BLACK HEART (VAMPIRATES) [Paperback]

JUSTIN SOMPER (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN'S (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416901035
• ISBN-13: 978-1416901037
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,742,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Justin Somper is an exciting creative talent in children's book publishing. Beginning his career as a writer/editor for Usborne, he joined Puffin Books as a publicist in 1992 and moved to Random House as Children's Publicity Director in 1996. In 1998, Justin broke free to become one of the UK's first specialist children's book publicists. He has since worked with Anthony Horowitz, Louise Rennison, the Roald Dahl literary estate and the Narnia literary estate amongst others.

Now, Justin has made the transition from leading book publicist to bestselling author with the Vampirates sequence. The first title, Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean debuted in 2005. Justin was dubbed "The Next Big Thing" by Sunday Times Magazine while, in Waterstone's "Harry Potter Report", the chain's buyers selected Demons of the Ocean as their top recommendation for fans of Harry Potter. The Sunday Times said Vampirates "promises to be an addictive series". The Evening Standard welcomed "a vivid and bloodthirsty debut", whilst The Times acclaimed "a clever combination of two genres that could make it as popular as Pirates of the Caribbean".

With Demons of the Ocean, Justin won the Birmingham KS3 "Explores" Book Award and the Solihull Children's Book Award. He was runner-up in the North East Children's Book Award and short-listed for the prestigious Red House Children's Book Award. Justin's work has also won praise from fellow children's book authors including Darren Shan who calls it, "An intriguing mix of piracy and vampirism. Justin Somper has brought new terrors to the blood-drenched seas - bravo!!!"

The Sequel
Vampirates: Tide of Terror was published in the UK in August 2006. It was book of the month for the Daily Telegraph's Family Book Club (with a rave review from Carol Thatcher - "I was swept along by the story... entertaining, relevant, interesting and thoroughly commendable") and Blue Peter Book of the Month. Tide of Terror instantly became a top 20 children's books bestseller.

In 2006, Justin made debut appearances at the Hay Festival of Literature, the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, as well as visiting schools and libraries throughout the UK. Particular highlights included an event on the deck of the Cutty Sark and a very enjoyable return to his old primary school in Hatfield.

Vampirates goes Global
2006 saw the release of many of the international editions of Vampirates growing the global phenomenon. The US edition of Demons of the Ocean published in October 2006 and has garnered strong reviews. "This fantastic tale will find many fans," said School Library Journal. The Spanish edition of Vampiratas: Demonios Del Oceano has sold over 30,000 hardback copies and already been reprinted five times. Vampirates has been promoted on the Warsaw metro and in Brazilian cinemas. The Vampirates books are now available in 23 territories wordwide.

World Book Day
In 2007 the Vampirates reached new heights as Justin was invited to write a "£1 book" to mark the 10th World Book Day in March. Vampirates: Dead Deep achieved number 7 in the children's books bestseller lists and number 11 in general bestsellers.

Blue Peter Star Author
In March the same year, Justin was asked by Blue Peter to be the show's first online "Star Author". For this, he wrote a weekly blog on the Blue Peter site for 20 weeks from March to June. During July and August 2007, Justin embarked on his first foreign author tour - in Australia, meeting fans in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. On his return to the UK he appeared again at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Bath Children's Book Festival and the Windsor Children's Book Festival.

"Just read it"
The much anticipated fourth Vampirates novel, Black Heart was published in March 2009. It was widely praised.

"Readers who like their fiction fast, funny and a little gory will lap up Vampirates." The Irish Independent

"Page-turning, award-winning, genre-busting fiction." The Daily Telegraph

What's next?
The fifth book in the Vampirates sequence, Empire of Night will be published in March 2010 in the UK and in August 2010 in the USA. To mark the publication Justin will be touring in the UK in March and USA in September 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4th Book in the Vampirates Series, June 8, 2009

By 

SciFiChick "The SciFiChick" (Fishers, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vampirates 4: Black Heart (Hardcover)

Picking up where book 3 left off, teenage twins Grace and Connor are shocked to have their mother back from the dead. Grace is thrilled, but Connor doesn't' wants to distance himself from the Vampirates. Meanwhile, Sidorio and his new crew of ruthless Vampirates are out, leaving a trail of death and destruction. But they aren't the only ones. A mysterious crew of beautiful vampire women appears and seems to be even more evil and deadly than Sidorio's.

Connor joins up with new Captain Cheng Li who receive orders to hunt down the Vampirates, one-by-one. Connor feels a little conflicted since his sister is very close to several of them. Connor knows not all of the vampires are evil, but how can he convince his superiors?

Grace and Connor's mother has returned mysteriously. But doesn't have much time left. Grace slowly learns the true story of her mother meeting her father and what happened surrounding the event of the twins' birth.

This is a decidedly darker and more intense installment than the previous. More gruesome death and suspense surround the evil Vampirates. In each book, Connor and Grace are gaining wisdom, new skills, and changing a bit as they get older. Some of the mystery surrounding the origins of the twins is a little predictable, but nonetheless is dragged out long enough to create a lot of suspense and expectation. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I still believe each book is gets better than the last in terms of adventure and character interaction.

I'll be waiting with high expectations for the next installment. Connor and Grace seem to have exciting destinies. Fantasy fans, both young and old, need to check out this series. It definitely remains one of my favorites.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best One Yet!, July 14, 2009

By 

Molly - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Vampirates 4: Black Heart (Hardcover)

The fourth installment of the Vampirates series is by far the best. The author whisks the reader away into a world of danger, romance, and a new age. It mainly focuses on Conner and Grace Tempest, twins who have lost their dad and ran away from home, who were seperated in Demons on the Ocean and their trials and sucesses abourd either the Pirate ship of the Vampire ship. This book is slightly darker than the first few but it reveals many secrets and answers alot of important questions. Personally I am very excited to read the fifth installment, Empire of Night! :)

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best One Yet!, March 30, 2011

By 

Amanda Jade - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Vampirates 4: Black Heart (Paperback)

Black Heart is the fourth book in the Vampirates series and the best one yet!. Somper just gets better and better which each book. Without ruining the series for new readers, I'll simply say that it's an adventure-packed tale of vampires and pirates. Each chapter is told from a different perspective which gives readers insights to every aspect of the story, allowing you to see the inner workings of each key character. Nearly every chapter ends on a cliff hanger, which makes it a very fast read since you're rushing to see what happens next. Full of twists and turns and huge revelations, Black Heart never bores you for even moment.

On top of his excellent storytelling, Somper also impressed me with his immaculate research. He incorporated loads of real vampire history and folklore into this story, which made this history buff very very happy.

Overall, I loved this book and I can't wait to read the next one. The series may be geared for ages 9-12, but in spite of that it can be enjoyed by any age. I highly suggest checking out the Vampirates series.