Vampire Wars

The Legend of Dracula #1

by Perry Lake

For thousands of years, ancient vampire lords ruled the Night. Their queen, the coldly beautiful, immortal, and all-powerful Lilith, ruled them distantly, ignoring their squabbles over territory and victims. Then came Vlad the Impaler, once history's most bloodthirsty fiend, now reanimated as an undead creature of the Night. Facing the vampire legions of the brutish Vardalekos, the loathsome Viy, the diabolical Jhiang-Shi, the monstrous Mmbyu, the cunning Erlik, and the seductive Nycea, Vlad Dracula seeks out allies, be they undead or lycanthropic or mortal.



You've read Bram Stoker's “Dracula”. Now see how Vlad the Impaler fought and struggled to become Dracula, the King-Vampire. A part of THE LEGEND OF DRACULA trilogy, this book is a collection of twenty short stories about the infamous Count and his undead legions as he strives for the ultimate goal—the throne of the supreme King of the Vampires!

Genres: Vampires, Horror, Historical, Werewolves, Monsters

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Perry Lake lives in Northern California. FATE Magazine, the Overstreet Monthly, Fantasy Theater, Orion’s Child, Tales of Fantasy, and the prestigious Journal of Dracula Studies, amongst other local and international publications, have presented both his fiction and non-fiction work.

Mr. Lake is a lifelong devotee of world history, geography, and true tales of horror. Inspired by the works of Bram Stoker, Sheridan LeFanu, Mary Shelley, HP Lovecraft, and countless other masters of supernatural horror, Mr. Lake brings considerable experience and authenticity to his tales of the outré and generally weird stuff.

Reviews

[Cece ❀Rants, Raves &Reviews❀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

**I was provided with an ARC for an honest review.**

I’ve read a lot of vampire books. Like a lot. I’ve read sPaRkLy Vampires, and sExY Vampires and GiGgLy Vampires.

This was my first pure horror medieval vampire (short stories) book. And my god...

“I assure you my young friend in the last four hundred years much has happened here. Men of destiny were born, deals were struck, and empires were forged on blood “



But first. I must say it.‼️Authors. Please remember and respect your readers to include TRIGGER WARNINGS in the synopsis of your book‼️

You do not know the experiences of trauma and consent of your readers so it is ESSENTIAL to be upfront and include this info. This book does contain scenes of sexual assault and other violent sexual acts.



Now that, that's been said.

The characters

So quite obviously this is Dracula's story, Vlad the Impaler. His history as a brutal sinister cruel human. Vlad has always been a monster. His transformation into a vampire just gave him more powers to abuse.



But there are *quite* a few secondary characters in other short stories that intertwine with his main story

Doctor Faust arc-sorcerer
Jonathan Harker
István
Xala the blood goddess
Grigor of Musatescu
Strigoica the vampire queen
Mephistopheles
Nycea of Corinth
Apollonius of tyana
Baba Yaga
Kra sue
Vardalekos of Greece
Duke Lorenzo de Ponte Nero
Chi You Jiang Shi emperor
Shan Wu-ten
Princess Kah Lo

I loved the cultural diversity of the characters that brought together many different generations and corners of the world. But I wish there had been more than titles and names that differentiate them from each other because it got overwhelming and confusing especially within the short story format.

The plot From a general perspective -- there are two distinct sections of Vlad as human THEN Vlad as a vampire.

So most of the book we get to see sneak peeks into some of the ruthless shit he has done as a warlord.

THEN BOOM

Vlad desperately trying to learn more about the supernatural world, murderrrr, vampire courts, and typical supernatural shenanigans. I mean it's not every day a blood goddess puts you on a throne just to make you a target for everyone to kill. That's some game of thrones shit.



But there are also all these mini-plots as part of each short story.

The author notes several times that this is an accumulation of 20 short stories

my question is

WHY.

Each story changes POV to follow the action. So treat each story as individuals in the same world with new characters that will pop up but you don't necessarily need to remember them all because only a couple will continue throughout the storyline

The foreshadowing was pretty great as we all know somehow Vlad becomes vampire ... but all the other magical beings don’t know that and are trying to outmaneuver him

Like with the Skgany !!

“We swear to serve Prince Vlad Dracuelea for long as he reigns.
Let us hope it is a short reign, Zolanna prayed"

.... BAHAHA



History and mythology are written on top of the general book plot and character developments of Vlad's transition from human to vampire life

So readers get hints of medieval mythology with Merlin and even some fellow horror-monsters with Frankenstein making an appearance which was an unusual mix in the short stories

Overall,

I gotta be honest in saying this was a refreshing take on vampires. Most of them nowadays consist of vampires being college frat-boys where vamps all go to clubs to get drunk and feed off of humans. And yes it's fun for some books but come on, some vamps have been alive for hundreds of years, I'm sure someone got their shit together.

Well lo and behold, this book delivered with wayyy more sophisticated societies and vampires who weren't there just to drink and get stabbed at some dicey dance club *whoaaaa*

However I did struggle with the short story format. Yes, it kept things interesting with seeing different points of view and how it all connects in the end to Vlad's story. But, I love character-driven novels. And this isn't one. I wanted more dialogue and banter between the characters to have a stronger bond with each other but also highlighting their own distinct personalities/ goals/ thoughts/ motivation. While reading, I felt overwhelmed by the constant POV shift that I never really connected with any of the characters. I was just reading to see how it all ended.

[Graeme Rodaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was unexpected!

I was thinking this was a novel, when in fact it's a collection of connected short stories themed around the ambitions and exploits of that notable figure of the undead - one Vlad Dracula.

(So, quick change of gears - not reading a novel - reading a collection of shorts... got it.)

Vlad and his minions stalk the night, feasting and wenching, whoops - I mean feasting on wenches. Vlad has conceived of a noble purpose fitting for a being of his stature and aristocratic bearing - an Empire of the Night. The only problem he has is that every other damnable, wretched, blood lusting, demonic, cursed, undead, loathsome spawn of unholy cosmic horrors wants him dead and they want him dead yesterday.

The language of the stories is tinged with the Old World, and you can feel the night mists swirling around tilted gravestones beneath a swollen moon. In general, the stories grew on me as they progressed along their mist laden, haunted, blood soaked paths. ... is that a wail of a despair from some wretch I hear - perchance it is - to the barricades, the armies of the undead are on the march....

I can't help but be reminded of the Hammer Horror films of my youth, but seen through the eyes of the monsters of the night. When I first saw those movies, they freaked me out, then I got used to them and then I enjoyed them. These stories are well at home with a graveyard shovel covered in dried mud and the fresh blood of an undead horror.

The author has a wry sense of humor. When "Surround Them! Kill Them!" is described as an elaborate battle plan and vampires complain about getting their clothes torn in battle, I'm pretty sure that I am detecting a distinct current of "tongue in cheek" flowing within these stories. Not really a horror book, and I'm not quite sure where I would position the genre, but entertaining nonetheless.

Now to ratings, would I read it again? Probably not. Would I read the next book by this author? Almost certainly yes. Was I entertained? Yes. So four stars it is.

One caveat - the writing style is quite distinctive, and the short story format doesn't lend itself to indepth development of characters. Read the preview first - if you're comfortable with the style I would expect that you will be fine with the book as a whole.

One final note: I rarely read short stories - as short stories, these seemed to be very well constructed.

[Andrew✌️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

** I received a copy of the ebook by the author in exchange for an honest review. **

We are used to see Count Dracula as the villain, while the hero is the hunter who fights the dark forces. Well, here he is always the villain, but the "main character" villain.

This is the first book of a trilogy and consists of short novels that telle the rise to power of Vlad in the undead's rows, to become the king. Each story tells of an episode involving other vampires, some generated by him, other are enemies that he has to fight. Usually short stories doesn’t make me crazy, but here all of them fit together in a broader context, as individual chapters. Each story see the character grow, show his way of thinking about the vampires in the world, its objectives and describes its abilities. Vlad is a vampire and a noble, hence his followers should be of the same social class, to create a line of blood that is as high as possible.

