What do You think about Vampire$ (1992)?
My first take here is to say...This is a great idea, maybe someday someone will write a book about it. Of course, Monster Hunter International is already out there.I've said a couple of things I'm going to say here before, about other books. This one makes me sad. As I've said before, I really wanted to like this book. And also as I've said before, the book is a mixed bag. There are some very good parts then again there are some parts that I found so stultifyingly slow I could have screamed. When it was over, I was really ready for it to be over. Sad.The book sets out to tell the story of Jack Crow and his team of vampire slayers. They do it for money and because it has to be done. I never saw the movie based on this book, but I'm told after the opening scene that the two bear almost no resemblance. As I said the book is very much a mixed bag. It has areas or parts of almost brilliant writing interspersed between long dull background filler and plot exposition. The book reads to me like an overly long climax tale, as if it's the climax of a much longer work. And I don't mean longer in sheer length but longer in the sense that we would have profited from more of a "before story" instead of trying to bring us in where the writer did and then trying to fill us in with background stories ("interludes"), conversations and shots of mental struggles. The story is rife with emotional strain and all the people are already almost to the breaking point when we join them. The angst is so thick that you can cut it with a knife all through the novel and we're told it's all because of their never ending struggle, "what went before."Steakley also wrote Armor and that was my introduction to him. It's also why I bought this book. Wish I'd gotten the library edition as I doubt I'll ever go back to it. I've read some reviews from people who love this book and at least one from a reader who says they have worn out several copies. I'm glad they like it, it shows the difference in taste. I suppose that if you can get involved with the emotional struggles going on here it will help.But I never did. Felix got on my nerves, Jack was broken from the time we met him and for both of them we spent most of the book putting together their emotional baggage and the horrors that made of them what they are. The other characters have less depth (and actually Jack and Felix aren't really painted in full three dimensions).All in all somewhat okay, not really great and I can't get behind it and/or recommend it. Everyone will need to decide on this one themselves. Some good writing mixed in with some very slow story telling. Not great but not horrible. A borderline 2 stars.
—Mike (the Paladin)
Good, gritty, gory, edgy, scary and exciting vampire story. Exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something with vampires that wasn't also about teenagers. Loads of foul language and some discussion of sexuality.I especially appreciated the juxtaposition of the Catholic church and the vampires-- the old world evil vs. Catholic Christianity. The Pope's involvement and relationships was not overplayed, nor was it denigrating of religion.Excellent vampire book.My only complaint is the pacing of the audiobook made it take a long time to get through. My brothers both commented that this was a fast read, but I felt like it took me a long time to get through-- because I was listening to it here and there instead of just plowing through a paperback.
—Steph
A truly promising idea that just falls flat on its fangs, breaking them off and taking away any bite that might have been. That's how I would describe "Vampires" by John Steakley. It didn't take long for Steakley to put the stake right through the heart of this unfocused misadventure into the nightlife of battling the undead. Some strong characters are introduced, but soon become redundant, corny clichés of cheesiness and adolescent bravado, taking them to the point where I didn't care about them. There are points when the book becomes exciting, then hits the dust like daylight is rising and it has to get into its coffin before it burns. Bogged down and downright boring is the backstory given to the vampire and his helper. Too quick and rushed is the part given to the head vampire. Out of nowhere is where the character who ends up being the big hero comes from, without much of a tale to tell.But, even if all that were forgivable (which it really wasn't), the writing is atrocious. It's like this novel was penned by a 6th grader for his English class and never revised or edited, handed in nearly illegible. Numerous spelling and grammatical errors are splattered across this novel. Run-on sentences and repetitious wording tie a noose around its throat; and, all the incorrectly written dialogue, the overuse of the word "and" in the place of a comma, and the constant use of "..." make this book a complete and total failure. I give this one a big sundown, as it rose like a vampire and sucked the very will to read out of me. I tried garlic, holy water, and even took the book out in the sun to see if it would blaze up, but it didn't. So, as it stood, my OCPD would not allow me to trash this hideous unholy creation and move on to something that might at least appear to be written by someone with a competent grasp of the English language. This is probably the worst novel I have ever read. There is some stiff competition in that category, but this is by far the most poorly written book I've ran eyes across.
—The Black Hat Writer
