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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story, clunk dialogue, a bit cheesy, February 2, 2008
As a previous reviewer noted (and was subsequently punished for via "not helpful" votes), this book tosses a lot of powers around. There is no story of struggle or the steady increase of power, you just see brutally powerful characters fight, and when a new plot twist is introduced, another brutally powerful character appears. It's like playing an D&D and starting at level 20.
That said, the story is entertaining. Weinberg knows how to spin a yarn with fairly intricate plot twists, and this trilogy is certainly more action-oriented than the 13-novel saga that followed it a few years later. However, my main beef is the dialogue, which detracts from the story to the point of distraction.
One of the first things you learn in your junior high/high school creative writing course is to not hand-deliver major plots points via artificial dialogue. It's stupid, and everyone can see what you're doing. This trilogy is brimming with this irritating plot delivery device. The main characters, who have known each other for 6,000 years, will mention in passing their backstory as if the other didn't know. They'll elaborate on things for no apparent reason, such as the history of vampires, and the result is you feeling like the character stops the story, turns and faces you, the reader, and starts explaining things.
Also, the characters are far too chipper for this vampire world. They're so eager to help, they fall in love with humans, they share their emotions without suspicion, they crack jokes in the middle of battle ... it's just not a serious treatment of the genre. It's rather like taking Arnold Schwarzenegger's flippant character from Commando and putting him in the role of Lestat. You simply aren't trying very hard.
3 stars for a fun story, but stupid dialogue and overly-witty nonsense detract. The next two actually get worse, so they get 2 stars for the same reasons.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorites, May 14, 2000
Bloodwar is one of the best written books I've read. If you're going to read this book find a time when you're not going to be interupted. It grabs you like a snake grabs a mouse.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive scope, especially considering the topic., February 2, 1998
By A Customer
Robert Weinberg has managed to combine the two most difficult to achieve traits in a V:TM fantasy novel, namely character development and scope, with rapid action and a pace worthy of James Bond. The characters of the Camarilla, their servants and tools, as well as their ancient vampiric manipulators, come alive. We understand them, feel their desperation, revel in their triumphs, but realize how ephemeral is victory within the Jhyad, yet how final are the defeats. By scope I mean that the book reaches back to ancient beginnings, and across many current boundaries and spheres of influence. The book's villains appear in the principal city of the vampire world, pose threats from that vantage which could affect all life on Earth... yet somehow manage to do so without getting preachy or unecessarily artificial... the connections seem possible, and we feel comfortable with the trails ending at the feet of real entities out of vampire and human legend. Few ficititous worlds are so completely well-crafted, even accounting for the advantages of writing within the well-established World of Darkness. Of course, even so skillful a web as Mr. Weinberg has weaved, would be dull if there weren't constant action along with the angst. The World of Darkness is a violent place of sudden death and dangerous creatures. The special effect budget for a movie based on this script would keep several hi-tech firms busy for years. A rare treat for any fiction fans; a must-have for gothic horror fans.
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