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A Different Kind Of Girlfriend
As mere humans we are not allowed to know the truth about the relationship between Good and Evil. We are not allowed to know that although the eternal struggle between them is an immutable fact they must still co-exist, fighting a battle from which neither must ever emerge as the victor. Because if the delicate balance maintained between these two powers were ever to be destroyed, then the world as we know it would pass from existence in a single cataclysmic flash of destruction. We are not allowed to know this truth because there are both those who wish to conceal it from us, and others who dare not break their vow of silence to reveal it to Mankind as a whole. But there is one young man who is destined to join the ranks of those few humans privy to the great secret.
Jonathon Rayner is an apprentice vampire hunter working for the Sect, a world-wide secret society which has for centuries waged a covert war against those it condemns as the blood-sucking harbingers of Doom. An orphan raised by foster parents and indoctrinated into his profession from an early age, Rayner nonetheless harbours secret doubts about the role his superiors would have him fulfil. Sent to a Sect training school in a remote area of Scotland he there meets Lloyd, a veteran black American vampire hunter who is a guest instructor at the college. Now Lloyd might well be a skilled professional at his trade, but he is also an anti-authoritarian maverick afflicted by a deep-seated guilt, as well as a bitter hatred of all vampires. He is a classic example of the loose cannon, primed to explode.
But it is on his first real assignment after graduating that Rayner finds his own inner conflict brought into sharp focus. Defying all of his training and relentless indoctrination, he falls deeply in love with one of the supposed enemy, the beautiful, bewitching and enigmatic Miriam. And it through Miriam, his 'Different Kind of Girlfriend', with her deep wisdom and memories that stretch back to the dawn of human civilisation, that Rayner begins to understand that almost everything he has ever been taught about vampires, the Sect, and the true nature of the Twin Powers of Good and Evil, has been a mixture of half-truths, distortion and down-right lies. With Lloyd also persuaded to change allegiance by Miriam's cunning manipulations, both men become fugitives, marked for execution by their erstwhile colleagues. Knowing now that the humans employed by the Sect have been subverted to help destroy the delicate balance between Good and Evil and thus bring about the end of the world; Rayner, Lloyd and Miriam face a climactic battle for survival. Along with Miriam's even more enigmatic and deadly 'sister', they must fight for their lives against the powerful and malevolent supernatural beings actually in control the Sect.
And by the end Lloyd will come to understand, as Rayner already does, that the 'vampires' are very different creatures from their perceived stereotype. That in reality, far from being the predators of Mankind, they may actually be our guardians....
Jonathon Rayner is an apprentice vampire hunter working for the Sect, a world-wide secret society which has for centuries waged a covert war against those it condemns as the blood-sucking harbingers of Doom. An orphan raised by foster parents and indoctrinated into his profession from an early age, Rayner nonetheless harbours secret doubts about the role his superiors would have him fulfil. Sent to a Sect training school in a remote area of Scotland he there meets Lloyd, a veteran black American vampire hunter who is a guest instructor at the college. Now Lloyd might well be a skilled professional at his trade, but he is also an anti-authoritarian maverick afflicted by a deep-seated guilt, as well as a bitter hatred of all vampires. He is a classic example of the loose cannon, primed to explode.
But it is on his first real assignment after graduating that Rayner finds his own inner conflict brought into sharp focus. Defying all of his training and relentless indoctrination, he falls deeply in love with one of the supposed enemy, the beautiful, bewitching and enigmatic Miriam. And it through Miriam, his 'Different Kind of Girlfriend', with her deep wisdom and memories that stretch back to the dawn of human civilisation, that Rayner begins to understand that almost everything he has ever been taught about vampires, the Sect, and the true nature of the Twin Powers of Good and Evil, has been a mixture of half-truths, distortion and down-right lies. With Lloyd also persuaded to change allegiance by Miriam's cunning manipulations, both men become fugitives, marked for execution by their erstwhile colleagues. Knowing now that the humans employed by the Sect have been subverted to help destroy the delicate balance between Good and Evil and thus bring about the end of the world; Rayner, Lloyd and Miriam face a climactic battle for survival. Along with Miriam's even more enigmatic and deadly 'sister', they must fight for their lives against the powerful and malevolent supernatural beings actually in control the Sect.
And by the end Lloyd will come to understand, as Rayner already does, that the 'vampires' are very different creatures from their perceived stereotype. That in reality, far from being the predators of Mankind, they may actually be our guardians....
