An innovative take on the modern vampire story.
A vampire is stranded in the modern world in Catanzarite’s first horror-fantasy novel, the start of a series.
Gregorie Babin, originally from Saint-Suliac, France, washes up on a beach after being trapped in a waterlogged wooden trunk for a long, long time. He doesn’t remember how he came to be in there, nor does he have any idea where he is currently. It’s night, and he’s thirsty, and, for some reason, he feels compelled to drink the blood of a dying deer he finds by the roadside: “He’d never consumed anything so soothing, so satisfying. His limbs warmed, the nourishment spreading, and his insides filled near to bursting. He eased back in ecstasy and rested on the ground beside the animal while it relaxed into its last breath.” Gregorie soon discovers that the world has technologically advanced quite a bit; these automated, fast-moving carts that he sees on the road are all new to him. He notices, too, that he no longer needs to breathe to remain alive. He soon meets a trio of locals—Liam, Paul, and a young woman whom Gregorie calls “Gentille”—who see his confusion and offer him a place to stay. As Gregorie pores over his memories, attempting to figure out his predicament—a ship, a monster, and a lost love named Michaelangela are involved—his new friends start to realize that there’s something a bit strange about Gregorie. Catanzarite’s understated prose succeeds in selling Gregorie’s fish-out-of-water status and unusual perspective, as when Gentille offers him her sunglasses to protect his eyes from daylight: “Gentille removed the shiny brown thing from her face and propped it upon his nose, pressing one of its skinny arms behind each ear. Everything became soft and rosy, and the tears stopped flowing.” This aspect of the work, and the offbeat premise of a centuries-old vampire who’s unaware of who or what he is, brings some much-needed freshness to a crowded horror subgenre. That said, fans of such tales will still find plenty of familiar elements to sink their fangs into.
An innovative take on the modern vampire story.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781735952277
Page Count: 218
Publisher: Forster Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Soapy, suspenseful fun.
A remembered horror plunges a pregnant woman into a waking nightmare.
Tegan Werner, 23, barely recalls her one-night stand with married real estate developer Simon Lamar; she only learns Simon’s name after seeing him on the local news five months later. Simon wants nothing to do with the resulting child Tegan now carries and tells his lawyer to negotiate a nondisclosure agreement. A destitute Tegan is all too happy to trade her silence for cash—until a whiff of Simon’s cologne triggers a memory of him drugging and raping her. Distraught and eight months pregnant, Tegan flees her Lewiston, Maine, apartment and drives north in a blizzard, intending to seek comfort and counsel from her older brother, Dennis; instead, she gets lost and crashes, badly injuring her ankle. Tegan is terrified when hulking stranger Hank Thompson stops and extricates her from the wreck, and becomes even more so when he takes her to his cabin rather than the hospital, citing hazardous road conditions. Her anxiety eases somewhat upon meeting Hank’s wife, Polly—a former nurse who settles Tegan in a basement hospital room originally built for Polly’s now-deceased mother. Polly vows to call 911 as soon as the phones and power return, but when that doesn’t happen, Tegan becomes convinced that Hank is forcing Polly to hold her prisoner. Tegan doesn’t know the half of it. McFadden unspools her twisty tale via a first-person-present narration that alternates between Tegan and Polly, grounding character while elevating tension. Coincidence and frustratingly foolish assumptions fuel the plot, but readers able to suspend disbelief are in for a wild ride. A purposefully ambiguous, forward-flashing prologue hints at future homicide, establishing stakes from the jump.
Soapy, suspenseful fun.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781464227325
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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