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Princeps Venator #1
Hunter's Kiss
Michael Williams is no hero, he’s just a cop who works a lot of burglary cases, ended up in the wrong place at the right time, and now he’s known as the man who stopped the Harlem Vampire. Of course, vampires are a myth. Everyone knows that, especially Mike’s rationalist girlfriend, Leanne. Mike stopped a serial killer with a blood fetish. Nothing to look at here, folks. Please move along.
And then Mike meets Dione: stunningly attractive, strong, fast, intelligent, and Mike’s new boss. Together, Mike and Dione have the job of making sure that vampires remain mythical, even the ones walking the streets of New York.
And then Mike meets Dione: stunningly attractive, strong, fast, intelligent, and Mike’s new boss. Together, Mike and Dione have the job of making sure that vampires remain mythical, even the ones walking the streets of New York.
219 pages, ebook
Published February 6, 2016
22 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Niall Teasdale
73 books292 followersI was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.
Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.
I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.
As of 2015, I have thrown in my lot with writing. After thirty years of being a computer programmer I am making enough money to quit the day job and write full time. Dreams, occasionally, come true. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.
I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still loved the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.
As of 2015, I have thrown in my lot with writing. After thirty years of being a computer programmer I am making enough money to quit the day job and write full time. Dreams, occasionally, come true. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 6, 2018
Interesting world, decent story.
Michael Williams is just an average New York, low level detective. That is until he stops the Harlem Vampire. A serial killer with a blood fetish. It's all a bit weird, but hey that's NY for you... weird like the fierce and stunningly attractive Detective Dione offering him a new job... Because vampires don't exist... really?....REALLY!!!
Another fun romp in one of Teasdale's worlds. This time it vampires and the police mixed into an interesting combination. The story starts gentle and keeps going like that, interspersed with a few actions scenes here and there. As a whole it's the world and the people interacting in them that made this four stars. The story in itself was decent but wasn't the main selling point of this novel.
I'll be reading the next novel in the series.
Michael Williams is just an average New York, low level detective. That is until he stops the Harlem Vampire. A serial killer with a blood fetish. It's all a bit weird, but hey that's NY for you... weird like the fierce and stunningly attractive Detective Dione offering him a new job... Because vampires don't exist... really?....REALLY!!!
Another fun romp in one of Teasdale's worlds. This time it vampires and the police mixed into an interesting combination. The story starts gentle and keeps going like that, interspersed with a few actions scenes here and there. As a whole it's the world and the people interacting in them that made this four stars. The story in itself was decent but wasn't the main selling point of this novel.
I'll be reading the next novel in the series.
February 8, 2016
starts pretty slow; bit better by the end. as always with teasdale i'll read the follow up, but this is a weaker "welcome to policing a world you didn't know existed" story than the excellent reality hack.
April 26, 2020
So, I've read this series way more times than is listed in my Goodreads, largely due to the fact that Niall Teasdale's one of my favourite authors and I tend to reach for one of his books when I need the comfort of something familiar and enjoyable.
One of the hallmarks of Niall's writing is quality world building and this book has it in spades, as you might expect from the first book in a series. The author's also succeeded in adding a flavour of "police serial" that fans of TV shows like Law & Order may pick up on.
The characers are enjoyable and believable, but very much in Niall Teasdale's usual style of strong female personalities. Mike's character is probably one of Niall's best male characters and, if memory serves correctly, one of his first male primary protagonists in a series. I am a little biased towards Dione's character as I have something of a crush on her, but the 'seductive and powerful vampiress' archetype has always been my kryptonite...
I only picked up on one spelling mistake in the whole book (steeling / stealing) and nothing jumped out at me in terms of punctuation or grammar so I can safely say the editorial quality is very good, though there is a layout issue right at the end of the book with the trailing Table of Contents that got missed during the final proof reading.
There are some minor 'adult' scenes in the book, but they're relevant to the story, fairly tasteful and to be honest you can probably see spicier content in many R15 or R18 movies or TV shows.
One of the hallmarks of Niall's writing is quality world building and this book has it in spades, as you might expect from the first book in a series. The author's also succeeded in adding a flavour of "police serial" that fans of TV shows like Law & Order may pick up on.
The characers are enjoyable and believable, but very much in Niall Teasdale's usual style of strong female personalities. Mike's character is probably one of Niall's best male characters and, if memory serves correctly, one of his first male primary protagonists in a series. I am a little biased towards Dione's character as I have something of a crush on her, but the 'seductive and powerful vampiress' archetype has always been my kryptonite...
I only picked up on one spelling mistake in the whole book (steeling / stealing) and nothing jumped out at me in terms of punctuation or grammar so I can safely say the editorial quality is very good, though there is a layout issue right at the end of the book with the trailing Table of Contents that got missed during the final proof reading.
There are some minor 'adult' scenes in the book, but they're relevant to the story, fairly tasteful and to be honest you can probably see spicier content in many R15 or R18 movies or TV shows.
February 9, 2016
An interesting new Setting, and a very entertaining read. By chance, I just read Recombinant by Shannon Mayer one day earlier, which has a similar setup, but a totally different plot. Both books are definitely worth their money.
Like Niall's Fox Hunt this book suffers from building the world too much through infodumps. There are long speeches detailing the different subspecies of vampires, which are important later, but not in that moment. Sure, a new member of a vampire hunting department within the NYPD needs to get information, but not the reader at that moment.
Other than Fox Hunt, the world painted here is thrillingly exotic and paranormal; not as much as in the Thaumatology universe, but close. The "good" characters are a little cliché, but believable and have depth. Unfortunately the villains don't share this treat.
Nevertheless, I'm hoping for a second book in this series.
Like Niall's Fox Hunt this book suffers from building the world too much through infodumps. There are long speeches detailing the different subspecies of vampires, which are important later, but not in that moment. Sure, a new member of a vampire hunting department within the NYPD needs to get information, but not the reader at that moment.
Other than Fox Hunt, the world painted here is thrillingly exotic and paranormal; not as much as in the Thaumatology universe, but close. The "good" characters are a little cliché, but believable and have depth. Unfortunately the villains don't share this treat.
Nevertheless, I'm hoping for a second book in this series.
February 7, 2016
Very enjoyable slant on the modern vampire
Yet another new world for the author, with a clever approach to the disparate vampire legends that allows them all to be valid
This is once again a sort of police procedural, as has been a feature of other books from this author. There is an interesting cast of characters, who are clearly going to be a strong team in future titles.
Rather than one big case, the team work on several cases which weave together through the story, and eventually have some overlap and common features. Success in some areas leads to solutions in other cases, and eventual overall victory for the team.
The whole story flows well, there are no Deus Ex Machina moments, and the various threads are resolved satisfactorily - there is an obvious set up for a future shadowy nemesis, however!
An excellent first in series, and I look forward to the next book
Yet another new world for the author, with a clever approach to the disparate vampire legends that allows them all to be valid
This is once again a sort of police procedural, as has been a feature of other books from this author. There is an interesting cast of characters, who are clearly going to be a strong team in future titles.
Rather than one big case, the team work on several cases which weave together through the story, and eventually have some overlap and common features. Success in some areas leads to solutions in other cases, and eventual overall victory for the team.
The whole story flows well, there are no Deus Ex Machina moments, and the various threads are resolved satisfactorily - there is an obvious set up for a future shadowy nemesis, however!
An excellent first in series, and I look forward to the next book
December 19, 2020
Interesting world, decent story.
Michael Williams is just an average New York, low level detective. That is until he stops the Harlem Vampire. A serial killer with a blood fetish. It's all a bit weird, but hey that's NY for you... weird like the fierce and stunningly attractive Detective Dione offering him a new job... Because vampires don't exist... really?....REALLY!!!
Another fun romp in one of Teasdale's worlds. This time it vampires and the police mixed into an interesting combination. The story starts gentle and keeps going like that, interspersed with a few actions scenes here and there. As a whole it's the world and the people interacting in them that made this four stars. The story in itself was decent but wasn't the main selling point of this novel.
I'll be reading the next novel in the series.
Michael Williams is just an average New York, low level detective. That is until he stops the Harlem Vampire. A serial killer with a blood fetish. It's all a bit weird, but hey that's NY for you... weird like the fierce and stunningly attractive Detective Dione offering him a new job... Because vampires don't exist... really?....REALLY!!!
Another fun romp in one of Teasdale's worlds. This time it vampires and the police mixed into an interesting combination. The story starts gentle and keeps going like that, interspersed with a few actions scenes here and there. As a whole it's the world and the people interacting in them that made this four stars. The story in itself was decent but wasn't the main selling point of this novel.
I'll be reading the next novel in the series.
March 10, 2016
Good read
A good read as all of Niall Teasdales books have been. I know I will always be entertained. One technical point, Niall, you seem to be so familiar with female anatomy so it surprises me that you think a woman with a 37 inch chest wears a 30 B bra! She will need a size 37 bra and, unless her breasts are narrow little cones, at least a C cup if not a D. The way you describe Dione's chest size makes me think she has to be at least a 40 D, not a 30 B. My 43 year old daughter might have been a 30 B when she was 10 years old!
A good read as all of Niall Teasdales books have been. I know I will always be entertained. One technical point, Niall, you seem to be so familiar with female anatomy so it surprises me that you think a woman with a 37 inch chest wears a 30 B bra! She will need a size 37 bra and, unless her breasts are narrow little cones, at least a C cup if not a D. The way you describe Dione's chest size makes me think she has to be at least a 40 D, not a 30 B. My 43 year old daughter might have been a 30 B when she was 10 years old!
April 30, 2016
VERY EDUCATIONAL BOOK
This is the first book I have read that explained the history of vampires. The author did his research for this book. Great story that I couldn't stop reading. Read straight through without a break. The characters were sensational and you could feel what they went through. Hope he writes book two.
This is the first book I have read that explained the history of vampires. The author did his research for this book. Great story that I couldn't stop reading. Read straight through without a break. The characters were sensational and you could feel what they went through. Hope he writes book two.
February 7, 2016
I have enjoyed all of Mr. Teasdale's books so far, and this one doesn't disappoint. It's very UF and a differing take on the Vampire story, yet close to the same. But mostly it is a Police procedural which has a good feel and some very entertaining characters.
April 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this book as I have all of Niall's books. A rather interesting take on vampires. Di is a rather interesting character.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews