Customer Reviews

Tale of the Thunderbolt: Book Three of The Vampire Earth

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed Way of the Wolf and Choice of the Cat, but Tale of the Thunderbolt is my favorite so far. Maybe this is because I am not a sci-fi buff. Maybe it's because I dig dark and urban fantasy(where we like a fast moving story-line and sympathetic characters)or maybe it's because the plot is so much deeper and more fascinating.

There were times in this story where goosebumps flashed across my skin. Other places where a lump came into my throat and still others, where I laughed out loud. What I loved most though, I think, are the supporting characters in this book. I grew very attached to some, like Ahn-Kah the 'golden one' and the half-drunk sailor who showed his true metal when the stakes were down. Tale of the Thunderbolt is chuck full of amazing characters. Some good, some bad and others who walk that gray line in between. That's the sort of thing I like to have in my stories.
If you dig fast paced action, suspense and gut-wrenching emotion...you'll dig this book.

I could barely stand waiting for this next one in the series to come out. I so enjoyed the first two. The futuristic world created by Knight is entralling and even a bit scary. This book did not follow through on either one of those emotions.

Basically Valentine has spent a year on a secret mission as a Cat to secure a strong enough ship to obtain a secret weapon to fight the Kur. Somehow the knowledge of this "secret weapon" had only landed in the revolutionaries laps recently. The weapon is located in Haiti and Valintine doesn't even know what it is, only that the "contact" whom never saw him before in his life would recognize him and contact him. Strange? Well, it was. This was only one of many loose strings throughout the story.

What I missed most about Knights writing was the incredible development of characters and realtionships with these characters. I didn't see any this time. Valentine takes up a bit of a romance in Jamaca, but if I was suppose to feel sorry for him for having to move on, well, I really didn't even know this new character well enough to even care.

Overall, I still enjoy this series and plan to continue reading them. I'm hoping the next one, Valentine's Rising, will pick back up where the first two left off.

Happy reading!

Read it in one day. Great set up for the next book thank goodness it will be published this year also. I was hoping for a little more progression in Valentine though. At times it seemed that the Hunters arts had almost left him as a normal person. I was also hoping that he would have progessed to the next level of the hunters arts as a Bear but that will hopefully occur in the next installment. All the other books in this series have dealt with a new art each time but there really is very little information on the Bear caste that I would like to see very soon.

This installment is at times choppy and lacks the
driving hard gripping narrative that the other two
books had. All of the elements are there but
something seems to be off. For example the premise
has always been that humanity was isolated and
scattered with few allies and fewer weapons.

While we get some of that at the end does anyone else
think it was rather fortunate that Valentine liberated
the entire island of Jamaca in less then a month
practically by himself? Who the heck is he is
superman? That is not what this series has been
about.

Also am I the only one who thought the super weapon
was stupid? I don't care what it does to the Reapers
it is still a stupid idea.

Overall-Look we all know that series tend to get
choppy around this time. Either Knight will improve
or his style of writing will just get worse. Read it
for continuities sake but don't expect what you got in
the first two books.

The Vampire Earth series continues in riveting fashion. Knight's strengths of characterization and world-building haven't lost a beat; this is the best of the novels so far. As a reader, you will come to truly believe in Knight's depiction of what a guerilla war in America against alien invaders might be like.

The action expands to a new setting, as heroic scout and resistance fighter David Valentine is on a secret mission in the Caribbean. This part of our planet is also controlled by the alien conquerors, though, so readers will be treated to more of what makes this series so entertaining. A plausible extra-terrestrial species with complex motives and fascinating infrastructure.

Knight's military and logistics detail are displayed with consummate skill yet again, as Valentine recruits help from various and surprising sources, in his attempts to locate a weapon which is rumored to be deadly to the aliens. One might think that descriptions of supply and troop movement would be dry material, but Knight seamlessly weaves it all together and never lets this detract from his exciting storyline.

I would start at the beginning of this series (Way of the Wolf), but if you can't find it or can't wait, there is a very handy glossary at the front of Tale of the Thunderbolt, which can be used as a nice synopsis of the previous plot.

