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Vampyre Labyrinth #1
RedEye
"You will come to know hell better than most, Jago. I have waited all these years for you to come back to this town."
England, 1940: Britain is entrenched in war with the Germans when young Jago is evacuated from the Blitz bombings in London to the Yorkshire coast. With just the memory of his dead mother for comfort, Jago is desperate only to survive the war in some peace. But arriving at the hostile Streonshalgh Manor in the town of Whitby, he is confronted with cruel and frenzied locals, seemingly possessed by ancient stories of clannish retribution and sadistic horrors.
The RedEye comet hovers fatefully over the town; people are being viciously killed; and Jago's nights are spent as waking nightmares, darting through bloodstained and murderous streets. As shades of his past come rushing back to haunt him, Jago must confront the truth of this town - the perilous and violent truth of the ancient Vampyres.
England, 1940: Britain is entrenched in war with the Germans when young Jago is evacuated from the Blitz bombings in London to the Yorkshire coast. With just the memory of his dead mother for comfort, Jago is desperate only to survive the war in some peace. But arriving at the hostile Streonshalgh Manor in the town of Whitby, he is confronted with cruel and frenzied locals, seemingly possessed by ancient stories of clannish retribution and sadistic horrors.
The RedEye comet hovers fatefully over the town; people are being viciously killed; and Jago's nights are spent as waking nightmares, darting through bloodstained and murderous streets. As shades of his past come rushing back to haunt him, Jago must confront the truth of this town - the perilous and violent truth of the ancient Vampyres.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
G.P. Taylor
80 books192 followers (born 1958 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire), pen-name G.P. Taylor, is the author of the best-selling novels Shadowmancer, Wormwood and Tersias. Before taking up writing full-time, he was an Anglican vicar in the village of Cloughton, North Yorkshire.
His works reflect his faith, carrying Christian messages like The Chronicles of Narnia of C.S. Lewis. He began to write his works to counter the increasing number of works, such as Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that he believed were encouraging children to investigate the occult. His works have also garnered some controversy however, because whilst Taylor has claimed to be "an authority on Wicca and paganism", his books have been considered offensive by some neopagans for describing them as being tricked by the Devil.
His works reflect his faith, carrying Christian messages like The Chronicles of Narnia of C.S. Lewis. He began to write his works to counter the increasing number of works, such as Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that he believed were encouraging children to investigate the occult. His works have also garnered some controversy however, because whilst Taylor has claimed to be "an authority on Wicca and paganism", his books have been considered offensive by some neopagans for describing them as being tricked by the Devil.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2010
So far, this seems to be a fairly good book. However, I find it difficult to get through as the author has chosen not to use contractions. It's a simple difference, but repeatedly reading "I am" or "We did not" over "I'm" and "We didn't" draws me out of the story.
January 2, 2011
I enjoyed this book overall,though the ending as a bit disappointing but we'll see what happens going forward with this.
September 26, 2024
"Some people run away from that which they can see, others from that which is invisible." - Cresco
I enjoy a macabre and dark tale that doesn't spend too much time in the gratuitously grotesque. Although Taylor's series all seem to have the same scenarios of boy and girl battling bullies, bad people disguised as good and good people looking undesirably bad, I can appreciate the general theme of good over evil, and the subtleties of Nazi infiltration into societies, effecting how the people treated each other in the face of fear. The author does a good job of spinning a tale for the most part but not without some stumblings and losing momentum when it should get interesting.
In the earlier portion, maybe even the first half, there is an interesting feel for the yearning of family for Bia and Jago, and the hints of love/desire, and the historical setting for a world at war. Once the story starts to flesh out relations and local history, between the two mentioned and the orchestrators of much of the plot, the luster fades and the mood becomes more somber, and not in a brooding way, more in a cynical way. I don't think this author is insinuating this but the set-up can be seen that to avoid being a devilish pawn, one could lose their innocence through an act of sin. The environment is cold and dark, every revelation is another weight to bear, and the opportunities for interjecting the Light in the darkness were so subtle as to be inconsequential for the reader who has no exposure to Redemption and Eternal teachings. I also felt Jago was not consistent as a character, going from being the mature one among the crowd, to stamping his feet to go home, to easily dispatching a vampyre that wanted to die, to ignoring multiple opportunities to cripple the Big Bad's vile crew by simply killing them as they were vulnerable. He would think and threaten but he would not act.
"By the light of the day and the moon at night, rest until the end of time." - funerary rite for a vampyre's victim, Polly Peckentree
I enjoy a macabre and dark tale that doesn't spend too much time in the gratuitously grotesque. Although Taylor's series all seem to have the same scenarios of boy and girl battling bullies, bad people disguised as good and good people looking undesirably bad, I can appreciate the general theme of good over evil, and the subtleties of Nazi infiltration into societies, effecting how the people treated each other in the face of fear. The author does a good job of spinning a tale for the most part but not without some stumblings and losing momentum when it should get interesting.
In the earlier portion, maybe even the first half, there is an interesting feel for the yearning of family for Bia and Jago, and the hints of love/desire, and the historical setting for a world at war. Once the story starts to flesh out relations and local history, between the two mentioned and the orchestrators of much of the plot, the luster fades and the mood becomes more somber, and not in a brooding way, more in a cynical way. I don't think this author is insinuating this but the set-up can be seen that to avoid being a devilish pawn, one could lose their innocence through an act of sin. The environment is cold and dark, every revelation is another weight to bear, and the opportunities for interjecting the Light in the darkness were so subtle as to be inconsequential for the reader who has no exposure to Redemption and Eternal teachings. I also felt Jago was not consistent as a character, going from being the mature one among the crowd, to stamping his feet to go home, to easily dispatching a vampyre that wanted to die, to ignoring multiple opportunities to cripple the Big Bad's vile crew by simply killing them as they were vulnerable. He would think and threaten but he would not act.
"By the light of the day and the moon at night, rest until the end of time." - funerary rite for a vampyre's victim, Polly Peckentree
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews