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Vampires of Paris #1
The Vampire Circus: First Serialized Installment
Coco and Zuzu—based on the legendary Colette and Josephine Baker—are twins, separated at birth and brought up in Switzerland and Kentucky. Reunited as young women in the demi-monde of Parisian nude revues and houses of prostitution, they are forced to continue in their genetic heritage of vampirism, caused by a mutation to the syphilis spirochete.
Menaced by the oldest vampire still living, the shadowy Maître du Monde, and stalked by Coco's lover Willy, a fifteen-year-old Vatican vampire hunter, as well as Johnny Durango, a formerly famous, now vengeful, “cowboy detective” fresh from an Arizona penitentiary, the two sisters together embark upon a phantasmagorical journey into international film stardom set against the vivid tapestry of 1920s Paris life.
If Proust and Zane Grey had collaborated on writing a sprawling erotic vampire epic brought to life in the worlds of Carnivale and Moulin Rouge, The Vampire Circus might be the result. The romantic and episodic style of the story arc is based on old-fashioned “penny dreadful” serials of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as Fantômas or Varney the Vampire.
Menaced by the oldest vampire still living, the shadowy Maître du Monde, and stalked by Coco's lover Willy, a fifteen-year-old Vatican vampire hunter, as well as Johnny Durango, a formerly famous, now vengeful, “cowboy detective” fresh from an Arizona penitentiary, the two sisters together embark upon a phantasmagorical journey into international film stardom set against the vivid tapestry of 1920s Paris life.
If Proust and Zane Grey had collaborated on writing a sprawling erotic vampire epic brought to life in the worlds of Carnivale and Moulin Rouge, The Vampire Circus might be the result. The romantic and episodic style of the story arc is based on old-fashioned “penny dreadful” serials of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as Fantômas or Varney the Vampire.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2015
About the author
Rod Kierkegaard Jr.
32 books43 followersRod Kierkegaard Jr. is a writer and cartoonist best known in the US for his comic strip, “Rock Opera“, which ran as a regular feature in Heavy Metal Magazine during the 1980s.
He is the author of two French graphic novel collections, “Stars Massacre“, (released in the US as “Shooting Stars“) and “Rock Monstres“, both published by Editions Albin Michel, Paris. His first novel, “Obama Jones & The Logic Bomb“, is published by Dogma Press.
“The Department of Magic” and “Family Cursemas” are Rod’s first published works through Curiosity Quills Press during the 2011 Holiday season, followed by “The God Particle” in early 2012.
He is the author of two French graphic novel collections, “Stars Massacre“, (released in the US as “Shooting Stars“) and “Rock Monstres“, both published by Editions Albin Michel, Paris. His first novel, “Obama Jones & The Logic Bomb“, is published by Dogma Press.
“The Department of Magic” and “Family Cursemas” are Rod’s first published works through Curiosity Quills Press during the 2011 Holiday season, followed by “The God Particle” in early 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 5, 2015
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Originally, this was going to be a November blog tour, but in the end I was just asked to review it somewhere at the end of the month. Which in the end is a good thing, because I hate to write negative reviews during a blog tour.
Focussing on many different arcs and characters, this apparently is the story of some Parisian vampires, and a man who holds a (reasonable) grudge against them. Unfortunately though, this isn't the story that is told in this book.
The blurb claims that this man goes on revenge, but after an entire book he hasn't even made it to Europe, let alone gotten (even a little bit of) his revenge. Instead there has been a lot of scenes I thought weren't that interesting. Besides what I suppose is to be the main arc, only that one of the vampire hunter was kind of interesting. I for some reason expected it to be a young adult novel, but it certainly isn't. Another thing that bothered me was the ending. Or the lack of an ending. I'm aware this is a serial novel, but this is also a collected work, and since this is called Book 1 of the Vampires of Paris I expect some kind, any kind really, of ending. I'm left after this book feeling as if it was stopped right at the middle and nothing has happened yet.
I don't think I will continue reading this series.
The Vampire Circus is the first book of The Vampires of Paris.
Thanks to the publisher for proving me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Originally, this was going to be a November blog tour, but in the end I was just asked to review it somewhere at the end of the month. Which in the end is a good thing, because I hate to write negative reviews during a blog tour.
Focussing on many different arcs and characters, this apparently is the story of some Parisian vampires, and a man who holds a (reasonable) grudge against them. Unfortunately though, this isn't the story that is told in this book.
