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The Arcadian Conflict #1
Earth Thirst
The Earth is dying. Humanity—over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them.
But something unhuman might.
Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.
They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
But something unhuman might.
Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.
They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Mark Teppo
88 books102 followersMark Teppo has written more than a dozen novels across a number of genres. He's a book-seller, paper-hoarder, and troublemaker. Not necessarily in that order.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 27, 2013
Book Info: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Those who are interested in a different take on vampires
Trigger Warnings: murder, violence, shooting
My Thoughts: Vampires as eco-warriors, a most interesting idea. Not only an unique take on vampires, but a unique take on the world in general, with a hidden war going on behind the scenes for millennia.
I'm not sure what to say about this story. There isn't a lot of character development, it's mostly action, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. The editing could have been better, but it is a galley, so hopefully any problems I noticed will have been fixed in the final copy. If you've been wanting something a little different about vampires, then definitely check this book out.
Disclosure: I received a copy from Night Shade Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: The Earth is dying. Humanity—over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them.
But something unhuman might.
Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.
They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Those who are interested in a different take on vampires
Trigger Warnings: murder, violence, shooting
My Thoughts: Vampires as eco-warriors, a most interesting idea. Not only an unique take on vampires, but a unique take on the world in general, with a hidden war going on behind the scenes for millennia.
I'm not sure what to say about this story. There isn't a lot of character development, it's mostly action, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. The editing could have been better, but it is a galley, so hopefully any problems I noticed will have been fixed in the final copy. If you've been wanting something a little different about vampires, then definitely check this book out.
Disclosure: I received a copy from Night Shade Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: The Earth is dying. Humanity—over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them.
But something unhuman might.
Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence.
They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
August 21, 2018
Sometimes I do judge a book by it's cover and it turns out to be just as awesome as I thought it would be. I was at Half -Price books doing my rounds and I found this lovely gem. Earth Thirst is a combination of urban fantasy, horror and science-fiction with some Greek mythology thrown in.
Earth Thirst is about eco-warrior vampires who try to save "Mother" (Earth) from the evil, humans. Silas discovers that Arcadians (vampires) aren't that different from humans and that their system is just as corrupt. Silas' world is falling apart. He begins to question everything he has ever learned in all his lives. The Arcadians are similar to the living vampires found in Kim Harrison's Hallows series.
Earth Thirst is action packed. The characters travel from Australia to South America. I have read countless of series and novels about vampires. But, never about ones who want to preserve the earth and are willing to kill humans to do so. This is a very original idea. I enjoyed it because it didn't have a contrite love story, indecisive obnoxious characters, or any of the usual suspects found with vampires. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series.
Earth Thirst is about eco-warrior vampires who try to save "Mother" (Earth) from the evil, humans. Silas discovers that Arcadians (vampires) aren't that different from humans and that their system is just as corrupt. Silas' world is falling apart. He begins to question everything he has ever learned in all his lives. The Arcadians are similar to the living vampires found in Kim Harrison's Hallows series.
Earth Thirst is action packed. The characters travel from Australia to South America. I have read countless of series and novels about vampires. But, never about ones who want to preserve the earth and are willing to kill humans to do so. This is a very original idea. I enjoyed it because it didn't have a contrite love story, indecisive obnoxious characters, or any of the usual suspects found with vampires. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series.
February 10, 2013
My review here.
July 26, 2024
good fun! vampires(?) in a dystopian world fighting against evil corporations. good fun.
September 5, 2013
You can read the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/09/...
Shadowhawk reviews the first novel in the Arcadian Conflict series, originally published by Night Shade Books.
“Some really interesting concepts here and an interesting narrative, but also some obvious predictability and some over-thinking.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields
Let’s get down to it: Earth Thirst might very well be an important milestone in vampire fiction for the simple fact that there is nothing of the urban fantasy here and the vampires presented here are very much eco-warriors. Yes, you read that right. Known as Arcadians, the vampires in Earth Thirst are pseudo-guardians of nature, working behind the scenes extremely discreetly to stave off all sorts of pollution that is harmful to Earth’s ecology. It certainly presents a very interesting take on these classic monsters, and presents a rather climatically-relevant modern perception of them, but it doesn’t quite go all the way.
Some of that is due to the characters, who are not as memorable as they could have been. Silas and Mere never quite clicked together for me, despite the author giving me ample time to get to know them. The characterisation was just that little bit weak, and combined with a so-so interesting plot, it meant that the chemistry between the two characters never gets off the ground, so to speak. And where Silas is concerned, I also had issues with how the Arcadians in generally are portrayed: they are too powerful, simply put. They can do a lot of things that “classic” vampires can’t, such as walking in the sun and going for really long periods without blood. The former isn’t portrayed to an extreme degree, which was good, but it still rankled. It kind of took a lot of the tension of the Vampires concept away and contributed to my struggle with getting to understand the character. With the latter, it somewhat bordered in the absurd, especially with the conclusion of the first act and the consequences that entails for Silas. I kept asking myself if the author had really gone that route.
With Mere, part of my disinterest was just that: a general disinterest. The character has some good moments, sure, but those are overshadowed by the bad ones. She just wasn’t all that interesting. Its as if the author was going for a Lois Lane vibe here, but instead ended up with a Cat Grant one, or rather, a hybrid of the two even.
However, having said that, I did enjoy the flashbacks of Silas’ previous life, when he was a foot-soldier of Troy and fought in the Trojan War. We get some really nice introspective scenes with these flashbacks and they added a lot of colour to the narrative. Of course, this meant that Silas was an incredibly long-lived Vampire, and that didn’t sit well with me because it just seemed too grand an effort to make the character come across as cool. I think it could have been handled a lot better by giving Silas a much more “recent” backhistory, but all the same, those scenes were some of the best in the novel.
Of course, Earth Thirst is also somewhat of a thriller novel, or perhaps, a better term to use would be eco-thriller, given the core premise and the characters. Perhaps my (somewhat) muted reaction to the novel is due in part to that, since I don’t read all that many thriller novels, preferring to read more… mainstream (and tie-in) SFF. Still, the entire mystery at the heart of the novel, and the thriller elements are portrayed fairly well. While the pacing goes up and down from chapter to chapter and there’s a bit of instability to the narrative in that regard, I wasn’t particularly bored of it. Mark Teppo did keep me turning the pages to read and find out what was going to happen to the characters, what new twist would present itself.
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/09/...
Shadowhawk reviews the first novel in the Arcadian Conflict series, originally published by Night Shade Books.
“Some really interesting concepts here and an interesting narrative, but also some obvious predictability and some over-thinking.” ~Shadowhawk, The Founding Fields
Let’s get down to it: Earth Thirst might very well be an important milestone in vampire fiction for the simple fact that there is nothing of the urban fantasy here and the vampires presented here are very much eco-warriors. Yes, you read that right. Known as Arcadians, the vampires in Earth Thirst are pseudo-guardians of nature, working behind the scenes extremely discreetly to stave off all sorts of pollution that is harmful to Earth’s ecology. It certainly presents a very interesting take on these classic monsters, and presents a rather climatically-relevant modern perception of them, but it doesn’t quite go all the way.
Some of that is due to the characters, who are not as memorable as they could have been. Silas and Mere never quite clicked together for me, despite the author giving me ample time to get to know them. The characterisation was just that little bit weak, and combined with a so-so interesting plot, it meant that the chemistry between the two characters never gets off the ground, so to speak. And where Silas is concerned, I also had issues with how the Arcadians in generally are portrayed: they are too powerful, simply put. They can do a lot of things that “classic” vampires can’t, such as walking in the sun and going for really long periods without blood. The former isn’t portrayed to an extreme degree, which was good, but it still rankled. It kind of took a lot of the tension of the Vampires concept away and contributed to my struggle with getting to understand the character. With the latter, it somewhat bordered in the absurd, especially with the conclusion of the first act and the consequences that entails for Silas. I kept asking myself if the author had really gone that route.
With Mere, part of my disinterest was just that: a general disinterest. The character has some good moments, sure, but those are overshadowed by the bad ones. She just wasn’t all that interesting. Its as if the author was going for a Lois Lane vibe here, but instead ended up with a Cat Grant one, or rather, a hybrid of the two even.
However, having said that, I did enjoy the flashbacks of Silas’ previous life, when he was a foot-soldier of Troy and fought in the Trojan War. We get some really nice introspective scenes with these flashbacks and they added a lot of colour to the narrative. Of course, this meant that Silas was an incredibly long-lived Vampire, and that didn’t sit well with me because it just seemed too grand an effort to make the character come across as cool. I think it could have been handled a lot better by giving Silas a much more “recent” backhistory, but all the same, those scenes were some of the best in the novel.
Of course, Earth Thirst is also somewhat of a thriller novel, or perhaps, a better term to use would be eco-thriller, given the core premise and the characters. Perhaps my (somewhat) muted reaction to the novel is due in part to that, since I don’t read all that many thriller novels, preferring to read more… mainstream (and tie-in) SFF. Still, the entire mystery at the heart of the novel, and the thriller elements are portrayed fairly well. While the pacing goes up and down from chapter to chapter and there’s a bit of instability to the narrative in that regard, I wasn’t particularly bored of it. Mark Teppo did keep me turning the pages to read and find out what was going to happen to the characters, what new twist would present itself.
January 10, 2013
Silas is an Arcadian, a blood drinking, sun avoiding, earth dwelling child of the Mother, on a mission from her and the Grove to desperately try and combat the tide of destruction humanity inflicts on the planet. It’s a desperate fight, one they seem to have already lost, but the Arcadians have many gifts to help them.
Despite this, Silas’s latest mission falls apart, badly. So badly that it’s impossible that it was merely an accident. It seems the Grove itself may have been compromised and he cannot return to the Mother. Worse, his opponents had a new weapon, a chemical that burns Arcadians and does far more damage than simple bullets ever could to the ancient warriors.
He frees the only person he feels he can trust, Mere; an investigative journalist with strong experience in challenging large, multi-national agricultural companies and they begin unravelling the knot of what is actually happening
But as they travel the world, do the research and piece together Silas’s shattered memories, there’s clearly far more going on than they expected with at least 3 distinct players and it has ramifications far beyond Grove – and maybe even Mother isn’t what she seems.
I have to give this story all kinds of praise for its originality, because it has a truly remarkable concept. Vampires as environmental guardians, resisting the corruption and pollution of the world. The whole sleeping in native soil myth which Urban Fantasy often discards now brought back to have vampires connecting with the earth to heal, avoiding the sun because, combined with airborn pollutants, it harms their chemical sensitive bodies – it’s a wonderful twist on the old legends.
It’s tempting to think of these vampires, these Arcadians, as gentle because of their environmental leanings. Humans are over-consuming, polluting and, ultimately, disposable if not outright in need of culling. They are warriors and guardians, fully willing to use their deadly skills to protect the Mother.
The whole concept and the world here is incredible, and that’s just made more so by this globetrotting story across the southern hemisphere unveiling more and more of the mysteries around this multi-faceted conspiracy. It’s complex, it’s action packed, it’s extremely well paced and it’s huge – a true sense of being global about it
There’s also some great commentary on activism and empty gestures – ignoring corporate control and over consumption in favour of gesture politics that gets in the news and makes people feel good – the whole putting a “save the whales” sticker in your Hummer, mindset.
Read more
Despite this, Silas’s latest mission falls apart, badly. So badly that it’s impossible that it was merely an accident. It seems the Grove itself may have been compromised and he cannot return to the Mother. Worse, his opponents had a new weapon, a chemical that burns Arcadians and does far more damage than simple bullets ever could to the ancient warriors.
He frees the only person he feels he can trust, Mere; an investigative journalist with strong experience in challenging large, multi-national agricultural companies and they begin unravelling the knot of what is actually happening
But as they travel the world, do the research and piece together Silas’s shattered memories, there’s clearly far more going on than they expected with at least 3 distinct players and it has ramifications far beyond Grove – and maybe even Mother isn’t what she seems.
I have to give this story all kinds of praise for its originality, because it has a truly remarkable concept. Vampires as environmental guardians, resisting the corruption and pollution of the world. The whole sleeping in native soil myth which Urban Fantasy often discards now brought back to have vampires connecting with the earth to heal, avoiding the sun because, combined with airborn pollutants, it harms their chemical sensitive bodies – it’s a wonderful twist on the old legends.
It’s tempting to think of these vampires, these Arcadians, as gentle because of their environmental leanings. Humans are over-consuming, polluting and, ultimately, disposable if not outright in need of culling. They are warriors and guardians, fully willing to use their deadly skills to protect the Mother.