887 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2014
This book has the word "Different" in the title and let me assure you that if nothing else this book lives up to that word.
I went into this book expecting one thing but got something new and exciting. One of the things I love about self-publishing is the shear amount of new and exciting choices out there in every genre and on, just about any topic.
I have not been a lifelong reader. It's just been the last 5 years or so that I have caught the bug. The reasons are many but mostly, I did not enjoy spending the money for traditional published books. I could never get anything new at the Library without a long wait. Now we have so many choices at low prices and even many free! The traditional published Vampire books that I've seen and read all seem to followed the same vain. Not so anymore. It's like every vampire book I read now is a completely different spin on the genre which is so exciting and boy is this one different.
This book deals with a young vampire hunter going off to training after a life time of indoctrination where he meets a brash American hunter sent over to be a guest trainer. As training progresses we get insight to Jonathon's mind set as well as a few other characters and even before training is finished the enemy is introduced in ways they never expected.
I think at the heart of this tale is the love story of Jonathon and Miriam which is a very different kind of relationship as the name states. Will their love be able to stand against all the obstacles; including one mortal and one immortal? You'll just have to read it to find out.
I thought the book started off strong and then floundered for a bit only to pick right back up for the last half of the book.
The ending will be a surprise as it is not only A Different Kind Of Girlfriend but a different kind of vampire. If you're vampire genre fan then this one is worth the time and money.
I went into this book expecting one thing but got something new and exciting. One of the things I love about self-publishing is the shear amount of new and exciting choices out there in every genre and on, just about any topic.
I have not been a lifelong reader. It's just been the last 5 years or so that I have caught the bug. The reasons are many but mostly, I did not enjoy spending the money for traditional published books. I could never get anything new at the Library without a long wait. Now we have so many choices at low prices and even many free! The traditional published Vampire books that I've seen and read all seem to followed the same vain. Not so anymore. It's like every vampire book I read now is a completely different spin on the genre which is so exciting and boy is this one different.
This book deals with a young vampire hunter going off to training after a life time of indoctrination where he meets a brash American hunter sent over to be a guest trainer. As training progresses we get insight to Jonathon's mind set as well as a few other characters and even before training is finished the enemy is introduced in ways they never expected.
I think at the heart of this tale is the love story of Jonathon and Miriam which is a very different kind of relationship as the name states. Will their love be able to stand against all the obstacles; including one mortal and one immortal? You'll just have to read it to find out.
I thought the book started off strong and then floundered for a bit only to pick right back up for the last half of the book.
The ending will be a surprise as it is not only A Different Kind Of Girlfriend but a different kind of vampire. If you're vampire genre fan then this one is worth the time and money.
January 22, 2015
This book took me a long time to properly get into and I wonder at first if perhaps it would have benefited from being more harshly edited, but having said that, all the information did seem to be relevant to the story, so perhaps I'm just more used to faster paced books of late.
It's a book with a lot of action but a heck of a lot of behind the scenes "quiet action" too, and there is a fair amount of description of various weapons, which wasn't really to my taste.
However, I started to really feel for the main characters as the book progressed and by the time I was about 3/4 of the way through I was having trouble putting it aside to sleep. The characters drew me in and I wanted to know how it would end. There were a few heart-in-my-mouth moments, and I won't post spoilers but I was very relieved at the end that certain things had turned out the way they did.
I particularly liked Lloyd, a very strong and interesting character.
If you're after a quick and easy read to fill a couple of hours, this won't be the book for you, but if you like to get fully involved in the lives of your characters and like to spend your time with a book, then I don't think you will go wrong picking this up.
I will be very interested to see what Christopher Pope writes next.
It's a book with a lot of action but a heck of a lot of behind the scenes "quiet action" too, and there is a fair amount of description of various weapons, which wasn't really to my taste.
However, I started to really feel for the main characters as the book progressed and by the time I was about 3/4 of the way through I was having trouble putting it aside to sleep. The characters drew me in and I wanted to know how it would end. There were a few heart-in-my-mouth moments, and I won't post spoilers but I was very relieved at the end that certain things had turned out the way they did.
I particularly liked Lloyd, a very strong and interesting character.
If you're after a quick and easy read to fill a couple of hours, this won't be the book for you, but if you like to get fully involved in the lives of your characters and like to spend your time with a book, then I don't think you will go wrong picking this up.
I will be very interested to see what Christopher Pope writes next.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews