99 Coffins: A Historical Vampire Tale [Paperback]

David Wellington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2007

Laura Caxton vowed never to face them again. The horror of what the vampires did is too close, the wounds too fresh. But when Jameson Arkeley, broken and barely recognizable, comes to her with an unfathomable, unholy discovery, her resolve crumbles.

Arkeley leads Caxton to a tomb in Gettysburg recently excavated by a local archaeology professor. While the town, with its legendary role in the Civil War’s worst battle, is no stranger to cemeteries, this one is remarkably, eerily different. In it lie 100 coffins—99 of them occupied by vampires, who, luckily, are missing their hearts. But one of the coffins is empty and smashed to pieces.

Who is the missing vampire? Does he have access to the 99 hearts that, if placed back in the bodies of their owners, could reanimate an entire bloodthirsty army? How did the vampires end up there, undisturbed and undiscovered for 150 years? The answer lies in Civil War documents that contain sinister secrets about the newly found coffins—secrets that Laura Caxton is about to uncover as she is thrown into a deadly, gruesome mission of saving an entire town from a mass invasion of the undead. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vampires and mortals fight a modern battle of Gettysburg in vampire hunter Laura Caxton's gore-soaked second outing (after 2007's 13 Bullets). When a college archeological dig uncovers a cache of Civil War–era coffins, each containing a corpse minus heart, grizzled detective Jameson Arkeley recognizes these remains as evidence of a forgotten Union vampire corps and immediately summons Caxton. Before the two can unravel the historical mystery, someone reanimates one of the vampires, setting the stage for the full vampire army to rise and resume its unfulfilled mission. Wellington keeps the pace brisk, alternating action-packed chapters set in the present with chapters cast credibly in the form of extracts from period journals, letters and dispatches that gradually reveal the origin and intent of the vampire regiment and its enigmatic leader, Alva Griest. The taut narrative never slackens, providing thrilling entertainment for readers who like their horror raw and bloody. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

The taut narrative never slackens, providing thrilling entertainment for readers who like their horror raw and bloody. --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (December 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307381714
• ISBN-13: 978-0307381712
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Wellington was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where George Romero shot his classic zombie films. He attended Syracuse University and Penn State and is currently working towards a degree in Library Science at the Pratt Institute.

Mr. Wellington is most famous for his free online serialized zombie novels, the "Monster Island" trilogy. In 2006 he began serializing "Thirteen Bullets", a vampire novel at www.thirteenbullets.com.

He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy vamps, January 17, 2008

By 

Hugs_Trees - See all my reviews

This review is from: 99 Coffins: A Historical Vampire Tale (Paperback)

Great to see a book that has creepy vampires. It makes a good change from the glut of sexy vamp books out there. I particularly liked his version of vampire teeth although I've seen that before in the Supernatural tv show.

99 Coffins is better than 13 Bullets (the first vol.) -- Caxton does a great deal less screaming than she does in 13 Bullets and acts more in accordance with her tough girl description. Her girl friend in this book is a more stable and interesting person than the one that Caxton had in 13 Bullets.

In 99 Coffins, Caxton is dealing with an emergency outbreak of vampires who date back to the Civil War era. The book is told largely from Caxton's point of view (POV). The narrative flow between Caxton's POV and entries from several Civil War journals is smooth and easy.

The story was fast paced. I got so into it that I had to finish the book, and ended up reading it within the same day that I started it. The vampires were intriguing and the Civil War angle interesting. Some things you saw coming, but on the whole this was a fun read, and I look forward to more in this series.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than 13 Bullets, February 8, 2008

By 

Catfish Kozmo (Arlington, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 99 Coffins: A Historical Vampire Tale (Paperback)

Having read 13 Bullets and most of David Wellington's other books, I have to say that I really enjoyed this one a bit more than 13 Bullets.

For those who are not familiar with Wellington's vampires, picture a Mack truck on steroids. They're not the double-fanged classic vampire but gory blood suckers who rip and tear their victims from limb to limb. Gore galore.

13 Bullets spent a fair amount of time introducing you to the world of Wellington's vampires, their powers, their limitations and who the characters were / are. 99 Coffins takes the reader into the world that knows about vampires and someone who is still haunted by the experience of having to hunt them and destroy them. This book is fast paced and was a quick read. And I can say that there's going to be another book in the series without giving anything away.

A fun gory vampire read.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read!, January 23, 2008

By 

kazza (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 99 Coffins: A Historical Vampire Tale (Paperback)

I bought this book in an airport bookstore literally before stepping on a plane. The cover grabbed me. (I don't buy books this way very often, but look at those teeth!) This was probably the best impulse-bought book I've ever read. I tend to stick to the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and like the only other reviewer at this time (one reviewer? what's up with that?) I read many vampire novels and am sick of the sexy vampires who entrap stupid women. These vamps are brutal monsters who are in no way struggling with what they are; they're hungry!

Caxton is a good character, but not having read "13 bullets", I didn't know much about her past. We are given pretty solid background information on her, but it's not a huge focus. I liked this; I got a sense of who she was, but the story revolved more around action than anything. She's clearly one tough broad who deserves many, many more books in this series.

Wellington is a great author. I finished this book in 2 days on a business trip. I picked up "13 Bullets" and just finished "Monster Island", the first in Wellington's zombie series. I will be reading all of his books. (And yes, I'm a more than a little biased because he's a Pittsburgher!)