The whole concept and the world here is incredible, and that’s just made more so by this globetrotting story across the southern hemisphere unveiling more and more of the mysteries around this multi-faceted conspiracy. It’s complex, it’s action packed, it’s extremely well paced and it’s huge – a true sense of being global about it
There’s also some great commentary on activism and empty gestures – ignoring corporate control and over consumption in favour of gesture politics that gets in the news and makes people feel good – the whole putting a “save the whales” sticker in your Hummer, mindset.
Read more
January 5, 2025
I just read this book again and everytime I love it even more. It's definetly one of my favorites. My 8th grade English teacher is good friends with the Author and had a release party at my middle school when it was coming out. Great book, great author. I'm still hoping for the other 2 books to come out in the future 🩷
January 15, 2013
Vampires as ecowarriors? Sounds intriguing… So how does that play out?
The plot is full of thriller tropes. A superspy is on a mission that goes cockeyed. Afterward, he’s on the run while trying to put together all the pieces to figure out what exactly is going on. He teams up with the sexy noncombatant, who helps him (while providing a romantic interest). Wouldn’t you know it, he realizes that there are two shadowy groups in opposition to his own organization. After much exotic globetrotting, he has a final showdown, only to realize that the truth still hasn’t been uncovered.
In Earth Thirst, the superspy is named Silas, & he’s a Greek soldier who is a vampire (here they are referred to as Arcadians). He’s been around since the Trojan War, & somehow due to the rejuvenation process the Arcadians use, he’s missing a lot of his memory (not quite as much as Jason Bourne, but you get the idea). The sexy noncombatant is a journalist named Mere, who of course has investigative skills necessary to put the pieces of the conspiracy together.
So what about that vampire thing? Teppo’s vampires don’t do a lot of vampirey stuff. There’s a bit of blood drinking, but it’s more like a guy who enjoys a beer now & then, rather than the alcoholism of most vampires. They can regenerate by being buried in “good soil”. But most of the time it’s just used to give certain characters greater than human abilities (speed, strength, etc).
Oddly enough, the parts of Earth Thirst that work best are the thriller elements. Sure, most of it is bog standard for a post Bourne thriller, but it was very well done. Faced paced, great action sequences. It was compelling and riveting.
What didn’t work as well for me were the vampire elements. The Arcadians themselves seemed a bit overpowered. They can walk in sun, go without drinking blood, have access to untold wealth and top notch military training. Silas should have been sympathetic, but I had some difficulty becoming emotionally invested in a character whose greatest flaw is a bad memory. (And that seemed to be a convenient reason to withhold information from the reader – what have the Arcadians been doing for thousands of years? Why should we think of them sympathetically?)
Would I recommend Earth Thirst? Yes, with reservations. It’s a lot of fun, but not as innovative as the blurb may make you think.
The plot is full of thriller tropes. A superspy is on a mission that goes cockeyed. Afterward, he’s on the run while trying to put together all the pieces to figure out what exactly is going on. He teams up with the sexy noncombatant, who helps him (while providing a romantic interest). Wouldn’t you know it, he realizes that there are two shadowy groups in opposition to his own organization. After much exotic globetrotting, he has a final showdown, only to realize that the truth still hasn’t been uncovered.
In Earth Thirst, the superspy is named Silas, & he’s a Greek soldier who is a vampire (here they are referred to as Arcadians). He’s been around since the Trojan War, & somehow due to the rejuvenation process the Arcadians use, he’s missing a lot of his memory (not quite as much as Jason Bourne, but you get the idea). The sexy noncombatant is a journalist named Mere, who of course has investigative skills necessary to put the pieces of the conspiracy together.
So what about that vampire thing? Teppo’s vampires don’t do a lot of vampirey stuff. There’s a bit of blood drinking, but it’s more like a guy who enjoys a beer now & then, rather than the alcoholism of most vampires. They can regenerate by being buried in “good soil”. But most of the time it’s just used to give certain characters greater than human abilities (speed, strength, etc).
Oddly enough, the parts of Earth Thirst that work best are the thriller elements. Sure, most of it is bog standard for a post Bourne thriller, but it was very well done. Faced paced, great action sequences. It was compelling and riveting.
What didn’t work as well for me were the vampire elements. The Arcadians themselves seemed a bit overpowered. They can walk in sun, go without drinking blood, have access to untold wealth and top notch military training. Silas should have been sympathetic, but I had some difficulty becoming emotionally invested in a character whose greatest flaw is a bad memory. (And that seemed to be a convenient reason to withhold information from the reader – what have the Arcadians been doing for thousands of years? Why should we think of them sympathetically?)
Would I recommend Earth Thirst? Yes, with reservations. It’s a lot of fun, but not as innovative as the blurb may make you think.
March 9, 2013
As climate change becomes an increasing point of fear around the globe, it’s natural to expect horror writers to take up the mantle. There is so much fertile ground for truly monstrous ideas, but so far there hasn’t been a rush to delve into this new arena. The few attempts I’ve read have really missed the opportunity to explore this theme of the evil Man is creating by greed, consumption, and a lack of concern for anything but ourselves.
Mark Teppo’s latest release Earth Thirst takes on an apocalyptic view of a globe on the verge of collapse. In a world where humans have over-populated and allowed corporate greed to run rampant and unchecked, an ancient race of vampire-like creatures known as Arcadians sleep deep in the earth waiting to rise to protect the planet. With elements of science-fiction, horror, and a hint of old noir, Teppo gives us a disturbing look at our future, but like the other eco-horror works I’ve read, misses the mark on truly capturing the monstrosity we’ve unleashed on ourselves.
The story begins with a horrific fire aboard a ship. Our protagonist Silas is betrayed and exiled. He discovers however, that the government is testing a weapon to destroy the guardians of the Earth for their own greed and gain. Teppo creates some pretty nasty bad guys who stop at nothing. They easily cut people up for parts, use private armies to crush opposition, and a whole host of other dastardly deeds. The story is heavy on action, but the narrative meanders and at certain points, falls off the cliff of any believability or logic. By the time I reached the discussion concerning Talus as the plant, Nigel getting a chemical dose meant for Silas, and Secutores designing a new trap, I was lost.
Teppo had an idea that seemed to get away from him here. There is an eco-horror/ science fiction story in this environmental nightmare somewhere. It’s just waiting to be told. Earth Thirst is not that story. Entertaining, action-packed, but it just did not come together in the end.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
Mark Teppo’s latest release Earth Thirst takes on an apocalyptic view of a globe on the verge of collapse. In a world where humans have over-populated and allowed corporate greed to run rampant and unchecked, an ancient race of vampire-like creatures known as Arcadians sleep deep in the earth waiting to rise to protect the planet. With elements of science-fiction, horror, and a hint of old noir, Teppo gives us a disturbing look at our future, but like the other eco-horror works I’ve read, misses the mark on truly capturing the monstrosity we’ve unleashed on ourselves.
The story begins with a horrific fire aboard a ship. Our protagonist Silas is betrayed and exiled. He discovers however, that the government is testing a weapon to destroy the guardians of the Earth for their own greed and gain. Teppo creates some pretty nasty bad guys who stop at nothing. They easily cut people up for parts, use private armies to crush opposition, and a whole host of other dastardly deeds. The story is heavy on action, but the narrative meanders and at certain points, falls off the cliff of any believability or logic. By the time I reached the discussion concerning Talus as the plant, Nigel getting a chemical dose meant for Silas, and Secutores designing a new trap, I was lost.
Teppo had an idea that seemed to get away from him here. There is an eco-horror/ science fiction story in this environmental nightmare somewhere. It’s just waiting to be told. Earth Thirst is not that story. Entertaining, action-packed, but it just did not come together in the end.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
February 11, 2013
Another dystopia....a bit on the heavy side though. Presenting
Earth Thirst by Mark Teppo.
Here is the summary of the book:
The Earth is dying. Humanity—over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them. But something unhuman might. Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence. They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
So, vampires are protectors of a green Earth.......now that is interesting. Filled with thrillers analogies and scenarios. So, Silas & his group of vampires are the super spies here. Tracking and putting a stop to billionaire project that can somehow the planet. The action was pretty interesting too......quite thrilling but still I got bored just at the start.
Every element in this book felt over the top. The back story with Arcadia. The different form of vampires, who can walk in the sun, possess untold amount of money in the bank and are armed to the teeth with military style advanced weapons system. With such over the top things it actually became impossible to make a connection with Silas & the group and that is saying something. Good thriller though!
Here is the summary of the book:
The Earth is dying. Humanity—over-breeding, over-consuming—is destroying the very planet they call home. Multinational corporations despoil the environment, market genetically modified crops to control the food supply, and use their wealth and influence and private armies to crush anything, and anyone, that gets in the way of their profits. Nothing human can stop them. But something unhuman might. Once they did not fear the sun. Once they could breathe the air and sleep where they chose. But now they can rest only within the uncontaminated soil of Mother Earth—and the time has come for them to fight back against the ruthless corporations that threaten their immortal existence. They are the last guardians of paradise, more than human but less than angels. They call themselves the Arcadians.
So, vampires are protectors of a green Earth.......now that is interesting. Filled with thrillers analogies and scenarios. So, Silas & his group of vampires are the super spies here. Tracking and putting a stop to billionaire project that can somehow the planet. The action was pretty interesting too......quite thrilling but still I got bored just at the start.
Every element in this book felt over the top. The back story with Arcadia. The different form of vampires, who can walk in the sun, possess untold amount of money in the bank and are armed to the teeth with military style advanced weapons system. With such over the top things it actually became impossible to make a connection with Silas & the group and that is saying something. Good thriller though!
"Vampires as the eco-activists.......wouldn't recommend but you can check it if you want. Quite thrilling though"
January 20, 2013
The closest I can compare Mark Teppo's writing style is Christopher Pike. He writes this refreshing mix of horror/paranormal thriller with almost brusque, military style and dizzying pace. I have to say, I really liked it once I got into it.
Teppo's vampires reminded me of Feehan's Dark Carpathians in one aspect - they live of the earth, it rejuvenates and heals them, but the more humans poison the planet the more difficult for them to survive - pollution, pesticides, various poisonous fluids and everything else that comes with technological "advance" kills them slowly but surely.
The vampires belong to Earth and communicate with it. They call themselves Arcadians and are known across the world as a radical eco-terrorist group.
We meet Silas first on a boat close to Japan while he and his fellow Arcadians observe a human eco group trying to stop Japanese corporation from whaling. On the same boat Silas notices an infamous independent journalist, Mere, whose life he once saved, and with whose fearlessness he became fascinated. Seeing Mere, Silas understand that there is some deep game, some unknown conspiracy involved if she investigates it, but what it is he only starts to find out later when he is on his own, injured, in the middle of toxic sea...
This book is full of conspiracies, global pharmaceutical corporations, mysterious human organisation working on creating weapons against Arcadians, genetic research and very gory fights.
Great strength of Earth Thirst is its original view on vampires, and its exotic locations from Easter Island to various countries in South America. It's a dizzying, puzzling, fast, action-packed and overall very exciting book. Recommended to all fans of Christopher Pike.
Teppo's vampires reminded me of Feehan's Dark Carpathians in one aspect - they live of the earth, it rejuvenates and heals them, but the more humans poison the planet the more difficult for them to survive - pollution, pesticides, various poisonous fluids and everything else that comes with technological "advance" kills them slowly but surely.
The vampires belong to Earth and communicate with it. They call themselves Arcadians and are known across the world as a radical eco-terrorist group.
We meet Silas first on a boat close to Japan while he and his fellow Arcadians observe a human eco group trying to stop Japanese corporation from whaling. On the same boat Silas notices an infamous independent journalist, Mere, whose life he once saved, and with whose fearlessness he became fascinated. Seeing Mere, Silas understand that there is some deep game, some unknown conspiracy involved if she investigates it, but what it is he only starts to find out later when he is on his own, injured, in the middle of toxic sea...
This book is full of conspiracies, global pharmaceutical corporations, mysterious human organisation working on creating weapons against Arcadians, genetic research and very gory fights.
Great strength of Earth Thirst is its original view on vampires, and its exotic locations from Easter Island to various countries in South America. It's a dizzying, puzzling, fast, action-packed and overall very exciting book. Recommended to all fans of Christopher Pike.
April 12, 2013
Earth Thirst is fun.
Mark Teppo uses the techno-thriller genre as a substrate (excuse?) for his Bad Man Cocktail of Gaiaist vampires, avant-garde fruit breeding, post-stalker relationships and bullet-point superviolence. It's a nice mix and one that could easily lend itself to a longer book but Teppo's prose is lean, efficient like its narrator.
