An intriguing but messy vampire tale.
In this novel, an author discovers the forgotten vampire goddess who created humanity.
Brigette Monroe, the granddaughter of Marilyn Monroe and the star reporter for a Hollywood tabloid, has been assigned to go to Texas to cover the story of a man who claims to be a real vampire. Melvin, a wealthy, older author, says that, while he doesn’t drink blood or turn into a bat, he has unlocked the secret to immortality. Brigette happens to be a vampire as well, using sex to suck the life out of unsuspecting lovers. In fact, several people who work at the tabloid are vampires. Melvin has recently found out that God has a wife, the Goddess Shekhinah, who is the real creator of humankind. On the morning after Brigette and her film crew’s arrival, Melvin experiences a demonic episode and ends up with tattoos all over his body. As Melvin gets more and more insights into the real history of the universe—insights that he reveals to Brigette and her crew in the form of lectures—the world’s original religion comes into greater focus. In between the chapters, Melvin’s poems on vampirism and other subjects serve as interstitials. Abercrombie delivers an imaginative premise with rich, thought-provoking details about Shekhinah and theology. The ambitious book’s format is an idiosyncratic one, and not only because the main character has the same name as the author (and has written the author’s other books). The story is told as if it were being pitched for the screen, with camera directions given at the beginning of each chapter. These are made more confusing by the fact that there is a camera crew in the tale as well. Due to these metafictional layers (as well as the frequent text errors), the prose is often difficult to read: “Ocean front mansion, walking on the beach, the sexy voice continues’ His wife, Kay, loves to walk with them on the beach she has her shorts on, loose blouse and towel around her waist, big straw hat and sunglasses and camera zooms in on all of them including brigitte wearing her little bitty bikini.” Much of the book is simply the content of Melvin’s lectures, which are dry and do not advance the plot. The fact that nearly all of the characters are vampires (sometimes spelled vampyres) adds further murkiness to the mix.
An intriguing but messy vampire tale.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-69-236670-2
Page Count: 115
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A unique concept that promises readers will find at least one, if not three, entwined but different narratives to enjoy.
When Vis is copied into two other realities, he must stop a god from repeatedly culling almost everyone back home.
Thousands of years ago, to prevent the Concurrence from enslaving everyone, the world was split into three near-identical copies: Res, Obiteum, and Luceum. To exist in all three worlds, to wield Will there, is to achieve synchronism. After the events in The Will of the Many (2023), which cost Vis his arm and the life of his friend, Vis achieves Synchronism. While Res-Vis must continue to play Hierarchy politics to find his friend’s killer, Obiteum-Vis finds a ruined world, where the dead are reanimated and used by Ka, the Concurrence, and the only other person to exist in synchronism. Meanwhile, Luceum-Vis is forced into a dispute between druids, their High Council, and their kings—with one king intent on killing him—and Vis has no idea why. On all worlds, Vis is as shrewd as ever, weighing his options, planning ahead, and doing what he must to survive. However, he, too, slowly diverges, doing things he swore he never would: cede his Will, use Will to control someone else, and reveal his true name. If at least one Vis cannot use his synchronism and power of Will to kill the Concurrence, no Vis will be safe, and another Cataclysm will cull those he loves on Res. Book Two of the Hierarchy series is a speculative fantasy that is at once Egyptian post-apocalyptic, Celtic medieval, and Roman dystopian, thanks to the multidimensional setting. Although the sprawling narrative at times overextends itself, Islington rewards patient readers with a compelling story, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and a glimpse into how far a good man can go before he’s lost. A symbol at the start of each chapter delineates which world and Vis it’s about. Readers should read The Will of the Many before attempting this volume, or they may be confused for the first several chapters and beyond.
A unique concept that promises readers will find at least one, if not three, entwined but different narratives to enjoy.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781982141233
Page Count: 736
Publisher: Saga/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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