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Eternal City
Kilpatrick, Nancy
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2003
20 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Kilpatrick
159 books255 followersNancy Kilpatrick was a Canadian author who wrote stories in the genres of dark fantasy, horror, mystery, erotic horror, and gothic subculture.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 20, 2021
This book was worth reading, but it's definitely not a repeater for me. I loved how relatable the story was to me: it tales place in my home country (Canada), David going through similar issues that I went through at his age (parental issues and not wanting to follow rules) and grieving over something you loved that it consumed you (in David's case, it was his father Bill who died in a freak accident). Claire was his mother and the widow of her husband, and David became affected by the death of his father. Claire was somewhat overprotective of David and he didn't really like that; she told him not to use the canoe and he did so anyway, not thinking it would harm him.
On the other hand, I was more affected by the concept of grief. I had the chance to experience what both Claire and David were feeling and I was able to refer to the people I've lost (my cousin who passed recently, and my friend who died from gastric cancer in 2015) and it caused me to have some unpleasant flashbacks throughout the story. Furthermore, I can also imagine how surreal it would be to stay in a place that you knew, but that became "haunted and unwelcoming". Chesborough was a welcoming place to live until the death of Claire Mowatt's aunt Lillian drowned in the lake and died. In addition to the death of Lillian, lots of deaths were occurring in Chesborough and the neighbours weren't as friendly. It made me think how I would feel if I was in the same predicament as both Claire and her son David. I would feel like I wouldn't want to be there.
On the other hand, I was more affected by the concept of grief. I had the chance to experience what both Claire and David were feeling and I was able to refer to the people I've lost (my cousin who passed recently, and my friend who died from gastric cancer in 2015) and it caused me to have some unpleasant flashbacks throughout the story. Furthermore, I can also imagine how surreal it would be to stay in a place that you knew, but that became "haunted and unwelcoming". Chesborough was a welcoming place to live until the death of Claire Mowatt's aunt Lillian drowned in the lake and died. In addition to the death of Lillian, lots of deaths were occurring in Chesborough and the neighbours weren't as friendly. It made me think how I would feel if I was in the same predicament as both Claire and her son David. I would feel like I wouldn't want to be there.
August 6, 2025
I actually read this so long ago I didn't have children, a different husband and could remember everything I read, saw and went through. Now I don't remember anything, which means this book would be like reading a brand new book. What I DO remember is that I absolutely loved it and Nancy Kilpatrick's other books as well.
February 17, 2012
I was very enthused by one of Kilpatrick's first books, the 1994 vampire novel 'Near Death,' and I've always thought it was cool that she's part of the goth scene... but for some reason, I haven't really followed her writing - I'm not sure why. Too many books, too little time!
'Eternal City' wasn't bad. The story moves along at a fast clip, and there's some good moments of horror and tension. The writing is pretty basic - it's there to get the story across. It feels almost YA at times... expect for a kind of out-of-place and unexplained scene of attempted rape. (I would have edited it out - not because I object to rape being portrayed in novels, but because it does nothing to forward the plot. The reader expects to get back to it... but it never happens. It's just random.)
Other than that, the story is a little silly, but it's fun. A recently widowed mother and her son travel up north to a small Canadian town by a lake. The mother, Claire, has inherited land from her aunt, and has to decide what to do with it.
The lake has recently become the site of an exclusive time-share resort, and the resort's owner, Virek, is heavily pushing to buy up all the land. However, the short-tempered but attractive hippie single-father neighbor points out to Claire that the resort seems to be ruining the local environment, driving the town's economy into the ground, and is generally shady.
However, the weirdly attractive Virek seems to be making Claire an offer she can't refuse...
But little does she know that the resort is shadier than even local-hippie-guy could have guessed, because, VAMPIRES!
Kilpatrick effectively captures the inherent creepiness of all-inclusive resorts. The vampires are original, cool and spooky.
'Eternal City' wasn't bad. The story moves along at a fast clip, and there's some good moments of horror and tension. The writing is pretty basic - it's there to get the story across. It feels almost YA at times... expect for a kind of out-of-place and unexplained scene of attempted rape. (I would have edited it out - not because I object to rape being portrayed in novels, but because it does nothing to forward the plot. The reader expects to get back to it... but it never happens. It's just random.)
Other than that, the story is a little silly, but it's fun. A recently widowed mother and her son travel up north to a small Canadian town by a lake. The mother, Claire, has inherited land from her aunt, and has to decide what to do with it.
The lake has recently become the site of an exclusive time-share resort, and the resort's owner, Virek, is heavily pushing to buy up all the land. However, the short-tempered but attractive hippie single-father neighbor points out to Claire that the resort seems to be ruining the local environment, driving the town's economy into the ground, and is generally shady.
However, the weirdly attractive Virek seems to be making Claire an offer she can't refuse...
But little does she know that the resort is shadier than even local-hippie-guy could have guessed, because, VAMPIRES!
Kilpatrick effectively captures the inherent creepiness of all-inclusive resorts. The vampires are original, cool and spooky.
August 10, 2015
I picked this book up at a used book store because I needed something new to read and wasn't at home. I had hopes for it because it has a very nice looking cover and was also a Canadian novel.
Unfortunately, I was bitterly disappointed.
The characters in this novel are completely unbelievable, and the dialogue between the characters was very stilted and awkward.
I do not find that any of her characters were mature enough for their apparent ages, from the 13 year old boys to the two separate parents. Everyone acted much too childlike. A man that's divorced and living on his own falls in love with a woman he just met in less than a week? I don't think so.
As for the kids, they acted more like they were perhaps ten, rather than thirteen.
And her description of a government office in Ottawa was extremely old-fashioned and seemed like wishful thinking. I don't remember a time I've ever walked into a government office and walked right up to reception. You'd be stopped by commissionaires/security long before you reached a secretary. Especially in a building like the one she was describing.
Overall, I understand she was writing about the environment, and these other factors were merely minor, but it really did bother me. I can't give this book a good rating.
Unfortunately, I was bitterly disappointed.
The characters in this novel are completely unbelievable, and the dialogue between the characters was very stilted and awkward.
I do not find that any of her characters were mature enough for their apparent ages, from the 13 year old boys to the two separate parents. Everyone acted much too childlike. A man that's divorced and living on his own falls in love with a woman he just met in less than a week? I don't think so.
As for the kids, they acted more like they were perhaps ten, rather than thirteen.
And her description of a government office in Ottawa was extremely old-fashioned and seemed like wishful thinking. I don't remember a time I've ever walked into a government office and walked right up to reception. You'd be stopped by commissionaires/security long before you reached a secretary. Especially in a building like the one she was describing.
Overall, I understand she was writing about the environment, and these other factors were merely minor, but it really did bother me. I can't give this book a good rating.
August 29, 2016
The book was very different and a little weird in some sense. The story evolved around the Eternal city too much that at one point you get bored of waiting for the suspense. But towards the end the story was crisp. All together, its was okay if you don't have too much expectations from the cover or the gist of the story.
February 23, 2009
This novel is literally an eco-thriller with horror/sci fi/fantasy elements, and a hint of horror, but not too gory. It's a little bit of this and that for a fair read in 3.5 days. It's around 2.5 to 3 stars.
June 13, 2010
Worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews