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American Gothic
Through the endless waltz of time, a man becomes a monster and a monster reclaims his humanity by saving one human soul. . . .
1863
Even the opium pipe and its dark dreams isn’t enough to erase the memories that haunt Nathaniel Peregrine. His home destroyed, his wife and children butchered, his world shattered by civil war—he can find no reason to protect his soul from the intoxicating evil that pursues him. Willingly he bends his neck for the beautiful demon who will take away his pain and replace it with an otherworldly power too great and terrible to imagine.
1914
Years later, growing tired of living a vampire’s restless existence, Peregrine travels to the wild island of Haiti, where shadow blends easily into the exotic flora and fauna. There he meets Helen Fairweather, a woman who makes him yearn for a mortal life as he has not done for ages. The longing leads him to Dr. Lavalle, a man who may be able to give him back his soul. Once a foremost authority on diseases of the blood, the good doctor sets Peregrine on a steep descent that will end with salvation—or damnation. . . .
1863
Even the opium pipe and its dark dreams isn’t enough to erase the memories that haunt Nathaniel Peregrine. His home destroyed, his wife and children butchered, his world shattered by civil war—he can find no reason to protect his soul from the intoxicating evil that pursues him. Willingly he bends his neck for the beautiful demon who will take away his pain and replace it with an otherworldly power too great and terrible to imagine.
1914
Years later, growing tired of living a vampire’s restless existence, Peregrine travels to the wild island of Haiti, where shadow blends easily into the exotic flora and fauna. There he meets Helen Fairweather, a woman who makes him yearn for a mortal life as he has not done for ages. The longing leads him to Dr. Lavalle, a man who may be able to give him back his soul. Once a foremost authority on diseases of the blood, the good doctor sets Peregrine on a steep descent that will end with salvation—or damnation. . . .
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 2, 2008
When I was in High School, I read Romkey's series that started with I, Vampire, and I enjoyed them immensely. With that in mind, I recently purchased some of his other books, this one included, hoping that I would be as enchanted with them as I was with the ones I read then.
They sat on my shelf for a while, until my coworkers, discussing vampires (while reading the Twilight series) peaked my desire to read a vampire book. So of the three I have left, I grabbed American Gothic.
If judging a book by it's cover, I wouldn't have picked this one up. It seems trashy and very much a teenager book. But we all know about book covers.
Warning, this review may contain spoilers.
The story follows Nathaniel Peregrine from the Civil War to present day and his transformation from mourning human to caring vampire. The book really feels like three novellas that just happen to follow the same character. For this reason sometimes the story felt disjointed.
While the first of the three sections takes Peregrine's perspective, the other two sections take two humans' point of views. I felt it worked better with the Doctor than it did with Ophelia/Dr. Glass, just because we experienced Peregrine more through the Doctor, while Ophelia and Dr. Glass have limited exposure to him.
Peregrine obviously changes over the year from a depressed man to a confused vampire to a benevolent vampire. However, by the end, I felt cheated. I wanted a book about Nathaniel Peregrine, but the book seemed to be more like a study of humanity. I don't mind studies of humanity, but they should either be obvious about it, or more subtle. The book read like it was trying to be subtle but failed slightly.
As the reader, I want to know what things happened to change Peregrine--what little we see doesn't seem to change him, but seems to be the results of a previous change.
While the writing wasn't amazing, it stood the test of enjoyability, and I may consider reading the book again. Having read this, I want to revisit his previous works that I have already read, as a younger person, and see if they are still as delicious as I remember, or I was just a young girl in love with the mystique of vampires.
I would rate this book as more of an appetizer than an entree, it could be eaten as a main dish, but it leaves you desiring more...
They sat on my shelf for a while, until my coworkers, discussing vampires (while reading the Twilight series) peaked my desire to read a vampire book. So of the three I have left, I grabbed American Gothic.
If judging a book by it's cover, I wouldn't have picked this one up. It seems trashy and very much a teenager book. But we all know about book covers.
Warning, this review may contain spoilers.
The story follows Nathaniel Peregrine from the Civil War to present day and his transformation from mourning human to caring vampire. The book really feels like three novellas that just happen to follow the same character. For this reason sometimes the story felt disjointed.
While the first of the three sections takes Peregrine's perspective, the other two sections take two humans' point of views. I felt it worked better with the Doctor than it did with Ophelia/Dr. Glass, just because we experienced Peregrine more through the Doctor, while Ophelia and Dr. Glass have limited exposure to him.
Peregrine obviously changes over the year from a depressed man to a confused vampire to a benevolent vampire. However, by the end, I felt cheated. I wanted a book about Nathaniel Peregrine, but the book seemed to be more like a study of humanity. I don't mind studies of humanity, but they should either be obvious about it, or more subtle. The book read like it was trying to be subtle but failed slightly.
As the reader, I want to know what things happened to change Peregrine--what little we see doesn't seem to change him, but seems to be the results of a previous change.
While the writing wasn't amazing, it stood the test of enjoyability, and I may consider reading the book again. Having read this, I want to revisit his previous works that I have already read, as a younger person, and see if they are still as delicious as I remember, or I was just a young girl in love with the mystique of vampires.
I would rate this book as more of an appetizer than an entree, it could be eaten as a main dish, but it leaves you desiring more...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2019
Overall, an enjoyable series, but not one that will go down among my all time favorites
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews