Review of No Truce With The Vampires
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Kutloano Makhuvhela
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Review of No Truce With The Vampires
[Following is a volunteer review of "No Truce With The Vampires" by Martyn Rhys Vaughan.]
No Truce With The Vampires by Martyn Rhys Vaughan is a fantasy science-fiction dystopian novel that also encompasses other genres like horror and romance. It is set in the future, where America as we know it is gone and what remains are ruins. Another entity has taken over human beings. Freedom as we know it has been eroded, and the word has lost its meaning. Human beings are deemed nothing. The author is described as a person who is passionate about ‘literature that demands the highest standards of the human imagination.’
Charles Gray is a regular guy who works as a police sergeant. He does not have many dreams. As long as his boss, a very strict and rigid one at that, is impressed with his work and is not on his case, then he is fine. His boss is more than she seems. She is a vampire. The world Charles is living in has been taken over by vampires. Human beings are reduced to nothing in the current world. Vampires just came out and took everything that had meaning to human beings. So Charles would do well not to be on the wrong side of vampires and his boss.
It happens that mysterious things start to happen around his area. Bombings that are ruled out as terrorism start happening, and a gruesome murder takes place and leaves them perplexed. Charles and his partner, a very eager cadet, have to investigate and wrap up the case as quickly as possible. But it is not easy. They learn that on farms where human beings are harvested for their blood, some regulations are being broken. A terrorist organisation by the name of Sons of Man wants to end these practices and bring humans back to their former glory and control of the earth. How would Charles and his partner navigate all of this? Would he find the truth? How would he take it?
A lot was going on that gripped me from start to finish. The plot was thick and never ran out until the end. I loved that it had many subplots that supplemented it. These subplots also worked as side quests because they meant Charles had to step aside from his main mission to start wrapping up these small problems that arose on his way to finishing his bigger mission. Then, they ended up growing and making this whole story that moved the book forward with interest.
The plot was complemented by the characterisation, which was well done. Charles was the person I could feel for and, at the same time, not. He first seemed like a complacent ignoramus who didn’t care about his environment or his future. He looked like someone who didn’t have convictions, but as the book progressed, I got to see why that was so. The author developed him so that he came across as defeated because of his past trauma. He had lost his childhood years because of that trauma, and he lost his brother again. Charles was compelling. His story arc was realistic.
The writing was outstanding. The narration was my favourite because it employed techniques that drew the pictures in my mind while letting my imagination run wild and finish off some aspects on its own. This futuristic world that’s in ruins came alive to my mind’s eye. The descriptions were spot-on. I loved that there was minimum action, but when fighting did happen, it was well described, and I could see it with ease. The dialogue wasn’t forgotten. It revealed things that couldn’t be included in the narration, like Charles’s inner monologue. The fact that it was written in first-person narration made it more fitting.
The ending caught me off guard because, finally, Charles did what Serafina had been urging him to do. But when he did, and they were talking things through, it ended. The end showed that there is a sequel to finish the story, but I found out that this particular book’s ending was done a disservice. Other than that, this was a well-written book. There were a few errors that didn’t affect the quality of the book, so I could say the book was professionally edited.
I rate this book five out of five stars. I strongly recommend it to readers who love the genres I have mentioned in my opening paragraph and to those who love reading about vampires. These were futuristic vampires, so the author added his own unique spin that readers will appreciate. The world-building was convincing and enchanting. Young adults would be very suitable. The author’s ability to blend genres was amazing. This showed his ability to write a proper speculative novel.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
No Truce With The Vampires by Martyn Rhys Vaughan is a fantasy science-fiction dystopian novel that also encompasses other genres like horror and romance. It is set in the future, where America as we know it is gone and what remains are ruins. Another entity has taken over human beings. Freedom as we know it has been eroded, and the word has lost its meaning. Human beings are deemed nothing. The author is described as a person who is passionate about ‘literature that demands the highest standards of the human imagination.’
Charles Gray is a regular guy who works as a police sergeant. He does not have many dreams. As long as his boss, a very strict and rigid one at that, is impressed with his work and is not on his case, then he is fine. His boss is more than she seems. She is a vampire. The world Charles is living in has been taken over by vampires. Human beings are reduced to nothing in the current world. Vampires just came out and took everything that had meaning to human beings. So Charles would do well not to be on the wrong side of vampires and his boss.
It happens that mysterious things start to happen around his area. Bombings that are ruled out as terrorism start happening, and a gruesome murder takes place and leaves them perplexed. Charles and his partner, a very eager cadet, have to investigate and wrap up the case as quickly as possible. But it is not easy. They learn that on farms where human beings are harvested for their blood, some regulations are being broken. A terrorist organisation by the name of Sons of Man wants to end these practices and bring humans back to their former glory and control of the earth. How would Charles and his partner navigate all of this? Would he find the truth? How would he take it?
A lot was going on that gripped me from start to finish. The plot was thick and never ran out until the end. I loved that it had many subplots that supplemented it. These subplots also worked as side quests because they meant Charles had to step aside from his main mission to start wrapping up these small problems that arose on his way to finishing his bigger mission. Then, they ended up growing and making this whole story that moved the book forward with interest.
The plot was complemented by the characterisation, which was well done. Charles was the person I could feel for and, at the same time, not. He first seemed like a complacent ignoramus who didn’t care about his environment or his future. He looked like someone who didn’t have convictions, but as the book progressed, I got to see why that was so. The author developed him so that he came across as defeated because of his past trauma. He had lost his childhood years because of that trauma, and he lost his brother again. Charles was compelling. His story arc was realistic.
The writing was outstanding. The narration was my favourite because it employed techniques that drew the pictures in my mind while letting my imagination run wild and finish off some aspects on its own. This futuristic world that’s in ruins came alive to my mind’s eye. The descriptions were spot-on. I loved that there was minimum action, but when fighting did happen, it was well described, and I could see it with ease. The dialogue wasn’t forgotten. It revealed things that couldn’t be included in the narration, like Charles’s inner monologue. The fact that it was written in first-person narration made it more fitting.
The ending caught me off guard because, finally, Charles did what Serafina had been urging him to do. But when he did, and they were talking things through, it ended. The end showed that there is a sequel to finish the story, but I found out that this particular book’s ending was done a disservice. Other than that, this was a well-written book. There were a few errors that didn’t affect the quality of the book, so I could say the book was professionally edited.
I rate this book five out of five stars. I strongly recommend it to readers who love the genres I have mentioned in my opening paragraph and to those who love reading about vampires. These were futuristic vampires, so the author added his own unique spin that readers will appreciate. The world-building was convincing and enchanting. Young adults would be very suitable. The author’s ability to blend genres was amazing. This showed his ability to write a proper speculative novel.
******
No Truce With The Vampires
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
‘When you do a good deed, people are grateful, and that creates a nice feeling inside you; and then because it feels good, that makes you want to do more good deeds. That repetition is the cycle of goodness.’
~Hogoromo.
~Hogoromo.
Latest Review: Tears and blood betrayal by V.S raven
