Book Review: The Greyfriar

By Sandy Amazeen Dec 4, 2010, 1:16 GMT

In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. Millions of humans were killed outright. Millions more died of disease and famine due to the havoc that followed. Within two years, once great cities were shrouded by the grey empire of the vampire clans. Human refugees fled south to the tropics because vampires could not tolerate the constant heat there. They brought ...more

After the 1870 worldwide vampire upheaval, those humans who had the wherewithal to relocate to the equatorial climes did so as the heat proved to be a vampire deterrent. Those unlucky humans who remained behind were typically regarded as little more then cattle and most became as mindless drones carrying out their masters’ wishes. A hundred fifty years later, descendants of those refugees, driven by the feverish desire to reclaim their old homes are poised on the brink of war against the vampire hoards. Key to their plans is Princess Adele, heir to the Empire of Equatoria. With her upcoming marriage to the bombastic Senator Clark, American and Equatorian forces would be united in the cause.

Before the marriage can take place, Adele’s airship was attacked by a vampire army whose objective was to take her captive. The legendary Greyfriar, a masked shadow warrior who works tirelessly protecting the weak, rescues Adele but he cannot prevent her recapture. As Senator Clark jockeys to use the situation to further his reputation, Greyfriar reveals his true identity to Adele and together, they discover a growing yet hopeless attraction while working towards gaining her freedom. Adele’s experience transforms her from a soft, inexperienced girl into a hardened woman capable of taking on the affairs of state.

An unlikely combination of vampire lore and weak steampunk actually works to create a dark world where vampires have the upper hand and humans are struggling to hang on. While the plot points are predictable and there are few surprises, excellent character development and historical sense make the story work.