Customer Reviews

Slayer

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

 

 

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.

...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.

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.

Covenmaster Amadeus of the New York City half-human and half-vampire dhampires informs his top slayer Alek Knight that he chose him to replace him in the near future as Covenmaster. Apparently Amadeus has seen a vision of one of his protégés turning traitor and killing him. Alek rejects the notion that any of them would betray their guide and mentor.

However, soon Amadeus concludes that the defector is Alek and apparently the other Dhampires in the coven led by Sean Stone want to slay him. Alek defends his life even as he begins a quest to find the long lost Chronicle, that tells the In the Beginning story of vampires. Joining him on his quest is his natural enemy Teresa the ancient vampire and his deceased sister Debra, who he sent to the grave apparently from the spirit world. Ultimately, tome or not, a final confrontation between master and student is imminent.

SLAYER is an exciting vampire tale that takes the creatures of the night and their archenemy dhampires and places them in modern Manhattan where the two species seem to fit in with the human populace as if Karen Koehler chronicled the real world. The story line is loaded with gory action, plenty of biting excitement as the Covenmaster and the top slayer step closer to a final conflict, and a gritty view of New York that enhances the battles of blood. Though one must wonder if Amadeus caused a self-fulfilling prophecy onto himself and his top gun, and several questions remain unanswered (perhaps in future tales), sub-genre fans have quite a treat with this powerful horror thriller.

Harriet Klausner

A really enjoyed this kick off of the Slayer vamp series. Alek is a terrific character and I look forward to reading more of him in time to come. Excellent in places, murky in others, but still a good read. The opening sentences are very good and draw the reader in.
Such a culture is hard to get right but Karen did a super job.

Interesting enough concept. The writing was just B-A-D. The writing was very poor, the concept will be interesting enough to died in the wool vampire fanatics, with conflict between various vampire groups, and who is allowed to kill who. Complete with long coats and pretty males, and all that sort of thing.

This is THE book in the underground. I've read Hamilton, Rice, Karen Taylor and pretty much every other popular horror author out there and Koehler is definitely part of the next revolution. Dark, vicious, truthful...this book makes you feel the struggle between humans and vampires on a real level that will shock you and make you wonder about the existence of real vampires and dhampires. Better than Blade or Vampire Hunter D, you have to read Slayer at least once as part of the new wave of vampy fiction.

I would have to say that the reviews of this book are better written then the book itself. First, to be picky, the amount of typos in this book are astoundong. Now I realise this has nothing to do with the author but come on. Give it a proof read or something. The story itself was pretty poorly written. While the pace is quick as I have read in other reviews, the reason it is quick is the author does a poor job of giving details, somtimes extremely important to the plot, that are needed to further the story. I am not saying it is a horrible piece of garbage but definitely a below average novel

...Slayer on the other hand does something totally different.

This is the story of Alek Knight, a Slayer for the Coven. A Vatican sanctioned order of vampire slayers. The twist is that they are all dhampirs, half man half vampire, led by the founder of there order Amadeus.

Set in modern day NY, the story is about Alek's struggle with the truth about not only his existence, but those of vampires everywhere.

The vampres in this book are not just whiny little loners wandering the night spouting bad poetry. These guys go to clubs, party, have fun. They live. Every once in a while one will step out of line and will have to be put down. That is where the Slayers come in.

It's a different take on the vampire world. Told in the 3rd person, and has definite roots in Anne Rice's works.

I would have given this 5 stars but I did find Alek to be rather whiny at times. The guy breaks down and cries like a girl about 5 times in the whole book.

Falling into the dark underworld that is SLAYER. The original cornerstone of the Industrial Gothic movement. Written in the same vein of "The Crow". Here we follow a torn Vampire into the darkest realms of the underworld. We follow Alek Knight as he fights himself and everyone else. We engage the Knight, and we find a fragile heart, one that is on the verge of breaking. But make no mistake. This heart is Black. The slime of the city and the scourge of the streets have forged his steel anger to a razor sharp edge. His mind is now focused, he has but one purpose, and he has the tools to carry out a vengeance that will only end in a massive blood bath.

From the beginning Koehler sparked the imagination of a few in the underground, and SLAYER always stood as the definitive work. I have read just about every book in this growing genre, and nothing still captures me as much as SLAYER. I still wonder what might happen if Lestat and Knight would end up in a dark alleyway. Lestat still rules the gothic cemeteries of New Orleans; there can be no doubt in that. But Alek Knight rules the dark alleyways of suburban New York City. For those who love Ann Rice and Clive Barker and James O'Barr all rolled up into one twisted tale, this is the read for you. This is the bible for any respectable Goth entering into the Industrial Gothic movement. Light the candles, pull the drapes and prepare to Hunt the Hunter! A read that will make your eyes bleed...