The blurb claims that this man goes on revenge, but after an entire book he hasn't even made it to Europe, let alone gotten (even a little bit of) his revenge. Instead there has been a lot of scenes I thought weren't that interesting. Besides what I suppose is to be the main arc, only that one of the vampire hunter was kind of interesting. I for some reason expected it to be a young adult novel, but it certainly isn't. Another thing that bothered me was the ending. Or the lack of an ending. I'm aware this is a serial novel, but this is also a collected work, and since this is called Book 1 of the Vampires of Paris I expect some kind, any kind really, of ending. I'm left after this book feeling as if it was stopped right at the middle and nothing has happened yet.
I don't think I will continue reading this series.
The Vampire Circus is the first book of The Vampires of Paris.
Thanks to the publisher for proving me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
November 20, 2015
Combining an engaging portrayal of Europe and America in the 1920’s with an interesting twist on the social vampire trope, Kierkegaard produces a narrative full of ancient conspiracy and subtle threat without forgoing pace or immediacy.
This book contains the first five episodes of Kierkegaard’s serial, The Vampires of Paris. When Johnny Durango, former Pinkerton detective, is released from prison after twenty years for killing the vampires who slew his family, he expects to spend his last few dollars and years hunting down the vampires that escaped. However, events conspire to give him a new lease of life.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Coco Zwellinger, unhappily married to the celebrity whose witty pieces she ghostwrites, is reunited with her long-lost sister, Zuzu Birdsong, the star of a “Negro” jazz troupe. Focused on rebuilding their relationship and the mundane travails of their lives, neither sister notices they are being stalked by both a vampire hunter’s apprentice and the nest of vampires he seeks.
With both Zuzu and Coco’s arcs focusing on mundane troubles rather than vampirism, this collection seemed to echo Varney the Vampire: several narratives that interlock or narrowly miss each other, with vampires not being the most prominent. Even Willy, the young vampire hunter, intersects with Coco through teenage lust rather than through the discovery she is of interest to vampires. However – unlike Varney – Kierkegaard’s tale neither sensationalizes nor skimps on details of the vampires. As such, readers who are disinterested in 1920’s Paris will not feel short-changed.
And, with both mundane details from early episodes becoming part of the vampire arcs and intimations that both Coco and Zuzu are connected to vampire society, the balance might well shift more toward vampires after episode five.
Kierkegaard’s evocation of both Paris and the US is skilled; scenes contain fine detail of the social conventions of time and place without either drifting into paragraphs of historical text or glossing over the differences between both each locale and the present day.
Equal care has been expended on vampires and their society; powers and tensions are shown mostly through inference from character actions. Where more obvious description is present, Keirkegaard makes both good use of the inexperience of the vampire hunter’s apprentice and of older vampires interacting with the new or shunned to give the exposition a feel of educating a character rather than the reader.
Where Keirkegaard does introduce confusion or disbelief is in his choice of by-names: both the young vampire hunter and Coco’s husband call themselves Willy at certain points. As both are intertwined with her arc, this keeps the usages in proximity; so – although context provides enough clues to work out which each instance is – readers might find having to spend a brief moment each time to be certain a distraction.
Unsurprisingly given the nuanced background, the characters are a balance between easily accessible stereotypes and complex products of a different world. This is most evident in the tension between Coco and Zuzu; one so much part of Western European civilisation that she has bleached away her heritage, the other building a career out of seeming everything Western European civilisation isn’t; yet both struggling with the same conflicts of love and family.
Johnny Durango adds a third angle to the conflict between focused pretence and universal concerns. The classic grizzled gunfighter, a character renowned for plain-speaking and direct action, he too both believes his behaviour is the core of himself yet wears it as a mask.
Ultimately, this collection is the first five parts of a serial rather than a complete novel. As such, readers who expect a tidy ending would be advised to wait for the entire serial to be available.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I recommend it to readers who are seeking a vampire story that is neither hunters chasing a monster nor troubled immortals burdened with loneliness.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.
This book contains the first five episodes of Kierkegaard’s serial, The Vampires of Paris. When Johnny Durango, former Pinkerton detective, is released from prison after twenty years for killing the vampires who slew his family, he expects to spend his last few dollars and years hunting down the vampires that escaped. However, events conspire to give him a new lease of life.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Coco Zwellinger, unhappily married to the celebrity whose witty pieces she ghostwrites, is reunited with her long-lost sister, Zuzu Birdsong, the star of a “Negro” jazz troupe. Focused on rebuilding their relationship and the mundane travails of their lives, neither sister notices they are being stalked by both a vampire hunter’s apprentice and the nest of vampires he seeks.
With both Zuzu and Coco’s arcs focusing on mundane troubles rather than vampirism, this collection seemed to echo Varney the Vampire: several narratives that interlock or narrowly miss each other, with vampires not being the most prominent. Even Willy, the young vampire hunter, intersects with Coco through teenage lust rather than through the discovery she is of interest to vampires. However – unlike Varney – Kierkegaard’s tale neither sensationalizes nor skimps on details of the vampires. As such, readers who are disinterested in 1920’s Paris will not feel short-changed.
And, with both mundane details from early episodes becoming part of the vampire arcs and intimations that both Coco and Zuzu are connected to vampire society, the balance might well shift more toward vampires after episode five.
Kierkegaard’s evocation of both Paris and the US is skilled; scenes contain fine detail of the social conventions of time and place without either drifting into paragraphs of historical text or glossing over the differences between both each locale and the present day.
Equal care has been expended on vampires and their society; powers and tensions are shown mostly through inference from character actions. Where more obvious description is present, Keirkegaard makes both good use of the inexperience of the vampire hunter’s apprentice and of older vampires interacting with the new or shunned to give the exposition a feel of educating a character rather than the reader.
Where Keirkegaard does introduce confusion or disbelief is in his choice of by-names: both the young vampire hunter and Coco’s husband call themselves Willy at certain points. As both are intertwined with her arc, this keeps the usages in proximity; so – although context provides enough clues to work out which each instance is – readers might find having to spend a brief moment each time to be certain a distraction.
Unsurprisingly given the nuanced background, the characters are a balance between easily accessible stereotypes and complex products of a different world. This is most evident in the tension between Coco and Zuzu; one so much part of Western European civilisation that she has bleached away her heritage, the other building a career out of seeming everything Western European civilisation isn’t; yet both struggling with the same conflicts of love and family.
Johnny Durango adds a third angle to the conflict between focused pretence and universal concerns. The classic grizzled gunfighter, a character renowned for plain-speaking and direct action, he too both believes his behaviour is the core of himself yet wears it as a mask.
Ultimately, this collection is the first five parts of a serial rather than a complete novel. As such, readers who expect a tidy ending would be advised to wait for the entire serial to be available.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I recommend it to readers who are seeking a vampire story that is neither hunters chasing a monster nor troubled immortals burdened with loneliness.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.
June 7, 2015
In the early 1920s, aging cowboy Johnny Durango walks out of Arizona’s Florence State Penitentiary, where he has been incarcerated for multiple homicides. As he tells pal Wyatt Earp, who picks him up in a new motorcar, he didn’t go crazy and kill all those circus folk—they were vampires. Now Johnny aims to travel to France where the vampires who killed his family were from—to finish the work he set out to do.
At the same time, in Paris, two beautiful young women meet in a shop. Staring at one another is like staring in a mirror. They can’t be twins, can they?
And then in Bavaria, Germany, we find the Master of the World, a mysterious and powerful chieftain of the undead, whose intimate and devoted adept is destined to lead his country and continent to death and destruction: Herr Adolf Hitler.
With all these major players in place, novelist Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. gets down to his bloody and entertaining business of turning the tension up.
The original modern vampire tale that enthralled Victorian England, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was a story based in moral rectitude that showed evil in all its horrifying, demonic, and coffin-ridden iniquity. Even in our own age, Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire exposed the “species” in its dark, appalling depravity. Yet the trend over time has been to excuse the lovable, loving blood-imbiber, ala the glittering boyfriend of the Twilight series.
Kierkegaard doesn’t quite bring us back to the nasty thing we witness in the movie Nosferatu, a worm that has crawled out of a dank and long-abandoned grave, but he does proceed with an understanding that vampires aren’t a life-form equal to human, and his protagonist Durango won’t be impeded by society’s skepticism about the phenomenon. Durango (and young Willy de Groote, an experienced vampire-hunter himself), like Dracula hero Professor Van Helsing, understands exactly what despicable vermin he’s up against.
Moreover, Kierkegaard does what any author writing an historical ought to do (but many fail at): He includes historical references front and center. His research is admirable—detailed but also exuding charm and wit.
This story then has all the elements of the masterful and groundbreaking Bram Stoker version of the vampire folklore—including moral perversion and moral indignation—though the telling here is both erotic and intellectual. Kierkegaard develops several relationship threads in a multi-part, very layered story that will eventually bring us to... well, only Kierkegaard can say, as the final part hasn’t been presented yet.
The author has set before us word swallowers quite a heady brew, well worth putting an initial straw into for a taste, one tantalizing, carmine drop at a time
At the same time, in Paris, two beautiful young women meet in a shop. Staring at one another is like staring in a mirror. They can’t be twins, can they?
And then in Bavaria, Germany, we find the Master of the World, a mysterious and powerful chieftain of the undead, whose intimate and devoted adept is destined to lead his country and continent to death and destruction: Herr Adolf Hitler.
With all these major players in place, novelist Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. gets down to his bloody and entertaining business of turning the tension up.
The original modern vampire tale that enthralled Victorian England, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, was a story based in moral rectitude that showed evil in all its horrifying, demonic, and coffin-ridden iniquity. Even in our own age, Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire exposed the “species” in its dark, appalling depravity. Yet the trend over time has been to excuse the lovable, loving blood-imbiber, ala the glittering boyfriend of the Twilight series.
Kierkegaard doesn’t quite bring us back to the nasty thing we witness in the movie Nosferatu, a worm that has crawled out of a dank and long-abandoned grave, but he does proceed with an understanding that vampires aren’t a life-form equal to human, and his protagonist Durango won’t be impeded by society’s skepticism about the phenomenon. Durango (and young Willy de Groote, an experienced vampire-hunter himself), like Dracula hero Professor Van Helsing, understands exactly what despicable vermin he’s up against.
Moreover, Kierkegaard does what any author writing an historical ought to do (but many fail at): He includes historical references front and center. His research is admirable—detailed but also exuding charm and wit.
This story then has all the elements of the masterful and groundbreaking Bram Stoker version of the vampire folklore—including moral perversion and moral indignation—though the telling here is both erotic and intellectual. Kierkegaard develops several relationship threads in a multi-part, very layered story that will eventually bring us to... well, only Kierkegaard can say, as the final part hasn’t been presented yet.
The author has set before us word swallowers quite a heady brew, well worth putting an initial straw into for a taste, one tantalizing, carmine drop at a time
July 2, 2015
I read my first serial this year, and quickly found that they were perfect for those times when I had only a short break. They are similar to novellas, except you know that they will continue. There is no worry that there won’t be enough detail in the story or that you’ll be left wanting more, more and not getting it for ages. Serials tend to have all the detail and depth as a novel, but you get the story in snippets, little bits that are perfect for short reading spurts and don’t leave you feeling as though you may as well not start because you won’t have time to finish. I also love that, unlike some novellas, serials continually get published, with the next part of the journey coming out soon after the previous section.
I love the start to this serial. It is a dark, ominous vampire read. It takes place in the time of Dracula and the likes, with the return of the classic vampire, we used to know. We have malicious creatures who are self-centered and worry only about the survival of their covent and nothing else. It can be endearing, unless you are one of those they feed on or you are the ones who are hired to hunt and kill them.
As with the old tales, we’ve returned to vampires who are very intelligent, and ready to solve puzzles and evade those who seek to kill them. With that, we have an excellent read with a chase and evade tale, and lots of action, unexpected turns and a spot of lust.
I liked that there was an injury involved, with one of hunters, and it fuelled that need to hunt the vampires and mixed it with vengeance, which a lot of the best vampire stories have. As with other tales, the hunters think they know everything about the vampires and how they live, but the fact that they aim to save Coco, though she is doomed because of her heritage, shows that they have a lot to learn.
I cannot wait to continue this serial. It was such a great read, returning to the true vampire tales, giving us that dark fantasy read. Th characters are well developed and left open for growth and change, as the story progresses. It also has a great story, with all the bits needed to keep you drawn into the story.
I love the start to this serial. It is a dark, ominous vampire read. It takes place in the time of Dracula and the likes, with the return of the classic vampire, we used to know. We have malicious creatures who are self-centered and worry only about the survival of their covent and nothing else. It can be endearing, unless you are one of those they feed on or you are the ones who are hired to hunt and kill them.
As with the old tales, we’ve returned to vampires who are very intelligent, and ready to solve puzzles and evade those who seek to kill them. With that, we have an excellent read with a chase and evade tale, and lots of action, unexpected turns and a spot of lust.
I liked that there was an injury involved, with one of hunters, and it fuelled that need to hunt the vampires and mixed it with vengeance, which a lot of the best vampire stories have. As with other tales, the hunters think they know everything about the vampires and how they live, but the fact that they aim to save Coco, though she is doomed because of her heritage, shows that they have a lot to learn.
I cannot wait to continue this serial. It was such a great read, returning to the true vampire tales, giving us that dark fantasy read. Th characters are well developed and left open for growth and change, as the story progresses. It also has a great story, with all the bits needed to keep you drawn into the story.
April 7, 2017
Se si parla di vampiri, si sa, io leggo qualsiasi cosa.
Ecco perchè sono stata attirata da questo titolo che purtroppo mi ha deluso.
Mi ha deluso soprattutto perchè non è un romanzo completo, ma solo la prima parte. O almeno così pare, dato che ad un certo punto della storia (l'80% del kindle) c'è scritto che continua nella seconda parte, ma indovinate un po', la seconda parte non c'è. Al suo posto c'è invece un'anteprima di un altro libro dell'autore. Questa cosa mi ha leggermente seccato, perchè come posso io adesso dare un giudizio su un libro incompleto?
E a cosa serve darmi un'anteprima di un altro romanzo se non posso nemmeno finire quello che sto leggendo?
Comunque, in questo racconto troviamo alcuni elementi tipici dei racconti con vampiri, tra cui anche la presenza di un cacciatore di vampiri deciso a sterminarli.
I capitoli si alternano nella narrazione tra i vari personaggi. Nel complesso è ben scritto, i personaggi sono piuttosto ben strutturati e c'è una bella atmosfera dark. Anche se ad un certo punto fa la sua comparsa Hitler e il vampiro più antico del mondo, cosa che mi ha molto incuriosito. Ma poi si interrompe tutto, quindi adesso questa curiosità me la tengo.
Ci sono delle scene di sesso piuttosto esplicite e volgari, messe abbastanza a random e anche inaspettatamente, tanto che sono andata a rileggermi la pagina prima per vedere se c'erano i presupposti per trovarsi a leggere una scena simile. Non c'erano.
Il livello della lingua è medio bassa direi, non è così difficile da leggere, anche se non si è molto esperti.
Nel complesso una lettura passabile, ma il voto è stato abbassato perchè non so come va a finire.
Ecco perchè sono stata attirata da questo titolo che purtroppo mi ha deluso.
Mi ha deluso soprattutto perchè non è un romanzo completo, ma solo la prima parte. O almeno così pare, dato che ad un certo punto della storia (l'80% del kindle) c'è scritto che continua nella seconda parte, ma indovinate un po', la seconda parte non c'è. Al suo posto c'è invece un'anteprima di un altro libro dell'autore. Questa cosa mi ha leggermente seccato, perchè come posso io adesso dare un giudizio su un libro incompleto?
E a cosa serve darmi un'anteprima di un altro romanzo se non posso nemmeno finire quello che sto leggendo?
Comunque, in questo racconto troviamo alcuni elementi tipici dei racconti con vampiri, tra cui anche la presenza di un cacciatore di vampiri deciso a sterminarli.
I capitoli si alternano nella narrazione tra i vari personaggi. Nel complesso è ben scritto, i personaggi sono piuttosto ben strutturati e c'è una bella atmosfera dark. Anche se ad un certo punto fa la sua comparsa Hitler e il vampiro più antico del mondo, cosa che mi ha molto incuriosito. Ma poi si interrompe tutto, quindi adesso questa curiosità me la tengo.
Ci sono delle scene di sesso piuttosto esplicite e volgari, messe abbastanza a random e anche inaspettatamente, tanto che sono andata a rileggermi la pagina prima per vedere se c'erano i presupposti per trovarsi a leggere una scena simile. Non c'erano.
Il livello della lingua è medio bassa direi, non è così difficile da leggere, anche se non si è molto esperti.
Nel complesso una lettura passabile, ma il voto è stato abbassato perchè non so come va a finire.
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