Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates) [Library Binding]

Justin Somper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2009 | Series: Vampirates

Connor and Grace are twins, recently orphaned after their widowed father's death. Rather than being adopted by the town's busy-bodies, they decide to set sail for new pastures in their father's last single possession, his sailing boat. But a vicious storm sees their boat capsize and the twins separated. Two mysterious ships sail to their rescue - each picking up one twin before disappearing into the mist. Connor wakes to find himself on a pirate ship and is soon being trained up with a cutlass. Meanwhile Grace finds herself locked in a darkened room, as the vampirates await nightfall...Determined to find each other, yet intrigued by their new shipmates, the twins are about to embark on the biggest adventure of their life...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Justin is well-known as a children's books publicity consultant, working on high profile campaigns including the launch of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series and events at the Roald Dahl centre. Less well-known is his interest in vampires and that he's a dab hand at sword-fighting. Vampirates brings together both his interests, creating a world to delight children and adults alike. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 330 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439574065
• ISBN-13: 978-1439574065
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,464,950 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 17, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates) (Paperback)

Well shiver-me-timbers! Get ready to be washed away by this exciting, swashbuckling adventure. VAMPIRATES is the story of Connor and Grace Tempest, twins and children of the lighthouse keeper of Crescent Moon Bay on the East Coast of Australia in the year 2505. The story begins with the two young children getting out of bed in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. They wander up to the lamp room to watch the glory of the lightening and churning water with their father. In order to ease their mind, their father sings their favorite sea shanty.

"I'll tell you a tale of Vampirates

A tale as old as true.

Yea, I'll sing you a song of an ancient ship,

And its mighty fearsome crew."

The twins are finally coaxed back into bed after several verses of the eerie song and settle in for the night.

Seven years later, Connor and Grace's father dies, leaving them penniless and homeless. The kids aren't strangers to the stares and whispers that occur whenever they walk by because they've been dealing with it since the day they came to the lighthouse. They've always felt like outcasts, never quite fitting in.

People in town couldn't figure out why Connor was so much better at sports than the rest of the kids, even when he neglected practice for weeks. Grave provoked equal suspicion - from both teachers and classmates - with her unusual wide-ranging knowledge and strange notions about things far beyond her age and station in life. Since they knew they'd never feel at home in Crescent Moon Bay without their father, the twins decide to take off in their father's boat and take their chances at sea, rather than moving in with the cold, local banker or going to the orphanage.

Their first night on the ocean a huge storm crashed down on them, tearing their little boat apart. As hard as they tried, they couldn't stay together through the churning water. Thankfully, they are rescued and brought safely on board another vessel; however, not the same one. Connor is pulled aboard a pirate ship named the Diablo and Grace is rescued by the Vampirate ship. Desperate to find each other, they both plead with the captains to go back and search for the other. Both are told there isn't a chance the other would have survived. Neither lose hope and know they'll see each other again.

Connor sets about learning the ways of a pirate. He is assigned chores, makes friends, and receives sword fighting lessons. He participates in a raid on another ship and helps acquire booty for the crew. Grace, meanwhile, stays locked in her cabin, told not to even look out the window. She overhears weird conversations about feasts and witnesses strange things like candles that never extinguish, food that appears out of nowhere, and has the overwhelming need to sleep every time she eats or drinks anything. Grace has one person that she talks to named Lorcan, who has been sworn to protect her from the crew. At first, Grace doesn't understand the reason for the isolation. She doesn't realize that some members of the crew aren't happy with the captain's feeding schedule and wouldn't think twice about disobeying an order. She finds out the hard way when she slips out of the cabin and doesn't make it back before nightfall.

VAMPIRATES is told in alternating chapters from both Connor and Grace's point of view. The reader witnesses the growth in both twins as they are forced to make their way alone for the first time. Their devotion and loyalty to each other is touching and adds to the overall hopeful feeling in the book. Once you dive into this adventure you'll hate having to come up for air.

Keep your eyes peeled for the sequel, Vampirates: Tide of Terror (Vampirates) coming out in June of 2007.

Reviewed by: Karin Perry

2.0 out of 5 stars Vampirates - intriguing concept, but lots of cliches, July 23, 2011

By 

Trista Morrison (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates) (Paperback)

Justin Somper's Vampirates had me hooked from the title - what's not to love about combining two of scifi's greatest villians? Unfortunately, quite a bit.

The story follows teenage twins Grace and Connor Tempest, who have a mysterious past (they don't know who their mother was) and quickly find themselves orphaned when their father dies. They strike out on their own, setting sail into a storm that capsizes their ship. Connor finds himself rescued by a pirate ship with a captain that has annoying similarities to Captain Jack Sparrow, and Grace wind up on a ship full of dangerous Vampirates, fortunately with a young, dark-haired, handsome protector among them.

Can you spot the cliches? The book isn't terrible - it actually reminds me of the Twilight series in that you somehow want to keep turning the pages, even when you're sighing with frustration at the shallowness of the characters. So if you liked Twilight, you might like this. But I really wish it had lived up to the potential of its creative title.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Original, January 20, 2006

By 

Kami (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates) (Paperback)

Never before have I heard of the idea to combine vampires and pirates into one. It is totally fresh and original. The author has portrayed the main characters as being capable, and able to fend for themselves, though at times they do admit that they need help. He has done this so well that you can't help but cheer them on the whole way through. You can't help too, falling in love with the hero, vampirate though he may be, Lorcan Furrey, who is just the type of person you'd want around should things get bad.

I could find nothing bad about this book, except for perhaps the fact that it leaves you wanting more. I just hope that Justin Somper is working on a sequel. The ending certainly leaves more to be desired.