What do you think?
Rate this book
Vampire Earth #11
Baltic Gambit
In his latest Vampire Earth novel, the national bestselling author delivers a thrilling adventure when David Valentine’s loyal Lieutenant Alessa Duvalier disobeys his orders—and finds herself uncovering a betrayal…
Most of the world’s resistance leaders and the Lifeweavers are gathering for a peace conference in Helsinki, Finland. But according to the intelligence materials Alessa recovered during her raid of a Kurian stronghold, the enemy has already inserted an agent among the delegates.
David Valentine is chosen to be head of security for the Army of Kentucky representatives—and Alessa ignores his order to stay behind. Now, thrust into a lethal intrigue that threatens the entire peace process, she learns that the Kurian agent may be the least of her concerns.
For the Lifeweavers themselves are about to reveal something that will devastate the Resistance to its very core.
Most of the world’s resistance leaders and the Lifeweavers are gathering for a peace conference in Helsinki, Finland. But according to the intelligence materials Alessa recovered during her raid of a Kurian stronghold, the enemy has already inserted an agent among the delegates.
David Valentine is chosen to be head of security for the Army of Kentucky representatives—and Alessa ignores his order to stay behind. Now, thrust into a lethal intrigue that threatens the entire peace process, she learns that the Kurian agent may be the least of her concerns.
For the Lifeweavers themselves are about to reveal something that will devastate the Resistance to its very core.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
19 people are currently reading
575 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 15, 2017
The story arc was beyond interesting, but overall I wasn't thrilled by the writing. Again, it was choppy & several times there were twists that didn't fully make sense. As a couple of other reviewers noted, it's as if he sent in his notes instead of a polished narrative.
I kind of liked that the book was written from Ali's point of view, but that also led to some issues. I'm a guy, so can't say for sure, but I don't think he writes the female point of view very well. She's an interesting character & Valentine was around most of the time which I appreciated. Still, there were a couple of underwhelming moments, plain disappointments that should have been big deals. They were just poorly delivered.
I don't know what's up with Knight or the series. I'll certainly read the next book without being in a rush to get it. I've invested a lot of time in the series & all the elements are there for the next book or two to be as good as the first. Fingers crossed.
I kind of liked that the book was written from Ali's point of view, but that also led to some issues. I'm a guy, so can't say for sure, but I don't think he writes the female point of view very well. She's an interesting character & Valentine was around most of the time which I appreciated. Still, there were a couple of underwhelming moments, plain disappointments that should have been big deals. They were just poorly delivered.
I don't know what's up with Knight or the series. I'll certainly read the next book without being in a rush to get it. I've invested a lot of time in the series & all the elements are there for the next book or two to be as good as the first. Fingers crossed.
June 26, 2014
Fellow reader Roark reviewed VE 10 and commented that it felt like the author swept all his notes together, jammed a staple through them, and called it a book.
VE 11 is edited better than VE 10...but the passion and fire of VE 1-9 is still missing...and the vacuum left in its absence is sucking the life out of the series as surely as a Kurian/Reaper drains the life/blood from their victim.
That is two strikes...one more dud and, sadly, I'm afraid the series won't be worth my money anymore.
VE 11 is edited better than VE 10...but the passion and fire of VE 1-9 is still missing...and the vacuum left in its absence is sucking the life out of the series as surely as a Kurian/Reaper drains the life/blood from their victim.
That is two strikes...one more dud and, sadly, I'm afraid the series won't be worth my money anymore.
February 29, 2024
Another Vampire Earth book without David as the main character. I am hoping that the author is learning from his mistakes, because the last two vampire earth books have been pretty bad. This one was better than Appalachian Overthrow, but it was still not the same as most of the books in the series.
Sometimes I like Ali and other times I really don't like her. Not a whole lot happened in this book and the climax wasn't very exciting. David is around, but not very major to the story. It is all from Ali's point of view. It wasn't all bad, I just miss the flow and action of the first 9 books in the series. The most interesting thing about this book is getting to see parts of the rest of the world and how they are dealing with the Kurians. I liked reading about their journey and learning about all the different places they went.
I guess this series has lost it's steam and that makes me sad since the first 9 books are some of the best books I have read. So much for my favorite series.
Overall 3.5 stars out of 5. Another slightly disappointing read in the Vampire Earth Series. I would rather Knight not write anymore and just have the series end then write anymore books that are as bad as the last two.