There are all the elements of the horror genre, such as vampires and werewolves, travel in mysterious places such as the Far East and Egypt, plus a dip in the cosmic horror of Lovecraftian origin, complete with nightmarish creatures. Very detailed, although a little hard to remember, is the genealogy of the various characters, that prove however the author's attention to details. At some points, to add more info about a character, there are flashbacks, showing episodes occurred previously. In the beginning, this has confused me for the sudden change of scene, but I found the information very useful for understanding the characters and their stories.

Lastly, it’s a compelling reading that brings the reader's imagination in fascinating places, in contact with mysterious characters, some come out from stories and legends from all the world. I can’t wait to try the other books.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire Wars, never was a title of a book more true! Mr. Perry Lake has crafted a really good Dracula tale that almost reads like non-fiction. Mr. Lake really worked overtime with his research and made sure to keep everything as authentic as possible. This story takes place before Bram Stoker's tale, and explains how he became "The Lord of Vampires." I'm assuming more of the tale is also told in the next two volumes of the trilogy.

I did have a few minor complaints. The story slowed down in places due to vampire battle after vampire battle, with very little else happening. Also, the main characters were practically almost all supernatural creatures of some kind, and the human race only enters the story peripherally. This is fine, but I would like to have seen more interaction between some humans and these monsters. Then again, the title isn't Vampires vs. Humans, so its understandable. And you don't just get vamps, you get werewolves, satyrs, lamia and many others.

The other problem I have, and I have this problem with other books from time to time, is there was no character to root for, so to speak. Dracula is NOT a hero, and Mr. Lake never wanted you to think he was, but as such, it limits emotional involvement.There just was no one you really wanted to see succeed, as it seemed all of the players were evil.

Very minor complaint, some of the names were confusing, but they were also authentic of the time period and location, so that was more just my personal preference, and if anything a testament to Mr. Lake's authenticity.

I think this book would probably appeal as much to a fan of historical and fantasy novels as it would vampire fans. It really read like an epic battle in the vein of Lord of the Rings, only more realistic and with more gore.

Mr. Lake is also a big fan of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, which is without a doubt the coolest Dracula comic ever. I am also a big fan of the comic, so we probably have similar views of Dracula in mind when we read anything featuring the Count.

I would recommend this to fans of the original Dracula novel, or any type of vampire novel with a solid historical slant. It's not what I would call "light reading", so keep that in mind if you are more of a "casual" vampire fan. Overall, a solid effort by Mr. Lake.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

An interesting journey through the early centuries in Dracula's life/unlife/reign. My favorite parts of this book was Vlad's time/involvement with the scholomance and his interactions with Strigoica and her "children". This book was an interesting combination of history, superstition, and folklore and I'm looking forward to continuing on to the next book in this series.

[James Hold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this some months ago but never till now got around to reviewing it so here goes. Actually saw this print version at Half-Price Books. It smelled terribly of cigar smoke so I couldn't read it as 'closely' as I would have wanted to. ;-)

This is a different approach to Dracula, a little like Bram Stoker but starting in a different place. I found the story interesting and did enjoy reading it. Dracula is in public domain so you can take the character and do anything with him. This tale of his being granted power by a Queen of the Vampires and going out to establish his ascendancy.

I'll keep a lookout at HPB hoping the Cigar Smoking Man drops off further entries in the series.

[Chris Hepler · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Francis Ford Coppola's movie Bram Stoker's Dracula came out, my Vampire: The Masquerade gaming group debated its merits. The part we universally enjoyed was not the stylish costumes, or the goofy reincarnation bit, or Keanu's acting, but the opening ten minutes when Vlad Tepes is in plate armor spearing his enemies and throwing swords at crosses. "Why," we asked, "doesn't someone make a movie just out of that bit?"

This book is for that gaming group.

If you ever wondered what Dracula did between his death as Vlad Tepes in the late 1400s and the time of Bram Stoker's story, wonder no more. Vampire Wars is a short story collection about some of those missing years. It begins at the time Dracula (here using the Romanian, "Draculea") barely had two underlings to rub together. It progresses over the centuries to a climactic battle against the only unearthly horror that could possibly stop his minions or dampen his nigh-unbreakable will.

Along the way, Vlad kills, maims, tricks, or strikes bargains with more dead things than you'd find in a Kansas City slaughterhouse. Sure, he has a few monstrous minions such as lycanthropes and humans fed vampiric blood, but in the undead world there are revenants, Persian, African, and Russian vampires, and two notable vampire rivals from China (whom, as far as I could gather, do not hop like in Hong Kong horror comedies, because that's about as terrifying as sparkling).

Some of these undead are wholly original, while many others are well-known in horror circles from mythology, fiction, and history. Johann Faust, Erzsebet Bathory, Mircalla "Carmilla" Karnstein, and a conga line of undead from public domain works make appearances. For some extra spice, there's a cameo by some Lovecraftian byakhee. If there's an overarching theme to the world-building here, it's simply "It's true -- all of it."

As other reviewers have pointed out, it's essential to view the chapters as individual stories and not a novel. Practically all my quibbles with the narrative style came from the expectations of reading a single story. The author repeats some information (like Vlad's minions' roles and his powers) quite often, which is irritating in a novel, but makes perfect sense in short stories where one can't be assured of reading the previous installment. Because the stories can't depend on each other, Vlad's rise to power is less a long-term campaign with masses of legions, and more a series of small-unit attacks on powerful undead. Decades go by between stories, giving it an episodic feel, and Vlad's minions are often done in during the fighting or just as often, killed off-screen before a new story begins. By the time we get near the climax, Vlad's survival alone seems like reason enough to crown him as the ruler of the vampires. While Vampire Wars is the first in a trilogy, the ending had enough closure to leave me satisfied, which is usually a sticking point for me.

My remaining quibbles are mostly with editing and the odd anachronistic phrase. Vlad uses "thee" and "thy," but his minions will occasionally pipe up with modern language like "you have to be kidding." As for content, I personally wanted to see a bit more interaction between Draculea and his allies apart from the campaigns, and it appears I am not alone in this. The sequel, "Brides of Dracula" appears to cover exactly that ground. So though I took off a star or so for not being a work I would reread obsessively, I think I will be checking out more by the author.

At about 200 pages, Vampire Wars is pretty fast reading. I personally got it on Kindle. I'd recommend it to Lovecraft fans, vampire buffs, and yes, to my old gaming group.

[Adam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire Wars is an inventive and entertaining tale of Dracula’s many ups and downs. If you think he has it all his way, you would be mistaken – those who sleep by day have no idea of the war that is being fought by night, unless they become dinner, of course. Perry Lake’s writing is believable and consistent in its language, and the book is written as a series of chronological short stories. This is sometimes cumbersome as we are reintroduced to characters, but becomes less so the more you read, particularly as the cast grows and grows and you actually need that character prompt sometimes. Recommended!

Full review: https://culturedvultures.com/vampire-...

[Ralph Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Lake has produced quite a masterpiece in Vampire Wars which sadly is unlikely to get the recognition it deserves. He obviously has a passion and deep knowledge of underworld lore which fills every chapter, lifting it from the mundane to a rarity in its genre. It is genuinely Tolkinesque in its depth at times. Yes, I was that impressed.

The story spans several centuries and tracks the rise and conquests of Lord Dracula as he fights to be the undisputed King of the Undead, a position which he believes is his by right. Despite its richness, the story is action-packed and moves at a pace, with sufficient gore, blood and thunder to sate the appetites of all but the most blood-thirsty reader. Despite extensive use of archaic English, in keeping with the story's era, it was surprisingly easy to read.

At the very least the book should be considered a cult classic, but would appeal to anyone who appreciates good writing or at the very least an excellent ripping yarn.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my appraisal.

[Tony-Paul Vissage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel might be aptly subtitled: "Dracula and How He Got to be King of the Vampires." With very few deviations from the storyline, it's just that, and nothing else. Here we have Vlad the vampire as a slave to Dr. Faust, the "Misphistopheles" of that story. In this case, he doesn't stay enslaved long, however--nor would we expect him to. Thus, the servant overcomes the master and turns both Faust and his beloved Gretchen, making them his thralls. From there, it's only a flap and a flutter to Wallachia where, at a formal gathering, Stroigica, Queen of the Vampires, informs all the Undead she is appointing Dracula lord over them. Some agree, some don't, and a few pretend fidelity. Vlad, however, decides those now under his sway aren't up to his standards...a kind of supernatural "there goes the neighborhood," and so he decides to select and turn his own "childen" from the nobility, while disposing of and/or subduing the rest. He goes from country to country enlisting allies and battling his enemies...

...and the Vampire Wars begin.

This is an easily read novel, though it gets tedious in spots because there are a bit too many Undead around...there are very few actual mortals in the countryside it would seem, except for a few gypsies now and then. Some of their names are near-unpronounceable but a great many may be recognizable...from movies and other vampire novels. It's a veritable amalgam of Undead. Did I detect a little tongue-in-cheek (or fang-in-cheek, perhaps) at their use? Faust and Gretchen appear to be the titular comic sidekicks in this volume because neither of them is much good in a fight, Gretchen being too frail to handle a sword and Faust pretty inept at magic when it gets down to it. My favorite of all Vlad's allies is Lorenzo de Ponte Nero, who is interesting, sarcastic and entertainingly ironic in h is private thoughts. In some ways the chapters appear more like short stories on the same theme, which may account for the repetition of information in some. Occasionally there's a brief respite from battle in which the characters either gather for a feast or forage a bit for something toothsome, but for the most part, the fighting seems interminable...as wars generally are, I suppose. And bloody, also...in some cases, I was reminded of the Iliad by Homer, wherein there are lists upon lists of those who fought, with special attention paid to where they were stabbed and how they were killed.

All in all, this is an enjoyable read, in spite of a few homonymic errors, such as "'reign" for "rein" and "too" for"two." There's a bit of history thrown in to salve the authenticity buff. I'm looking forward to the second entry to see where it leads us next in Vlad's campaign for supremacy. We all know he's going to succeed; the fun is going to be in seeing how he does it.


This novel is owned by the reviewer and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.

[Tim Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Perry Lake takes on the task of retelling the legend of Dracula and how he became the most powerful vampire. It's quite a gaol but Lake was definitely up to it. Vampire Wars is an action-packed story about Vlad the Impaler becoming the powerful legend we all know - Dracula.

At a meeting of various warlords, Vlad is given powers by Strigoica, the Queen of Vampires. Not surprisingly this makes him a target since everyone else covets that power.

In the war that follows, Vlad battles undead, Nycea, vampires, and sorcerers among others. Each enemy brings something unique to the battle and it’s interesting to find out how Vlad counters the threats. Fight scenes were well written and exciting.

A few things that didn't work for me...

Much of the dialogue uses the old style of thee, thus, thine, etc. I don’t enjoy that type of speech but it certainly fits the time period of the story.

Another thing that stands out is the strange chapter format. For example, there’s what appears to be a chapter called Lord of the Rakshasas followed by numbered sections. Section one is Preamble (1672) and section two is The Court of the Blood Goddess (1675). It makes the book feel more like a non-fiction account than a smooth flowing story and I would have preferred to see the massive timeline broken down into different books.

That being said, Vampire Wars is an awesome take on vampires and the Dracula legend.

[J. Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire Wars is an ambitious and entertaining take on the familiar legend of Dracula. A prequel of sorts to Bram Stoker's classic novel, it shows Dracula's quest to become King of the Vampires. Vlad cuts a bloody swath across Europe and Asia, finding allies and enemies among the supernatural creatures of many lands. Author Lake constructs an elaborate vampire mythology, drawing on history, literature, and folklore (even tv shows and comic books get a nod; scholarly-minded readers will have a blast tracking down the numerous references).

Dracula is not exactly a sympathetic protagonist, and the monsters he's fighting against are equally vile. There's no heroic Van Helsing-type to root for here. But it's still intriguing to watch Dracula's climb to power as he knocks down (or works around) each obstacle in his path. The book is structured as a series of short stories, and the middle section drags a bit as the battles with various undead beasties gets a little repetitious. But the final confrontation with the Queen of Vampires is terrific, very intense and suitably epic.

If you're a student of vampire lore, or just looking for a clever supernatural adventure, then you're in for a treat.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who hasn't heard of Dracula, right. Through the beginning of this version of Dracula my rating was 5 stars. The story didn't pull any punches as to the known history of what Vlad Dracula did, in fact, it adds more to the story. But in history of Vlad some say that his time as a prisoner of the Turks when he was a child, made him what he became and this wasn't included. But then, this isn't a history book, it's a Horror novel.
After his death and then being raised again is the last 2/3's of the book. Vlad and the additions to his vampire family try to figure out not just how to retake his lost country, but all of the world known to Dracula.
This is where my star score starts dropping. To me, the story gets jumbled around, hopping from place to place, never enjoying what he accomplished, always wanting more, then waiting chapters to get back to a place where something was accomplished.
I am looking forward to book 2 in the series on the loves and women of Dracula.

[Kathe Todd]

A grim saga of Count Vladimir Dracula and his efforts to become the overlord of all the vampires in the world. Many will fall over the centuries, but Vlad is determined to triumph. This novel, built of a series of short stories, reads as much like history as fiction. It was intriguing, frequently gory and violent, but I thought it suffered somewhat from a lack of any sympathetic characters. Among vampires, it seems, there is no true love or loyalty - only the desire for dominance.

[Nadine Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the most part. My biggest problem was how parts didn't flow so smoothly. There were parts where it got confusing. There were flashbacks in parts of the book, but the way it went from the present story to the flashback was very confusing. I had to re-read those sections a couple of times because of how confusing it was. However, overall I did enjoy it.

[Perry Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just spiffy.

[Perry Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spiffy.

[Steve Peek · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a time when Vlad the Impaler was not king of the night, when he was but one of many vampires who prowled for blood. Vampire Wars: The Legend of Dracula: Book One, is the story of the ascent of Vlad. This story tells the early struggles, deceptions, the betrayals, the killing of his own kind that placed him as the king of all Europe’s vampires, ghouls and other children of the night.
Vampire Wars is tightly written with enough period affect that it is almost like reading a journal of someone who lived through these terrible events. If you like vampires, you are going to love this book.

[Fiona Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire Wars is the story of how Dracula fought off many enemies to become the ruler of the Vampire World. It's written in a lovely old fashioned style, with just enough humour in it to keep the reader amused.

The Dracula in this book is a "proper" vampire, and is as selfish, self-absorbed and vain as a Vampire should be. No sparklers here, thank you very much. A very entertaining story with plenty of magical characters and lots of Vampire gruesomeness

[Kathryn Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's my disinclination towards short stories in general, but the writing of these moments in time as Dracula becomes the larger-than-life vampire lord we all know him were jarring at times. The writing was good, and the style - I always appreciate attention to detail, but in this case (and again, this is my novelist voice talking), some of those details could have been sacrificed for better flow - some of those in-between spaces, or low beats, are great opportunities to build character and even have a little self-reflection, even among villains, and that was an opportunity missed here. I kept wanting a more sweeping, epic feel, and the time jumps stopped me from having that sort of reaction to the reading.

That being said, action/war books with vampires that get more things right than not are few and far between, and I'd still recommend this to all Dracula fans, as well as readers of horror, action, and war more generally.

[Melanie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was an interesting delve into Vampire lore. This take on Count Dracula does not romanticize him as young adult novels often do. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

[Rhyader]

In this interesting spin on the Dracula legend, Perry Lake starts by painting
an accurate picture of the man known in legend as Dracula, beginning with the
Voivode of Wallachia before his death and the tale of how he became known as
Vlad the Impaler. His vivid descriptions of Vlad's actions and his dealings
witgh others are rich with historical detail. His characters really make you
feel the horror and despair of Vlad's victims. Lake takes an unusual cross-genre
approach to the supernatural, weaving an eclectic tale that includes legends
from different cultures together with references to the fictional gods of
H.P. Lovecraft, to result in a larger picture. In the later parts of the book
you follow Dracula's cunning struggles against the odds to assert his superiority
and seek dominance over the vampire world.