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Fiends of the Eastern Front
Operation Vampyr
A young German soldier during World War II comes to realize that the Romanian soldiers with which the German air and ground forces have united are also vampires. Original.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
David Bishop
155 books38 followersDavid James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 3, 2014
-Colmillos y combates durante Barbarroja.-
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Hans Vollmer es un joven e inexperto soldado de infantería alemán que, un día antes del inicio de la Operación Barbarroja en la Segunda Guerra Mundial está en Galati, una población rumana cercana a la frontera con la URSS. Ralf Vollmer es el jefe de la dotación de un Panzer III desplegado en la frontera de lo que antes fue Polonia con la URSS y que también se prepara para el ataque contra la Unión Soviética. Klaus Vollmer es un oficial al mando de una escuadrilla que atacará a los aviones enemigos por sorpresa en sus aeródromos. Los tres irán conociendo, de diferentes maneras, a los escalofriantes miembros de la 1ª Compañía Rumana de Tropas Alpinas. Primer libro de la serie Demonios del Frente Oriental.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Hans Vollmer es un joven e inexperto soldado de infantería alemán que, un día antes del inicio de la Operación Barbarroja en la Segunda Guerra Mundial está en Galati, una población rumana cercana a la frontera con la URSS. Ralf Vollmer es el jefe de la dotación de un Panzer III desplegado en la frontera de lo que antes fue Polonia con la URSS y que también se prepara para el ataque contra la Unión Soviética. Klaus Vollmer es un oficial al mando de una escuadrilla que atacará a los aviones enemigos por sorpresa en sus aeródromos. Los tres irán conociendo, de diferentes maneras, a los escalofriantes miembros de la 1ª Compañía Rumana de Tropas Alpinas. Primer libro de la serie Demonios del Frente Oriental.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
November 18, 2010
Interesting idea, but the vampire mythos falls a little flat. It's simply not enough these days to have vampires from the carpathian regions wearing capes, avoiding sunlight, turning into mists, into bats, drinking blood for it's devine, et cetera, et cetera . . .
Still, cool concept.
My favorite thing about this book were the typos. My, oh my . . . I really enjoyed:
Chapter Six
July 12st, 1941
Still, cool concept.
My favorite thing about this book were the typos. My, oh my . . . I really enjoyed:
Chapter Six
July 12st, 1941
August 29, 2016
3 1/2 STARS
January 14, 2025
Pulp horror has its charms—cheap thrills, over-the-top action, and just enough tension to keep you turning the pages. Operation Vampyr promised all of that with its intriguing premise: vampires embroiled in a war, turning on their allies in a feeding frenzy of betrayal and bloodshed. It had the potential to be an entertaining, chaotic ride.
The idea of vampires in war is undeniably compelling. Immortal creatures manipulating mortal soldiers, forming alliances only to betray them when it suits their hunger—it’s the kind of morally grey drama that pulp horror thrives on. And to be fair, the book delivered on the action. Battles were chaotic and visceral, with vivid (if sometimes overindulgent) descriptions of nocturnal carnage.
But for all its promise, the execution felt rushed. The plot zipped from one set piece to the next without giving its characters room to breathe—or, ironically, bleed. Motivations were paper-thin, alliances were predictable, and the betrayals lacked any real emotional weight because the characters were so poorly developed. The book felt more like a checklist of “cool ideas” than a cohesive story.
Then there’s the writing itself. Look, I get it: pulp horror isn’t about literary perfection. But there’s a difference between leaning into camp and just being sloppy. The spelling and grammatical mistakes were everywhere, like weeds choking what could have been a decent garden. When I—a non-native English speaker—can pick up on mistake after mistake, there’s a serious problem. It’s not just distracting; it’s disrespectful to the reader.
Despite its flaws, the book wasn’t entirely without entertainment value. If you can overlook the glaring errors and the lack of depth, there’s a certain B-movie charm to the chaos. The idea itself—vampires at war—deserves another chance. With better editing, more character development, and a bit more patience, this story could become the entertaining romp it was meant to be.
The idea of vampires in war is undeniably compelling. Immortal creatures manipulating mortal soldiers, forming alliances only to betray them when it suits their hunger—it’s the kind of morally grey drama that pulp horror thrives on. And to be fair, the book delivered on the action. Battles were chaotic and visceral, with vivid (if sometimes overindulgent) descriptions of nocturnal carnage.
But for all its promise, the execution felt rushed. The plot zipped from one set piece to the next without giving its characters room to breathe—or, ironically, bleed. Motivations were paper-thin, alliances were predictable, and the betrayals lacked any real emotional weight because the characters were so poorly developed. The book felt more like a checklist of “cool ideas” than a cohesive story.
Then there’s the writing itself. Look, I get it: pulp horror isn’t about literary perfection. But there’s a difference between leaning into camp and just being sloppy. The spelling and grammatical mistakes were everywhere, like weeds choking what could have been a decent garden. When I—a non-native English speaker—can pick up on mistake after mistake, there’s a serious problem. It’s not just distracting; it’s disrespectful to the reader.
Despite its flaws, the book wasn’t entirely without entertainment value. If you can overlook the glaring errors and the lack of depth, there’s a certain B-movie charm to the chaos. The idea itself—vampires at war—deserves another chance. With better editing, more character development, and a bit more patience, this story could become the entertaining romp it was meant to be.
October 7, 2011
Hans, Klaus and Ralf are all brothers fighting the Russians on the Eastern Front for Hitler during World War II. Hans, the youngest, is the most dedicated. Hitler and the Third Reich enthralls him. His other brothers have seen enough of war to know it's not all it's cut out to be. Klaus is a pilot and wonders why Rumanian pilots canopies are black. Ralf in the Panzer finds dead with bite marks on their necks and Hans is an infantry man and sees also strange things while attacking russian soldiers. Klaus ends up in an hospital and sees strange horrific things. The three brothers get together for some times with their companions and conspire against the Rumanians. The end is not final and it continues on book two. This one is on a point of view of a Russian. The other side of the story. Both books are in the same timeline (this second a bit later) but in the different factions of the War. The third book is the reunion and union against a commom evil. The ending of the third book is awful. I would give the overall trilogy 4 but because of the ending I would give 2 stars.
June 18, 2015
Operation Vampyr by David Bishop
This book goes back to the basics of vampire lore. I don't know if this is a series or not but but I kind of hope so. I did have some issues with it. The characters are very likable and I found myself worried about them and hoping they didn't bite it.
If you want more information on it check out on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
This book goes back to the basics of vampire lore. I don't know if this is a series or not but but I kind of hope so. I did have some issues with it. The characters are very likable and I found myself worried about them and hoping they didn't bite it.
If you want more information on it check out on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
December 23, 2010
This story goes back to basics with vampire lore, which I appreciate in these days of invincible teenage vampires. The characters are likable and share such battlefield camaraderie you find yourself worrying about their destinies as things get darker and darker for them, hoping they pull through every impossible-to-win battle. I have some issues with the ending, but I won't comment on it; I guess it was necessary to keep the series going.
April 20, 2016
Great idea but fell short of what i expected could have been much much more
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews