Dark Dining

by James R. Lord III

VAMPIRE ARE MADE. VAMPYR ARE BORN. Vampires. They used to walk among the humans of the world, feeding on them. They were feared of in tales and legends told throughout the centuries. Then they died out. All except Lincoln, a Vampyr, one of the upper echelon of the vampire society. After waking from a twenty five year sleep, Lincoln begins looking for a woman that is pregnant. He needs such a woman to rebuild his race... Even a down on her luck waitress at Reba's, an all night truck stop diner located just outside of Hillview, West Virginia, would do. But Lincolns' quest will not be as easy as he thinks. Between a boyfriend that does not even want to be a father, a slighted ex employee, an old cook that remembers Lincoln from years past, a misunderstood dishwasher, and a hopelessly in love short order cook, this diner serves up a dangerous secret and Lincoln's task ends up becoming a nightmare, even for him.

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 216

About the author

James Lord lives in South Carolina with his wife and two dogs. He is currently working on several projects at once, including the sequels to "Dark Dining" and "Kho".
He swears by coffee and if you attempt to talk to him before he has his first cup of the day, you may walk away missing a few pieces as he has been know to bite!
He loves to spend time with his wife and dogs and reads...a lot. If he isn't reading a story or book, he is reading instructions on how to do various things, news articles, blog posts, or reviews of movies and books.
His favorite shows are any of the Marvel/superhero series, Teen Wolf (Claims it a guilty pleasure), and Face-Off.
His favorite authors are R.A. Salvatore, John Flanagan, T.C. Southwell, and Valorie Lord.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read, Lord's style is reminiscent of R.A. Salvatore and felt fantasy driven as opposed to the horror it claimed to be. Lord's compelling characterisation and from the second half a decent-paced plot, add to that atmosphere fraught with tension and the result becomes a thrilling page-turner that had my emotions soaring sky high. Characters were well thought out and I bought into them, even caring about the main protagonist, Lincoln. The book moves across the characters and tells a sequence of events from their point of view. In between, the author describes scenes in intricate detail, setting the scene so well I could smell the food being cooked.
The story centres on an old diner, Reba's, and the staff who work there. Lincoln is a dynamic and compelling main character. Recently awoken from the Deep Sleep, he sets out to ensure the survival of his race and find his father’s book… this quickly becomes more difficult than he first realised, as he encounters something from his past that he wasn't expecting. Lincoln is intelligent, frighteningly manipulative and wholly lacking in empathy.
The story follows the characters’ lives, jumping back and forth in time to explain past events and how they came to be where they are. Lord controls this well; it’s no easy feat to move effortlessly between each character and Lord uses a mixture of POVs throughout.
Amelia’s character is the one I felt the least towards. Although our female lead, she is a weak and young woman whom I found irritating in her insecurities and neediness. Lord still had me feeling annoyance at her, which I’m sure is what all authors want - the reader to feel something.
Unfortunately, it took until chapter seven for anything to happen. Lord kept me vaguely entertained with character building, but even this became a touch monotonous. I was bored by chapter two, the dialogue unnecessary and of no interest without that all-important first hook. I ploughed on in the hope we would eventually see vampires. I’m not a fan of the way Lincoln was introduced; having him hear a voice made no sense at that point in the book. It was disjointed against the story thus far. Considering so much thought, detail and description had gone into eight long chapters, I could not understand why Lincoln was introduced this way. Having said this, the scene in the chicken coop had me hook, line and sinker! Having Gabe and Mr John's identical tragic love interests felt lazy, as was padding out the story by describing the history of Vampyr/Vampire from three characters’ points of view.
However, the story moves steadily back and forth amongst the characters with some great visual scenes of the Vampyr in between. Lord builds the intensity into a taut, tense, action-packed final few chapters that surprised with a good twist and did not disappoint in its conclusion.
A good read; Lord is without doubt talented. Not a single error made in editing or in ensuring each character and scene was described, leaving no stone unturned. If it weren't for the moments of gore or ages of the adults, this would make a great YA novel. Highly recommend for a holiday or rest day read.
Dark Dining is a wonderful surprise. I am very happy It landed in my inbox and I will be looking out for a sequel.

[Valorie Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Dining hooked me completely! It was so engrossing I truly couldn't put it down, and I read it straight through, late into the night. The story was so well-developed and memorable and especially the atmosphere, the tone, the emotions, the overall FEELING he conjured, was compelling to say the least! In fact, I don't think I'll ever forget it. This is a GREAT vampire story - I mean VAMPYR!

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way the author wrote this book! The way you were able to "get to know" the characters, and the many details! Love his style of writing! Can't wait to read more from him!!!

[Alice Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Will have to get more by James R. Lord III. Was not a lot of blood and gore or sex which is good for me. I loved the characters.

[Kym Moore]

Surprisingly good

From beginning to end, a great book. Looking forward to the continuation of this story. 5 stars definitely. A must read.

[Laura Bazemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written book. I like how the author wrote in such a way that you could enjoy the book regardless of your level of familiarity with the genre. I enjoyed that the author kept the chapters short as it made it easier to read in short spurts. The story was well developed and kept me engaged to the very end. I also enjoyed how the story shifted perspective through the book. I will likely read other books by this author. I

[Revan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part about this book was that the characters felt real. Otherwise, the plot was pretty predictable, the writing was amateurish, and the editing was atrocious.