Customer Reviews

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alex Van Helsing is only fourteen, but has already been kicked out of his previous school for fighting. And not long after arriving at Switzerland's Glenarvon Academy, he has made enemies of his roommates and is attacked by a vampire while walking alone near school grounds. Still, Alex has no clue he is a descendant of Bram Stoker's famous Van Helsing vampire slayer. After all, Alex's father has told him time and time again that there are no such things.

But there are such things. Henderson has created a fascinating world of legendary vampires with ties to classic literature, such as Stoker's Dracula, Shelley's Frankenstein and the poet Lord Byron. Alex is a curious and brave kid with a good heart. And young readers will like that his friends have such popular interests as vampires and manga. But the highlight for me was the vampire school Scholomance, which is a mysterious and creepy place full of deadly enemies without a conscience.

It's fresh and fun; and I was completely hooked from the start. A non-stop action and adventure fantasy for young adults, this new series doesn't disappoint. And the secret vampire hunting organization that gives the feeling of a young James Bond novel... with killer vampires. It's a fantastic vampire-slayer series debut for readers of all ages.

In his new book, "Alex Van Helsing, Vampire Rising," Jason Henderson has supplemented the existing world rather than creating a whole new one. Where a fairy land of pure imagination is often fun, it is not as relatable to the reader as what Jason Henderson has managed to accomplish. He has also created a tangible world that not only engages the reader, but will likely create a curiosity in his young readers about the very legitimate literary references that he makes. There is also plenty for the older reader. Like other recent Young Adult series involving shadow worlds that exist in parallel to the mundane, there are points of interest for older readers as well. This book and I trust this series has references that will appeal to people of all ages. It addresses, but does not dwell on the tribulations of living as an adolescent male. It's examination of bullying, testosterone based issues of pride, and other interpersonal relationships never feels contrived, but those issues are merely another part of the entire lives of the characters. I look forward to the following books in this series. Fun writing is rarely intelligent, and intelligent wring is not always fun; this story is both.

Jason Henderson evidently has a love affair going on with Dracula and Frankenstein, two of the most wellknown horror mythos in literature and the history of horror. In the past, he wrote a comic series with a modern-day Van Helsing fighting against the lord of Vampires, Dracula. The series was called Sword of Dracula.

Now he's penning a new Alex Van Helsing series for young readers, and it starts off with a bang in Vampire Rising. Admittedly, the Van Helsing name is what initially drew me in. When you think of vampire hunters, Van Helsing has gotta be near the top. Of course, the younger generation is going to think of Buffy first.

But they're also going to think of Alex Rider, the 14 year old 007 created by Anthony Horrowitz that has revitalized the spy genre for young readers. Rider and Van Helsing both have techware that would make any red-blooded young male sit up and take notes.

Interestingly enough, Henderson not only ties the vampire legend to Dracula, but also to Frankenstein, and he's set the series near Lake Geneva, where Mary Shelley first wrote the famous short story that would later become a book that will live on in the annals of horror - oh yeah, literature too.

The literary history captivated me. The story of that weekend where Mary Shelley (then 18 years old), Lord Byron, John Polidori, and Percy Shelley has been mined by several writers, but this is a new twist. The two literary histories, vampirism and Frankenstein, are inextricably bound in this book, and it looks like that's going to be a staple of the series.

Young male readers are going to be entranced by the cornucopia of action Henderson throws into the story. The opening chapter has Alex Van Helsing (15 and in boarding school) facing a vampire in the forest at night. It's his first time. He doesn't believe in such things and believes that his last name is just bad luck.

From there, Henderson introduces his readers to what is going to be the staple of Alex's posse: Mr. Sangster, the teacher who's really an anti-vampire superspy with some hidden abilities, Minhi, the girl with martial arts skills and who is a Brainiac, and two guy friends cut directly from the nerd herd.

They're up against a vampire called Icemaker (almost a James Bond villain name, right?) who's trying to raise an old lover from the dead. Of course, if he does that, it will probably doom the world.

I like the cast of characters in this book, and yes, Sangster does remind me of a certain librarian from the Buffyverse, only tonied up a little more. Minhi looked like she was ready to come on and stand out, but she got lost in the shuffle of the action even with some of the chapters dedicated directly to her. There just hasn't been much in the way of character development, or really what's at stake so far. However, the book reads really fast and I'm confident school librarians should put this one on their shelves because male readers will love the gimmickry, the references to pop culture, the action sequences that are movie-ready, and the one-liners.

Hopefully there'll be more meat to dig into once Alex's parents figure out what he's been up to and have to deal with him knowing they've been keeping him in the dark.

I read this with my 5th grade son...we had a blast. The literary references were well beyond his depth of knowledge, but it was fun to explain them to him. We are so excited to continue the journey with Alex.

VAMPIRE RISING has adrenaline fueled action from page one. These are not the wispy-dreamy romantic vampires - these are tooth-and-claw fighting, motorcycle chasing, kick your butt types. Alex Van Helsing, recently enrolled at Glenarvon Academy, doesn't know he is distant kin to Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula's killer. And he wonders, what's with the "static" he hears in his head? The book references classic vampire lore, from the early tales of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley and less well-known writers such as John Polidori. Author Henderson has a good command of teen language, teen humor and teen interests, and if this adult reader rolled her eyes a few times at the over the top chase scenes...well the teen readers I shared the book with raced through the story without complaint. This is a great choice for boys (and girls) who like action, weapons and technical toys. Fans of ICECORE and GOLDSTRIKE(Matt Whyman) and DEVIL'S BREATH and ICE CLAW (David Gilman) would probably like this book.

I picked up Alex Van Helsing because it looked like it had something different. I was right. Henderson's teenage hero doesn't even know that he comes from a long line of heroes--after all, "Van Helsing" is just a name, right?

Of course it's not "just a name," and Alex is soon dealing with villains that leave school bullies in the dust. What raises this book above many other YA hero books is the depth of the characters. Alex's friends are real, three-dimensional kids--not stock sidekicks like "geek" or "jock" or "airhead." The adults aren't buffoons or mustache-twirling community theater characters--they're resourceful humans who know how to use their brains. And the vampires live up to the narcissistic amoral mythos begun by Polidori and Stoker.

Whether or not you know vampire fact and fiction from the last few centuries, this book won't disappoint. It takes the vampire and hunter lore and makes it believable for today. I was rooting for Alex before the end of the first chapter. Henderson's imagery and dialogue make the story zip along. He ties up the loose ends of the plot (hooray!) yet gives just enough hints to make me wish the sequel was available RIGHT NOW. Highly recommended.

Jason Henderson has created a unique twist on a legendary character. Alex Van Helsing is a descendant of the legendary Van Helsing, but doesn't know it. All that he knows is that his dad sent him to boarding school because of a fight. Now, he's sharing a room with the resident twin bullies who would rather make his life a living hell. After a series of attacks occur just outside of the school and he chases one of the attackers (something that resembles a vampire), Alex stumbles upon a secret organisation which his father was apparently a member of. He gets drawn into the centre of the action when a dangerous vampire shows up with frightening plans. It's up to Alex along with his friends and Special Agent Sangster to stop these plans and save the world... as long as Alex's father doesn't find out.

Henderson has breathed life into unique characters that jump off the page and Alex has a genuine and interesting voice. There is plenty of action in the pages that will keep you turning to the next, with lots of twists and turns as the story progresses. Some of the action was a bit unrealistic, like how Alex is able to kill a vampire so easily without even training for it, but that can easily be forgiven because it is just a fun story and it really draws the reader in amongst the action.

As the summary states Alex Van Helsing is the paranormal version of Alex Rider. A talented kid who is part spy and part Buffy the vampire slayer (except that he is a guy and not a cheerleader :)

Although Alex knows he is a distant relative of the legendary Van Helsing, his father has always rebuffed the somewhat clouded history of the family name saying "Those types of things just don't happen." So, Alex has always just assumed his father was right...until he gets kicked out of his prep school under mysterious circumstances and sent to Glenarvon Academy. Weird things start happening almost immediately and Alex isn't sure what to think.

Alex is dealing with a lot at his new school including two bullying brothers, a teacher who is hiding a pretty big secret and the fact that he is pretty sure vampires are following him. When two of his friends are kidnapped Alex knows that it might be up to him to save them from the sinister "Icemaker."

With the history of how Mary Shelly came to write the story of Frankenstein and a few other historical figures embedded into the story, I found this read very interesting and action-packed. A secret society of vampire hunters and a school for vampires to learn about, well, being vampires...makes the story even better!

Another read I am excited to recommend to boy readers! Girls will like this story too because there is a possibility of romance to come with Minhi, a friend of Alex's from the neighboring all girls school who happens to be one of the students kidnapped by Icemaker and his evil vampire followers.

A super fun read for 7th grade and up!

This was an immensely satisfying adventure in reading. I was left with the same feeling I had when I was younger and read the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators and The Hardy Boy series of books. Except in Alex Van Helsing there are kill shots and stakes. It is an adrenalin rush of a story that is tempered with the Dracula mythos with historical events mixed in. I'm sure this is going to spark several young readers to dip into Shelly's Frankenstien, Polidori's The Vamprye and Stoker's Dracula.

Product Details

* Pub. Date: May 2010
* Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
* Format: Hardcover, 256pp
* Sales Rank: 141,189
* Age Range: 12

* ISBN-13: 9780061950995
* ISBN: 0061950998

Alex Van Helsing has just been moved to a new private boarding school after getting kicked out of his old one. His new roommates are bullies and he tries very hard not to stay in his room, so he wanders around outside at night. However, he happens upon a murder in progress. He catches a woman dressed all in white hovering over the body of a man. Much to Alex's surprise, this woman has fangs. In a twist of fate, Alex ends up accidentally killing this woman (let's be honest, vampire) in order to save himself from being her next victim. This starts him on a road of discovering his family's legacy and about what really happened during the summer in Geneva at the Villa Diodati. With a Van Helsing, you know there is going to be more vampire slaying and adventure, but how does a young Alex handle things when a very old vampire kidnaps two of his friends? Read to find out what perilous feats this young Van Helsing will go through to establish himself and save his friends.
This was a surprisingly quick read. There is a lot of action, which I think helps move the story along. As a fan of classic literature, I enjoyed the many references to Mary Shelley. It's always fun to mix some historical facts in with the action and adventure of vampire slaying. I think that children as young as 10 would enjoy this novel. It has some violence, but for the most part is pretty clean of language and adult content. My favorite part of the novel is when Alex is driving the armored vehicle to attempt a getaway. It's hilarious and gets your heart racing as well. I really enjoyed this book and am going to try to get a few copies because my students were immediately interested as well. I think the cover art attracts a lot of attention because it reminds students of the cirque du freak titles.
5/5 stars