book a honest review because all books need those honest reviews. The premise of the story sounded intriguing so, I went into the novel wanting to find out the juicy secret lying within. The structure of the book is broken into five parts with over a hundred chapters with just under four hundred pages which means a chapter a page. However the struct...more
Jul 29, 2012
Rachel
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
ladbroke-audio
The real shame with this book, is it would probably merit four stars from me... if only he'd hired an editor! The story itself is actually pretty good, the basic telling of it fine. But without an editor, the actual writing is so painfully clunky, something that should be a nice easy read, frankly became quite a chore.
Of particular note, he said/she said for every single piece of dialogue. Every. Single. Piece. Too much information made attempts to convey sub culture or national culture clumsy a...more
Of particular note, he said/she said for every single piece of dialogue. Every. Single. Piece. Too much information made attempts to convey sub culture or national culture clumsy a...more
Not being much of a horror fan myself, nonetheless something about Skarlet drew me. Boy, am I glad I took a chance.
At first I wasn't sure about Skarlet, but about 50 pages in, the characters started speaking to me. Jake Lawton, bitter ex-soldier, got to me first. Then Sassie, female Indiana Jones, with her odd bravery. Murray, a journalist who only cares about the story, but in the end discovers what's truly important to her. And you can't forget Fraser Lithgow, the drug dealer with the heart of...more
At first I wasn't sure about Skarlet, but about 50 pages in, the characters started speaking to me. Jake Lawton, bitter ex-soldier, got to me first. Then Sassie, female Indiana Jones, with her odd bravery. Murray, a journalist who only cares about the story, but in the end discovers what's truly important to her. And you can't forget Fraser Lithgow, the drug dealer with the heart of...more
Absolutely an incredible horror novel. Think of Brian Keene's The Rising only with vampires and taking place across the Atlantic ocean. The action is brisk with short, taciturn chapters and Thomas Emson's background in journalism is very apparent as his economy with words keeps the pacing brisk and will having you turn the pages as if they were on fire. Strong characterizations and an imaginative and believable back story add to the realism of this novel.
Feb 08, 2013
Elvira
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
urban-fantasy,
horror
Skarlet is about a discharged ex-military solider, Jake, who works as a bouncer for a local club in London, who gets involved in a mass killing by a new drug on the street with mysterious ties to a Vampire group. The story is told in short episodic chapters that are reminiscent of a television show, short scenes jumping from character to character and to the past. The characters are minimally developed relying on stereotype of ex-military soldier, reporter, and academic. I don't think this would...more
Not a bad little read at all. A convincing plotline & a believeable protagonist (though I could have done without the 'reasons for going to war' being shoved down my throat).
Worthy of a look from any vamp lover :)
Worthy of a look from any vamp lover :)
Loved, loved, loved! A brilliant vampire novel, with action, mystery and real-life. It was very refreshing and was so good I kept reading and reading, I think I read it in a day it was that good.
This is an ok book. Characters were strong and I did like the story line.
I will definitely be checking the rest of the books in the series to see how the story progresses and finishes.
I will definitely be checking the rest of the books in the series to see how the story progresses and finishes.
This book is really amazing. Very original, even though its about Vampires, but the storyline is has been masterminded from every angle. I'm looking forward to the second book. Epic!
Much better than I thought it would be. Some really interesting additions to vampire mythology. Book #2 was equally as good. Looking forward to number 3 in the series.
Honestly can't remember much of this now but I really enjoyed it - I remember that!
A very modern take on the vampire idea. Gopry, shocking but really engaging.
I loved it! Can't wait to read book 3!
Dec 29, 2012
Erin Semenske
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
vampires
This book was a really good read! It was a little slow going at first but once it picked up. It picked up with a bloody vengeance. The way the story was woven together was phenomenal it will have you flipping back to parts you already read to double check something. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes the untraditional vampire story but it is not for the faint hearted. There is a lot of graphic violence and swearing but it makes the book. I can not wait for the other two t...more
a fast-paced action-y book.
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Thomas was born in Bangor, Wales, in 1966, and raised on Anglesey, the island at the northern tip of Wales. He lives in Kent under another name with his wife, the author and journalist, Marnie Summerfield Smith.
It was Stephen King's vampire novel Salem's Lot that fired his ambition to be a writer.
He was a journalist for more than 20 years, working for local, regional, and national papers as a repo...more
More about Thomas Emson...
It was Stephen King's vampire novel Salem's Lot that fired his ambition to be a writer.
He was a journalist for more than 20 years, working for local, regional, and national papers as a repo...more
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Jan 25, 2013 04:59pm