The Blood of the Covenant: A Novel of the Vampiric [Hardcover]

Brent Monahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

The sequel to The Book of Common Dread finds Simon Penn and Frederika Vanderveen on the run from an ancient, bloody-minded vampire intent on preventing them from revealing the secret of the vampires' existence.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Picking up where The Book of Common Dread (1993) left off, Monahan continues his tale of what Princeton University librarian Simon Penn describes as "evil from before the dawn of history... being fought with technology invented yesterday." Vampires are still in pursuit of the Scrolls of Ahriman, which hold the key to their power and are now in the hands of Penn and his beautiful colleague Frederika Vanderveen. But Vanderveen, having acquired an addiction to the Devil's powder fed to her by a master vampire in the previous book, has developed an unholy thirst for blood. Pursued by several vampires, the pair have encounters with the Princeton police, find themselves in numerous perilous situations and are aided by Father Dante Ferro, an emissary of the Vatican. There is enough action in this fast-paced yarn to keep most horror fans interested, but Monahan's characters achieve little growth, and his penchant for melodrama sometimes skirts caricature ("'So, I'm a hideous dwarf, am I?' the Vampire said. 'An ugly little bastard, eh?'"). He's merely retreading ground he's staked out and explored before; hopefully, the likely next volume in what looks to be an ongoing series will brace all the bloodletting with a bit more originality.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ancient scrolls that describe the very nature of evil and warn of imminent disaster for mankind have been stolen from Princeton University by librarians Simon and Frederika. Our heroes are aided by a Roman Catholic Priest (with the knowledge and support of the Pope) and a Princeton police detective. All must outrun and outwit an especially vicious monster known only as the Vampire. The Vampire is more than 2000 years old and revels in the evil deeds his satanic masters command. This book is a sequel to The Book of Common Dread (St. Martin's, 1993), which first introduced Simon and Frederika as well as an interesting, complex vampire named DeVilbiss. The adventure and intrigue here are well done and fast paced, although the supernatural elements at time strain credulity. For larger fiction collections.
Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312134363
• ISBN-13: 978-0312134365
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,258,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot-blooded Stuff, June 13, 2005

By 

Voracious - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blood of the Covenant (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewers. This is every bit as good as its predecessor, The Book of Common Dread. That's rare for a sequel. A truly original take on the vampire tradition. The pace is excellent. Several nice twists don't hurt either. I'd love to see this become a movie.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Erotically stimulating!, August 19, 1998

By 

Michelle Lobato ([e-mail]) (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blood of the Covenant (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel was extremely excellent. It is one of the most amazing vampire stories ever written. The dark humor and blazing real-ness make this book a very entertaining piece of art! It stimulates the senses with lust and death and extreme erotic evilness. The story is one of the battle between the dark and the light, the good and evil, and the human race and the vampire race that hopes to take over the world with it's blood hungry kind. I highly recommend this novel to ANY one who enjoys a great horror story!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic vampire thriller !!!, May 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Blood of the Covenant: A Novel of the Vampiric (Hardcover)

The follow-up to "The Book Of Common Dread" is even better than the original. Taking over where the first book left off, it follows Simon Penn and Frederika Vanderveen on their quest to unravel the mystery of the Scrolls of Ahriman. We are propelled from Princeton University to Europe in their search for a scholar willing to translate the scrolls that prove that vampires exist. Can they accomplish this in time or will the dark angels close in for the kill ? Well, you'll just have to buy the book and find out !!!! You won't be disappointed.