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Vampire Apocalypse #2
Descent Into Chaos
DESCENT INTO CHAOS is the second book in Derek Gunn's Vampire Apocalypse series.
The War is Over. The Vampires have Won. But a new campaign is about to begin. The first battle is over and Nero is dead. Now the human survivors will pull themselves from the ruins of their base to find that the world is a very different place outside Nero's territory.
Nationally, the vampires have organized themselves into cabals but the scramble for power, raw materials and humans for their food, have led to an uneasy peace. Below the surface each state plots against the other and only the far-reaching power of the Vampire Council holds all-out war at bay. Now their control is slipping. And Peter Harris and his team have a plan that might just push them over the edge...
The War is Over. The Vampires have Won. But a new campaign is about to begin. The first battle is over and Nero is dead. Now the human survivors will pull themselves from the ruins of their base to find that the world is a very different place outside Nero's territory.
Nationally, the vampires have organized themselves into cabals but the scramble for power, raw materials and humans for their food, have led to an uneasy peace. Below the surface each state plots against the other and only the far-reaching power of the Vampire Council holds all-out war at bay. Now their control is slipping. And Peter Harris and his team have a plan that might just push them over the edge...
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
4 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Derek Gunn
33 books83 followersDerek Gunn is the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder - the eBook alone has had over 100,000 downloads and has been described as “a Summer Blockbuster..” ~Gorezone, “An incredibly original piece of fiction “ ~Horror-Web, and “a terrific tale.” ~Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest.
Three more books have been published in this series, Descent into Chaos and Fallout and a fourth instalment in April 2014, Vampire Apocalypse, Trail of Tears.
In August 2012, Derek self published in eBook editions two novellas (The Diabolical Plan and The Island) and a novel (Crimson Seas) in his historical naval horror fiction series, The HMS Swift Adventures. These have been picked up by his publisher Permuted Press for reissue in 2014 as a single volume in print and eBook.
Derek also has a number of other stand alone novels published, The Estuary (Zombie fiction), The Gatekeeper (Apocalyptic Irish mythology thriller) and Gemini (Espionage thriller).
Derek’s short stories have been included in many anthologies including, from Signet Classics, Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Ghosts: 25 Tales of the Supernatural. The inclusion of his short story “The Third Option” fulfils a his childhood ambition to have a story of his included in an anthology with some of his literary heroes, as this collection also features works by Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Ann Rice, Woody Allen, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Joe Hill, Yvonne Navarro, Rudyard Kipling, Angela Carter and many more.
Derek works as a specialist consultant for a global telecommunications company. He holds a degree in Marketing. He is a member of and a contributing editor for The International Thriller Writers Association and an active member of The Horror Writers Association.
Derek Gunn was born in 1964. He is married with three children and lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Three more books have been published in this series, Descent into Chaos and Fallout and a fourth instalment in April 2014, Vampire Apocalypse, Trail of Tears.
In August 2012, Derek self published in eBook editions two novellas (The Diabolical Plan and The Island) and a novel (Crimson Seas) in his historical naval horror fiction series, The HMS Swift Adventures. These have been picked up by his publisher Permuted Press for reissue in 2014 as a single volume in print and eBook.
Derek also has a number of other stand alone novels published, The Estuary (Zombie fiction), The Gatekeeper (Apocalyptic Irish mythology thriller) and Gemini (Espionage thriller).
Derek’s short stories have been included in many anthologies including, from Signet Classics, Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Ghosts: 25 Tales of the Supernatural. The inclusion of his short story “The Third Option” fulfils a his childhood ambition to have a story of his included in an anthology with some of his literary heroes, as this collection also features works by Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Ann Rice, Woody Allen, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Joe Hill, Yvonne Navarro, Rudyard Kipling, Angela Carter and many more.
Derek works as a specialist consultant for a global telecommunications company. He holds a degree in Marketing. He is a member of and a contributing editor for The International Thriller Writers Association and an active member of The Horror Writers Association.
Derek Gunn was born in 1964. He is married with three children and lives in Dublin, Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 9, 2016
Vampire Apocalypse: Descent into Chaos continues the adventures of the resistance group headed by "I have no idea what I'm doing" John Harris and his rag-tag bunch of human survivors. It's been a short time the events of the first novel, A World Torn Asunder, and the first pocket of free-humanity has been established. Of course, this is when everything goes from bad to worse.
Before I get into the actual review, is Vampire Apocalypse: Descent into Chaos good? Yes, it continues the trend established in the first book. The good-guy characters are sympathetic and likable. The bad-guy vampires and their thralls are hateable but interesting to read about. This is a novel where you want the heroes to win and the bad guys to fail. It's a quick read with a lot of fun, pulse-pounding action. You won't regret buying it.
Now for the actual review. Before I get into the positives, I'll mention a big negative. I can't say I really liked the cover. I'm not a big stickler for covers but the whole "guy holding a gun" like he's in a Hong Kong action movie doesn't really put me in the mind of vampires or the apocalypse. It's a small complaint but one that bothered me and I felt needed to be mentioned here.
On the human side of things, I continued to enjoy the depiction of the resistance. Derek Gunn has a way in describing characters that makes them come off as authentic and real. Yeah, a number of these guys will die but not all of them and you really want to see them survive. Instead of a John Conner-esque messianic archetype, John Harris is obviously just making **** up as he goes along and hoping he doesn't get the last of free humanity killed along the way.
One thing I enjoyed was the author didn't just blow past the important role of support personnel in wars. Yeah, the guy who is actually holding the gun is important. Equally important, if not more so, is the guy who is making the gun and the bullets. Plus, the guy who patches the wounds of the guy holding the gun so he can learn from his mistakes and fight again or pass along his experience. Non-combat personnel are vital to any military and it's nice to see them play a role in this novel.
If there's one character that's a serious misstep in the human side of things, its Regan. Yes, he's apparently named after the President. That's a bit like V for Vendetta naming Adam Susan, "Mister Thatcher." Basically, Regan is the slimy politician and obstructive bureaucrat we've seen since time memorial (I especially liked Walter Peck in Ghostbusters). In this case, Regan more or less exists to get the humans to try and entrench themselves so they can survive.
This isn't unreasonable on the surface, if not for the fact that its condemning the rest of humanity to a slow and painful death at the hands of the vampires. Really, the guy is monstrously callous and even in terms of pure-survival strategy, his ideas are stupid. In their current state, Free Humanity could be wiped out by a stiff breeze. Continuing the war against the vampires is the only way they can strengthen their numbers to have an actual chance of surviving.
God, yeah, I really hated that guy. Not in he "love to hate it" way, either.
Thankfully, the vampires and the Thralls more than make up for this. Derek Gunn has a nice way of creating purely evil antagonists that, nevertheless, are enjoyable to read about. The vampires may all violent psychopaths but they're damned entertaining. I'm a believer there's a difference between pure evil and "two-dimensional." Daleks are pure evil and they remain the most consistently entertaining villains on Doctor Who.
Really, the biggest villains in the book are turning out to be the Thralls. Essentially human but for the fact they have three times the strength of a normal person of their build, Thralls have no excuse for the horrible things they do. The vampires are alien and human but the Thralls come off as a combination of date-rapist frat boys and Nazis. I actually look forward to our heroes killing more Thralls than I do the vampires themselves. Derek Gunn does a fun job of starting to establish the seeds of a Thrall rebellion while maintaining the fact they're every bit as evil as the vampires.
Overall, Vampire Apocalypse: Descent into Chaos is a nicely moody book that creates an atmosphere of heroic resistance in a relentlessly bleak world. It's a bit like I imagined Skynet's world to look like, except humans are in blood-pens as opposed to labor camps. The action is good, the characterization is consistent, and the storyline entertaining. I hope to continue to read the series as new volumes come out and wish Derek Gunn much success in the fiction market.
9/10
Before I get into the actual review, is Vampire Apocalypse: Descent into Chaos good? Yes, it continues the trend established in the first book. The good-guy characters are sympathetic and likable. The bad-guy vampires and their thralls are hateable but interesting to read about. This is a novel where you want the heroes to win and the bad guys to fail. It's a quick read with a lot of fun, pulse-pounding action. You won't regret buying it.
Now for the actual review. Before I get into the positives, I'll mention a big negative. I can't say I really liked the cover. I'm not a big stickler for covers but the whole "guy holding a gun" like he's in a Hong Kong action movie doesn't really put me in the mind of vampires or the apocalypse. It's a small complaint but one that bothered me and I felt needed to be mentioned here.
On the human side of things, I continued to enjoy the depiction of the resistance. Derek Gunn has a way in describing characters that makes them come off as authentic and real. Yeah, a number of these guys will die but not all of them and you really want to see them survive. Instead of a John Conner-esque messianic archetype, John Harris is obviously just making **** up as he goes along and hoping he doesn't get the last of free humanity killed along the way.
One thing I enjoyed was the author didn't just blow past the important role of support personnel in wars. Yeah, the guy who is actually holding the gun is important. Equally important, if not more so, is the guy who is making the gun and the bullets. Plus, the guy who patches the wounds of the guy holding the gun so he can learn from his mistakes and fight again or pass along his experience. Non-combat personnel are vital to any military and it's nice to see them play a role in this novel.
If there's one character that's a serious misstep in the human side of things, its Regan. Yes, he's apparently named after the President. That's a bit like V for Vendetta naming Adam Susan, "Mister Thatcher." Basically, Regan is the slimy politician and obstructive bureaucrat we've seen since time memorial (I especially liked Walter Peck in Ghostbusters). In this case, Regan more or less exists to get the humans to try and entrench themselves so they can survive.
This isn't unreasonable on the surface, if not for the fact that its condemning the rest of humanity to a slow and painful death at the hands of the vampires. Really, the guy is monstrously callous and even in terms of pure-survival strategy, his ideas are stupid. In their current state, Free Humanity could be wiped out by a stiff breeze. Continuing the war against the vampires is the only way they can strengthen their numbers to have an actual chance of surviving.
God, yeah, I really hated that guy. Not in he "love to hate it" way, either.
Thankfully, the vampires and the Thralls more than make up for this. Derek Gunn has a nice way of creating purely evil antagonists that, nevertheless, are enjoyable to read about. The vampires may all violent psychopaths but they're damned entertaining. I'm a believer there's a difference between pure evil and "two-dimensional." Daleks are pure evil and they remain the most consistently entertaining villains on Doctor Who.
Really, the biggest villains in the book are turning out to be the Thralls. Essentially human but for the fact they have three times the strength of a normal person of their build, Thralls have no excuse for the horrible things they do. The vampires are alien and human but the Thralls come off as a combination of date-rapist frat boys and Nazis. I actually look forward to our heroes killing more Thralls than I do the vampires themselves. Derek Gunn does a fun job of starting to establish the seeds of a Thrall rebellion while maintaining the fact they're every bit as evil as the vampires.
Overall, Vampire Apocalypse: Descent into Chaos is a nicely moody book that creates an atmosphere of heroic resistance in a relentlessly bleak world. It's a bit like I imagined Skynet's world to look like, except humans are in blood-pens as opposed to labor camps. The action is good, the characterization is consistent, and the storyline entertaining. I hope to continue to read the series as new volumes come out and wish Derek Gunn much success in the fiction market.
9/10
November 11, 2008
'Descent into Chaos' is the second installment in the 'Vampire Apocalypse' series, which started with 'A World Torn Asunder'. While I already loved the first novel, this sequel contains even more complexity and depth.
- below may contain slight spoilers, depending how fussy you are ;) -
In the first book the frontiers between friend and foe where clearly defined by the fight of humans against vampires. Now, however, new traitors and adverseries can be found within the own ranks of the human community. On the other side, the vampires have to face attacks by their own kind and even by their thralls, a situation which has never occured before. The previously inviolable power structure is threatened to be overthrown, creating new chances where hope for the continuation of mankind was almost lost.
The author tells the story from different points of view, so you get to know each parties' motives for their quarrels individually and on a personal level. The previously clear scheme of good humans vs. bad vampires/thralls is no longer fitting, as good and evil are now present on both sides.
- below may contain slight spoilers, depending how fussy you are ;) -
In the first book the frontiers between friend and foe where clearly defined by the fight of humans against vampires. Now, however, new traitors and adverseries can be found within the own ranks of the human community. On the other side, the vampires have to face attacks by their own kind and even by their thralls, a situation which has never occured before. The previously inviolable power structure is threatened to be overthrown, creating new chances where hope for the continuation of mankind was almost lost.
The author tells the story from different points of view, so you get to know each parties' motives for their quarrels individually and on a personal level. The previously clear scheme of good humans vs. bad vampires/thralls is no longer fitting, as good and evil are now present on both sides.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2016
The world may be overrun by vampires, but the humans are starting to fight back. After winning a decisive victory against Nero's cabal in Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder (Vampire Apocalypse Book 1), Harris and his band of rebels are forced to escalate their resistance to acquire enough resources to sustain an increasing number of civilian refugees. This means pitting the two neighboring vampire cabals against each other in open war - with the humans caught in the middle.
Author Derek Gunn lays out a very dark, very believable (OK, maybe not the whole vampire thing, but still) scenario in this series, and with this second volume the scope of the story is widened significantly. On the human side, we go from Harris and a few cohorts to a small town's worth of survivors and all the political maneuvering that brings. On the vampire side, we learn more about their hierarchies and factions, as well as some overarching rules the most powerful vampires maintain over their territories. As with the first book in the series, Gunn serves up a lot of action, and this time that includes some epic, bloody skirmishes between thralls and vampires as well as a railway scene that plays out like a blockbuster movie when you read it. The pace is fast, the stakes are high, and once you start you're going to want to barrel through to the very satisfying finish.
Some of the issues I had with the first book are present here as well. The characters - especially the newer ones - tend to be thrown in with an immediate back story, and never have time to really develop. Personally, I would have loved to have seen the book expanded significantly to explore life in the survivors' compound and a more gradual development of the political turmoil that dominated the first part of the story. It would have been a good way to really get to know the characters. The book could also benefit from one more pass-through by a copy editor to clean up a few minor errors.
It's not perfect, but Descent Into Chaos is an improvement over A World Torn Asunder, and a good addition to one of the better vampire-themed series out there. Fans of E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series and Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's Strain trilogy will definitely want to check out the Vampire Apocalypse.
Author Derek Gunn lays out a very dark, very believable (OK, maybe not the whole vampire thing, but still) scenario in this series, and with this second volume the scope of the story is widened significantly. On the human side, we go from Harris and a few cohorts to a small town's worth of survivors and all the political maneuvering that brings. On the vampire side, we learn more about their hierarchies and factions, as well as some overarching rules the most powerful vampires maintain over their territories. As with the first book in the series, Gunn serves up a lot of action, and this time that includes some epic, bloody skirmishes between thralls and vampires as well as a railway scene that plays out like a blockbuster movie when you read it. The pace is fast, the stakes are high, and once you start you're going to want to barrel through to the very satisfying finish.
Some of the issues I had with the first book are present here as well. The characters - especially the newer ones - tend to be thrown in with an immediate back story, and never have time to really develop. Personally, I would have loved to have seen the book expanded significantly to explore life in the survivors' compound and a more gradual development of the political turmoil that dominated the first part of the story. It would have been a good way to really get to know the characters. The book could also benefit from one more pass-through by a copy editor to clean up a few minor errors.
It's not perfect, but Descent Into Chaos is an improvement over A World Torn Asunder, and a good addition to one of the better vampire-themed series out there. Fans of E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series and Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's Strain trilogy will definitely want to check out the Vampire Apocalypse.
November 2, 2014
In the second book, vampires and thralls are fighting each other. Harris and his group continues to fight for the humans. Can't wait to read the 3rd book.
May 31, 2015
I enjoyed the 2nd book in this series (3.5 stars). The concept was interesting but this book dragged in some parts
January 9, 2016
So badly edited it's worse than some self-published things I've read. Repetition, every single assault rifle is a machinegun, and words used incorrectly throughout.
Still a fair read.
Still a fair read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews