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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slayer by Karen Koehler, June 28, 2003
This review is from: Slayer (Paperback)
I highly recommend this book to any horror lover. The plot is a nice twist on the vampire mythos and an excellent read. *Atmosphere* The atmosphere is dark and gritty. Most of the book takes place in present day New York. The atmosphere helps pull you into the story and gives you the feeling of walking the streets with Alek. *Story/Plot* Alek is a dhampir, half human half vampire. He and his sister Debra were rescued from a life on the streets by Covenmaster Amadeus. The Coven is a organization of Slayers- vampire hunters/vampire killers, sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Under Amadeus' tutelage Alek became his number one student and most powerful Slayer. Alek learns of a prophecy foretelling Amadeus' death by a Slayer turned traitor and that he is to become the new Covenmaster. He rejects this and is determined to find the traitor before this happens, but Alek learns that everything is not as it seems and leaves the coven. On the run from the coven and with the aid of a former enemy- the vampire Teresa, Alex searches for the mythical "Ninth Chronicle" that is said to contain the "origin" story of vampires. Plagued by memories of the death of his sister and the killings he commited in the name of the Coven, Alek must find the Chronicle before he is killed by the Slayers and expose what is really happening. *Characters* All the characters are well written and 3-dimensional. You can feel Alek's struggle and torment. *Pace* The pace is great! The book grabs you from the first page and doesn't let up until the final paragraph. *Style* Very well written and easy to read except for several sections of prose, but it doesn't deter from the action or pace. *Rating* I give this book 5 stars , i'm not sure if it's available in hardback and paperbacks are plentiful. Grab this book and curl up with a nice bedtime read.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting concept...but where's the editor?, March 8, 2004
This review is from: Slayer (Paperback)
...I was really excited to begin a good read. And it is a good read...mostly. It's a fresh take on the perennially popular vampire mythos, with fairly interesting (if underdeveloped) characters and an intriguing plot. My problem with the book is not the story, however--it is in the vast number of grammatical and spelling errors, not to mention simple typographical errors, contained within. Also, words in the text are often used incorrectly. By this I do not mean taking poetic license with the way a phrase is turned, but simply choosing a word that sounds similar to the one that was meant...and no editor caught it. This may make me a snob, but I found my enjoyment of this novel's novel approach to the genre significantly lessened by the sheer number of errors in the text that should have been caught by a competent editor. I'm not claiming to be one of those (snob, yes; editor, no); I do, however, feel that a professional editor should be employed in the production process and before I pay out for a product.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over-rated and badly written, April 3, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Slayer (Paperback)
I bought Slayer based on the other reviews written here and was horribly disappointed. I can't believe this book made it past an editor. It was so poorly written that I had trouble finishing the book! And believe me, it wasn't worth finishing.
Slayer is, at best, a derivative parody of gothic, vampire fiction. It fails as a vampire novel because the characters are shoddily recycled from Anne Rice, Michael Moorcock, and the shows/movies mentioned in the other reviews. The pompous and overwrought writing is painful to read. Please don't buy this thinking that it is some kind of urban gothic manifesto. It isn't.
Was this someone's idea of a joke?? If so, I'd like a refund. I would never have bought this book at a brick & mortar store because I was ready to put it back on the shelf after the first couple of pages.
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