His Vampyrrhic Bride

Vampyrrhic

by Simon Clark

A girl . . . a boy . . . and a fearsome Viking curse that will tear them apart and unleash a terrifying creature on the world . . . What is this striking yet ghostly figure doing gliding across my lawn at midnight? Chasing the dangerously beautiful woman into the wood next to his family’s new home, Tom Westonby is attacked and beaten unconscious. Returning home the next day, he meets the stranger, Nicola Bekk, once more. Tom is deeply drawn to her, but unbeknownst to him, Nicola is both protected and enslaved by her Viking ancestry – and the choices he makes will trigger the curse that has blighted the lives of the Bekk family for centuries.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Fantasy

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Born, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.

Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.

He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Clark used to be a very realiable and reliably awesome writer. Lately his work has been less...awesome, which is not to say it's no longer good, it's just not as good as I remember his earlier novels to be. This is yet another Vampyrrhic book, although a total stand alone and doesn't really have that much to do with vampires. Clark is a capable writer, he can spin a fast paced yarn that'll keep you turning the pages and enjoying yourself, so long as you don't overanalyze or overthink the plot. Would have liked a different ending, but who knows...maybe it was left open for a sequel. This was Clark's first new book in 3 years and it's an entertaining read, but I do hope he'll abandon the vampyrrhics, as marketable as vampires are, and return to original work.

[Zoë · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am sure this is probably a pretty good read but couldn't get past the use of TOM WESTONBY's full name every bloody two minutes .. Very very distracting and just made me angry after about 20 pages .... Real shame as I loved the idea of the book .. If it hadn't have been a library book I would have gone through and highlighted all the instances where the repetition of Tom's surname was totally unnecessary and sent it to the author .. Has really put me off reading anything else he's written. There was one Tom! He was the same Tom throughout the book! Grrrrhhhhhhhhh!

[Kurt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the last time I pick a random book from the new arrivals table.

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Westonby is on track to joining his friend in Greece and opening up a scuba diving business . He's rehabbing a large, rural house on the outskirts of an English village to raise funds for his business. Over the course of a short time, he makes some friends, falls in love and he makes some enemies as a consequence of falling in love. The story becomes intriguing when Tom falls for Nicola who is bright, warm and a little on the strange side. They have great conversations, but the villagers view Nicola as weird and almost like the village idiot archetype. The more Tom's friends, Tom's parents and Nicola's mother discourage the affair, the more committed the two become. There is something "different" about Nicola, but you have read through to the end of the book to see if she really is a very unique woman or is it all just village gossip? The more I read about Nicola and her family, the more compelled I was to read this tale through to the end. The book started a little flat, but a few chapters in, things really heated up. The plot drew me in and I had no idea where things would land in this unique, unusual tale. If you like folklore, woodsy settings, village life and a good mystery, this could be a surprisingly good read for you.

[Ray Palen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completely unrelated to the other Vampyrrhic novels by Simon Clark --- but still quite unique and chilling.

When a young British man named Tom falls for the strange blonde-haired young woman he finds wandering around his property --- he is instantly smitten. Once friends and family find out who he is smitten with they beg him to forget about her. Defiantly, he does the exact opposite and proposes to the odd Nicola.

Unbenownst to Tom, Nicola and her family have a secret past that involves Norse gods, ancient evil monsters that act as protectors and a history of violence. To make matterw worse, Nicola's mother warns Tom that if he weds her she will become a vampire --- like her many siblings.

Of course, Tom marries Nicola and the rest is history...

A nice Halloween season read from a true master of horror!

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Having read most of Clark's other work and really enjoyed it, I eagerly anticipated his latest offering. However, this just wasn't up to his usual standard, it didn't flow as well as it should, characters felt too one-dimensional, and although I thought the idea of the Viking curse was great, the vampire connection didn't work for me on this occasion, and were lacking the menace of previous 'Vampyrrhic' outings. Still, Clark's imaginings of North Yorkshire are excellent, and I'll still always be a fan.

[Mischelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK was a very slow start it slowly got better. The title of the book had me wondering for quite awhile how it fit into the story line, would have loved to hear more about the Bekk family and not so much about Tom. If you are into lore regarding the vikings, Thor etc then you may enjoy this just don't look for a lot of excitement til I would say half way thru. This book really had a hard time keeping my interest, it was okay once the story line picked up.

[Nathan Flamank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apart from the very annoying habit of continually using the main character's full name (Tom Westonby, Tom Westonby, Tom.....) this is in my opinion Clark's best work for many a long, long year with a story that is fresh and intriguing with enough chills and spills to keep the reader engaged. Thoroughly entertaining.

[John Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy meets Girl, Girl has a dragon made of dead body parts, created by a Viking God. She is also cursed by a Viking God and there is vampires...... Yes Please..... Love this book!!!!