Sometimes I like Ali and other times I really don't like her. Not a whole lot happened in this book and the climax wasn't very exciting. David is around, but not very major to the story. It is all from Ali's point of view. It wasn't all bad, I just miss the flow and action of the first 9 books in the series. The most interesting thing about this book is getting to see parts of the rest of the world and how they are dealing with the Kurians. I liked reading about their journey and learning about all the different places they went.
I guess this series has lost it's steam and that makes me sad since the first 9 books are some of the best books I have read. So much for my favorite series.
Overall 3.5 stars out of 5. Another slightly disappointing read in the Vampire Earth Series. I would rather Knight not write anymore and just have the series end then write anymore books that are as bad as the last two.
December 12, 2025
So that's it? The final book of a great Universe is this one? And it's from Alessa's point of view? Not that I don't like her, I do, but she's not supposed to be the lead character, especially in the final book.
My overall rating for the series is 5 stars, only the last two books get 4.
My overall rating for the series is 5 stars, only the last two books get 4.
October 29, 2014
Have you ever read a book by an author who is clearly so, so sick of the series, but thinks that he "has to keep writing them, because people buy them"? That's this book. It's not that it's horrible, it's just...phoned in. Like the last book in the series, it's written from the perspective of someone who isn't the main protagonist of the series. It's lacking most of the interesting excitement the series has always brought to the table, and when it gets there, it's written in the most stilted, rushed way. It's barely there, and it's not exactly easy to follow because of how rushed it is.
The same combat sequences that take up a matter of a couple of pages in this book would have sprawled across entire chapters in prior novels.
And it's a shame, because this could have been so much better. The character is a great one who's always been interesting when she showed up in prior novels. The plot points are, if not exactly unique, at least fitting with the universe and interesting. If the author had given this book 1/2 the attention he gave any one of the first five or six books in the series, it would have been fantastic.
As it is...It's just a sad letdown.
The same combat sequences that take up a matter of a couple of pages in this book would have sprawled across entire chapters in prior novels.
And it's a shame, because this could have been so much better. The character is a great one who's always been interesting when she showed up in prior novels. The plot points are, if not exactly unique, at least fitting with the universe and interesting. If the author had given this book 1/2 the attention he gave any one of the first five or six books in the series, it would have been fantastic.
As it is...It's just a sad letdown.
April 28, 2014
It was nice to see the author get back on track with this book. I felt like progress was again made in the storyline and that perhaps this series has not died.
August 28, 2014
well that was pointless string of events
November 17, 2021
Dude just gave up on this one. Cobbled together factoids thrown together and slapped a sticker on it that read "final conclusion". He could have really ended the series with something alot better than this. I felt like I got slapped in the face after reading all of the books in this great series up til this one just to be left with this unfulfilled final book
June 5, 2025
I read the rest of the series and it was pretty good. I gave this one a 3 because it just seemed to run out of gas. It was as if the author just gave up and quit writing this series. He could have added a few more pages and given it a better ending.
June 11, 2017
Not his best: I really enjoyed the series but seems to run out of new material.
November 16, 2017
Published 2014. Having read the entire series I have to say this outing started off and ended good with a big slowwwww middle.
November 29, 2019
Great
Thrilling read like the way it grabs you hope it continues. I give it 5 stars a great read. Will miss the character
Thrilling read like the way it grabs you hope it continues. I give it 5 stars a great read. Will miss the character
August 2, 2024
While I very much enjoyed this novel… I don’t think it was as good as the rest of them. Not as exciting, not as much emotional ups and downs. Kind of a disappointing end to a series I liked so much
May 25, 2025
the series needed to continue afterwards
September 5, 2023
Overall I overjoyed this series. This the final book was a bit anticlimactic but understandable in it's own way.
October 6, 2015
E.E Knight's series has been admittedly running out of steam for a bit now. Winter Duty and March in Country were rather dull in comparison to some of the previous installations and had very little action, not to mention ignored some very promising storylines to bring us more forced plot in Kentucky.
Which is why this book, and the previous one - Appalachian Overthrow - were nice new additions. This one is from the perspective of Duvalier, one of my favorite characters of the series. In getting away from Valentine, we get to see things a bit fresher and actually see the way a Cat is supposed to act (sorry, Valentine, but he was pretty terrible at it). The new location was nice too. It was interesting to see how other countries were dealing with the Kurian problem.
The problem with this book that some of the other, more recent ones has suffered is that there isn't a lot of payoff. Most of the book builds to the climax making it a bit of a slow read. And the climax itself isn't a huge payoff. Which is really too bad. I would have loved to have seen more played with and developed in terms of the international view of the Kurian invasion or the revelation of the lifeweavers which felt a little glossed over.
The fresh perspective and location gave this series a nice breath of fresh air but sadly not enough to get more than a couple of deep inhales of. A lot of great potential was missed her. The series is definitely passed it's glory days.
Which is why this book, and the previous one - Appalachian Overthrow - were nice new additions. This one is from the perspective of Duvalier, one of my favorite characters of the series. In getting away from Valentine, we get to see things a bit fresher and actually see the way a Cat is supposed to act (sorry, Valentine, but he was pretty terrible at it). The new location was nice too. It was interesting to see how other countries were dealing with the Kurian problem.
The problem with this book that some of the other, more recent ones has suffered is that there isn't a lot of payoff. Most of the book builds to the climax making it a bit of a slow read. And the climax itself isn't a huge payoff. Which is really too bad. I would have loved to have seen more played with and developed in terms of the international view of the Kurian invasion or the revelation of the lifeweavers which felt a little glossed over.
The fresh perspective and location gave this series a nice breath of fresh air but sadly not enough to get more than a couple of deep inhales of. A lot of great potential was missed her. The series is definitely passed it's glory days.
April 8, 2014
I thought a Vampire Earth book without David Valentine as the main character wouldn't be as good. I was wrong.
Valentine plays second fiddle to Alessa Duvalier this go-round. The book takes her out of her element of scouting and quick combat, and puts in the role of escorting a delegation to a rare conference of the Freeholds in Europe.
We get deep into her thoughts and psyche, and see what makes her tick and how she deals with the things she's done in the fight against the Kurians and what it drives her to do.
Very good book!
I skipped the book about Anh Kah - I'm thinking I should go back and read that too, now!
Valentine plays second fiddle to Alessa Duvalier this go-round. The book takes her out of her element of scouting and quick combat, and puts in the role of escorting a delegation to a rare conference of the Freeholds in Europe.
We get deep into her thoughts and psyche, and see what makes her tick and how she deals with the things she's done in the fight against the Kurians and what it drives her to do.
Very good book!
I skipped the book about Anh Kah - I'm thinking I should go back and read that too, now!
July 6, 2016
I enjoyed this book more than I did the previous book in this series, but I longed for a return focusing on David Valentine, the series' primary protagonist. This book seemed to gloss over the action sequences, where previous books presented greater detail. I was hoping that we'd learn more about Duvalier, her history, etc. but that didn't seem to materialize.
Hoping that if there is another novel, it concludes the series, as it is getting weaker as we progress.
Hoping that if there is another novel, it concludes the series, as it is getting weaker as we progress.
July 13, 2016
It was ok but I think the story is playing out and needs to get wrapped up soon. I didn't mind being in the cat's head for most of the book, in many ways it was a nice change, but I prefer Valentine's head. And not a lot happened in this until the end. At least it nudged the long arc forward a little, but only a little.
April 17, 2014
The last 2 books in the VE series haven't centered on Valentine. While this makes for an interesting change of pace I'm ready for another book with the Major as the focus and wouldn't mind seeing a new lifeweaver creation thrown in to match what the Kurians have (something/one that can fly)
June 3, 2014
Not bad, but a little disappointing. 300 pages for little to no action or story progression. Hopefully this is just a filler before the next book and giving us progress, but I worry that there isn't much left...
June 3, 2014
This was a little lackluster compared to the other books in Vampire Earth. It moved a lot slower and all the action happened in the very last part. Although it was nice to be taken to a differnt part of earth (Scandanavian Countries) versus only in the US again.
July 10, 2014
The effort to entice the (new) reader into this world was sadly lacking, & though adventures were had, this one read like a plot device, moving characters along to news events whilst exposing them to plot twists that will see development anon.
Want to read
August 7, 2013Expected publication: April 1st 2014 by Roc Hardcover
September 10, 2016
Good story. Keep them coming.
May 1, 2014
This is a lot better than "Appalachian Overthrow." a overall good read, but the series may be played out?
May 5, 2014
Very nice one. Great to see Alessia's PoV for a change. Maybe a little bit on the short side.
September 8, 2014
Enjoyable, but seems a connection novel... More of story wrapped about an info dump. Still liked it though.
June 1, 2015
And the general downhill slide of this series continues...
March 17, 2016
Disappointing all around.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews