The Guardian [Paperback]

Beecher Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1999

The Guardian ($14.95--364 page trade paperback) is about a once-prominent Memphis attorney (Dalton Stallings) who was nearly ruined by an unscrupulous adversary, Reynolds Field. Dalton is saved from his downhill slide into alcoholism and financial ruin when he is retained by the charming and fabulously wealthy Hungarian doctor Lad Stravos, who, unknown to Dalton, also happens to be a vampire. When the evil Field takes unfair legal and financial advantage of Dr. Stravos, he vows harsh retribution ("I shall eat your soul!"). Everything thereafter goes wrong for Ren Field, culminating in his own bungled attempt to gun down Stravos at his Halloween party. Field is adjudicated a lunatic and, ironically, Dalton is appointed his guardian. He learns from his mad former worst enemy that his benefactor is a vampire and must destroy Stravos to save Field and Memphis. Hence the question on the cover, "What if you had to kill your best friend to save your worst enemy?" Stravos will be well-received among vampi

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beecher Smith has taken a good deal of authentic history and turned it into a fascinating story. He has an answer to a question which I am often asked on my lecture tours but for which I have no answer: How was the vampire created? His plausible, if fictional, theory is that it goes back to the alchemy of Paracelsus. Bravo!" -- Raymond McNally, author of In Search of Dracula and Dracula, Prince of Many Faces

"Beecher Smith possesses an imaginative mind with refined writing skills and an encyclopaedic knowledge of dark history. Such a combination guarantees a fascinating vampiric romp through history with bloody, seven league boots. His 'Prince of the Night' is a fine addition to vampire lore." -- Brent Monahan, author of Book of Common Dread, Blood of the Covenant, and The Bell Witch

"The skillful interweaving of history and horror makes this a fine first novel." -- Tom Piccirilli, author of Hexe

"The skillful interweaving of history and horror makes this a fine first novel." -- Tom Piccirilli, author of Hexes, The Night Class, The Dead Past, and Sorrow's Crown

"This book is destined for greatness!" -- Angie McKaig, webmaster

From the Publisher

We're betting The Farm on THE GUARDIAN. It doesn't get any better than this. Beecher Smith won the prestigious Darrell Award its first two years in a row for his horror/SF short stories and it is only a natural progression for him to move on to a fine first novel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Hot Biscuit Productions Inc (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967166705
• ISBN-13: 978-0967166704
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,171,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Study In Darkness...and Light..., June 19, 2000

By 

Susan Abramski - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guardian (Paperback)

Beecher Smith has done the impossible in THE GUARDIAN -- he has written a truly unique vampire novel. Journey with him from 14th Century Vienna to 20th Century Memphis where we meet Ladislas Dracula di Sinesti, the most elegantly erotic vampire since Frank Langella first stepped through those casement windows in the memorable 1979 film.

The uniqueness of this novel lies in Beecher Smith's wry sense of humor and plotting. He poses this question on the book's cover: "What if you had to kill your best friend to save your worst enemy?"

And which might be which...?

Weave your way through a sultry Memphis, from the elegant dining rooms of its elite to the sordid tenements of its poorest citizens. Beecher brings us characters to care about in every strata of society. There are no "good guys" and "bad guys" in this novel -- there are only people like us.

If you're a fan of vampire fiction, you must own THE GUARDIAN. If you've sworn off vampire fiction forever in despair of ever finding something different, THE GUARDIAN will change your mind. And as a final incentive, Beecher Smith plays a game with his readers -- through taut plotting and stylistic writing, I never caught on until he "told" me near the end of the novel! Get THE GUARDIAN, and see where the spellbinding storytelling that is a hallmark of Beecher Smith's work takes you.

We can only hope he gives us a sequel!

26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Guardian, June 28, 2000

By 

David Blalock - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guardian (Paperback)

In the plethora of vampire fiction available today, THE GUARDIAN stands out for its originality and ability to make the reader question the accepted image of the vampire in today's writings.

THE GUARDIAN gives us a cogent, intelligent reason for vampires to exist at all. Beecher's usage of historical information in an innovative way makes more sense than even Stoker's explanation.

And the conflict he works through the plot stretches not just across a few months or years but centuries, lifetimes; a true immortal struggle.

THE GUARDIAN satisfies those of us who feel Anne Rice's vampires are too dandyish to be actual threats, too much human to be immortal. Beecher's vampire may still be internally conflicted, but he is truly evil.

If you're tired of vampires with more interest in clothes and fine foods than blood, if you want actual conflict and terror, THE GUARDIAN is your book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good plot, atrocious editing, February 11, 2002

By 

phoinos (WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guardian (Paperback)

The storyline of this book is very good, as well as the writing style. (You'll find a discussion about the storyline in the other reviews, I believe.) The 3 stars comes from the fact that I could barely finish reading it.

I am not usually a picky reader, but when I read this book, I could barely overlook the glaring editing errors: the poorly designed paragraphs, in which two people would talk without any note, even, of which one said what; the frequently missing quotes; etc. Three-fourths of the way into the book, I had to consciously keep myself from snatching up a red pen and just going through it all like some crazed school teacher...

As a first book, the book was extremely good, though. The characters were well-defined and sympathetic, the plot good, the ending somewhat open-ended--I'm assuming for a sequel, perhaps.

The story itself, ignoring the errors, would be at least 4 stars, so if you're not someone like me, who gets irritated by glaring editing problems, then I urge you to pick it up and read it.