Customer Reviews

A Dozen Black Roses

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sonya Blue, Nancy Collins's unforgettable vampire slaying heroine returns in this very violent and gripping adventure.This time Sonya who is only known as The Stranger enters the sinister
city of Deadtown.Deadtown is the bloody battleground of two competing vampire lords, Sinjon who has ruled the city for almost two centuries and Esher the utterly ruthless younger vampire who wants the city for himself.They both traffic in drugs and use psychotic gangbangers as their armies.Sonya befriends Cloudy, a aging hippy and Ryan a young boy who's mother is controlled by Esher. Sonya decides to detroy both vampires, who are called Kindred in the novel.This short novel is filled with scenes of very graphic violence and visceral action sequences.The characters like the brave boy, Ryan are also very well drawn and the villians such as Esher and his sadistic vampire henchwoman, Decima also are memorable.My own complain of this book is that is really is a dark fantasy remake of two films: Yojimbo and Clint Eastwood's spaghatti western fistful of dollars.Once I knew the similarities between the book and those movies I guessed what would happen next in the plot and I was right all of the time.If u seen these movies you will remember what does happen in the novel as well.But other than that be prepared as Sonya Blue puts you under her spell as she puts the vampires dead under for good!

First off I want to say that I'm a Nancy Collins fan. The other Sonja Blue books are excellent. But this one just sucks. The characters are all lame and flat, the plot is cliche, the writing is spotty, the motivations weak, the organization poor. It's VERY obvious that she just slapped it together due to the crossover deal with White Wolf. She deals poorly with the various White Wolf clans and terminology, and her "personal" vampire mythos doesn't square at all with the White Wolf world. There are lots of glaring inconsistencies.

Don't waste your money on this garbage. Read the other Sonja Blue books.

Great book, I rate it at the top of all the books written by Nancy Collins (with Sunglasses after dark and Angles on Fire). I enjoyed the story line revolving around the battle for "Dead Town" and the gang/vampire warfare. The construction of the characters was very well conceived and excitiong to read. Again, a great book....

I loved the movie Yojimbo where Toshiro Mifune plays a nameless ronan who takes on two rival clans. If you've never seen it, find a copy & Watch it. It's brilliant.

I'm also a fan of the western adaptation, 'For a Few Dollars more' with Clint Eastwood's famous portrayal of the nameless anti hero.

Nancy Collins does the material justice by inserting Sonja Blue into the role. I found it interesting that she doesn't name her Character until near the end of the story and so keeps to the feel of Akira Kurosawa classic.

For fans of 'Sun Glasses After Dark', Sonja feels a little different here, but she was able to port her into the World of Darkness pretty much intact. The "rules" of vampires work just a tad bit different than in Mrs. Collins world of pretenders. If you're a Vampire the Masquerade fan, you may feel a little slighted as she doesn't completely immerse the story into that world. Still, I think she got the feel right and it was interesting to read about the Blood Wizards. The price of magic is particularly high if becoming a mage means you have to join the Tremiere.

If you're not familiar with either the Masquerade gaming system or the original Sonja Blue stories, I recommend starting with Sun Glasses After Dark or some of the other Whitewolf material first to get a better feel for the place you'll be visiting here. But be sure to come back here at a later date.

Seeing Ms. Blue wield a switchblade with the same skill Toshiro wields a katana is worth the effort.

Note on the ranking: I rank on an absolute scale. A Dozen Black Roses is an excellent book, but not quite a the level of the best of the best which should be reserved for only a few books. Maybe 1 every decade or so. Still if you like this genre, you'll like this book.

It's definitely a nice book to read, but after finishing it, I felt more like having seen a motion picture in the cinema than enjoying some piece of literature. by the way: Ms. Collins definitely has a problem using german words/names, I nearly could assume some kind of quabbalistic intention ;-)

While fans of the Masquerade universe will find SB a welcome addition, the SB story loses its edge. The game playing framework hangs rather awkwardly on an elemental force like Sonya Blue.

I just finished reading A Dozen Black Roses. I couldn't put it down until I had read it cover to cover. I have been searching for another Sonja Blue adventure since I read Midnight Blue. Sonja Blue's world has sucked me in. I have been trying to find a way to crawl back in ever since. When I heard this was a crossover novel between Sonja Blue's world and the World of Darkness, I was a bit hesitant to try it as I have no knowledge of the World of Darkness, but my hesitation was unfounded. Although this book is described as a crossover novel between the World of Darkness and that of Sonja Blue I found it flowed smoothly. Without any familiarity with the World of Darkness I was able to fully follow and enjoy A Dozen Black Roses. I am hoping for more Sonja Blue adventures to follow. My only criticism with this book is the lack of detailed background as to how Sonja decided to go to Deadtown and why she was after Esher. All in all a very entertaining and fast read!

This book kicked some serious ass!! Loved it from cover to cover, and didn't want it to end. Very graphic which makes it all the better. Had kind of a dark "The Crow" kind of aura about it. Would highly recomend it to anyone interested in the macabre, vampires, or just a goth chick killing vampires and doing a damn good job of it!

Sonja Blue has a lot to offer her readers. She knows she has problems (being a vampire) but she usually handles it well. There are limitations to her patience but everyone has a boiling point. I can't wait for the next book, that Blue woman has a lot of living to do!!

Excellent story and plot. Sonja's tale is fast paced and very intriguing. Her actions and emotions narrate the opposiong struggle of her human/vampire side which makes her a very interesting and sexy character. The story chills the human mind completely, and to say the least, it resembles a chaotic and feasome society that may one day exist. Fear is the key. Nancy Collins did a terrific job on this one. I still haven't been able to pass a whole day without imagining Deadtown, Sonja, and her unique attitude. She reminds me of a vampire hunter named "D", only Sonja is tougher and much more charismatic