Review of No Truce With The Vampires
Posted: 26 Jul 2024, 11:31
[Following is a volunteer review of "No Truce With The Vampires" by Martyn Rhys Vaughan.]
Martyn Rhys Vaughan’s No Truce with the Vampires is a rather aggressive text that subverts the well-known vampire lore in an attempt to portray oppression. The novel is actually a dystopian masterpiece par excellence, which overshadowed dystopian novels as a genre.
The author masterfully envisions a world where blood is the primary means of exchange. Modern schemes of vampire economy refer to extremely real structures of exploitation, where human life is commodified. The sociopolitical context is not just a stage but a player contributing to the development and implementation of the events in the plot. The vampire lords, who live regal lives and feed on human blood, are very symbolic in depicting the ruling class's exploitation of the lower classes. The novel is a great dystopian story with several themes: predator-prey relations and the struggle of the soul.
There is no simple black and white here; the characters are not all saints or villains, and this renders the situation and the issues of loyalty and endurance unbelievably blurred. Charles Gray, the protagonist, is a torn figure trapped in the space between humans and vampires, and the struggle going on in his head represents the struggle of the people under the dictatorship's rules. All in all, Vaughan is very meticulous in his work. The grandeur of the vampire’s mansions, the stench of the human enclaves—everything is portrayed with mnemonic stimuli. Thus, the reader is placed directly into a world—a society filled with people and animals—in which the normal has been turned upside down.
The editing was great, and it was hard to find something that one could not like about it. One learns about the world Vaughan built within No Truce with the Vampires as evidence of the author’s writing prowess. He has built a world of horror and fascination, a world where the readers hardly ever wonder about the nature of dominance and submission and the meaning of being alive. I am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars, as it has indeed been a very informative read.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Martyn Rhys Vaughan’s No Truce with the Vampires is a rather aggressive text that subverts the well-known vampire lore in an attempt to portray oppression. The novel is actually a dystopian masterpiece par excellence, which overshadowed dystopian novels as a genre.
The author masterfully envisions a world where blood is the primary means of exchange. Modern schemes of vampire economy refer to extremely real structures of exploitation, where human life is commodified. The sociopolitical context is not just a stage but a player contributing to the development and implementation of the events in the plot. The vampire lords, who live regal lives and feed on human blood, are very symbolic in depicting the ruling class's exploitation of the lower classes. The novel is a great dystopian story with several themes: predator-prey relations and the struggle of the soul.
There is no simple black and white here; the characters are not all saints or villains, and this renders the situation and the issues of loyalty and endurance unbelievably blurred. Charles Gray, the protagonist, is a torn figure trapped in the space between humans and vampires, and the struggle going on in his head represents the struggle of the people under the dictatorship's rules. All in all, Vaughan is very meticulous in his work. The grandeur of the vampire’s mansions, the stench of the human enclaves—everything is portrayed with mnemonic stimuli. Thus, the reader is placed directly into a world—a society filled with people and animals—in which the normal has been turned upside down.
The editing was great, and it was hard to find something that one could not like about it. One learns about the world Vaughan built within No Truce with the Vampires as evidence of the author’s writing prowess. He has built a world of horror and fascination, a world where the readers hardly ever wonder about the nature of dominance and submission and the meaning of being alive. I am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars, as it has indeed been a very informative read.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon