Night of the Vampires (Vampire Hunters, #2) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Nov 03, 2010 Alisha rated it liked it

Shelves: ac-g

Rating: 2.5

Quick Take: The setting and integration with actual historical events is quite riveting. However, the romance and character development felt a bit flat to me. All told, I'm not sorry to have read it.

This book initially caught my eye when I saw the title (anything starting with "Night of the" is bound to be horror-rific!) and read the book's description, noted above. You'll notice that the blurb is not completely clear on the setting of the story. So I'll begin this review by noting th Rating: 2.5

Quick Take: The setting and integration with actual historical events is quite riveting. However, the romance and character development felt a bit flat to me. All told, I'm not sorry to have read it.

This book initially caught my eye when I saw the title (anything starting with "Night of the" is bound to be horror-rific!) and read the book's description, noted above. You'll notice that the blurb is not completely clear on the setting of the story. So I'll begin this review by noting that the book is a piece of historical fiction and urban fantasy. It takes place on the borderlands created by the American Civil War, and involves characters that have varying degrees of involvement with the conflict. Against this backdrop, a threat has secretly yet violently been appearing throughout the country: vampirism. Far from seductive and romantic, this affliction of frenzy and bloodthirst threatens to stretch and possibly break the already-delicate tensions of the war.

I found the choice of setting to be quite appealing for the insertion of a vampire tale. Think about it: what better time and place for vampirism to boom than during a bloody ground war? Ms. Graham has obviously done a boatload of research on the Civil War; it absolutely shows in her descriptions. One is thrown into the chaos of battle at recognizable locales and amidst historically significant political events. Having myself lived in Washington, DC I could clearly envision the city at that critical stage in time. The overcrowded medic tents on the mall green, the construction of museums, the lush forests on the edge of the town…it's all quite vivid.

Given the attention paid to the setting, I would say that one ought to have at least a passing interest in Civil War history. A basic familiarity with names, dates, battles or organizations of the era wouldn't hurt, either. If one doesn't have either, however, I'd imagine they would by book's end. ^_^

As for the specific plot threads, I was less taken. The book centers on two characters, the stoic human sheriff Cole Granger (whom one will recognize if they've read Graham's Night of the Wolves, which is based in the same "world"), and the intense half-vamp Megan Fox (no relation to the actress ^_^). Theirs is a slow burn romance--there are no sensual or even romantic implications until well into the story. And the connection is quite subtle as compared to the plot thread involving the vampire threat. For a book billed as having "eternal passion" and "potent attraction," I was surprised by the fact.

I also didn't find the action scenes to be extremely visual or thrilling, though a fair amount of intrigue was infused into the plot. Indeed, the pace of the plot is not frenetic (even when it intends to be), but more temperate with a slowly building threat. All told, I wasn't gripped throughout, only mildly curious as to how the various threads would tie together. There was a series of attacks every so often, interspersed with anticipation of said attacks. Wasn't terribly thrilling, to me (with a couple of exceptions).

I did enjoy being in Megan's head. She's a strong willed yet vulnerable character, and I wish more was revealed and discussed about her. There was a plot element that was hinted as important, but didn't come to much in my opinion. I can only assume it will be used as a piece for a future book. Or perhaps it might have been more understandable had I read Night of the Wolves? I don't know.

Overall, I found this book to be worth reading. I was quite taken by the broader elements, though left wanting with the more specific ones. And whatever this book is officially billed as, I'd call it an historical urban fantasy with some romantic elements. ...more

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Feb 11, 2011 twinfish2 rated it did not like it

I won this book from goodreads on dec. 16 and just received it feb, 12. I will read asap and post a review. Thanks goodreads.

Sorry it took so long for me to review this book but life just blew up in my face this last month so I had little to no reading time.

This book for me was just not my style. I thought the writing was flat and I really didn't like the char. very much. This is about a soldier, Cole Granger who is fighting vampires to save the world from a vision the President had from coming ...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Kristina rated it liked it

Overall: The romance in the story was just okay for me. I never really connected with Cole (though others probably will) so I found myself not caring if he and Megan ended up together or not. I was more interested in if she was going to find her father or not. I did enjoy the story of the vampires and how everyone, no matter what side of the war they were on, fought together to try and end the plague (this is how it is described in the story).

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Mar 10, 2013 A book away from an episode of hoarders rated it liked it

Shelves: pnr-uf-fantasy, steampunk-and-or-historical, read-in-2013, dropped-series

I think that my 3 star rating reflects more on myself rather than this book.

It was interesting and tightly paced. The characters seemed well rounded and developed and I know very little about the time period that this story is set in (Civil War - History wasn't my favorite in school) but it seems fairly accurate from my sketchy memories.

The problem lies in the fact that I am pretty much sick to death of vampires.

If you're not, this is a solid read. ...more

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