  |
|
|
|
BOOK REVIEW
THE VAMPYRE'S KISS is a rollicking tale in the Three Musketeer's style, expect it is lacking two of the Musketeers! Manfred is the Kaiserine's Champion, the greatest swordsman in the land, thanks to the bite of a vampyre and a little experimentation from a "Mad" scientist. As every top gun knows, there is always someone out to see if they are faster, better. It becomes tiresome fast, or so it has for Manfred. Maybe that's why he willingly climbs into Lady Eva's coach and into a night of adventure, despite the fact he killed her father six months before and the chances of her seeking evenge are high. The author does a good job of filling the reader in on the bits of information needed from the first book, THE KAISERINE'S CHAMPION, without getting bogged down with unnecessary details. It is a much different book than the first, a much simpler, straightforward adventure story. In some ways I liked the second book better than the first. The world of Manfred is modeled after late 1700's, early 1800's Europe with all the political turmoil that made that time period interesting and confusing. Names are slightly changed, the whole world slightly skewed, especially since evil vampyres are one of the enemies threatening the kingdom. To confuse the issue further, Manfred learns that everything he has been told about ruthless, evil, bloodthirsty vampyres might not be entirely true... This is a light, fast paced story, full of exciting action, sword fighting, and fair maidens to save. THE VAMPYRE'S KISS is well worth reading if you are looking for a light fantasy. If you haven't read the first book in the series, you won't feel that you are missing something by not reading it, but you would probably enjoy reading THE KAISERINE'S CHAMPION as well. Reviewed by Linda Suzane, October 25, 2004, www.Midnightblood.com Both THE VAMPYRE'S KISS and THE KAISERINE'S CHAMPION are available in eBook format from Eggplant Literary Productions http://www.eggplant-productions.com/jint... or from Fictionwise http://www.fictionwise.com/servlet/mw?t=... Derek's homepage is http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57/ This is the second time that Derek Paterson has appeared at Suite101. Be sure to check out my original Suite101.com interview and the review of his first book, THE KAISERINE'S CHAMPION. Derek answers a lot of questions about Manfred and his world and about writing in general. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/vamp... INTERVIEW "How about an update from the last interview? Any high points?" It's been a year or more of near-misses and almost-successes! An even mix of frustration and reward. A writing group buddy who also has a toe in the movie industry nudged me toward writing screenplays, which has been a whole new challenge. I've been working with a couple of indie directors who have interesting projects in mind, some in genres I don't usually write in, so they're forcing me to stretch, to reach higher. And it's interesting, oh yes. I'm not lying to myself, the likelihood of Hollywood millions ever coming my way is next to impossible, but there's a realistic opportunity here for some useful pocket money on the other side of the writing challenge itself. Bad news: the focus on screenwriting has curtailed my prose writing somewhat. Good news: I'm reaching that teeth-grinding, shaking hands stage where I feel if I don't get back to prose writing soon I'm going to explode! Looking at things from a positive viewpoint I've now got a whole bundle of new stories (as screenplays) that could theoretically be adapted into prose, so even if the screenwriting thing just doesn't happen for me, and that's a possibility too, it's going to be a "win" situation. I'm writing every day and I'm |
|
|
|
