The President's Vampire

Nathaniel Cade #2

by Christopher Farnsworth

The ultimate secret. The ultimate agent. Nathaniel Cade returns.

For 140 years, Nathaniel Cade has been the President's Vampire, sworn to protect and serve his country. Cade's existence is the most closely guarded of White House a superhuman covert agent who is the last line of defense against nightmare scenarios that ordinary citizens only dream of.

When a new outbreak of an ancient evil-one that he has seen before- comes to light, Cade and his human handler, Zach Barrows, must track down its source. To "protect and serve" often means settling old scores and confronting new betrayals . . . as only a centuries-old predator can.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Thriller

337 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2011

About the author

Christopher Farnsworth is the author of FLASHMOB (one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2017), KILLFILE, THE ETERNAL WORLD, and the PRESIDENT'S VAMPIRE series. A screenwriter and journalist, he lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Graeme Rodaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent follow up to Blood Oath. If you liked the first book, I'm sure you will like the second.

I love the concept of a conspiracy to hide a secret vampire agent within the President's circle who has a mandate to conduct a 'War on Horror!'

This book will suit those who enjoy a good, solid conspiracy, some supernatural elements, and thriller and suspense style action.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Farnsworth has done it again! Nathaniel Cade is back in The President's Vampire and he's as better than ever. Blood Oath blew me away and as a result, I have extremely high expectations of this book. Anything I could have possibly imagined, The President's Vampire easily surpassed.

Incorporating historical figures and events, as well as referencing horror movies as though they were previous cases, The President's Vampire manages to twist history, pop culture, politics and the supernatural into something utterly enthralling. We flashback to some of Cade's previous cases as well as seeing him in action in a present day saving the world scenario.

We get to know Cade better in The President's Vampire. We may never know him well, but as the series progresses, we slowly understand him better. While technically a monster forced into service, he often proves to be morally superior to the human's he's bound to protect. He's honest. He's realistic. He's uncomplicated by the frivolous things humans obsess over. He's awesome with the outdated slang. And he truly wants to protect the country.

I loved seeing Zach, Cade's handler, so involved in the mission. He's grown up a lot from his first encounter with Cade which caused him to wet his pants. While things don't always play out the way he hopes, he's quickly proving to be an asset instead of another person Cade needs to constantly keep alive.

The President's Vampire provides shocking twists again and again. This book keeps you on your toes while glued to the pages. I can't praise this series or Christopher Farnsworth enough. The President's Vampire is the perfect follow up to an amazing series debut. I'm already anxiously awaiting my next Nathaniel Cade fix.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathanial Cade has been bound to the President of the United States to protect the Country from all Supernatural creatures as the President's vampire. When an ancient reptile-like race emerges from the shadows, will Cade and his Human escort Zach Barrows be able to stop them before it is too late? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was the first ever book I have read by Christopher Farnsworth and will def look for more books from him in the future. If you like books like these, definitely check this out at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be very honest I was kinda curious about the writer as he is the new continuation writer for Jesse Stone which is a character created by Robert B Parker and has been written by several writer after Parker passed away.
The subject of this book couldn't be more different as the hero of this book is a vampire who through a blood oath is attached to the White House and President. So hence only recent succesfull attempts at the Presidents life was during the day. Kinda Cute.
This story is about a shadowy organisation who want to alter history after a meteorite wiped out any chance of a Dino civilization. So Nataniel Cade is chasing the reptile men who want to kill humanity.
The book breathes conspiracy theories and the story is really easy to read as are the actionscenes which are good to follow. This book is well written alas not so my cup of tea. But entertaining nonetheless.

[Narilka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

I love the idea of conspiracy theories and paranormal combining. Cade goes up against genetically engineered lizard people. That was a lot of fun and the last third was a gore fest. On the down side, I can't stand how the scenes with Zach and the Company people sound like a bunch of frat boys. Good for Zach to go all in by the end. Cade could use that commitment from his partner.

[jD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! I finally sat down last night and finished the audio book. I had been holding out because there is not another one yet. This is book 2 and follow-up to Blood Oath. I have nothing I can compare the writing to. It's Urban Fantasy with a generous helping of history, urban legends, and political conspiricies. In Blood Oath, Dr. Frankenstein is living in Beverly Hills helping Middle Eastern Terrorist make zombies out of dead American Soldiers. It wasn't pretty but it was a thrill ride to the finish. In The President's Vampire -- we have new creatures called Snake Heads. Zack, the mouthy young assistant to Cade came up with it. The lizardish creatures were once human and of course, a top secret government program created a virus that helped that little metamorphsis happen. It's distrubing. Cade had to put a stop to it while keeping his Blood Oath not to hurt innocents or those protected by the White House. There are moments of humor that keep the dark from being too dark but it's still dark. You know what I mean?

Cade says so few words, he is just a killing machine, a patriotic one at that. He doesn't drink human blood although he tends to spill a significant amount of it. He is a singular purposed being that makes the perfect anti-hero. Forced into the Blood Oath with the blood from the bullet that killed Abe Lincoln, Cade is tied the President, all of them. His recall on some of their personalities is a hoot. Some moments were endearing as well such as when he told Bobby Kennedy that he could not find the person that ordered the death of his brother. Make no mistake, everybody connected to the assignation Cade hunted down but he never found out who made the order. The current President has the personality traits of Obama but he is never identified by name as well as the more recent ones.

I recommend this books to those who like it shaken and not stirred. It's perfect Mr. Farnsworth. Change nothing. Again, I am wishing I had this in book format so I can share some of the great lines but they are too fleeting in audio.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The President's Vampire is the second book in a very entertaining series of the same name. There premise: the Office of the President has had a secret weapon for the past 140ish years--there is a vampire, named Nathanial Cade, who has been sworn (in a voodoo sort of unbreakable way) to obey any and all orders by the President. Farnsworth has a sly humor and a vivid, cinematic imagination that makes these books tons of fun to read. His exhaustive research on conspiracy theories and X-file sorts of stories comes to play over and over again--there is never a dull moment on any page. My particular favorite this time around is the story of how Bin Laden "actually" died (Farnsworth's got amazing timing to his story telling too!). This time around Cade is dealing with mad scientists manipulating DNA in an attempt to wipe out humankind and create a new being that is better adapted to the upcoming changes facing our planet. There's plenty of action with Somali pirates and the military--it's more than a bit graphic in places, but has no shortage of laughs either. And no, the last thing Cade would EVER do is sparkle--he's NOT your teenager's vampire at all.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quote from book:

"Of course, it's entirely possible the reason Cade is so formidable might be simply due to individual temperament: Cade is unusually stubborn and willful, dedicated and tough; what some people call - and I mean this with all due respect - a total bastard."



Another amazing adventure with Nathaniel Cade, predator extraordinaire, and Zach Barrows, his human handler. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It has action, political plots-within-plots, betrayals, murder & mayhem, and just a tiny smidgeon of romance...or lust, at the very least. The bad guys are suitably evil and I spent most of the book wishing them all sorts of karmic retribution. Of course, that's Cade's cue to do his thing...which he does...quite well. Since I've already read the third book in the series I now eagerly await the fourth book to be published. I still say this series would make for an awesome movie franchise.

[Peter Marrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Blood Oath last year when it was first released because it looked like a really interesting book and boy I was right. In 1867 President Andrew Johnson "pardons" Nathaniel Cade, an accused Vampire. Cade takes a "Blood Oath" to the Presidency of the United States as a condition of his pardon making him our one and only weapon in the War on the Supernatural. Werewolves...exist, Dr. Frankenstein...exists, Demons...yup, Cade is here to keep us safe from all manner of things that go bump in the night. He's an unstoppable, perfect killing machine. While I really enjoyed Blood Oath I'm here to tell you, Chris Farnsworth ratchets up the action in The Presidents Vampire. I couldn't put this book down! Awesome job Chris!

[Dana Delamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great entry in this series. I really enjoyed "Blood Oath," the first book in the Nathaniel Cade series, and "The President's Vampire" is an excellent follow-up that deepens the character of Zach and gives us more hints about Cade's past and who he is inside. And if you haven't been following along, Cade is a 150-year-old vampire who works for the President of the United States as a defense against all the things that go bump in the night and just might destroy the country.

I'm not going to say much about the plot, but it almost one-ups the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse... and in some ways, it's much, much worse.

Recommended if you like fast-paced supernatural suspense. A highly entertaining beach read!

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars for Story & Narration

Mini-Review:

In many ways, this book was more interesting than the first but I did not like it more than book one. I really enjoyed the first half of the book. The rest? It was a wild ride! I just wasn't as satisfied with the whole of the story. I kept thinking, "But why?"

The details built behind the characters truly make this series great. It is also the details that leave me feeling a bit meh. It isn't as tight and together as the first book. Great adventure story full of details that are very much the USA.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series!

[Maria Fledgling Author Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

The President's Vampire was a wild combination of a paranormal plot with a military/spy thriller amped up by the conspiracy theory of conspiracy theories.

From the very beginning, so many plotlines and red herrings going in different directions kept me guessing, something which is hard to do. I can usually figure out the end pretty quickly.

This book, while involving genetic experimentation, centuries old Vampires and Somalian pirates, managed to be story and character driven rather than just a graphically gory tale.

Despite the unlikeliness of the conspiracy theories documented, I found myself at the end of the book scratching my head and wondering, maybe? I highly recommend this book!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The President's Vampire is the second installment in the Nathaniel Cade series. It has been 11 months since the end of Blood Oath, and Zach and Cade have become a team. They face yet another challenge from the Shadow Company, and its long reach into the administration of President Samuel Curtis. Curtis, it seems, has decided to put some distance between himself and Cade/Zach for plausible deniability. What the President doesn't know, his own VP, Chief of Staff, and a member of the Shadow Company Colonel Graves, have stepped up their determination to bring down the Curtis administration and the country at a whole, and especially Cade.

I would highly recommend that you read Blood Oath, the first book in this series, to give you a better understanding of what Cade is all about and why he has served US Presidents for 140 years. Cade has been sworn to protect and serve his country. Cade's existence is the most closely guarded of the White House secrets; a superhuman covert agent who is the last line of defense against nightmare scenarios that ordinary citizens can only dream of. Cade was blood oathed by voodoo priestess Marie Laveau in 1876 by President Johnson.

This time around the danger is a super virus that turns humans into Snakehead creatures, and it is spread via bites, and blood. Zach and Cade are forced to work with Graves, and take orders from him, something that Cade has issues with. This in essence means that any order that Graves gives him, he has to obey, which puts a chink in Cades plans to stop Graves and those behind the virus. It appears that Graves and Cade also have a past history together, and Cade has a very long memory that never forgets.

I'm glad to see that Tania, the vampire, has reappeared in this story. Tania has attached herself to Cade in order to see why he does the things he does. She plays more of a positive role in the story, and the final outcome as well. I'm hoping we see another release in this series so that Cade and Tania can wrap their relationship one way or the other. Tania is the total opposite of Cade. She feeds, and hunts human for sport and blood. She has no problem killing at will when it comes to humans. Cade on the other hand, refuses to partake in drinking human blood. He prefers animal blood.

This story is another example of Dark Fantasy, and the level of demented evil by the villains is seriously creepy. And, no, this is not your typical vampire story. It crosses into the political world, and encompasses past experiences from the time Cade was turned into a vampire, to various points in his 140 years as being a servant of the President and hunting down enemies of the US. He's attempt to better fit into society is often funny with the various catch phrases he uses to communicate.

I am definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series.

[Bookmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathaniel Cade is a one hundred forty year old vampire, stronger and more powerful than most, blood oathed to the seated president of the USA and the best interests of the country. The average citizen doesn’t know vampires exist. A well-established group with footholds in high political positions and other government organizations believe the end justifies the means, taking it to a whole new level by replacing humanity with, well, something else that is highly contagious. Cade has seen these before over the years, and they’ve evolved. He and his political handler, Zach Barrows, must figure out who is behind it, where the creatures are coming from and keep them from spreading.

As a reader of the Urban Fantasy genre, I was at first a little taken aback by the lack of personality that Cade has. Until you get to know him, he seems to come across as somewhat robotic, but that gets explained. And not a reader of political thrillers or conspiracy books, it was especially confusing at first with some of the terms for groups that weren’t quite what I thought. I would imagine both of these would have been non-issues in this book if I’d already read Blood Oath.

But just over a third of the way through the book I got hooked and the things that were bothering me were overtaken by the appreciation for the story. The book is made up from a lot of small segments, with action taking place not only in different parts of the world from the perspective of those involved or affected, but also in history. The author does a great job of mixing these segments to feed us background and information from a number of sources in pieces that slowly builds the overall picture.

I don't have the means to compare it with other political thrillers, the closest I’ve come to anything like that are books by Robin Cook that I haven’t read in a long time. But like those books, the author makes the situation seem possible and leaves you wondering what exactly is being kept from us. The story contains plenty of action.

ARC reviewed for Library Thing

This review is being amended because I'm now over halfway through reading Blood Oath, the first book in the series. I'm happy to say that the things that first bothered me in The President's Vampire are handled in Blood Oath. And while it's not necessary to read Blood Oath first, I highly recommend it. You get how Cade became a vampire and blood-oathed to the president, Zach's story as he's partnered up with Cade, and an explanation for Shadow Company and The Company as well as a few other things mentioned in this second book.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the previous book, this isn't exactly what I've come to expect of a "vampire book" lately... sparkly lovey dovey vampires who long to "neck" (pun intended) with their teenage squeezes who are far too young for them... in this series, the lead character is hundreds of years old and was turned into a vampire against his will. The idea of vampirism is handled scientifically, historically-as though it's a fact and the author is just reporting to you things he's read in a report about a government project called "Nightmare Pet" which is about Nathaniel Cade, the vampire who has sworn a blood oath to protect the President and the officers appointed by him. In this bit of the series, we'll get to see that part of the oath utilized and how it affects him in negative and positive ways...

I'll say no more, but I was really impressed with the relationship development between the human handler who was introduced in the last book as his new handler. He has really grown as a character...and that's always exciting to see. It seems that he and Nathaniel have a great working relationship which is also really great.

The book is quite exciting. This is not written as a vampire or paranormal story really--it's much more of a thriller/spy novel that has a spy who is a vampire. The only difference is that when the vampire does all the unnaturally magic things that "James Bond" usually does, it makes sense that he can do them... lol

I'd really recommend this book. I think the author has gotten into a stride here with his characters. He knows them better, they are even more fleshed out as well rounded people with lives, and emotions who you care about. I think this book is even better than the first book which makes reading this series even more worthwhile. I'd really recommend this book for those who enjoy unusual vampire novels and thriller/spy novels.

[Laura]

I bailed on this one. It's not the book. The book is fine. It gets lots of love on Amazon and Goodreads. I'm just not into polictical/military/vampire/weird lizard people stories. Just not my thing. Is there a way to show books as bailed on Goodreads without counting as read?

[Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathaniel Cade is the perfect man vampire. Does this mean he's a cold blooded killer. No he isn't. He does kill, but Cade kills for the right reason, and at the right time. A respected and likeable vampire you say? Absolutely.

What I liked in this book?
Compared to Blood Oath, this book makes Cade seem more human. I know, if he is a vampire, why do I want him to be more human, right? It's not exactly that I wanted him to be more human but I wanted him to show more of his personality. Farnsworth let the reader get closer to Cade as a character and because of this, I liked him even more.

What I didn't like about this book?
This is ONLY ME! Remember that when I'm saying what I didn't like- the political thriller aspect of the book. It is just not my thing.

Now even though political thrillers are not my thing, this book manages to be a 4 star book for me. Why? Farnsworth is a great writer. He tells his tale, he creates great characters, and the story flows perfectly. In other words, a job well done!

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this series.

One one hand, it reads like a fast paced adventure. It's quick and easy and helps you kill an afternoon. And the stories are entertaining enough.

On the other hand, I'm getting irritated with the fact that all characters are very black and white in this. If you are good, you are a decent human being, even if you are a blood sucking vampire. If you are bad, you are a freaking serial killer, a child trafficker, a sadist, a sociopath, etc. I mean literally everyone we saw in A/A is a horrible human being who would have ended up in jail in the real world. And the only half-decent person in there suddenly "sees the light" and sacrifices herself in the end. Seriously? You KNEW about what Graves did and why all along, and you choose to grow a conscience only now? Because it's convenient for the plot for you to do so? I'm tired of books that have no shades of grey.

So I'm on the fence right now. I might check out the next book to see if the characterization improves, but if it's still more of the same, I'm out.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel to Blood Oath would have been just a *teeny* bit better if Osama bin Laden hadn't recently been killed by Seal Team 6, since the book opens with Cade trying to kill bin Laden and bin Laden morphing into a reptilian creature.

I'm sure author Farnsworth was cursing the Obama administration, but the fact that the autopsy photos were not released still leaves room for the conspiracy theorists - and fiction writers - to have fun with bin Laden's death.

In this novel, Cade is tracking down the source of reptilian DNA that is turning everyone into killer "snakeheads." Zach is still snippy as ever, Tania is sexy and guilt-free, and Cade is Cade. The CIA's evil counterpart, the Shadow Company, is behind the creation of a new super race of reptiles and Cade is doing his best to save the nation, and Zach.

This was not as good as Blood Oath, but a fun horror/supernatural read anyway. Much less sex in this one, and more decapitations.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great second book, the establishment of the characters in the first book means this one can get straight down to business. Business in this episode is snake men and dodgy government contractors.

There's plenty of action of the flesh rending kind and both Zach and Cade get some of the other kind too though thankfully Farnsworth steers clear of dodgy sex scenes. Zach is still generally likeable albeit naive and Cade is still....well Cade. Tania doesn't get developed any further which is sad as she showed some promise in the first book but we get a whole host of new bad guys both obvious and not so, the weaselly VP isn't in it much nor is the president so we are kept to a reasonably small set of characters again.

A great read if you liked the first book and very much looking forward to the next one now.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit the first chapter or so did not impress me at all. My first thought when Osama Bin Laden turned out to be an evil lizard creature was, What the...?! How is Farnsworth going to turn this cluster-*@#k of a story line into something decent?!.
However, after that, this book turned into a page-turning cross between 24 and Dracula. There were double agents, triple agents, and secret societies within secret agencies. Nothing and no one is to be trusted. If you love conspiracy theories and the occult then Christopher Farnsworth is your author. In short, it was awesome!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb perfection.

Every superlative I can think of is not enough. Very highly recommended.

[Lisa P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this one, since I enjoyed the first book in the series so much. So many little things bugged me about this story. In the first book I really loved the banter and relationship between the vampire Cade and his handler Zach. In this book they were hardly ever even together in the same place at the same time. This book also jumped around way too much, bringing up many snippets and past stories of Cade, and other creepy things that happened throughout history, contributing almost nothing to the current story. And speaking of the current story, the plot was just too tiresome and didn't work for me. This story also has a horror element to it and, of course, lots of people die. I expected this, but what I didn't expect was the author having to introduce each person to us, and give a lengthy backstory to them all, even though they only last 5 pages in the book. They might be interesting characters, but if they are introduced and killed off in 5 pages, why bother? I still enjoyed the action and the concept of the book. Just needed some more fine tuning in my opinion.

[L.A.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-packed follow-up to Blood Oath. I admit, this one got a bit gory at times and I had to stop for a while. But this is a non-stop political horror thriller connecting all sorts of real-world events from Bin Laden to Somali pirates.

Bronson Pinchot does a great job narrating.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Points removed for an exponential increase in gore and psychological shenanigans. But the two mains were fun to follow around again and I'll be checking out the next one too. Bronson Pinchot's reading was excellent.

[Bradford D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farnsworth has topped his previous work with this second installment of Nathanial Cade's story. It flows more evenly and the plot shows maturation. It is one fun ride as we tag along with the vampire version of James Bond as he rips into hell's lizards.

[Mel Teshco · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very different take on my vampire reads. Twisted, scary and thought provoking. 4.5 stars :)

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

DaVinci code with lizard people? I’m in! 💯 loved

[Lynda Danielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun audiobook! And I enjoyed the references to one of my favorite classic movies and the historic Egyptian theatre in downtown Boise. Go Yotes!