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Laura Caxton #3
Vampire Zero: A gruesome vampire tale
Caxton fired again, and this time hit her target. The bullet clanged off his chest and spun away into darkness. How was it possible? Jameson's body curled up like a caterpillar in a fire, but only for an instant. He straightened up quickly - and then he was on her. It was that fast. She felt a cold wind blowing toward her and then she was on the floor with the vampire on top of her, pinning down her gun hand, his teeth pressing against her cheek. He felt cold and wrong and he stank of death.
Compelling, explosive and hypnotic, Vampire Zero is the final book in David Wellington's vampire trilogy, a thrilling chase through a fear-inducing landscape, seen through the eyes of the fearless yet flawed heroes of 13 Bullets and 99 Coffins. In this final gripping installment, Caxton is left to fight alone as Jameson is seized by the dark side and becomes the most terrifying enemy she has ever had to face. How can she face the unthinkable? Who can she trust in a world where nothing is as it seems?
'The taut narrative never slackens, providing thrilling entertainment for readers who like their horror raw and bloody.' - Publishers' Weekly
'David Wellington is moving the literature of the undead in to the 21st Century with new levels of brutality.' - LA Times
'The hottest bad boys in contemporary fiction are cold-blooded vampires'. - USA Today
Compelling, explosive and hypnotic, Vampire Zero is the final book in David Wellington's vampire trilogy, a thrilling chase through a fear-inducing landscape, seen through the eyes of the fearless yet flawed heroes of 13 Bullets and 99 Coffins. In this final gripping installment, Caxton is left to fight alone as Jameson is seized by the dark side and becomes the most terrifying enemy she has ever had to face. How can she face the unthinkable? Who can she trust in a world where nothing is as it seems?
'The taut narrative never slackens, providing thrilling entertainment for readers who like their horror raw and bloody.' - Publishers' Weekly
'David Wellington is moving the literature of the undead in to the 21st Century with new levels of brutality.' - LA Times
'The hottest bad boys in contemporary fiction are cold-blooded vampires'. - USA Today
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
24 people are currently reading
1178 people want to read
About the author
David Wellington
73 books1,137 followersDavid Wellington is a contemporary American horror author, best known for his Zombie trilogy as well as his Vampire series and Werewolf series. His books have been translated into eleven languages and are a global phenomenon.
His career began in 2004 when he started serializing his horror fiction online, posting short chapters of a novel three times a week on a friend’s blog. Response to the project was so great that in 2004 Thunder’s Mouth Press approached David Wellington about publishing Monster Island as a print book. His novels have been featured in Rue Morgue, Fangoria, and the New York Times.
He also made his debut as a comic book writer in 2009 with Marvel Zombies Return:Iron Man.
Wellington attended Syracuse University and received an MFA in creative writing from Penn State. He also holds a masters degree in Library Science from Pratt Institute.
He now lives in New York City with his dog Mary Shelley and wife Elisabeth who, in her wedding vows, promised to “kick serious zombie ass” for him.
His career began in 2004 when he started serializing his horror fiction online, posting short chapters of a novel three times a week on a friend’s blog. Response to the project was so great that in 2004 Thunder’s Mouth Press approached David Wellington about publishing Monster Island as a print book. His novels have been featured in Rue Morgue, Fangoria, and the New York Times.
He also made his debut as a comic book writer in 2009 with Marvel Zombies Return:Iron Man.
Wellington attended Syracuse University and received an MFA in creative writing from Penn State. He also holds a masters degree in Library Science from Pratt Institute.
He now lives in New York City with his dog Mary Shelley and wife Elisabeth who, in her wedding vows, promised to “kick serious zombie ass” for him.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
May 29, 2018
“It was over.
Nothing was over.”
The most action packed Caxton novel yet! Running down a vampire that knows everything about hunting vampires is a tall order.
I especially enjoyed the background on Arkeley and this alternate America. The ending was a kick in the gut and I’m looking forward to someone in shiny shoes eating crow in the next book!
July 30, 2017
It's been about three years since I read the last book in this series, 99 Coffins, and I read the first book, 13 Bullets back in 2012. LOL...I feel like I need to go back and re-read those first two books again cause there was a lot of stuff that happened which I realized I forgot during the course of reading this book.
I really do love this series. I've said this in reviews of the previous books, Wellington's vampires are Nosferatu meets 30 Days of Night. However, I had to give this one three stars, and I will explain why...
For one, the subtitle "A Gruesome Vampire Tale", is misleading because the gore, violence....things that are supposed to be "Gruesome"...are extremely tame compared to the first two books.
Two...I don't think this sounds like nitpicking...but where the book starts off doesn't make much sense. At the end of the 99 Coffins Laura Caxton received a serious injury to the shoulder while fighting a vampire. And it says in there at the end, and this is straight from the book... But this book picks up a month later with her running around searching for Arkeley and fighting vampires. I suppose that part irks me a bit because I had a similar injury. I dislocated my shoulder while snowboarding in Montana about thirteen years back, and I've had three surgeries on the shoulder, went through lots of physical therapy and a long recovery period and my shoulder is still not exactly the same. I also have other family members who have the same injury and have talked to many people have had dislocated shoulders and torn rotator cuffs. So trust me, you do not just bounce back from something like that a month later...and Caxton's injury was worse.
Third, I agree with the people who reviewed this book and said they did not like seeing what happened to Arkeley. Sure, it was noble to sacrifice himself like that, but I just liked the character too damned much. And to see him become a vampire, the one thing he hates most. Well, I guess Wellington felt it was necessary.
I like Laura Caxton a lot! She's like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. I actually thought it was interesting to see her become more and more like Arkeley was when he was a vampire hunter. Obsessed, willing to risk everything just to rid the world of vampires. Even becoming a U.S. Marshall in the process.
Sometimes when I read a book, I often picture certain actors playing the parts of the characters, even imagining what their voices would sound like. I didn't really do that with Laura Caxton, but I did do that with Arkeley in the first two books. I pictured him as James Woods at first. Basically cause he played the vampire hunter in that movie, John Carpenter's Vampires. I liked that movie, I still don't get why more people didn't like it when it came out. But then, while reading 13 Bullets, I came across an article (which I should look up right now but am to lazy to do so), where David Wellington said he imagined this thing being made into a movie and even listed actors he thought would be good to play the characters. I forget the name of the actress he wanted to play Laura Caxton, but there were several actors he thought should play Jameson Arkeley. One of which was Tommy Lee Jones. That one made perfect sense to me, so after that I just pictured him as Tommy Lee Jones. LOL.
And I would really like to see this thing turned into a series of movies too.
So that's pretty much it. Wish I could have given it another star. I'm going to read the other two books. I believe in the next one Caxton ends up in jail. However this series ends, I just hope Laura Caxton gets some kind of positive ending. Or at least she should get to kill Malvern, the last vampire, in the end thus ridding the earth of vampires once and for all.
I really do love this series. I've said this in reviews of the previous books, Wellington's vampires are Nosferatu meets 30 Days of Night. However, I had to give this one three stars, and I will explain why...
For one, the subtitle "A Gruesome Vampire Tale", is misleading because the gore, violence....things that are supposed to be "Gruesome"...are extremely tame compared to the first two books.
Two...I don't think this sounds like nitpicking...but where the book starts off doesn't make much sense. At the end of the 99 Coffins Laura Caxton received a serious injury to the shoulder while fighting a vampire. And it says in there at the end, and this is straight from the book... But this book picks up a month later with her running around searching for Arkeley and fighting vampires. I suppose that part irks me a bit because I had a similar injury. I dislocated my shoulder while snowboarding in Montana about thirteen years back, and I've had three surgeries on the shoulder, went through lots of physical therapy and a long recovery period and my shoulder is still not exactly the same. I also have other family members who have the same injury and have talked to many people have had dislocated shoulders and torn rotator cuffs. So trust me, you do not just bounce back from something like that a month later...and Caxton's injury was worse.
Third, I agree with the people who reviewed this book and said they did not like seeing what happened to Arkeley. Sure, it was noble to sacrifice himself like that, but I just liked the character too damned much. And to see him become a vampire, the one thing he hates most. Well, I guess Wellington felt it was necessary.
I like Laura Caxton a lot! She's like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. I actually thought it was interesting to see her become more and more like Arkeley was when he was a vampire hunter. Obsessed, willing to risk everything just to rid the world of vampires. Even becoming a U.S. Marshall in the process.
Sometimes when I read a book, I often picture certain actors playing the parts of the characters, even imagining what their voices would sound like. I didn't really do that with Laura Caxton, but I did do that with Arkeley in the first two books. I pictured him as James Woods at first. Basically cause he played the vampire hunter in that movie, John Carpenter's Vampires. I liked that movie, I still don't get why more people didn't like it when it came out. But then, while reading 13 Bullets, I came across an article (which I should look up right now but am to lazy to do so), where David Wellington said he imagined this thing being made into a movie and even listed actors he thought would be good to play the characters. I forget the name of the actress he wanted to play Laura Caxton, but there were several actors he thought should play Jameson Arkeley. One of which was Tommy Lee Jones. That one made perfect sense to me, so after that I just pictured him as Tommy Lee Jones. LOL.
And I would really like to see this thing turned into a series of movies too.
So that's pretty much it. Wish I could have given it another star. I'm going to read the other two books. I believe in the next one Caxton ends up in jail. However this series ends, I just hope Laura Caxton gets some kind of positive ending. Or at least she should get to kill Malvern, the last vampire, in the end thus ridding the earth of vampires once and for all.
October 28, 2008
(Subgenre alert: This is not the sort of vampire book in which dishy goths sink delicate fangs into the protagonist's neck during hot sex. This is the sort of vampire book in which shark-toothed monsters rip apart fragile human bodies to get at the tasty tasty blood inside.)
(Sequel alert: Although the plot makes sense on its own, the characterization probably works best if you've read the two preceding books in the series, 13 bullets and 99 coffins.)
...I think the parenthesized notes and the stars may cover everything I needed to say. If you like desperate struggles against inhuman fiends in the depths of the Eastern US, you'll probably enjoy this book.
(Sequel alert: Although the plot makes sense on its own, the characterization probably works best if you've read the two preceding books in the series, 13 bullets and 99 coffins.)
...I think the parenthesized notes and the stars may cover everything I needed to say. If you like desperate struggles against inhuman fiends in the depths of the Eastern US, you'll probably enjoy this book.
May 25, 2017
Esta es la tercera entrega de la cruzada de Laura Caxton contra los vampiros. Las dos primeras me parecieron de lo mejorcito que había leído sobre vampiros. Entendámonos, lo que hasta la saga de Crepúsculo todos habíamos creído vampiros, es decir, malos que consideraban a los humanos mero ganado. Las dos entregas anteriores habían mostrado el aprendizaje de la agente de tráfico Laura Caxton en su lucha contra los vampiros bajo la tutela de su “mentor” Jameson Arkeley. Tenía mucha acción y se mantenía la tensión. Teníamos a dos personas de carne y hueso con sus problemas personales y sus contradicciones jugándose la vida por acabar con la plaga de chupasangres. Si no habéis leído estos dos libros y los queréis leer, no sigáis leyendo esta reseña. Si los habéis leído o no pensáis hacerlo, seguiré con lo que me ha parecido esta tercera entrega.
Como decía, el buen sabor de boca que me dejaron estos primeros libros hizo que comenzase el tercero por saber qué había sido de Arkeley. Se prometía como una lucha épica entre el maestro y la alumna. De ahí mi desilusión pasadas varias páginas. Arkeley tendría que haber dejado que Laura fuera pasto de los vampiros y buscarse una alumna aventajada. Por tres veces a lo largo del libro ella misma nos dice que su mentor le había enseñado que era estúpido quedarse encerrada en un lugar con una sola salida cuando luchas con vampiros, y por tres veces la protagonista se mete solita en esa situación. La “experta” en vampiros, Laura Caxton, alumna del reconocido “cazador de vampiros” Arkeley, no muere de casualidad por no seguir las normas básicas que cualquiera de sus lectores, incluso los neófitos en lecturas de asesinos sabemos: no te refugies en un sitio donde la única salida está protegida por el malo. A no ser que seas James Bond o un superhéroe, claro. Y luego su burdo intento de ser la dura de la película. Afortunadamente para ella, Arkeley perdió sus buenas cualidades al convertirse en vampiro. Es curioso que parezca más humano que la propia Laura. A modo de broma comenté mientras leía que ya podía suicidarse el vampiro porque ella no lo iba a matar. Bueno, casi acierto. Y eso de asustarse de no encontrar la salida en la escena final, siendo que ha seguido el camino perseguida por un vampiro enloquecido sin dudar un solo momento y que, ahora que está más calmada, se crea incapaz de volver, no tiene precio.
En resumen, los personajes han perdido ese toque que me atraía en los libros anteriores. Como he dicho, el vampiro Arkeley parece tener más humanidad que la propia humana. La historia no tiene la emoción de sus predecesoras. Parece más de relleno. Y los despistes u olvidos de la experta no pueden justificarse. Situaciones que para el lector un poco reflexivo saltan a la vista, para ella son un trauma y casi recurre a la magia para explicarlos. Atentos al momento en el que le dispara al corazón al antiguo policía y no lo mata, y luego se pregunta el porqué. Pensad un poco en lo que acabo de explicar y seguro que lo descubrís antes que la “experta”.
Es una lástima que se corte así la buena dirección en la que caminaba esta saga que continúa con dos libros más que ya no tengo tantas ganas de leer después de esta desilusión.
Como decía, el buen sabor de boca que me dejaron estos primeros libros hizo que comenzase el tercero por saber qué había sido de Arkeley. Se prometía como una lucha épica entre el maestro y la alumna. De ahí mi desilusión pasadas varias páginas. Arkeley tendría que haber dejado que Laura fuera pasto de los vampiros y buscarse una alumna aventajada. Por tres veces a lo largo del libro ella misma nos dice que su mentor le había enseñado que era estúpido quedarse encerrada en un lugar con una sola salida cuando luchas con vampiros, y por tres veces la protagonista se mete solita en esa situación. La “experta” en vampiros, Laura Caxton, alumna del reconocido “cazador de vampiros” Arkeley, no muere de casualidad por no seguir las normas básicas que cualquiera de sus lectores, incluso los neófitos en lecturas de asesinos sabemos: no te refugies en un sitio donde la única salida está protegida por el malo. A no ser que seas James Bond o un superhéroe, claro. Y luego su burdo intento de ser la dura de la película. Afortunadamente para ella, Arkeley perdió sus buenas cualidades al convertirse en vampiro. Es curioso que parezca más humano que la propia Laura. A modo de broma comenté mientras leía que ya podía suicidarse el vampiro porque ella no lo iba a matar. Bueno, casi acierto. Y eso de asustarse de no encontrar la salida en la escena final, siendo que ha seguido el camino perseguida por un vampiro enloquecido sin dudar un solo momento y que, ahora que está más calmada, se crea incapaz de volver, no tiene precio.
En resumen, los personajes han perdido ese toque que me atraía en los libros anteriores. Como he dicho, el vampiro Arkeley parece tener más humanidad que la propia humana. La historia no tiene la emoción de sus predecesoras. Parece más de relleno. Y los despistes u olvidos de la experta no pueden justificarse. Situaciones que para el lector un poco reflexivo saltan a la vista, para ella son un trauma y casi recurre a la magia para explicarlos. Atentos al momento en el que le dispara al corazón al antiguo policía y no lo mata, y luego se pregunta el porqué. Pensad un poco en lo que acabo de explicar y seguro que lo descubrís antes que la “experta”.
Es una lástima que se corte así la buena dirección en la que caminaba esta saga que continúa con dos libros más que ya no tengo tantas ganas de leer después de esta desilusión.
October 9, 2017
A consistently well-written and entertaining series. I'll read anything Wellington writes.
October 29, 2009
This may actually be the worst book I have ever set out to read. I'll read anything, ketchup bottle anything but this I set down after 30 pages of annoying whineyness and extremely poor writing skills. I love vampires books and still couldn't hold out. Not a book I would recommend to anyone.
Want to read
October 9, 2009library book due 6/4/09
May 1, 2011
I so badly wanted to give this 5 stars, but I just liked Jamison too much as a character. I know that the story is not 1st person POV, but I felt more connected to his character than any other. As dumb as it sounds, I felt that his character would have handle several situations much differently in his new mindset.
I don't want to go into heavy details and spoil the story, but the person he confided in...it didn't seem like his style to confide in anyone at all. I know with this series, as a person changes into the undead, they lose track of what they were when they were human. I just felt that Jamison's character was much stronger, had more knowledge, and was prepared for what he had taken on. When he desided to become a full blown monster, he would have the smarts to keep from getting caught.
The plus side for me is that slowly but surely, Laura is becoming just like him.
Enough about the characters, I get too attached to them. Over all the story was great and David's writing style is awesome. His stories are gripping and fast paced, and they keep you wanting more. He's writing is inspiring, and I can't wait to finish his next book and move on to read the rest of his writing.
I don't want to go into heavy details and spoil the story, but the person he confided in...it didn't seem like his style to confide in anyone at all. I know with this series, as a person changes into the undead, they lose track of what they were when they were human. I just felt that Jamison's character was much stronger, had more knowledge, and was prepared for what he had taken on. When he desided to become a full blown monster, he would have the smarts to keep from getting caught.
The plus side for me is that slowly but surely, Laura is becoming just like him.
Enough about the characters, I get too attached to them. Over all the story was great and David's writing style is awesome. His stories are gripping and fast paced, and they keep you wanting more. He's writing is inspiring, and I can't wait to finish his next book and move on to read the rest of his writing.
October 3, 2011
Vampire Zero is the third book in Wellington's vampire/Laura Caxton series. For those familiar with epidemiology, you will recognize that the title is borrowed from the study of disease outbreaks. To stop the spread of an epidemic or pandemic you must find the first person to contract it, so you can figure out how it spread and the speed with which it spread.
Arkeley and Caxton managed to reduce the vampire population to one, the mission now consists of finding this vampire before a new generation of monsters can be birthed. Just as in previous installments, the action is none stop. Neither the audience nor the heroes have a chance to stop and take a breath between incidents of mortal peril. This time the cliffhanger is accompanied with a plot twist, one that I didn't see coming. This led me to start immediately on the fourth segment of Caxton's tale, 23 Hours.
Arkeley and Caxton managed to reduce the vampire population to one, the mission now consists of finding this vampire before a new generation of monsters can be birthed. Just as in previous installments, the action is none stop. Neither the audience nor the heroes have a chance to stop and take a breath between incidents of mortal peril. This time the cliffhanger is accompanied with a plot twist, one that I didn't see coming. This led me to start immediately on the fourth segment of Caxton's tale, 23 Hours.
April 30, 2016
This is the third book I Wellington's vampire series and it is a ride. Laura Caxton, our heroine is now cast in the shadow of her former mentor, Arkeley. He has been turned, doing so to save Laura. What unfolds is a race for Caxton to catch him before he returns to attempt to change his remaining family into willing vampire servants. This book is filled with frantic energy and a raw desperation that makes it hard to put down after you really get going with it. All three of these books have been this way, and there are two more for me to read to complete the series. I started this month's ago and put it down after finishing many other books in my reading stack. When I picked it back up I couldn't drop it until it was done. Very good addition to the series and I am glad I experienced this book.
Danny
Danny
August 16, 2009
My final "zero" book, this one is actually the 3rd book in a series about vampire hunter(s). It was a rather interesting tale about a girl who is hunting down her former mentor, who became a vampire to save her life (that story probably makes sense if you've read the first 2 books, but isn't actually explained in this one so I have no idea how becoming a vampire saved her life). I enjoyed reading this book, but not enough to go and find the first 2.
November 28, 2012
This is horror at it's best and it was a nonstop rollercoaster ride. Not as gruesome as the 1st book but there was plenty of action and suspense. Poor Laura Caxton has been promoted to Vampire Hunter. I think it drove her mad but she was very thorough. The ending was somewhat predictable but very much enjoyable. I can't wait to read the final book of the series
This series must be read in order as each book picks up just where the previous one ended.
This series must be read in order as each book picks up just where the previous one ended.
April 17, 2016
In this third installment of the Laura Caxton vampire series, the intrepid and fearless Pennsylvania State Trooper is on the trail of her mentor, Jameson Arkeley, who became a vampire in the previous book in order to save her life. But now Caxton must hunt him down...before he finds his family members!
David Wellington writes a fast-paced, gripping and relentless horror novel, tinged with a cool modern noir feel. Highly recommended!
David Wellington writes a fast-paced, gripping and relentless horror novel, tinged with a cool modern noir feel. Highly recommended!
February 6, 2011
Definitely gruesome but oh so good. Laura is still a vampire hunter but she's hunting Arkeley now because he is one. She has basically turned out just like he was before he turned. She's letting the job consume her and doing nothing with her personal life. Once she was a good State Trooper now she's become obsessed with hunting down Arkeley and destroying him no matter what the cost.
October 10, 2022
Terminé ce matin...Un peu dommage... ça se termine de façon très bizarre
January 5, 2024
There are going to be spoilers, but, trust me, that's not a concern with this book. The entire plot could have been resolved within 5 chapters if the main character just had a single braincell. I'm hoping in any case that this will hit the threshold where you have to click to see more after a few paragraphs, anyway.
The only conceivable way I can see that people have been rating this any higher than a 2 is because this is book 3 of the series and the folks who care about book quality have quit already. I just thought this one had a more interesting premise.
I started taking actual notes about how bad this book was within about 50 pages of starting the book. There were a lot of notes, so I'll try to remain at least something resembling succinct. This book is so bad that it becomes its own sort of entertainment, and almost fun to read again, but absolutely not because it's good. It's one of the worst books I've ever read, if not the worst.
The main character is an ABSOLUTE MORON. I'm honestly surprised she can walk considering she's practically braindead. She's also a racist, inconsiderate, a sexist, absolutely incompetent, and a ton of other horrible things. She constantly thinks of herself as being competent, and the author is definitely trying to portray her as such. It becomes almost impossible to ignore the possibility that Wellington is projecting his own capabilities into her as the only reason I could think of why anyone would think Laura is smart or competent is if they're even more stupid.
I don't have a problem with highly flawed main characters, and really you want your main characters to have defined flaws, but Laura needs to go back to preschool. It's impossible to empathise with her because she shouldn't be allowed out of the house alone, and because of how horribly she treats everyone around her. At one point she gets 7 officers killed on a whim because she's in traffic and doesn't even seem to understand what she did, let alone regret it, and then blames Jameson for her incompetency there. Honestly, if I had to tolerate Laura for more than a day, I'd consider becoming an undead bloodsucker too.
I cannot overstress this enough; Laura is in traffic, she gets a call from a cop, and during her road rage, she tells 7 people to go into a house that she knows a vampire is at. When she gets there, there's 7 extra vampires there, dressed up as cops. She doesn't realise that those are the cops she sent in there until they're all slayed, and she shows 0 regret about their deaths. You actively want Laura to die after that one, but you know she won't, because there's another sequel.
It's not helped that she's doing 200mph through populated areas too. Like, this woman actively wants to die and take out as many pedestrians as she can with her.
There's so many examples of her being so stupid that the world is better off without her in it. Almost every chapter has an example, and most of them are only a few pages long.
Near the end, Laura walks into the most blatant trap, one Dora the Explorer could evade, and she's surprised about it. How am I meant to take her seriously as a detective if she can't spot it?
Rule #1 of rescue work is that the rescuer's life is always more important than the rescuee. I'm not being callous here, I've done first aid and lifeguard training, and this is a generally accepted rule. This issue is genuinely potentially dangerous, given the normalisation of the prioritisation of the rescuee can lead to both of them dying if anyone imitates it. I know it shows your character as brave, but it also risks real lives, so we need to STOP NORMALISING IT.
How stupid does your main character have to be that she views a vampire taking off the bulletproof vest that'd made him immune to her as a genius move? Like, yes, camouflage against snow, but it's *night time*. The vest is much better camouflage.
To add insult to injury, it was obvious from the second victim that Jameson was targeting his family members, and Laura thought she was some sort of genius for putting 2 and 2 together. She's just so unbelievably hateable.
Laura's cop partner is actually competent and knowledgeable. It doesn't escape me that he's a man and there's a possibility of underlying sexism there, but essentially, this book would be infinitely better if we followed him. Laura is also too racist to even attempt to pronounce his name properly (I'd understand trying and failing but she literally doesn't try, just expects him to conform to her phonetic range), and given that, it really reads as her being too racist to pay attention to his opinions. She threatens to *fire him* because he decides to do something useful with his spare time, once he's finished with her stupidity for the day. He's the one who gets the only actual clue in the case, he has it (or at least the lead to it) by the end of chapter 5, and if he was given any respect at all, a good 35 chapters (ish) could have just been entirely skipped. It's almost worse because he is capable, because we have a glimpse of how much better a protagonist we could have had. The book would be much, much better if he was the protagonist and the conflict was about getting his crazy boss to listen to him while he has to do his best to clean up her incompetence.
Sure, Carboy's an arse, but Laura tortures a teenager. Fuck. Her. She didn't even need to do that if she just listened to her partner and had started investigating the right lead earlier!
It'd be one thing if she was actually painted as an anti-hero throughout, but she's baffled how anyone is objecting to her actions throughout; how am I meant to root for a character who genuinely thinks that torturing teenagers is an unquestionable good?
At one point, she brings a vegetarian teenager to a diner, and she's treating this vegetarian like a primary suspect of wanting to become a vampire which is absolutely insane. He's a *vegetarian*, he doesn't even want shrimps to die, no way would he submit to being a mass murderer. Further, while interviewing him at the diner, she orders him a chicken salad and puts the chicken in the bin. She's too stupid to ask the waiter for a vegetarian salad, and it's honestly really callous against the diner staff (and the chicken) to handle it like that.
Again, I'm fine with a main character being flawed, and there's obvious examples of books where stupidity is a primary flaw of the main character that are still really good (Percy Jackson and Arthur Hastings come to mind); but there's a difference between being an idiot and being so braindead that you don't know what basic words mean. You can have horrible, awful people as fun protagonists, and they remain interesting if they actually maintain understandable logic, have some redeeming qualities, and have genuine motivations; Laura is not this.
