Customer Reviews

Descendant

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James Falcon is a young and outwardly unexceptional American but he does have one area of unusual expertise -his grandmother and mother were Romanian in origin and have inculcted in him a deep knowledge of " strigoi"-Romanian undead ,close kin to the nosferatu .He is approached in 1943 by US Intelligence who have use for his knowledge -the Nazis have secured the services of the "strigoi" who are revealing to them the names of key members of several European resistance groups .After basic training he is despatched to Europe in puruit of the strigoi leader -the saturnine Duca .We first see him in full on vampire slaying mode in Antwerp, Belgium but despite success Duca eludes him

We then move to 1957 when he is again pressed into service by US intelligence -Duca was not killed but captured by the US who hoped to enlist his services on their side in the coming conflict with Russia .His plane crashed and when it was recently dicovered Duca was resurrected and is now wreaking havoc in London .Falcon is sent to Britain to co-operate with British Intelligence in tracaking down and killing Duca and his acolytes

The action is swift and bloody but he still finds time for an amorous dalliance with Jill his main contact with the British services and events move to a showdown with Duca on board the "Queen Elizabeth" as it readies for sailing to New York .There is however a bitter sweet codocil to the novel which adds depth to the novel.Duca is a suitably nasty villain and James an engaging hero with a wry sense of humour
The main emphasis is action and this is well described and compelling but there is also some quite culture clash comedy as Falcon struggles to come to terms with British life in the mid 50's -warm beer ,shepherd's pie and draconian licencing laws in pubs

Masteron is a consummate pro and this is a very readable and entertaining book .It is unreservedly recommende to all horror lovers and those enjoying a well plotted and swiftly executed tale by an experienced practitioner

This is a vampire novel by Graham Masterson. He uses Slavic folklore and World World Two scenarios as the basis for this novel. While the majority of the story takes place during the 1940's it continues on in the future. Nazis have recruited a Slavic vampire to infect and recruit more vampires to aid the Nazi war effort. US and British answer is to develop and send out hunter/killer teams to locate and terminate with extreme prejudice these groups of vampires throughout western Europe. This novel is a good read. Its got action, some romance and a surprise ending. Not to shabby.

Masterton crafts books like a Master. Now and again he will draw out one that is reminiscent of a superbly written Agatha Christie book, except that he scares the hell out of you, and weaves a brilliant Supernatural Narrative.
This time, as he has his Character re-tell what has happened, he crafts characters in such detail, he spends time hammering out the sculptured purity of the tale. As he still does, this is a tale written in Blood, gore and sex, and yet, he manages to take it one step beyond, showing that he has brought his craft to the tip of excellence. But, always a crowd pleaser, he manages to bring out the most stunning, the most brilliant plot twists that make it a tale so very difficult, as they say, to put down; this is more of the Master Chill-Smiths Brilliance.

Couldn't put this one down, a very different take on the whole vampire genre, a fast read full of action, and interesting vampire lore, some romance, the historical time in Europe makes the book to me, just so well written, bloody good in fact reading about all the killings. Masterton has written a classic twist on this genre without doing 600 pages, he's kept it fast paced and interesting and cut to the bone and the story has characters you get to know, I think this would make a cool movie, these vampires are not nice!

I like to make lists of books to read and I was surprised to see that I had placed Descendant on my list. I'm not interested in the cutesy mortal loves a vampire who loves a werewolf who loves a stuffed panda kind of books. But this is so different. Graham Masterson has created his own legendary strain of vampires. An American, James Falcon is an expert regarding these vampires. In world War II he is recruited into the Army to go to London to help the British to conquer these undead. The story spans a few years and is suspenseful and interesting.

Fast paced and has a couple of jolts this story is an easy two day read. Good twist in the end makes this worthy of purchase.

One of the best novels Masterton has written as well as being one of the best vampire novels I have read.

Great twists on the vampire mythos. In the Masterton way of course.

Another solid entertainment from Graham Masterton. I'm not a fan of vampire stories, but I did enjoy this one.