30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead

30 Days of Night novels #1

by Jeffrey J. Mariotte, Steve Niles, Jeff Mariotte

30 Days of Night novel #1.

FBI Special Agent Andy Gray used to have a grip on things. But that was before the violent confrontation with the terrifying creature that had once been his former partner and friend turned his world upside down. Now Gray is looking for some answers, and finding only more questions, all of which seem to lead straight to the backwater town of Barrow, Alaska--a place that has seen its own share of horror. Andy Gray has no idea what he's gotten himself into--and he's about to find out just how dangerous the stuff of legend can actually be....

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Supernatural, Media Tie In

401 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 8, 2006

About the author

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. His most recent release is the short story collection Byrd's Luck & Other Stories, comprising five "traditional" Western tales and five horror-Western stories, two of them brand-new for this edition.

He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.

Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Reviews

[Caleb CW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read and kind of misleading at the beginning... let me explain. The beginning of this feels like a vampire police procedural, which it pretty much was and I loathed the beginning. It started at a snail's pace and felt like it would just stay there, dragging ass like a dog with worms. Luckily, even though this book claims to be 400 pages it reads like 200, so it didn't drag forever. And the police procedural turned into something akin to private investigation which I can get behind. As soon as snow hits the ground it's on like Donkey Kong, and you get some nasty bits of gore. Along with a few quirky surprises, that will be hit or miss.

Andy goes through some pretty decent character development in this, going from good family agent to shitty non-family oriented non-agent to non-agent with a dangerous obsession. (I'm really sorry for that sentence). And you get to go through your moral delimma of wanting to like the guy but damn he makes it difficult. And bad shit follows this guy like stink on shit, he has a bad time.
His ex-partner is the douche canoe of the ages, that guy can go eat a pinewood...
Then there is John. John is my favorite I liked John. John is not gonna be for everyone but he worked for this guy better than any character like him ever has in a main stream novel.

Unfortunately even though the last 100 pages are awesome, not much is resolved.
I wanted to know if Andy gets some peace, I wanted to know if the vamps get exposed. I wanted to know dammit. I get that one thing got resolved, but I don't know if Andy is the protagonist of the next one so there's zero indication that questions you have in this one will be answered or not. I will say this was entertaining, a hell of a lot more entertaining than most novelizations of popular properties turn out to be (see the Alien books for reference). I just wanted more. I recommend if you want a quick vampire read with decent gore and vampires that don't sparkle. Will I read the next one? Yes.

There it is and there you have it.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a good vampire tale set firmly in the world of 30 Days of Night. Only minor things kept it from 5 stars but there were a few. I thought some of the characters felt a little thin, and while I liked the ending it also left a lot untold. (I'm not sure if any of this is addressed in the sequels or not, if so than that makes sense.)

Overall it's a good read for vampire fans, and I'll be continuing the series.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was prepared to really enjoy this book, but instead found myself totally underwhelmed. Whereas the movie (and, I figured, the book)focuses on what happens to the town of Barrow, Alaska, this book puts that incident in the background and instead focuses on FBI Special Agent Andy Gray.

Based some time after those events in Barrow, Andy is trying to figure out exactly what happend to his partner, Paul. He spends a lot of time going back and forth with himself (Is Paul a vampire? There's no such thing as vampires. Is Paul a member of the blood-sucking undead? There's no such thing as the blood-sucking undead.) until I was ready to scream.

Although there are slightly enjoyable parts to the book, the majority of those center around Stella Olemaun, a survivor from Barrow who wrote a book about the events that happened there.

I'm going to pass on picking up the other books in the series, unless I can find one that starts out as good as the prologue of this book, which dealt exclusively with Barrow, Alaska, and its residents.

[Wade Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 30 days of night world and it's lore is greatly expanded upon in this book. I read it when I was a teenager (over 15 years ago) and loved it then and wanted to reread the first 3 and finally read the final two i never got to.

We follow Andy. Andy is an fbi agent who just lost his partner. But Andy knows something that most others don't. A few somethings actually. 1. Paul his partner isn't dead. 2. Vampires are real 3. Said vampire will do ANYTHING it takes to keep this fact from getting out beyond the few survivors and true believers that there are. We follow Andy on a severe downward spiral as he tries to hang on to the small pieces of his life that haven't conpemtely fallen apart along the way on his search for truth and his ex partner.

I really enjoyed coming back to this series. I personally find the books the best way to experience this world.

[Huertomuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novela sombre vampiros, el FBI, Alaska, etc… de lectura fácil, contiene personajes interesantes además del protagonista como Ikos o Stella. Aun así le falta algo para terminar de ser una historia redonda, la trama se queda demasiado en la superficie.

[Repix Pix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me encanta la película y este libro no tiene nada que ver. Decepcionante.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead / 978-0-7434-9651-3

"Rumors of the Undead" takes place after the '30 days of night' in Barrow, Alaska, where nearly the entire population of an isolated arctic town is massacred by vampires under an extended cover of darkness. Rather than being a direct sequel, however, "Rumors" follows in the footsteps of an FBI agent assigned to keep an eye on Stella Olemaun, one of the few survivors of that massacre, and author of a tell-all vampire expose book.

The basic problem with "Rumors" is that it suffers heavily from trying to make the Masquerade work - it wants to have an X-Files world where vampires exist but no one is willing to believe what is right in front of their eyes. As such, FBI Special Agent Andy Gray is not assigned to watch Stella Olemaun because she might be murdered by vampires for exposing them, but rather because she's been buying up some odd weapons lately and is therefore obviously a terrorist.

About 50 seconds into the 'investigation' - indeed, before the book even starts - Andy's partner gets himself turned into a vampire (after 400 pages, you still will not know how, when, or why), and goes on a killing rampage to frame Andy for the deaths of everyone he's ever met. Being that this is the fictional, X-Files version of the FBI, it comes out that the FBI *knows* about vampires, but is vested in covering them up at all costs, so they cheerfully put Andy on the Most Wanted list and he prudently decides to go on the lam with the end-goal of finding undeniable proof of vampires and warning the world.

It's not a terrible set-up, but the book does so much wrong with it that it loses its sting. We're told early on that Stella (who we never see directly in this novel) was furious at having her vampire expose labeled as 'fiction'. A terrified publishing executive confides to Andy that a mysterious 'They' (the vampires? the FBI?) 'made' them publish the book under the watered-down 'fiction' label, but that doesn't make *any* sense because neither the FBI nor the vampires want the book to exist at all, so why didn't 'They' force the publisher to not touch the book at all? For that matter, if vampires are such a powerful force that they can threaten publishing companies, then I have to venture to say that that particular cat is out of the bag.

Other issues with the Masquerade problem is that all the 20+ S.W.A.T. members who saw a vampire take multiple bullets to the chest have to be convinced that they didn't *really* see him get up afterward, the doctors who confirmed that a lack of a pulse wasn't preventing the suspect from walking and talking have to be silenced, the blood samples have to be gotten rid of, and several incriminating videos have to be deleted. All this can be swept under the FBI rug, but why? Even more ridiculous is when we find out that not only does Stella Olemaun have in her possession a an unreleased *video recording* from the 30 days of night, but when she and her husband become vampiric guardian angels of Barrow (don't ask - this isn't explained at all), despite the fact that *they are vampires*, they still can't figure out how to provide proof to the outside world that vampires exist - it never occurs to anyone to go on CNN and offer to let the anchor chop off a few bits so that they can miraculously grow back for the viewing public to see.

Even without the Fridge Logic, "Rumors" just comes off as very mediocre. It's a decent "man on the lam" story of a man out for vengeance, but the revenge motive is slightly dampened when the book hammers home repeatedly what a terrible husband, father, and human being Andy really is - not so much an anti-hero as an apathetic stand-in for one. The ancillary characters in this book are too many to count, and their lives and deaths are all so tangential to the revenge story that the focus of the book starts to become more about the FBI cover-up which is painfully under-motivated and forced. Maybe vampires just work better in Barrow, Alaska than in Los Angeles, California.

~ Ana Mardoll

[❤ArtfullySinful❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'd better figure out a way to kill me, or get the fuck out of here. (Mariotte, 37)

FBI Special Agent Andy Gray has a life hidden away in the shadow, one hundreds would kill to never allow to see the light of day. A horrendous night that left him seething in vengeful thoughts, and a hatred he never before experience brimming through his veins. One to follow the rules, for breaking the rules was his partner Paul Norris's specialty, bending them one misdemeanor adventure at a time. Full of sexually energy, Paul married the beautiful and sensual Sally, while Andy married the plain and average Monica. One had the white picket fence and two beautiful daughters, the other harbored many secret affairs from his wife Sally for years. But when things were tough, both knew they could rely on the other, until one became far too lost to be found.

Andy Gray had disappeared. (Mariotte 211)

After Paul vanished, returning as a horrifying monster with razor sharp teeth, pointed canines and fingers morphed into claws that could shred meat from one's bones, Andy knows its time to disappear, but not without the inside knowledge. Vampire. The word was on the tip of Andy's tongue, yet he was afraid to speak it aloud, knowing how many would kill him for knowing a long buried truth. But he's seen it himself, in the flesh, and there was no way of escaping, except to go back to where it all began, Barrow Alaska. Its where Stella Olemaun and her husband Eden, the town's sheriffs, fought the undead, wiping all but 19 off of their towns population. If you mixed a vampires blood with your own, you shall become one too.

It has taken years for Andy to vanish, after losing his wife and two daughter's to Paul's murderous ways. Now with the final showdown hanging by a thread, Andy knows what to do. Setting a plan and a trap to bring Paul to him, he relies on Paul's own doubts to have someone get the shot he needed, the one to bring his old partner to his knees on death's bed. And the victory couldn't of been more terrific.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care for either of the 30 DAYS OF NIGHT movies that got released, but I enjoyed this. (Haven't read the actual comic books yet.) RUMORS OF THE UNDEAD is pretty standard vampire fare, but better-written than what you generally expect from novels based on comics. The story, despite being generic and rather slow, is unpredictable and does a good job of setting the stage for the next installment of the trilogy. My main beef with this novel has to do with the main character's erratic--bordering on nonsensical--behavior. It seemed the author was trying to make him all dark and brooding, but instead succeeded only in turning him into a doofus. Readers are supposed to regard him as a badass rogue FBI agent, but it's only by the sheer grace of God (in this case, author Jeff Mariotte) that he doesn't get apprehended or killed every dozen pages or so.
Jason Bourne he is not.
Plus, the character doesn't make sense on an emotional level. His slimy ex-partner's demise at the beginning of the book causes him to turn into a chain-smoking, alcoholic shut-in. Yet, by comparison, the far more earth-shattering tragedies that take place later on hardly phase him--especially odd, considering he is largely to blame for their occuring.
Lets hope the author can iron out some of the kinks in Book 2.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had seen the film 30 Days of Nights adn didn't realise there was a series of books that the film was based on. I got this book from the Library but I couldn't find the first in the series, so having a basic knowledge of the book could fall into reading this quite easily.
I'm a true horror book fan and this hits the spot in terms of scaring the shit out of me - luckly I was reading this during the daytime (having watched the film and not being able to sleep for 3 nights after was not something I wanted to repeat)This is set a few years after the original and the book eventually ends up back in Barrow, the original setting for the first book.
I love Anne Rice's Vampire Chornicals but she romantises Vampire's, makes them almost human, yet here the Vampire's are monsters - they feed and they kill with no respect for human life. I would definitley recommend this book to those who like horror or vampire fiction. It missed out on having 5 stars because it dragged on a bit and then it was over to quickly.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of the movie since I snuck in to see it at the movie theater when I was a teenager. As ashamed as I am to admit, I had no idea that movie was based on a series of Graphic novels and books until I picked this one up. I was elated at that discovery and dove into this one expecting to discover more of what made the movie so enjoyable. And I was devastatingly disappointed at what I found instead.

The story here kind of recaps the first movie and the second film, Dark Days, so anyone unfamiliar with the works need not worry. But the plot of this novel doesn't really have anything to do with either. It's more about an FBI agent, Andy Gray, going on the run after his partner is turned and starts killing people close to Gray. Our hero must evade the police and try his damndest to prove the existence of the Vampire race.