This is such egregious copaganda that it honestly cycles back around into making the cops look worse. At one point, a police armourer is so unbelievably racist that he outright says that the reason bombing a hospital full of brown people is bad is because the lawyers don't like it, not because that's killing hundreds of innocent people, including literal babies. That guy's entire stock could blow up while he's in there and the world would improve. He also advocates for shooting radioactive material around willy nilly. The main character doesn't remark on this at all, doesn't seem even slightly hesitant about working with this racist war-criminal piece of trash - which really doesn't help the racist impression that was already there from her threatening to fire her Latino partner for being competent. He's treated as being cool as opposed to a *war-criminal*.
The plot could have been resolved within 5 chapters pretty easily. All Laura had to do was actually act as if the first chapter happened, and listen to her cop partner (who is far smarter and nicer and would have been a much better protagonist). Literally, the opening chapter was blatantly obviously presenting the best lead that she was going to have.
From the cover, where there's a presentation of Jameson as a hyper-competent ex-slayer, it's obvious that he would be acquiring a bulletproof jacket within the first few days of being turned. It takes Laura until 200 pages into the book. To figure out something I worked out from a sentence into the blurb. There's even a pretty obvious set up of when he managed to get the vest - which is later than I'd have thought he'd go to get it, but it's very obvious and still pretty early on.
Laura gets her girlfriend to join the police as a photographer, and tasks her with being in charge of the materials investigation with no further prompting. During the investigation, Laura spends an entire evening bitching about being bored while also complaining about not knowing what something is. This is the same evening she figures out about the bullet proof vest - and then calls up her girlfriend and whines at her for not spending the time to google the material traces found previously. Ma'am, you just spent 6 hours bitching to the universe about having nothing to do, with your phone on you, how did you not decide to spend that time being productive rather than being ungrateful to your girlfriend who you're already being awful to?
As a woman who has no interest in dating men, I think I can give a perspective that I highly doubt anyone giving this book a good rating can. There's two types of lesbian romance that can be written by a straight male author. There are occasional actual allies, and I would highly encourage them to write lesbian romances when they want to, keep doing what they're doing. Then there's the straight men who are so toxicly masculine that they can't handle the idea of having to write a scene where a character legitimately views a man as being attractive and lesbianism becomes a fetish and a sexual goal in itself, and is also so toxicly masculine that they can't picture a gay couple not having the dynamic of a 1920s heterosexual couple. Clara and Laura are a camp 2 lesbian couple. I don't know a nicer way to put this; Laura is a cishet man who somehow woke up in a woman's body one day. It's literally the only explanation for their dynamic. At one point, Laura sees a photographer, remembers Clara is a photographer, and then immediately starts wondering what's for dinner. She literally views her girlfriend as a vehicle for food. She shows absolutely no evidence for empathy for Clara throughout the entire book. When Laura says she has to be busy for the entire night as she vampire-slays then, and Clara says she wants to spend time with her girlfriend, Laura is too inconsiderate to even recognise she has the remaining 16 hours of time that's not night per 24 hours to spend with Clara. Laura's a straight man. I don't know how else to describe her. She's just a straight man who somehow happens to be a woman. I think this is even reinforced by her being called Caxton throughout; it's like Wellington wanted to be able to hold a delusion in his head that he was writing for a man by denying her femininity at every turn.
When Laura gets arrested at the very end, trust me, all you feel is relief that this idiot mad woman is about to get taken away from where she can hurt people. I know that's the point, that she's been getting so unhinged that she has to be arrested, but she should have been arrested a month prior for incompetence, even before she got anyone killed (she gets dozens of people killed), and it really ruins the point of a slow decline when all of her risky decisions are more moronic than dedicated to the job.
"Half-dead" is a really stupid term, especially because that already just describes vampires. I was correcting it to "familiar" in my head because that's the traditional term for where "half-dead" is used. It gets really annoying really fast.
The entire mystery hinges on you happening to know about one random town's history. I don't know what the point is of having got French and UK versions of this book, as no one outside that one little region is going to have any idea about this solution. There's no foreshadowing about it at all. "Ah, there's flowers in winter!", I'm sorry, have you heard of Snowdrops? Edelweiss? Iris? Because that's just not a clue to anyone from Europe, tons of flowers here bloom in snowy conditions, and that's the only clue Laura has. The one correct conclusion she has in the entire story is a massive leap in logic.
While it doesn't really effect the reading experience, I do feel like the American cover is a lot more accurate, because the British cover looks legitimately really cool and the American cover looks suitably cringey and edgy for the story inside. I do also quite like the French cover, but the British cover was the one that did the false advertising.
I've literally never hated a main character more.
The only conceivable way I can see that people have been rating this any higher than a 2 is because this is book 3 of the series and the folks who care about book quality have quit already. I just thought this one had a more interesting premise.
I started taking actual notes about how bad this book was within about 50 pages of starting the book. There were a lot of notes, so I'll try to remain at least something resembling succinct. This book is so bad that it becomes its own sort of entertainment, and almost fun to read again, but absolutely not because it's good. It's one of the worst books I've ever read, if not the worst.
The main character is an ABSOLUTE MORON. I'm honestly surprised she can walk considering she's practically braindead. She's also a racist, inconsiderate, a sexist, absolutely incompetent, and a ton of other horrible things. She constantly thinks of herself as being competent, and the author is definitely trying to portray her as such. It becomes almost impossible to ignore the possibility that Wellington is projecting his own capabilities into her as the only reason I could think of why anyone would think Laura is smart or competent is if they're even more stupid.
I don't have a problem with highly flawed main characters, and really you want your main characters to have defined flaws, but Laura needs to go back to preschool. It's impossible to empathise with her because she shouldn't be allowed out of the house alone, and because of how horribly she treats everyone around her. At one point she gets 7 officers killed on a whim because she's in traffic and doesn't even seem to understand what she did, let alone regret it, and then blames Jameson for her incompetency there. Honestly, if I had to tolerate Laura for more than a day, I'd consider becoming an undead bloodsucker too.
I cannot overstress this enough; Laura is in traffic, she gets a call from a cop, and during her road rage, she tells 7 people to go into a house that she knows a vampire is at. When she gets there, there's 7 extra vampires there, dressed up as cops. She doesn't realise that those are the cops she sent in there until they're all slayed, and she shows 0 regret about their deaths. You actively want Laura to die after that one, but you know she won't, because there's another sequel.
It's not helped that she's doing 200mph through populated areas too. Like, this woman actively wants to die and take out as many pedestrians as she can with her.
There's so many examples of her being so stupid that the world is better off without her in it. Almost every chapter has an example, and most of them are only a few pages long.
Near the end, Laura walks into the most blatant trap, one Dora the Explorer could evade, and she's surprised about it. How am I meant to take her seriously as a detective if she can't spot it?
