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H.U.B. (Humanity's Ultimate Battle) Vol. 1 & 2 Collection
Vampires, long believed to be nothing but myth and legend, do in fact exist. For years they have lived peacefully amongst humans but all that is about to change. Not content with being considered an equal to the human race, a faction has arisen that is threatening to fracture the delicate truce and engage in a global war pitting humans against vampires. The first two volumes, together for the first time, of an epic series is here and the world will never be the same.
Nook
First published October 19, 2010
47 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Jones
116 books35 followersBenjamin Jones was born in Greeneville, TN but currently resides in Dallas, TX. Benjamin has been writing for close to 15 years while working various 9-5 jobs but, all the while, finding time to keep the writing the main priority and always trying to hone his craft.
Writer of many genres, Ben has covered horror (his H.U.B. vampire series) as well as his critically acclaimed romance novel, Head Above Water. Be on the lookout for more works from Ben, including his up-coming non-fiction book on Hip-Hop and a new romance novel entitled The Girl In The Red Balloon.
Benjamin is available for convention visits/speaking engagements, print, radio and web interviews as well as guest blog postings. To schedule an interview or speaking engagement you can contact him at ben@whatishub.net
Writer of many genres, Ben has covered horror (his H.U.B. vampire series) as well as his critically acclaimed romance novel, Head Above Water. Be on the lookout for more works from Ben, including his up-coming non-fiction book on Hip-Hop and a new romance novel entitled The Girl In The Red Balloon.
Benjamin is available for convention visits/speaking engagements, print, radio and web interviews as well as guest blog postings. To schedule an interview or speaking engagement you can contact him at ben@whatishub.net
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 20, 2011
First of all, I should disclose that I won this book through a Goodreads contest, and it was sent to me for free. I've been agonizing about exactly how to review H.U.B. ever since. There were so many things I absolutely loved, and so many that drove me nuts. I don't really know how to describe my reaction to this novel.
I guess I'll start with the good. H.U.B. is one kick-a** vampire novel, and the "scary" factor is through the roof. As vampire stories go, H.U.B. is more like HBO's tv series True Blood or Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain series of books. The vampires in H.U.B.'s world are old-school extremely nasty predators. No innocent little teenage Twilight style romance here! The title Humanity's Ultimate Battle is quite apt, and the author pulls no punches. From the very first page, readers are immersed in Jones' dark and haunting vision for humanity's future. Not only do Jones' vampires drink human blood, but they actually eat people. In fact, my favorite scene involves a vampire restaurant, but I'm going to leave the rest to your imagination so I don't spoil it for you.
Now the bad: The book reads like a rough draft, or something a gifted college student might produce for their creative writing class. This book is self-published, and the lack of a professional editor shows. Sure there are typos and spelling errors, but who cares? My major gripe is the horrendously awkward run-on sentences that pepper both volumes. It's not that I'm a stickler for correct grammar or anything. My problem is that the writing style often interrupted the flow of my reading. I had to slow down and re-read many sentences to puzzle out the meaning. Don't believe me? Here are a couple examples:
Also, I felt that the character building was incomplete. In volume I we were briefly introduced to a whole host of characters, but never given a chance to really connect with any of them. I like that the characters' stories continued in volume II, but I still never felt any real connection to any of them.
That said, the author Benjamin Jones truly has an amazing imagination. I can easily picture authors like Stephen King or Dean Koontz churning out books like most of us churn out meaningless paperwork during our 9-5 jobs. But I get the feeling that H.U.B. is Jones' passion, his "baby." H.U.B. has a very amateurish, homemade feel to it, which will turn some readers off. But in some ways it made the story feel all the more true. I could almost picture a lone human survivor, somebody with no literary training, sitting in a basement somewhere doing his best to put down in words the history of humanity's ultimate battle with vampires.
I could totally see this book being made into a summer blockbuster movie, which I found interesting considering that on Jones' bio he mentioned originally wanting to be a film director. By volume II, any reader with half a brain should be able to anticipate the coming war between humans and the vampires. The political lines have been drawn, and the politics among the vampire nation illustrate the complexities and divisions involved in any society. Parts of this struggle reminded me of the latest version of the television mini-series V. Guess I'll have to wait for Volume III to see if that's the case. The suspense builds...
Readers who cannot overlook some examples of poorly written text will be driven crazy by this book. But readers willing to overlook an odd writing style will be treated to a vampire tale which will keep you awake into the wee hours of the night! I will definitely order the next volume once it comes out, which is probably the most important review I could give! I'm going to place this book on the bookswap for anyone who wants to try it out themselves.
I guess I'll start with the good. H.U.B. is one kick-a** vampire novel, and the "scary" factor is through the roof. As vampire stories go, H.U.B. is more like HBO's tv series True Blood or Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain series of books. The vampires in H.U.B.'s world are old-school extremely nasty predators. No innocent little teenage Twilight style romance here! The title Humanity's Ultimate Battle is quite apt, and the author pulls no punches. From the very first page, readers are immersed in Jones' dark and haunting vision for humanity's future. Not only do Jones' vampires drink human blood, but they actually eat people. In fact, my favorite scene involves a vampire restaurant, but I'm going to leave the rest to your imagination so I don't spoil it for you.
Now the bad: The book reads like a rough draft, or something a gifted college student might produce for their creative writing class. This book is self-published, and the lack of a professional editor shows. Sure there are typos and spelling errors, but who cares? My major gripe is the horrendously awkward run-on sentences that pepper both volumes. It's not that I'm a stickler for correct grammar or anything. My problem is that the writing style often interrupted the flow of my reading. I had to slow down and re-read many sentences to puzzle out the meaning. Don't believe me? Here are a couple examples:
"He gazed out the window as the snow continued to fall upon the city that was quickly becoming a wasteland as thick black smoke rose towards the heavens from the mango orange fires that consumed the businesses and houses below." (pg. 105)
"In the middle of the dust cloud stood Echo, a vampire that resembled Lucy Liu, blood dripping from the claws on her hand, as well as from the fangs in her mouth, as she stood blocking their path, staring at the three of them with a look of pure rage on her face." (pg. 103)
Also, I felt that the character building was incomplete. In volume I we were briefly introduced to a whole host of characters, but never given a chance to really connect with any of them. I like that the characters' stories continued in volume II, but I still never felt any real connection to any of them.
That said, the author Benjamin Jones truly has an amazing imagination. I can easily picture authors like Stephen King or Dean Koontz churning out books like most of us churn out meaningless paperwork during our 9-5 jobs. But I get the feeling that H.U.B. is Jones' passion, his "baby." H.U.B. has a very amateurish, homemade feel to it, which will turn some readers off. But in some ways it made the story feel all the more true. I could almost picture a lone human survivor, somebody with no literary training, sitting in a basement somewhere doing his best to put down in words the history of humanity's ultimate battle with vampires.
I could totally see this book being made into a summer blockbuster movie, which I found interesting considering that on Jones' bio he mentioned originally wanting to be a film director. By volume II, any reader with half a brain should be able to anticipate the coming war between humans and the vampires. The political lines have been drawn, and the politics among the vampire nation illustrate the complexities and divisions involved in any society. Parts of this struggle reminded me of the latest version of the television mini-series V. Guess I'll have to wait for Volume III to see if that's the case. The suspense builds...
Readers who cannot overlook some examples of poorly written text will be driven crazy by this book. But readers willing to overlook an odd writing style will be treated to a vampire tale which will keep you awake into the wee hours of the night! I will definitely order the next volume once it comes out, which is probably the most important review I could give! I'm going to place this book on the bookswap for anyone who wants to try it out themselves.
Displaying 1 of 1 review