Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Of Masques & Martyrs

By Sandy Amazeen Dec 27, 2010, 17:07 GMT

Led by Peter Octavian, the Shadows must drink blood. Yet they do not steal life. New Shadows are created only by individual choice. Peace is their only hunger. The minions of Hannibal have a different goal: the enslavement of humanity. They kill for pleasure and for thirst. They indescriminately create more of their own. And they embrace the title of terrible legend: vampire. Shadows and vampires. One ...more

Vampires walk the earth and have divided themselves into two main factions, the peace loving shadows who follow Peter Octavian and regard many humans as friends and those who follow the bloodthirsty Hannibal. Talented blues singer Nikki Wydra was looking to make her way in the Big Easy when, during a performance, she found herself in the middle of a vampire bar fight. After Peter rescues her from certain death, Nikki is inexorably drawn into the upcoming showdown that will determine the future not only of all vampires but also mankind.

Golden ties up the first Peter Octavian novels with a less imaginative though effective installment that sees much more gratuitous violence and plenty of depraved sex between Hannibal and one of his unwilling recruits. The plot, while not as strongly constructed as previous books still motors on to a crescendo with a knock down, drag out battle between the shadows and the vampires. A bit of a twist is thrown in when Peter faces a physical alter ego that promises to change his life. If you enjoyed the first two books, chances are you will like this installment that opens the door to a different direction for the shadows.