Rule #1 of rescue work is that the rescuer's life is always more important than the rescuee. I'm not being callous here, I've done first aid and lifeguard training, and this is a generally accepted rule. This issue is genuinely potentially dangerous, given the normalisation of the prioritisation of the rescuee can lead to both of them dying if anyone imitates it. I know it shows your character as brave, but it also risks real lives, so we need to STOP NORMALISING IT.
How stupid does your main character have to be that she views a vampire taking off the bulletproof vest that'd made him immune to her as a genius move? Like, yes, camouflage against snow, but it's *night time*. The vest is much better camouflage.
To add insult to injury, it was obvious from the second victim that Jameson was targeting his family members, and Laura thought she was some sort of genius for putting 2 and 2 together. She's just so unbelievably hateable.
Laura's cop partner is actually competent and knowledgeable. It doesn't escape me that he's a man and there's a possibility of underlying sexism there, but essentially, this book would be infinitely better if we followed him. Laura is also too racist to even attempt to pronounce his name properly (I'd understand trying and failing but she literally doesn't try, just expects him to conform to her phonetic range), and given that, it really reads as her being too racist to pay attention to his opinions. She threatens to *fire him* because he decides to do something useful with his spare time, once he's finished with her stupidity for the day. He's the one who gets the only actual clue in the case, he has it (or at least the lead to it) by the end of chapter 5, and if he was given any respect at all, a good 35 chapters (ish) could have just been entirely skipped. It's almost worse because he is capable, because we have a glimpse of how much better a protagonist we could have had. The book would be much, much better if he was the protagonist and the conflict was about getting his crazy boss to listen to him while he has to do his best to clean up her incompetence.
Sure, Carboy's an arse, but Laura tortures a teenager. Fuck. Her. She didn't even need to do that if she just listened to her partner and had started investigating the right lead earlier!
It'd be one thing if she was actually painted as an anti-hero throughout, but she's baffled how anyone is objecting to her actions throughout; how am I meant to root for a character who genuinely thinks that torturing teenagers is an unquestionable good?
At one point, she brings a vegetarian teenager to a diner, and she's treating this vegetarian like a primary suspect of wanting to become a vampire which is absolutely insane. He's a *vegetarian*, he doesn't even want shrimps to die, no way would he submit to being a mass murderer. Further, while interviewing him at the diner, she orders him a chicken salad and puts the chicken in the bin. She's too stupid to ask the waiter for a vegetarian salad, and it's honestly really callous against the diner staff (and the chicken) to handle it like that.
Again, I'm fine with a main character being flawed, and there's obvious examples of books where stupidity is a primary flaw of the main character that are still really good (Percy Jackson and Arthur Hastings come to mind); but there's a difference between being an idiot and being so braindead that you don't know what basic words mean. You can have horrible, awful people as fun protagonists, and they remain interesting if they actually maintain understandable logic, have some redeeming qualities, and have genuine motivations; Laura is not this.
This is such egregious copaganda that it honestly cycles back around into making the cops look worse. At one point, a police armourer is so unbelievably racist that he outright says that the reason bombing a hospital full of brown people is bad is because the lawyers don't like it, not because that's killing hundreds of innocent people, including literal babies. That guy's entire stock could blow up while he's in there and the world would improve. He also advocates for shooting radioactive material around willy nilly. The main character doesn't remark on this at all, doesn't seem even slightly hesitant about working with this racist war-criminal piece of trash - which really doesn't help the racist impression that was already there from her threatening to fire her Latino partner for being competent. He's treated as being cool as opposed to a *war-criminal*.
The plot could have been resolved within 5 chapters pretty easily. All Laura had to do was actually act as if the first chapter happened, and listen to her cop partner (who is far smarter and nicer and would have been a much better protagonist). Literally, the opening chapter was blatantly obviously presenting the best lead that she was going to have.
From the cover, where there's a presentation of Jameson as a hyper-competent ex-slayer, it's obvious that he would be acquiring a bulletproof jacket within the first few days of being turned. It takes Laura until 200 pages into the book. To figure out something I worked out from a sentence into the blurb. There's even a pretty obvious set up of when he managed to get the vest - which is later than I'd have thought he'd go to get it, but it's very obvious and still pretty early on.
Laura gets her girlfriend to join the police as a photographer, and tasks her with being in charge of the materials investigation with no further prompting. During the investigation, Laura spends an entire evening bitching about being bored while also complaining about not knowing what something is. This is the same evening she figures out about the bullet proof vest - and then calls up her girlfriend and whines at her for not spending the time to google the material traces found previously. Ma'am, you just spent 6 hours bitching to the universe about having nothing to do, with your phone on you, how did you not decide to spend that time being productive rather than being ungrateful to your girlfriend who you're already being awful to?
As a woman who has no interest in dating men, I think I can give a perspective that I highly doubt anyone giving this book a good rating can. There's two types of lesbian romance that can be written by a straight male author. There are occasional actual allies, and I would highly encourage them to write lesbian romances when they want to, keep doing what they're doing. Then there's the straight men who are so toxicly masculine that they can't handle the idea of having to write a scene where a character legitimately views a man as being attractive and lesbianism becomes a fetish and a sexual goal in itself, and is also so toxicly masculine that they can't picture a gay couple not having the dynamic of a 1920s heterosexual couple. Clara and Laura are a camp 2 lesbian couple. I don't know a nicer way to put this; Laura is a cishet man who somehow woke up in a woman's body one day. It's literally the only explanation for their dynamic. At one point, Laura sees a photographer, remembers Clara is a photographer, and then immediately starts wondering what's for dinner. She literally views her girlfriend as a vehicle for food. She shows absolutely no evidence for empathy for Clara throughout the entire book. When Laura says she has to be busy for the entire night as she vampire-slays then, and Clara says she wants to spend time with her girlfriend, Laura is too inconsiderate to even recognise she has the remaining 16 hours of time that's not night per 24 hours to spend with Clara. Laura's a straight man. I don't know how else to describe her. She's just a straight man who somehow happens to be a woman. I think this is even reinforced by her being called Caxton throughout; it's like Wellington wanted to be able to hold a delusion in his head that he was writing for a man by denying her femininity at every turn.
When Laura gets arrested at the very end, trust me, all you feel is relief that this idiot mad woman is about to get taken away from where she can hurt people. I know that's the point, that she's been getting so unhinged that she has to be arrested, but she should have been arrested a month prior for incompetence, even before she got anyone killed (she gets dozens of people killed), and it really ruins the point of a slow decline when all of her risky decisions are more moronic than dedicated to the job.
"Half-dead" is a really stupid term, especially because that already just describes vampires. I was correcting it to "familiar" in my head because that's the traditional term for where "half-dead" is used. It gets really annoying really fast.
The entire mystery hinges on you happening to know about one random town's history. I don't know what the point is of having got French and UK versions of this book, as no one outside that one little region is going to have any idea about this solution. There's no foreshadowing about it at all. "Ah, there's flowers in winter!", I'm sorry, have you heard of Snowdrops? Edelweiss? Iris? Because that's just not a clue to anyone from Europe, tons of flowers here bloom in snowy conditions, and that's the only clue Laura has. The one correct conclusion she has in the entire story is a massive leap in logic.
While it doesn't really effect the reading experience, I do feel like the American cover is a lot more accurate, because the British cover looks legitimately really cool and the American cover looks suitably cringey and edgy for the story inside. I do also quite like the French cover, but the British cover was the one that did the false advertising.
I've literally never hated a main character more.
November 2, 2018
Summary:
Though a very entertaining read, I found the third 'Laura Caxton' vampire series book to be the weakest of the set so far - relatively speaking naturally (all still worthy of the 4 star ratings)! To whit: Maybe this is because the first two books were just that awesome or maybe its because I'm just a little burned out after a month of seriously hard-core Halloween Horror reading. I just found the book got bogged down a bit more than its predecessors even if the ending was fairly exciting (though obvious well before things wrapped up).
Review:
Its no secret that it takes a lot to keep a series running at full speed no matter who the writer is nor what the genre. As such, I want to make it clear that nothing has changed in terms of my enthusiasm for David Wellington's 'Laura Caxton' series. That being said, the third book wound up being the least favorite of mine of the group so far.
Yes, we knew this was going to be the big showdown between Arkeley and Caxton after the conclusion of '99 Coffins' and yes, we knew that it was going to be a classic showdown of 'master vs. student' in its construction. However, for me, suddenly having Arkeley being 'in real life' a caring and nostalgic family figure - no matter for what ends - just didn't work. The presence of his brother, wife, kids, ex-lovers, whatever just seemed to be a little contrived and out of character. This particularly after one of the best constructed back stories ever for this genre in '99 Coffins'!
Add to that and other characters as well just seemed to bend my perceptions a bit too much. Glauer and other cops just seemed too wimpy, the 'stressed lesbian relationship' clichés too tired, even the presence of the hard-assed and ultimately incompetent Federal Agent just begged for too much belief to be thrown into the fire (um, spoiler?). Speaking of suspended belief: when we're already at that point where even stoned college students are sitting around going 'dude, are the vampires really here?' without being too surprised, well, the rest just pushes things a bit too far...
Having voiced my SAD AND INEXCUSABLE little fan-boy 'complaints' though, I will say, I read this book last night until my eyes were bloodshot and dead in my head, only to start back this morning as my breakfast sat cooling in front of me! It's a great series and I'm going to keep on keeping on!
Though a very entertaining read, I found the third 'Laura Caxton' vampire series book to be the weakest of the set so far - relatively speaking naturally (all still worthy of the 4 star ratings)! To whit: Maybe this is because the first two books were just that awesome or maybe its because I'm just a little burned out after a month of seriously hard-core Halloween Horror reading. I just found the book got bogged down a bit more than its predecessors even if the ending was fairly exciting (though obvious well before things wrapped up).
Review:
Its no secret that it takes a lot to keep a series running at full speed no matter who the writer is nor what the genre. As such, I want to make it clear that nothing has changed in terms of my enthusiasm for David Wellington's 'Laura Caxton' series. That being said, the third book wound up being the least favorite of mine of the group so far.
Yes, we knew this was going to be the big showdown between Arkeley and Caxton after the conclusion of '99 Coffins' and yes, we knew that it was going to be a classic showdown of 'master vs. student' in its construction. However, for me, suddenly having Arkeley being 'in real life' a caring and nostalgic family figure - no matter for what ends - just didn't work. The presence of his brother, wife, kids, ex-lovers, whatever just seemed to be a little contrived and out of character. This particularly after one of the best constructed back stories ever for this genre in '99 Coffins'!
Add to that and other characters as well just seemed to bend my perceptions a bit too much. Glauer and other cops just seemed too wimpy, the 'stressed lesbian relationship' clichés too tired, even the presence of the hard-assed and ultimately incompetent Federal Agent just begged for too much belief to be thrown into the fire (um, spoiler?). Speaking of suspended belief: when we're already at that point where even stoned college students are sitting around going 'dude, are the vampires really here?' without being too surprised, well, the rest just pushes things a bit too far...
Having voiced my SAD AND INEXCUSABLE little fan-boy 'complaints' though, I will say, I read this book last night until my eyes were bloodshot and dead in my head, only to start back this morning as my breakfast sat cooling in front of me! It's a great series and I'm going to keep on keeping on!
August 6, 2024
A relentless, heart-pounding continuation of the Laura Caxton series that cements Wellington's reputation as a master of modern vampire fiction. This third installment plunges readers back into a world where the undead are not just a myth but a brutal reality, and the stakes have never been higher.
Special Agent Laura Caxton faces her most personal and perilous mission yet. Having hunted vampires with an almost obsessive determination, she now finds herself pitted against an adversary who knows her every move. The portrayal of Caxton is both gritty and poignant, delving deeper into her psyche as she grapples with the physical and emotional toll of her crusade. Her resilience and vulnerability make her a compelling protagonist whose journey is as harrowing as it is heroic.
The narrative is tightly woven with relentless suspense and well-crafted twists. Wellington's vampires are terrifyingly visceral, and their encounters with Caxton are described with such intensity that readers can feel the tension in every confrontation. The action sequences are vivid and kinetic, the showcasing of high stakes and pulse-quickening drama throughout the book.
One of the standout aspects of this novel is the antagonist. The transformation of a former ally into a formidable foe adds a layer of psychological complexity that elevates the story beyond a simple hunt. This dynamic creates a cat-and-mouse game filled with strategic moves and chilling surprises, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.
The atmospheric descriptions continue to be a highlight, with settings that evoke a palpable sense of dread and urgency. Whether it's the shadowy corners of abandoned buildings or the eerie quiet of a small town under siege, the environments play a crucial role in enhancing the horror and suspense.
Vampire Zero is not just about the thrill of the hunt; it’s also a deeper exploration of obsession, loyalty, and the fine line between heroism and monstrosity. A novel that is both terrifying and thought-provoking, delivering a story that resonates on multiple levels.
A gripping, adrenaline-fueled read that fans of the series and vampire fiction will find impossible to put down. Wellington’s ability to blend action, horror, and complex character development makes this a standout entry in an already exceptional series.
Special Agent Laura Caxton faces her most personal and perilous mission yet. Having hunted vampires with an almost obsessive determination, she now finds herself pitted against an adversary who knows her every move. The portrayal of Caxton is both gritty and poignant, delving deeper into her psyche as she grapples with the physical and emotional toll of her crusade. Her resilience and vulnerability make her a compelling protagonist whose journey is as harrowing as it is heroic.
The narrative is tightly woven with relentless suspense and well-crafted twists. Wellington's vampires are terrifyingly visceral, and their encounters with Caxton are described with such intensity that readers can feel the tension in every confrontation. The action sequences are vivid and kinetic, the showcasing of high stakes and pulse-quickening drama throughout the book.
One of the standout aspects of this novel is the antagonist. The transformation of a former ally into a formidable foe adds a layer of psychological complexity that elevates the story beyond a simple hunt. This dynamic creates a cat-and-mouse game filled with strategic moves and chilling surprises, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.
The atmospheric descriptions continue to be a highlight, with settings that evoke a palpable sense of dread and urgency. Whether it's the shadowy corners of abandoned buildings or the eerie quiet of a small town under siege, the environments play a crucial role in enhancing the horror and suspense.
Vampire Zero is not just about the thrill of the hunt; it’s also a deeper exploration of obsession, loyalty, and the fine line between heroism and monstrosity. A novel that is both terrifying and thought-provoking, delivering a story that resonates on multiple levels.
A gripping, adrenaline-fueled read that fans of the series and vampire fiction will find impossible to put down. Wellington’s ability to blend action, horror, and complex character development makes this a standout entry in an already exceptional series.
March 6, 2018
Caxton is still going and this time it's all about her old boss and mentor.
I think it's pretty clear from the start of this book that things are falling apart for Caxton, her boss is a vampire who she now has to hunt down but he knows all her tricks. She has to try and protect his family whilst keeping her own men safe, other police forces safe and somehow fitting in her girlfriend.
On top of this shes now a Special Deputy and has a new boss monitoring her every move.
This is a real fast paced book which seems a lot more personal to the main character than the last two. In her crusade against the vampires and her old boss she crosses some lines knowingly but the cause seems to be all and she accepts the consequences to get the job done.
Great action, great characters although Jameson's role despite being pivotal to the story seems lacking in comparison to his kids and others. Still another great chapter in the story and leaves a big story for the next book.
I think it's pretty clear from the start of this book that things are falling apart for Caxton, her boss is a vampire who she now has to hunt down but he knows all her tricks. She has to try and protect his family whilst keeping her own men safe, other police forces safe and somehow fitting in her girlfriend.
On top of this shes now a Special Deputy and has a new boss monitoring her every move.
This is a real fast paced book which seems a lot more personal to the main character than the last two. In her crusade against the vampires and her old boss she crosses some lines knowingly but the cause seems to be all and she accepts the consequences to get the job done.
Great action, great characters although Jameson's role despite being pivotal to the story seems lacking in comparison to his kids and others. Still another great chapter in the story and leaves a big story for the next book.
November 9, 2021
Good lord this was the kind of book that hasn't failed to impress. I just about lost myself and time going from page after page. It's the kind of book you think you'll only read a chapter 2 and end up finding yourself on chapter 17.
Laura has already been through a lot. She ends up going through a lot more. I had thought other protagonists had been through a lot... until now. Laura is an unstoppable force. A force of nature itself. Not only she does she have to go after an old Mentor but it's almost like she became a part of him. Not all of that is bad, but not all of that is good either. She is still a person to root for.
Just be warned, this does end in a cliffhanger.
Laura has already been through a lot. She ends up going through a lot more. I had thought other protagonists had been through a lot... until now. Laura is an unstoppable force. A force of nature itself. Not only she does she have to go after an old Mentor but it's almost like she became a part of him. Not all of that is bad, but not all of that is good either. She is still a person to root for.
Just be warned, this does end in a cliffhanger.
June 4, 2018
A fun and gruesome romp of a vampire book -- I'm not sure if the author is really doing anything new with the role of the literary vampire, but I enjoyed this read, because it takes place in my homestate of Pennsylvania and I recognized many of the places in the book. Added bonus: the end of the book takes place in Centralia, a place famous for its underground mine fire. I should also admit that I didn't realize that this book was part of a series when I picked it up to read it, and it did interest me enough that I want to read the other parts of the series.
December 4, 2018
I personally enjoyed reading this thrill seeking, vampire teeth seaking, neck biting, bullets thriving, and bodies flying thing of a book, besides all the gore in this book. I liked everything about this book, from the gangs fighting off the hordes of vampires, to vampires killing people. My favorite part of this book is when a horde of vampires circle around some civilians and the people respond to them by blowing them all to shreds with there guns ands what not. If your a big fan of horror, and gore this book is the one you to check out for.
August 15, 2018
The heroine is a cop in a special anti-vampire police unit. Her partner taught her everything she knows about hunting down and killing vampires before he went over to the dark side himself. Now he needs to be hunted down and killed. I probably wouldn't have picked this up if 'Laura Caxton #3' was visible on the cover, but it turned out to be pretty good. I liked the visit to my home town, Syracuse (realistically in the middle of a heavy blizzard).
October 28, 2018
Fast moving and a quick read. Laura continues to succeed despite stumbling through her investigations and continually making the mistake of getting trapped in places with one exit.
I like the premise and how it was carried out. It is unfortunate that the police and marshals can’t seem to secure a sniper team and or S.W.A.T. Team with high caliber weapons to solve the pesky problem of fast moving targets in armor.
I like the premise and how it was carried out. It is unfortunate that the police and marshals can’t seem to secure a sniper team and or S.W.A.T. Team with high caliber weapons to solve the pesky problem of fast moving targets in armor.
October 10, 2017
Wow!!!! Didn’t really see that coming! The characters are growing and developing. Caxton is a total bad ass vamp hunter/killer. Still plenty intrigue, gore, blood, battles, new weapons, insane strategies....it’s crazy. I’m tearing through this books in a day or two now! On to #4
October 24, 2021
I'm not going to write much on this one. Readable. Continuation of the series with another cliffhanger ending. Laura is falling down a dark path. I can't say I like her very much for several reasons. I'll finish the series but I am going to take a little break.
May 11, 2024
Didn’t realize this was Volume 3 lmao, I picked this up from a book swap library and finished it in 2 days cause i enjoyed it so much! Even though i didn’t read the first 2 volumes it was so easy to invested and strung along by the action. Loved it ⚰️⚰️⚰️
May 23, 2017
A LMNOP AND A VAMPIRE WALK INTO A BAR.....
Hello, this story was okay. No totally weird stuff other than the lesbo cop. Mighty expensive for a kindle book. Thanks.
Hello, this story was okay. No totally weird stuff other than the lesbo cop. Mighty expensive for a kindle book. Thanks.
November 10, 2018
A true horror novel. Wellington has created an original vampire canon. No pretty-boy vampires here.
February 17, 2019
3.5 stars!
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