Review of No Truce With The Vampires
Posted: 27 Dec 2024, 09:08
[Following is a volunteer review of "No Truce With The Vampires" by Martyn Rhys Vaughan.]
I've always enjoyed reading vampire novels. An Ace Paperback of Bram Stoker's Dracula that I purchased in the mid-sixties sits prominently on my bookshelf. Since then, I've sampled numerous writers in the genre, from Brian Lumley to Laurell Hamilton. So, when I checked out the plot synopsis of Martyn Rhys Vaughn's No Truce with the Vampires: Those Who Sleep, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. It's a good book with a nice new spin on the old genre, and I found it to be mostly enjoyable, although it does tend to go off the rails occasionally.
The setting for the story was the not-too-distant future. The vampires have replaced humans as the dominant ruling class in the world, rising from the shadows and achieving world domination to keep humankind from destroying itself. As a result, humans have been relegated to servitude, many of them living as blood donors in "Farms" to provide the nutrition to keep the vamps alive. They were called shadflies by the ruling class. In the author's words, humans were "Just things that flutter around for a few days and then fall to the ground and get stomped on."
Sergeant Charles Gray held one of the few human occupations of worth, employed by the Human Division of the State Security Police in what was once central Florida. His duties were minimal, as most of the critical police work was left to the Elites, the ruling bloodsucking establishment. However, Gray's world was rocked when a vampire investigating some shady goings-on at the Diodati Institute was violently killed. The body was turned inside out, and his heart was strangely missing from the jumble of organs. Simultaneously, terrorists began targeting the Farms, jeopardizing the precious food supply. Together with his new assistant, Deputy Serafina Ginevra, Gray was called forward to investigate further disturbing events and was forced to go undercover to investigate the terrorist group retaliating against the vampire Elites.
I recognized the similarities between Mr. Vaughn's novel and Kim Harrison's Hollows Series. While Ms. Harrison's supernatural creatures were released during the "Turn" and adapted to living with humans, the "Takeover" in Mr. Vaughn's book reduced all humans to slavery, most living in squalor. The premise was nicely formulated, and the story was told from the perspective of Charles Gray as his mysterious past became gradually revealed. Gray’s character was what I enjoyed most about the book. He was an exceptional, complex figure because he was unsure of his past. Raised in an orphanage with his brother Edward, he remembered little of his early days and his life with his deceased wife. His entire world revolved around his work as a policeman.
Other characters were memorable. Gray's supervisor, vampire Mistress Aiyana, was typically stoic, as one would expect of a vampire police superintendent. She was also ruthless, emanating a powerful presence behind her desk as she dished out commands to Gray, rarely rising from behind her regal perch. As more and more chaos unraveled, Vaughn did an excellent job portraying Aiyana's gradual crumbling of self-confidence as her fellow vampires began gruesomely expiring. Serafina was sharp-witted and wise, the perfect complement to strait-laced Sergeant Gray, and I wondered from the beginning if she was more than she seemed. Edward, Gray's brother, was another mysterious character who came and went from thin air, complicating Gray's self-analysis even further as he attempted to understand better the events unfolding around him.
Throughout the novel, Gray spent his time fighting against the upending of the status quo, a true defender of the predatory hierarchy, in contrast with the terrorist group, the Sons of Man, which was determined to end vampire superiority by any means. The story got a bit muddled as it progressed, bringing in aspects of Aztec mythology, but it still worked as a decent yarn with loose ends tied together. It wasn't too difficult to figure out Gray's secret, which was unknown to him until the book's final pages.
What I disliked about the novel was finding out it was the first of a series, thereby providing no satisfactory conclusion on the final page. Had I known this from the outset, I would have gone into the story with a different mindset or not started at all, as I don't read many serializations. Nevertheless, it was a good read and worth my time. Although most of the dialogue between characters was on point, I found Edward's conversations stilted and over the top.
There were a handful of errors in the book, mostly with punctuation, and certainly nothing to distract from the reading experience. Mr. Vaughn created a believable dystopian world with tolerable and unsavory vampires. Interestingly, most of the humans allowed to live a more liberal existence were those with considerable wealth, which they amassed by catering to the Elite. The hovels in which most of the populace lived were strikingly realistic and completed the contrast drawn between the haves and have-nots. Mr. Vaughn did a commendable job in building the menace that arose from the terrorist activities of the Sons of Man.
No Truce with the Vampires: Those Who Sleep deserves a five out of five rating, as it was well-crafted with a story that moved quickly and entertainingly. Those of you, like me, who like to cozy up to a good vampire story, will find this enjoyable. I look forward to the next installment in Mr. Vaughn's series.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I've always enjoyed reading vampire novels. An Ace Paperback of Bram Stoker's Dracula that I purchased in the mid-sixties sits prominently on my bookshelf. Since then, I've sampled numerous writers in the genre, from Brian Lumley to Laurell Hamilton. So, when I checked out the plot synopsis of Martyn Rhys Vaughn's No Truce with the Vampires: Those Who Sleep, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. It's a good book with a nice new spin on the old genre, and I found it to be mostly enjoyable, although it does tend to go off the rails occasionally.
The setting for the story was the not-too-distant future. The vampires have replaced humans as the dominant ruling class in the world, rising from the shadows and achieving world domination to keep humankind from destroying itself. As a result, humans have been relegated to servitude, many of them living as blood donors in "Farms" to provide the nutrition to keep the vamps alive. They were called shadflies by the ruling class. In the author's words, humans were "Just things that flutter around for a few days and then fall to the ground and get stomped on."
Sergeant Charles Gray held one of the few human occupations of worth, employed by the Human Division of the State Security Police in what was once central Florida. His duties were minimal, as most of the critical police work was left to the Elites, the ruling bloodsucking establishment. However, Gray's world was rocked when a vampire investigating some shady goings-on at the Diodati Institute was violently killed. The body was turned inside out, and his heart was strangely missing from the jumble of organs. Simultaneously, terrorists began targeting the Farms, jeopardizing the precious food supply. Together with his new assistant, Deputy Serafina Ginevra, Gray was called forward to investigate further disturbing events and was forced to go undercover to investigate the terrorist group retaliating against the vampire Elites.
I recognized the similarities between Mr. Vaughn's novel and Kim Harrison's Hollows Series. While Ms. Harrison's supernatural creatures were released during the "Turn" and adapted to living with humans, the "Takeover" in Mr. Vaughn's book reduced all humans to slavery, most living in squalor. The premise was nicely formulated, and the story was told from the perspective of Charles Gray as his mysterious past became gradually revealed. Gray’s character was what I enjoyed most about the book. He was an exceptional, complex figure because he was unsure of his past. Raised in an orphanage with his brother Edward, he remembered little of his early days and his life with his deceased wife. His entire world revolved around his work as a policeman.
Other characters were memorable. Gray's supervisor, vampire Mistress Aiyana, was typically stoic, as one would expect of a vampire police superintendent. She was also ruthless, emanating a powerful presence behind her desk as she dished out commands to Gray, rarely rising from behind her regal perch. As more and more chaos unraveled, Vaughn did an excellent job portraying Aiyana's gradual crumbling of self-confidence as her fellow vampires began gruesomely expiring. Serafina was sharp-witted and wise, the perfect complement to strait-laced Sergeant Gray, and I wondered from the beginning if she was more than she seemed. Edward, Gray's brother, was another mysterious character who came and went from thin air, complicating Gray's self-analysis even further as he attempted to understand better the events unfolding around him.
Throughout the novel, Gray spent his time fighting against the upending of the status quo, a true defender of the predatory hierarchy, in contrast with the terrorist group, the Sons of Man, which was determined to end vampire superiority by any means. The story got a bit muddled as it progressed, bringing in aspects of Aztec mythology, but it still worked as a decent yarn with loose ends tied together. It wasn't too difficult to figure out Gray's secret, which was unknown to him until the book's final pages.
What I disliked about the novel was finding out it was the first of a series, thereby providing no satisfactory conclusion on the final page. Had I known this from the outset, I would have gone into the story with a different mindset or not started at all, as I don't read many serializations. Nevertheless, it was a good read and worth my time. Although most of the dialogue between characters was on point, I found Edward's conversations stilted and over the top.
There were a handful of errors in the book, mostly with punctuation, and certainly nothing to distract from the reading experience. Mr. Vaughn created a believable dystopian world with tolerable and unsavory vampires. Interestingly, most of the humans allowed to live a more liberal existence were those with considerable wealth, which they amassed by catering to the Elite. The hovels in which most of the populace lived were strikingly realistic and completed the contrast drawn between the haves and have-nots. Mr. Vaughn did a commendable job in building the menace that arose from the terrorist activities of the Sons of Man.
No Truce with the Vampires: Those Who Sleep deserves a five out of five rating, as it was well-crafted with a story that moved quickly and entertainingly. Those of you, like me, who like to cozy up to a good vampire story, will find this enjoyable. I look forward to the next installment in Mr. Vaughn's series.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon