Double Dead by Chuck Wendig

Coburn’s been dead now for close to a century, but seeing as how he’s a vampire and all, it doesn’t much bother him. Or at least it didn’t, not until he awoke from a forced five year slumber to discover that most of human civilisation was now dead - but not dead like, oh no..

I wanted to read DD as soon as I got wind of the concept: a vampire in waking up during the zombie apocalypse and discovering that his food is now an endangered species. Coburn is the vampire in question, and it’s immediately clear that he’s not someone used to being denied.

DD opens with Coburn’s awakening, an unexpected trickle of blood reaching his withered, blood-starved body. It’s a peach of an opening chapter and does a fine job of hooking you and setting the tone for what’s to come.

It’s a fair assumption that most people will be familiar with the parameters of a post zompocalyptic world, particularly in the wake of The Walking Dead, and Wendig doesn’t waste any words setting up the basics, letting him get on with fleshing out Coburn. By turns violent, arrogant and sarcastic, Coburn is nonetheless a witty and likeable character, which is quite an accomplishment. Later on, when pieces of the story of his life before his enforced slumber start to emerge, it rounds off his character quite neatly.

It’s not an easy transition for Coburn, going from a supremely confident and borderline smug predator to having to shepherd his food to somewhere safe and secure, while being inexorably dragged into the messy personal histories and interactions of the living.. and the unpleasant realisation that in order to survive he’s going to have to think about more than his appetite. Particularly when the zombies who’ve mutated after coming into contact with his blood finally close in. It's handled very well, and while Coburn is changed by what's he's experiencing, it's a gradual and believably messy process in keeping with the rest of the story, rather than any kind of sudden, fairy godmother like epiphany.

Fast and bloody good fun, Double Dead delivers everything you’re expecting it to and then some. I finished it in a day, and enjoyed it thoroughly (particularly the cannibal barbecue- brilliant!). It’s a fresh perspective on a favourite theme with lashings of dark humour and a charismatic main character I’d really like to see more of.



You can visit Chuck's website here.

13 Bullets by David Wellington

Laura Caxton thought she was just a State Trooper working highway patrol. Tonight she’s going to find out her true destiny: hunting down the immortal, nearly invulnerable predators that haunt the night searching for our blood. Her only ally is Jameson Arkeley, a US Marshal who has devoted his life to hunting down vampires, long after everyone else thought they were extinct. The two of them are our only chance—assuming they can survive the night.

I really like this cover. It's striking, edgy, and hints at the carnage that lurks within. I had an urge to read some vampire fiction recently, and this was one of the titles suggested to me. By happy coincidence we had a copy lurking on the shelves and I jumped straight in.

13 Bullets opens with a transcript of federal agent Arkeley's report on the incident in which he apparently killed the last vampire back in the mid 80's, a feat that nearly killed him several times over. This bit's in first person perspective, as befits a copy of a report, and quickly lets you know a) how ruthless and inhuman the vampires in this world are and b) that Wellington isn't pulling any punches when it comes to the action.

The story skips ahead after that, and we get to meet Trooper Laura Caxton, a seemingly normal, dedicated State Trooper who's dragged into Arkeley's orbit when a routine traffic stop opens a can of distinctly vampire flavoured worms. From there on Wellington really puts her through the wringer both mentally and physically- there are few books I've read recently where the main character is given such a rough ride, and the combination of that vulnerability and tenacity is what keeps her real and someone you care about. You can feel her aches and her exhaustion radiating from the page as she and the hardbitten Arkeley set about trying to stymie the vampires' resurgence and the rapidly increasing bodycount.

There's little subtlety en route but that's no bad thing. It's full throttle from start to finish, packed with punchy action scenes, gallons of blood and some cracking set pieces. Shiny :)

13 Bullets is the first book in the Laura Caxton series and I'm looking forward to picking the others up (oh look, it's almost Christmas...)!



You can visit David's website here

Department 19 by Will Hill

In a secret supernatural battle that's been raging for over a century, the stakes have just been raised – and they're not wooden anymore.

When Jamie Carpenter's mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself dragged into Department 19, the government's most secret agency.

Fortunately for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and to kill the vampires who want him dead. But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring, something even Department 19 can't stand up against…

It’s not hard to feel sorry for Jamie Carpenter.

His father died in a hail of bullets two years ago, leaving him and his mother with the legacy of being labelled as the family of a traitor and terrorist collaborator. The stories follow them wherever they move, lending the bullying he suffers at school an air of legitimacy amongst his peers. Friendless and unable to cross the widening emotional gulf between his mother and himself, Jamie has become withdrawn and cynical, the grief of his father’s death buried beneath layers of confusion and anger at what he’d left them with.