In this way, Earth Thirst is almost post-genre. The physical conflicts that mark the tempo of Earth Thirst are dramatic puzzles, spectacularly but quickly solved.
The arc that kept me reading was wanting to learn about and understand the world like the amnesiac hero who's trying to save it at the same time. It'll be a couple of sequels at least before my itch is better scratched, I suspect.
Also, I read this over the course a couple of months (because I juggle many bookthings always) and every time I stopped and started reading again, no momentum was lost. Which is nice. But the downside of prose this lean is that sometimes we're strapped to the whirlwind timetable of the characters, rather than dwelling on the nature some of the horrors seen.
Yeah, you got. 5 stars.
Big un-dumb fun.
Mark Teppo uses the techno-thriller genre as a substrate (excuse?) for his Bad Man Cocktail of Gaiaist vampires, avant-garde fruit breeding, post-stalker relationships and bullet-point superviolence. It's a nice mix and one that could easily lend itself to a longer book but Teppo's prose is lean, efficient like its narrator.
In this way, Earth Thirst is almost post-genre. The physical conflicts that mark the tempo of Earth Thirst are dramatic puzzles, spectacularly but quickly solved.
The arc that kept me reading was wanting to learn about and understand the world like the amnesiac hero who's trying to save it at the same time. It'll be a couple of sequels at least before my itch is better scratched, I suspect.
Also, I read this over the course a couple of months (because I juggle many bookthings always) and every time I stopped and started reading again, no momentum was lost. Which is nice. But the downside of prose this lean is that sometimes we're strapped to the whirlwind timetable of the characters, rather than dwelling on the nature some of the horrors seen.
Yeah, you got. 5 stars.
Big un-dumb fun.
February 14, 2013
Fun book, and nice twist on vampires. And talk about action: the short chapters really help you zip along. Obviously that means there're some backstory holes you hope will be filled in book 2, but if you want something that keeps you reading, this could be your book. More action/adventure than vampires, too (if that's your hang-up).
March 29, 2013
Well-paced adventure, interesting and vivid characters, and the language begs to be read aloud.
Teppo is a master at answering enough background questions to make the world real, without it feeling like "my vampires, let me show you them". What the characters are is integral to the plot, but never feels artificial. This is a story about individuals, not tropes. Recommended.
Teppo is a master at answering enough background questions to make the world real, without it feeling like "my vampires, let me show you them". What the characters are is integral to the plot, but never feels artificial. This is a story about individuals, not tropes. Recommended.
November 26, 2014
A great story about soldiers and spies, with an eco-thriller twist. I found myself so engaged by this book that I couldn't concentrate on any other tasks while listening to the narration.
If you like your heroes less than shiny, and your conspiracies centuries-old, pick this book up as fast as possible and devour it.
If you like your heroes less than shiny, and your conspiracies centuries-old, pick this book up as fast as possible and devour it.
June 30, 2014
Vampires? Well.... Kinda
This story is actually pretty dang decent. The idea of vampires who are effectively plant based is actually fairly well thought out. The ideas of raising such brings in quite a bit of environmental issues that I thought were a fairly interesting idea. if you're up for something a bit more experimental in your vampire mythos give it a try.
This story is actually pretty dang decent. The idea of vampires who are effectively plant based is actually fairly well thought out. The ideas of raising such brings in quite a bit of environmental issues that I thought were a fairly interesting idea. if you're up for something a bit more experimental in your vampire mythos give it a try.
November 17, 2013
An original take on vampires. A style of writing I found pacy and well rythmed. I very much liked the main character, Silas, and the way M. TEPPO makes us discover his history. This book is a strong start to what should be an entertaining saga.
July 7, 2014
Its been a while since I've gone through a decent Vampire book. This was pretty good. It had a different take on Vampires then I was used to. Not in the twilight sense, but more closer to Blade. There was a lot of enviromental stuff in there as well that was interesting for a Vampire novel.
May 14, 2013
strong story in the beginning but loses momentum near the end.
August 12, 2013
An interesting take on what vampires actually are, but the unreliable narrator schtick got annoying after awhile; plus the "vampires" themselves are never explained particularly well.
January 23, 2014
Mark, I just love the concept. This should be an entire genre!
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