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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vampires From Outer Space, February 16, 2004
This review is from: Area 51: Nosferatu (Mass Market Paperback)
Or maybe that should be "Vampires Whose Parents are From Outer Space and Have Molded Human History for the Past 10,000 Years." Or... Well, you get the message. This is a concoction of alien invasion and Dracula, which, fortunately, was written by an author capable of making a story enjoyable reading even when it is completely unbelievable. This is the eighth in Robert Doherty's Area 51 series, and in many ways, it is one of the best. The original series, up through The Truth, suffers from the persistence of the characters. Doherty's forte is not character development, and one can only stand a character endlessly repeating the same behaviors for a certain length of time. With Nosferatu, we get an entirely new case, human and Airlia scion included. The Airlia, we discover, bred with humans to create a hybrid that they could use as blood bags. Having only half Airlia blood, they could provide nourishment to their masters while feeding on humans. There are very few of these 'vampires,' all kept in the complex under Giza and the pyramids. During a revolt, Nosferatu, Vampyr, and Nekhbet manage to escape. By dint of determination and the ability to sleep for thousands of years. Nosferatu and Vampyr manage to outlast the Airlia gods. Nekhbet was injured in the escape and cannot be awakened until a new supply of Airlia blood is found. Nosferatu is the one that loves her, but Vampyr seeks only one thing - revenge for what the Airlia and their human servants have done. Gradually the story moved into the present, making a shambles of much of human history in the process. Doherty has a tendency to explain everything that ever happened as the result of the interference of the Airlia and the vampires. Personally, I find this excessive, but Doherty manages to keep this from becoming a show stopper, weaving everything together into an effort that is completely satisfactory. The only other flaw is that the conclusion is rushed mercilessly. This isn't a gradually build-up, but a sudden shift of gears. Unwarned, the reader is suddenly in the middle of the conclusion without the necessary mental preparation. Still, a good story, even if it lacks greatness. Most people don't expect alien invations to be great literature (despite some glaring exceptions). What they do expect is suspense and entertainment, and these are the core of Doherty's success. This story can be treated as a stand-alone effort, but reading the preceding volumes will enhance the readers understanding of the baroque infrastructure underlying this tale.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The first book in a new Area 51 series, September 3, 2003
This review is from: Area 51: Nosferatu (Mass Market Paperback)
Having enjoyed immensely the seven books in Robert Doherty's Area 51 series, I was thrilled to learn that he would be writing a new series of books set in that same world. Area 51: Nosferatu is the first of that new series, and I have to admit that Doherty really surprised me with the subject matter: vampires. At first glance, one might question the introduction of vampires into the Area 51 mythology, thinking that vampires have been done to death and don't seem to belong in Doherty's alternate history of the earth. To Doherty's credit, however, the new book does work, providing a new twist on the creation and nature of vampires while melding his Undead characters quite well into human history. The novel opens in the immediate aftermath of the human victory over the Airlia, extraterrestrials who had used and abused mankind for as long as men had walked on two legs. The Eldest among the world's small number of vampires, Nosferatu, knows that the Airlia defeat has finally made conditions right for a new age, an age of the Undead. All he needs is a supply of pure Airlia blood, which can be taken from the frozen dead bodies of three aliens near the top of Mount Everest, in the defeated Airlia mothership orbiting the earth, and in a few other hard-to-reach places. His one true aim is to awaken his beloved Nekhbet, who has passed the millennia in a deep sleep, waiting for the pure Airlia blood she must have in order to leave her protective tomb. Nosferatu's task is complicated by the existence of a rogue vampire named Vampyr, a man bent on destroying the Airlia, mankind, and any fellow vampire who gets in his way. Nosferatu and five other vampires were created before 8000 BC to serve as little more than the food of the gods. Chained inside a tube, they awoke only to feed on cold human blood or to be fed upon by the gods. When the vampires managed to escape, Nekhbet was captured and sentenced to a living death inside her tube. Nosferatu's love for her grows stronger every day they are apart. In this world, vampires are half-Airlia and half-human; they need human blood in order to feed the Airlia half of the blood what it needs to keep them alive. Nosferatu kills only when he has to in order to survive, quite unlike Vampyr. Nosferatu works silently in the background of the world, but Vampyr becomes famous under a guise of names for his savage cruelty: Vlad Tepes is by no means Vampyr's only incarnation in the history of violence on earth. After following these vampires over the course of history, the final chapters describe the inevitable confrontation of the two vampiric forces, closing out quite strongly while setting the stage for the next book. While the novel doesn't quite build the suspense that characterized the original Area 51 books, the incorporation of the unusual yet really quite beautiful love story between Nosferatu and Nekhbet gives it a personal dimension lacking in Doherty's previous books.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A New Cycle in Book 8, September 23, 2003
This review is from: Area 51: Nosferatu (Mass Market Paperback)
This eighth book of the Area 51 series begins a new cycle of stories. The characters from the first seven books are no longer part of the story (although there are some references to a couple of them). Although this is a new cycle, it is best to read the other seven books first (Area 51, The Reply, The Mission, The Sphinx, The Grail, Excalibur, The Truth). The aliens have been defeated in the first cycle. Alien controls are gone. That leaves an opening for others who have waited long; the Undead. The Undead have been half-human half-aliens that were created to be fed on. But some of these Undead escaped. Most notable were Nosferatu and Vampyr. As the Undead begin their plans to find true immortality, not that the Grail has been destroyed, we are then treated to their history for the past 10,000 years and how they have affected world history. Eventually the story reaches the present where the Undead move their plans into action. A tense and fast-paced race begins until the very final sentences. One of the better paced stories of the series. One that does not rely heavily on sudden revelation, but instead builds nicely on the history created in the first seven books. If you read the first seven for the story, you will love this one, but if you read them for the characters you may be a little disappointed in their absence.
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