Customer Reviews

99 Coffins: A Historical Vampire Tale

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!)

I enjoyed the new take on Vampire tales in David Wellington's "13 Bullets" but the sequel, "99 Coffins" grabbed me from the git-go and I could not put it down. Kept my attention with action, switching back and forth from present day to the days leading up to Gettysburg in 1863. I give 5 stars to books I don't want to put down and that have a great/surprise ending. This one did not disappoint.

I will give you the gist of the tale without giving the book away. A group of modern day archeology students are digging in Gettysburg and uncover a cave with 99 coffins in it. When they open one of the coffins they find the skeleton of what clearly was a vampire. Our heroine from "13 Bullets", Trooper Claxton is called in to investigate and finds that there was a 100th coffin that was smashed and has no skeleton. You guessed it. A vampire is loose in Gettysburg. But how could a vampire possibly still be alive without blood for over 160 years? Answers to those questions and more as the story picks up a lot of steam from there. I do not wish to give away any more of the fun. If you like alternative historical tales, this is a great one because you get constant flashbacks to the days leading up to the battle of Gettysburg and the possible existence of a vampire with southern sympathies.

Several great tie ins to the previous book. I found it to be even better than 13 Bullets. Judging from the ending that I will not reveal, I suspect we have a third book in this line coming soon. Enjoy!

After reading the fantastic first parter in this vampire series I knew it would be hard to keep up in this 2nd outing in the violent vampire series (thanks david for making the vamps monsters and not sleek wimps). This time newbie vampire hunter caxton must basically hunt vanpires herself since the king of vampire hunters arkley (such a great character...made the first book) is basically in forced retirement due to actions of the first book. I believe this one isnt as good as the first due to the lack of Arkley. Hes such a great strong character that gets the short end of the stick eventually leading to not only the fall of his character, but to the cecline in the series as a whole. The book delivers in its grisly body count (seeing that there 99 vampires out there) but lacks in impacting atmosphere this time. I give it a 4/5 dtill. It still delivers a good story and still features Arkley in a way.... just wanted him to be a continous main character instead of a supporting cast.In reality this rookie vamp slayer wouldnt be able to accomplish what Arkley had been doing for his lifes work in the short time she was given....but whatever. good story, good violence and a cranky old man arkley starting a new chapter.

I was wowed by *13 Bullets.* The follow up, *99 Coffins,* has less of the frantic action that made me so thoroughly enjoy the first, and I think that had a great deal to do with the utter absence of Arkley in *Coffins* but also of the nasty half-deads and the psychological torment of being watched in your own home or being trapped inside a coffin. The logic of the climactic battle in *Coffins* is full of .50 caliber holes, frankly (e.g., Where did the three helicopters go?), and that structural contrivance of flashback-through-journal did not enhance the modern narrative for me. Learning more about Malvern was worthwhile, but being dragged through dueling accounts from the American Civil War was not. Thus, if you're looking for *13 Bullets* revisited, I suggest you reconsider this as 'Caxton fighting vampires from the Civil War' rather than 'Arkley and Caxton fighting a new vampire brood.'

I really liked "13 Bullets" but this book is much better. Plenty of scenes with the vampires and the vampires are scary as hell. The description of the vampires with their opaque triangular razor sharp teeth and the condition of their bodies is exceptional. You can just envision them in your mind and get chills.

The storyline is very good and the action keeps on coming and coming. The by-storyline explains why this is happening now but it does not interfere with it. I usually don't particular care for stories that have another story going on at the same time, but the way Mr. Wellington does this, is very subtle. It is easy to follow and compliments the main story.

All in all this is a great vampire story and for anyone who is a vampire fan, this is a must read! Hopefully there will be a sequel to this book!!

Wow! In two books David Wellington has joined the ranks with my favorite authors. The back and forth of every other chapter kept me captivated. Two stories being told between the past and the present, and merging into one was spectacular. I've never been one for history, but it flowed with the story seamlessly and never tripped me up.

I kept myself from reading the synopsis off of the backs of the remaining books when I started this series, and I am glad that I did. The twist was (literarily) a jaw dropper for me. For those who know the story, I will say I was looking for him, but I got caught up in the bloody battle and forgot about him.

I am staring at Vampire Zero right now as I type and want to pick it up, but the sun is rising and I must sleep. (evil grin)

as good as any other david wellington.
his writing is superb, with parse descriptions yet the charaters come through as very life like. i think it's the little details. the story has an excellent plot, building up in excitment. a must read for anyone who wants to know what happened after 13 bullets.

I received Mr. Wellington's 13 Bullets as a gift, and I just had to buy the sequel. I find his characters realistic, and therefore, you find yourself invested in the outcome whenever they happen to be in danger. Laura is, like many law enforcers, at hearth a person who cares about the welfare of others, but she never asked to be involved in the gruesome persecution of vampires. Arkeley, on the other hand, has been consumed by his quest in mind, body and soul. He is one bastich whom you love to dislike.

Intersecting stories between the current predicament and a Civil War era tale, written in epistolary fashion, allows your palate to shift between two flavors of horror: contemporary reckless acceleration towards an explosive finale, and a narrative that harkens back to the style of Lovecraft, Poe and Stoker.

Overall, very well done, and you can be sure that my next order will include the remaining two books in the series.