That's really all you got going in this book. It reads like a police procedural or a political thriller as opposed to a horror novel about massacring vampires. The fact that there's vampires does drive the main narrative but their appearance is excruciatingly limited. SO much time is spent rehashing plot points and dedicated to the inner narrative of Gray fighting the fact that vampires exist. It grows fairly tedious after 100 plus pages of this.

There are also a lot of characters that seem really important, that get a lot of time dedicated to them, that just disappear halfway through the book. Carol Hino and Dan Bradstreet being the key examples here. They just stop being relevant when the story dictates they aren't needed any longer. They seem like filler, like wasted pages and that's never a good thing. Especially for a book of 400 pages.

The almost absence of the vampires is something that I find wholly unforgiveable. It was, quite literally, the only reason I read the book, and they amount to a footnote. They pop up from time to time but 99% of their involvement is discovering the aftermath of their actions, very little is displayed in detail. Norris comes and goes with no real rhyme or reason, and his apparent lover and their gang are in three chapters and then vanish from the narrative. If you're gunna write a novel about vampires, pro tip would be to have vampires play a fairly decent role in the story. Not just things that occasionally appear to spur the story along. Just saying.

The excerpts from Stella Olemaun's novel provide a lot of the vampire mayhem in this novel and they tend to be the most engrossing aspect of the read. They're rushed and they cram a lot into a little space, but at least you get what you came for in those segments. Her character is referenced a half million times and yet she never appears in the novel itself, and that seems wasted. It's also implied she's a vampire too, but that's never clarified which is another pretty solid stumble.

The entire last portion of the book, the part set in Barrow, is another rushed portion that winds up being wildly anticlimactic. It all just speeds to a ridiculous conclusion. As is the aspect that this town is a fort that battles vampires, more then once, and yet no one on planet Earth is aware of it? People leave town before dark every year and yet no one but Stella has made an attempt at bringing the vampire epidemic to light? I get it, the vampires kill everyone that tries etc, but when the entirety of Alaska seems aware of their existence, you're starting to stretch plausibility here.

I didn't think when I started reading this that I would be as bored as I was. I certaintly didn't think I'd be happy to finish it. It's rushed, it's disjointed and unfocused, it lacks any real vampire presence, and it's mildly unengaging. It's decently written and there are a few segments that build suspense quite well, and there is SOME vampire action which can be quite bloody, but none of it left me very impressed. 2 stars is almost pushing it for me, but I can't justify giving it a 1 either. I know there are a lot of graphic novels to read, and I assume more novels, but after this one I have no real desire to seek them out. I hope they get better as the series progresses, or that the graphic novels are engaging from the start, but this left me pretty bummed. I'd recommend only to the most die hard fans of the movies/series and the most fanatic vampire enthusiasts. Everyone else is probably better off reading any number of spy thrillers or crime dramas, since that's mostly what this is. But at least with the thrillers and the dramas you don't go in expecting crucial elements, like lets say vampires, and leave wondering where the hell they were.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Suena apetecible de entrada el tener una extensión literaria de 30 Días de Noche. Aunque gran parte del éxito de la obra original se debía al potente apartado gráfico de Ben Templesmith y demás artistas posteriores, la evidente herencia literaria de Steve Niles, buscando devolver al Vampiro a sus raíces más oscuras y terroríficas de relatos y narraciones de Europa del Este (o cuanto menos, al Drácula Stokeriano original), anima a corear esta decisión. Pudiendo indagar más la mitología de este universo, en la psique de los personajes, dando oportunidades a explorar otros protagonistas y situaciones... Quizás estos pensamientos iban más encaminados a imaginarme una antología de relatos más que una saga de novelas. Porque esta Rumores de los No Muertos en su premisa más básica entra perfectamente en la idea de un relato (o una novela corta). Uno de los agentes del FBI encargados de investigar a Stella Olemaun, superviviente de una misteriosa masacre en un pueblo de Alaska, que en una presentación de su libro en el que apunta a la existencia de vampiros como culpables de este suceso, ocurre un nuevo ataque (hechos narrados en Dark Days) que encamina al detective protagonista a obsesionarse con este caso. Más aún cuando su compañero parece haberse convertido en una de esas bestias descritas en el libro de Stella. La novela no tardará en darse de bruces contra un muro argumental que ha erigido ella misma. Porque Rumores de los No Muertos peca de ser una lectura totalmente plomiza, no solo por el escueto personaje protagonista. La situación de querer desenmascarar a los vampiros cuando descubramos que es un secreto bien sabido en manos de su misma organización y siendo oculta a la población a sabiendas, hace que la historia no deje de dar vueltas sobre sí misma forzando situaciones donde poder sacar a pasear la mala baba de los chupasangres de Steve Niles. Pero todo en un agónico piloto automático y perdiendo el seguro de la potencia visual de los cómics. Entre medias también tenemos extractos del libro ficticio de Stella que explican episodios de 30 Días de Noche. Aunque esto es lo mejor de la novela, no deja de ser otro punto negativo. Pues de haber leído el cómic o vista la película, estas páginas tampoco sorprenden ni aportan mucho más a lo ya sabido... Lo peor es llegar a la recta final, cuando se nos ofrece una nueva visita a Barlow que resulta haberse fortificado, aprendiendo de sus errores (llegando a haber rechazado un par de ofensivas vampíricas). Un planteamiento y escenario totalmente interesantes del que se nos priva en una última pésima decisión de esta decepcionante novela.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

FBI agent Andy Gray is working a strange case of murders that seem to resemble crimes committed by a vampire. Worse, the crimes are somehow tied to his partner, agent Paul Norris who has gone missing and is presumed dead. This is the opening premise of this book and it is a good one.

Okay, so there are a lot of vampires running around in this book. Andy Gray is a tough as nails protagonist who won't back down and won't take no for an answer and for a bit travels the country looking for the information he needs. The reason I am giving this book three stars is that this book keeps telescoping in time. For example, Andy starts off in this book attending an event to promote a newly published book which I will just refer to as a story to avoid confusion with the actual book. Okay, so Andy is attending an event to promote a story which has just been published. A few pages down the road, the story is suddenly two years ago, and then three years ago, and then we're back to a vague period of time. It's very confusing to have to look around to figure out what's going on and when. Furthermore, Andy travels to Alaska to find out more about the vampires and finds out that they have attacked. I don't want to spoil the book, but suffice it to say that the time keeps changing with regards to that as well. I really didn't like having to constantly double back on what I had thought to be the case, only to find out that what I had thought was wrong. That is why I am giving this book only three stars.

This is a book about vampires. There is a lot of violence and blood / gore. There is also some substance use and alcohol use. There is one sex scene.

[Francesca Rossi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Da un libro che parla di vampiri sanguinari e ben poco umani, in un contesto particolare come quello buio e freddo dell'Alaska, tutto mi sarei aspettata tranne che di annoiarmi. E invece...
"Le voci dei non morti" riprende le vicende del fumetto "30 giorni di notte", che non ho letto ma di cui, qualche anno fa, è stata realizzata una versione cinematografica piuttosto gradevole. Quello che nel film vinceva era l'ambientazione inusuale (un villaggio sperduto dell'Alaska che alle soglie del buio mese invernale si ritrova colpito da un'invasione di non-morti) e il non voler presentare, per una buona volta, i vampiri come sbrilluccicanti Edward Cullen o immortali Lestat ancora in preda a rimorsi molto umani. Una storia quasi western di puro e semplice intrattenimento. In questo libro, invece, vediamo il protagonista, un agente FBI alla ricerca del collega scomparso, vagare (spesso a vuoto) tra una cittadina americana e l'altra, senza che si percepisca una reale trama se non per i continui rimandi alle precedenti vicende narrate nel fumetto. Persino lo scontro finale è da sbadiglio. Se cercate un buon libro sui vampiri, passate oltre.

[Juan Carlos Mancebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Más que una novela de vampiros es una policiaca pero no negra sino más bien gris.
Fácil y previsible se queda en la superficie sin profundizar en una historia que bien podía haber ofrecido mucho más. Para mi gusto podía haberse centrado en la transformación psicológica de los personajes al convertirse en depredadores o presas y entonces hubiera sido una novela mucho más oscura y acorde con el género. El verdadero terror no se encuentra en una superficie bañada en sangre como es el caso, sino en lo que uno puede descubrir dentro y aquí hay poca chicha.

[Piojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una nueva vuelta de tuerca al tema de los chupasangres, con alguna que otra idea novedosa, pero que tampoco aporta excesivas novedades al género. Eso sí, los vampiros poco tienen que ver con la imagen de vampiro victoriano de otras novelas. Gran parte de la historia se desarrolla como si fuera una novela negra, e incluso a veces el protagonista recuerda a cierto tipo vestido con gabardina..

A destacar el ritmo cinematográfico que los autores le imprimen, lo cual hace que sea una historia muy dinámica y que se disfrute de principio a fin.

[C.W. Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody fangtastic! Oooo, two vampire puns for the price of one! Niles’ writing is superb and I absolutely loved how this gripping (pun no. 3?) story weaved in & out of other graphic novels set in the same universe. Awesome stuff.

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

30 Days of Night was one of my favorite vampire movies. This book takes place after the events of the movie but with very little actual vampire content, it's more like a crime thriller than a horror book.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not expect Stephen King quality from this book. Yet, expect an easy and entertaining read from cover to cover. The overall plot is unique but the ending seemed rushed and not completely fulfilled. Hopefully the next book will offer more details.

[JoAnne DeSantoBonewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised.

Big fan of the movie, but didn't know to expect from the book. Couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Carlo Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro con un argumento y narrativa que engancha desde la primera página.
Es uno de esos libros que da gusto leer y que hacen que uno sienta a los personajes.
Muy recomendable

[Jennifer Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the movie and wanted a sequel so bad! This was just what I was looking for and I couldn't believe how crazy fun it was to read. I will definitely check out the rest of the series!

[Farnese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una lettura semplice, godibile ma non entusiasmante. Non fate l'errore di aspettarvi un resoconto del film, rimarreste delusi.

[BookMarc · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are one of those people that have only seen the movie '30 Days of Night' then STOP!! Do not sigh already and move on to something else as I can assure you this book is actually very different from the not too great offering served up on the big screen.
While books such as the Twilight series have received critical acclaim the '30 Days of Night' series seems to have passed unnoticed by many. This, dear reader, is a damn shame as it offers up a fresh perspective on our bloodsucking friends. I mean, really, how did vampires not decide to invade Barrow, Alaska before this novel where the sun sets and doesn't rise for two whole months?!?
So what makes this worthy of a 'Hall of Fame' spot? Well, the characterization is second to none. I don't recall a single book in the past few years where I have cared about the fate of the main character as much. His name is Andy Gray (which was the only downside of the novel for me as he shares the same name as an annoying, British, soccer commentator and when I would read his name I would get the tones of the soccer commentary reverberating through my head) and he is unwittingly thrust into a world of vampires when his FBI partner and friend, Paul Norris, is turned into one of the undead.
Put aside all thoughts of your vampire erotica and Edward Cullen because this is a different cup of blood altogether. The world of Andy is a very solemn one and the whole story is very grim and gritty. For instance, Andy is warned against investigating vampires by his undead former FBI partner, a message he doesn't heed, and as such his wife and daughters are slaughtered by him. As I said...it's grim, but that's part of what makes this such a gripping read. In a book market that is flooded by sexed-up hunks and sultry vamps it's actually refreshing to have vampires portrayed once more as evil, sadistic, killing machines with no remorse for their prey.
If you're looking for a read that will disturb you and have you thinking about the characters and events long after you have finished reading it then I highly recommend you sink your teeth into '30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead'.

[Jorge Bleisen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque no he visto las películas basadas en la obra original de Steve Niles (debo confesar que no soy adepto del cine de terror, me pone de malas) el haber encontrado este libro fue una oportunidad que no pude dejar escapar, ya que desde que he oído hablar de la saga, supuse que este sería el mejor modo de conocer de qué se trataba.

¡Y vaya que no me he equivocado! Esta novela contiene fragmentos narrados por uno de los protagonistas de la historia principal, Stella Olemaun, quien narra los hechos más impactantes del ataque vampírico al pueblo de Barrow. Lo que me ha gustado de esta novela, a diferencia de otras relacionadas con los vampiros modernos, es que no se los muestra como seres de refinados modales y aspecto seductor, sino como auténticas bestias hambrientas e insaciables que matan a quien se cruce en su camino. Se aleja también el contexto gótico y religioso, ya que las tradiciones sobre cómo matar a un vampiro en esta saga, como las cruces, el agua bendita o las estacas al corazón, no sirven para nada. Contiene dosis de humor negro que pretende hacer mofa de lo crítico de la situación y partes bastante eróticas que no se resumen exclusivamente al sexo. Hay también personajes de los cuales encariñarse (en mi caso, de la Dra. Felicia Reisner) y otros de los cuales sentir sumo pesar por las cosas injustas que les ocurre.

Andy Gray es un agente del FBI que se involucrará en la misteriosa desaparición de su mejor amigo y compañero, Paul Norris, del que notará una serie de cambios fuera de lo normal y le llevarán a cambiar de parecer frente a ciertas leyendas e historias de criaturas sobrenaturales. A pesar de su determinación de saber la verdad en torno a su antiguo compañero, tanto la gente con la que él trabaja, como ciertas entidades ocultas en las sombras, no verán con buenos ojos su misión, por lo que se valdrán de todos los medios posibles para silenciarlo. Aunque no son más que 302 páginas, se logra crear una atmósfera de tensión e incertidumbre que nos obligará a mantenernos pegados de principio a fin.

Una lectura obligada para todo amante del mito de los vampiros.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been familiar with the "30 Days of Night" graphic novels I picked this book up. I enjoyed the brutality of the vampires as they are portrayed in the series. Not to say I enjoy brutality, but the concept of an immortal being that truly has little to fear from its prey would lend such a being to enjoy the type of power that these vampires do. Using the fear of the darkness they really make you think that no matter where you hide it will only be a matter of time before you are found. These are no sexy Anne Rice vampires, no sparkly angst ridden Stephenie Meyer vampires, these are cold-blooded, ruthless, violent, predators, they are the great whites of vampires, these are vampires that toy with their prey and enjoy the violence of the hunt.

I give it four dark nights. Have mercy on us all...

[Kyle Cheuvront · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read any 30 Days Of Night comics nor have I seen the movie or anything else before reading this book. I was vaguely familiar with the concept but haven't quite jumped into this series yet for whatever reason. But I'm a huge fan of Steve Niles and can't get enough of his Cal McDonald series and couldn't pass up on buying this book when I randomly found it at a used book store.

So with no prior background with 30 Days of Night, I must say I jumped right in with ease and really enjoyed this book! The characters are really well written and the writing really puts you right into the book. The book has a feel as though something is going to happen at any moment, nice suspense.

So if you like suspense, monsters, crime, and mystery, this book is for you.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pesar de que los autores aconsejan que no es "obligatorio" haber leído los cómics para disfrutar de la obra, es recomendable, ya que sabrás a que personajes se hace referencia y disfrutaras mas la novela.
En general es una buena novela de vampiros malvados no de los que brillan. No es un libro para quebrarte la cabeza ni mucho menos, pero si es entretenido y cumple bien su objetivo que es brindarte una buena historia.
Y bien, para los que solo han visto la película es mejor tal vez dar una leída a los cómics y después aventurarse en la serie de novelas.

[Carlos Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampiros. Pero de los de verdad, de los que dan miedo. No esos vampiros adolescentes brillantes enamoradizos, ni siquiera vampiros clasicos de sentimientos encontrados entre el amor y el deseo de sangre. Vampiros. Monstruos sedientos de sangre que solo ven al ser humano como una bolsa de supermercado llena de comida. Implacables y capaces de cualquier atrocidad porque, ¿que problema hay si juegas un poco con la comida?. Un comic excepcional y una novela mas que aceptable, digna sucesora del comic.

[Deviancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The comics began to get semi pathetic, the stories took a dive and the characters became lacking. It seems as if what made 30 Days of Night good had moved on to the novels instead of the comics, this book is a good example of that. The characters are likable, the vampires are vile, and the story is actually chilling.

Fans of the vampire genre should check Rumors of the Undead out.