Until the secrets of his father’s past come looking for them, and his mother is taken by someone -something- that shouldn’t exist but that raises suppressed memories of the night his father died. It also brings him into contact with the top secret and enigmatic Department 19, and the war being waged in the shadows- a war only Department 19 can wage.

Even as legends come to life around him Jamie discovers that despite everything changing, some things remain a constant. Like the contempt his father is held in, a burden that follows him into this new and initially unwelcome life. But there are threads here that he can follow to unravel the truth of his father’s death -and his life. But to do that, and to survive and save his mother and himself, Jamie has to discover the strength inside himself and focus the long simmering anger within. But in a world where death is one mistake away that’s easier said than done.

The first thing that struck me about Department 19 is how undeniably more-ish it is. I opened the book on the train home after picking it up, and snapped at Liz when she shook my shoulder a few seconds later. Only it wasn’t a few seconds later- we were at our stop and I was 50 odd pages into it.

It’s a very cool concept, and the combination of the legends of Dracula and a secret organisation that’s a cultural smoothie of Blade, Alex Rider, Young Bond, SAS, B.P.R.D and MI5 has given Will a veritable treasure trove of cool stuff to play with, and he doesn’t waste the opportunity.

Amidst the cool weapons and lethal enemies (Huzzah- vampires that kill people and enjoy doing it!) Jamie has a lot to deal with, both internally and externally. There are times he comes across as petulant, but by and large you can understand where he’s coming from and live with it. Cleverly woven in amongst this is a backstory that tells how Jamie’s family came to be caught up in Department 19 and the deadly grudge that Dracula’s protege holds against them.

Written in a fast paced, visual style with no punches in the action stakes and where the vampires will eat your face long before they snog you, Department 19 sinks its fangs in from the start and doesn’t let go until the end.

Skarlet, Thomas Emson

Fear grips London as dozens of clubbers die after taking a sinister new drug. But that's only the beginning. 48 hours later, the dead clubbers wake up - and it's open season on the living, who are butchered for their blood.

Soon, London gives a name to its terror: Vampires.

Jake Lawton, bitter and betrayed after the Iraq War, find himself fighting another battle - against the growing army of immortal hunters and their human cohorts. Lawton joins forces with the journalist who brought about his downfall and the dealer tricked into distributing the drug. And together they take on the spineless authorities, the ruthless cohorts, and the hungry dead.
But the vampire plague unleashed in London is nothing to what lurks beneath the streets -Waiting to be fed . . . Waiting to be resurrected . . . Waiting to reign again over a city of human slaves . . .


I remember vividly how Thomas’ previous novel, Maneater, got under Liz’s skin last year, so when she foolishly took her eyes off the shelf where Skarlet lay, I pounced without hesitation and dragged it off to the sofa.

Firstly, I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant about the vampire angle; my greatest fear was that the potentially groovy antagonists were going to turn out to be angst ridden, pretty Lestat knock-offs that spent their days poncing about and hissing like asthmatic tomcats.

It’s been a while since being wrong has been this much fun. Right from the sucker punch of an opening line, I knew I was going to enjoy this; by chapter 3 I’d have chewed the arms off anyone who tried to take it away from me.

Jake Lawton is a damaged hero, a soldier betrayed by the all too accurately portrayed British media. The chain reaction that follows the first deaths throws him into the path of the blinkered, self-righteous reporter who instigated his ignominious dismissal from the army. Their journey from mutual scorn to grudging co-operation isn’t forced or contrived, and evolves at its own pace throughout, without eroding what defines them.

The writing is tight and reads effortlessly; the chapters are short and sharp, accentuating the pace of the story.

The premise behind the rise of the vampires is fresh and clever, and with this established and pieces of the backstory falling into place, the suspension of disbelief can be all but taken out of the equation, leaving you to enjoy the bloodthirsty rampage that Thomas has unleashed on a well researched London.

And it most certainly is bloodthirsty in every meaning of the word. These vampires are uncompromisingly vicious bastards, with a palpable thirst for blood - and not a cravat in sight. There’s no hiding from the tide of violence that surrounds a horde of these unleashed killers and the lengths their creators will go to in order to realise their vision. Thomas gets bonus points for an unflinching portrayal of the toll this exacts on those unfortunate enough to be engulfed in that tide.

Skarlet is a crimson delight. A gripping,action rich adventure thriller that breathes new life into the vampire mythos.

It's the first book of The Vampire Trinity, and I can’t wait for the next instalment!