Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Uprising: Vampire Federation

By Sandy Amazeen Feb 21, 2011, 15:53 GMT

A gruesome ritual murder has stained the Oxfordshire countryside. It\'s just the first incident in a chain of events awakening Detective Inspector Joel Solomon to his worst nightmare-and a dreadful omen of things to come. Because Joel has a secret: he believes in vampires. Alex Bishop is an agent of the Vampire Intelligence Agency. She\'s tasked with enforcing the laws of the global Vampire Federation, and hunting rogue members ...more

Tired of insipid vampire characters oozing angst and pining for their human lover, then check out this unabashedly dark, gory celebration of the dark side of these paranormal characters. Detective Inspector Joel Solomon had his young life torn apart by the gruesome murder of his family, a tragedy that left deep emotional scars that took years of therapy to finally bury. Joel managed to put the past firmly behind him, at least until Dec Maddon, a battered young man began spouting bizarre nonsense about his girlfriend being killed in a palatial mansion by a group of vampires.

As an agent of the Vampire Intelligence Agency, Alex Bishop enforces the laws set forth by the global Vampire Federation. She hunts those rogue vampires who follow the old ways and kill their human prey among other things. Led by Gabriel Stone, the Traditionalist vampires, tired of being told what to do by the Federation were staging an uprising. Ancient weapons, a minor politician with delusions of grandeur and an assortment of other factors come into play as Joel and Alex form an uneasy alliance in order to bag their prey.

Told from several perspectives, this sometimes jerkily paced story bounces between characters while returning vampires to their rightful place as the creatures of nightmares. Plenty of action and more then a few thrills and chills make up for some of the obvious “twists”, especially as there are some surprises thrown in for good measure. It is interesting watching trust develop between Joel, Dec and Alex and the eventual redemption of a sleazy politician who discovers how dear the price of dreams can be. Don’t look for romance here, this is your basic dark and dirty vampire read…delightful.