Valentine is that rare breed of protagonist in speculative fiction. A genuine hero with flaws and conflicts. Your heart would have to be made of stone if you can't root for this guy. And for humanity in general.

Bring on the next installment!!

While the precepts for this book are the same as the first two books, this book is totally different in style. He expands his future earth into the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast. The story is fairly unexpected and offers some hope for their future whereas the previous books end things fairly badly.

I don't understand a few of the mixed reviews this book has garnered. I found it the most compelling read of the three so far, with excellent character development and more edge-of-your-seat action. Certainly the main character ventures to a lot of places--but he's supposed to. This time he's on special assignment, and on a ship, nonetheless. Perhaps some consider the narrative choppy because Valentine visits many different locales during the adventure

I had a hard time putting the novel down. Once again Knight does an amazing job bringing the characters and setting to life. His action writing is top notch, and layered with tension. I don't know about the rest of you, but after the conclusion to 3 I cannot wait to lay hands on book 4!

I've read all of this series up to the fourth book, and I'm hoping to receive the fifth soon. This one was not my favorite of the series. I don't mean to say it was bad, because it isn't. None of them are. However, I felt it lacked any kind of definite climax. It felt very monotone most of the way through, without any real defining moments. Knight tries for one a few times, but over all, the villians (Quislings) in this segment are much more bumbling and inept than usual, making them horribly undermatched for the protagonists, leaving the conflict without any real sense of uncertainty. That said, this book takes the time to explain more of the world Knight has created, which is good. Mostly, I still recommend reading this book because if you are even considering it, you have read the first two, and the best part of this book is the very end, where the author sets the stage for an amazing fourth installment. Without this book, a reader would have a hard time understanding what is going on in book four (Valentine's Rising), which is definitely worth reading.

By 2070, almost five decades of the Kurian Order has occurred since the vampiric alien Kur from the Interworld Tree and their minion (Avatars and Reapers) turned the earth and its human population into a global harvest. Reapers feed on human essences that are sent back to the Kur puppet-masters. Most human resistance has failed with harsh repercussions. Some humans, assisted by the Lifeweavers, who once lost a war against the Kur, have proven to be more successful in fighting the Kur.

Especially successful has been David Valentine of the Cat spy force, who some might say is more animal than human. While in watery New Orleans, David learns of a weapon with the potential to defeat the invincible Reapers. He poses as an enemy sailor on the gunboat Valentine with a longshot plan to hijack the vessel and take it to Haiti where he hopes to obtain more information on the whereabouts of this savior weapon somewhere in the Caribbean. Reapers and Avatars are ready to kill him. Earth's savior becomes a bit distracted when he meets the beautiful Mali

Three years have passed since the events that make up the CHOICE OF THE CAT, but conditions of the inhabitants being used for human fodder have not gotten better. The Resistance in some ways is stronger, but psychologically the warriors have become weaker as the cause seems increasingly futile. That is the underlying key to TALE OF THE THUNDERBOLT, as the hero understands the importance of the weapon. Though reading the fine previous novels would provide increased understanding, E.E. Knight insures this tale stands alone as the sense of dreaded failure hangs over David, Malia, and their associates while the "Vampire Earth" becomes more in focus to the audience.

Harriet Klausner

I wrote a review of this on a blog site i frequent. I'll just copy it here for you.:

Alright, i know you slackers probably havent read the first two books yet, so i wont ruin everything for you here. :)
If you recall, our hero, David Valentine had teamed up with Alissa Duvalier (a Cat) and became a Cat himself. He later befriended a Golden Grog (kind of a Scion race of grogs) named Ahn-Kha, as well. This book begins with the three of them working undercover in Kur controlled New Orleans. David has infiltrated the Marines with Ahn-Kha as a laborer and Alissa as Davids wife (all the marine and sailor wives are held hostage, as the Kurs dont want the men who are allowed the freedom of serving on ships to run off).
David becomes the marine captain on the gunboat, "Thunderbolt" tasked with destroying rebel ships (they call pirates) in the Caribbean. This is perfect for David, as his mission is to find a way to get to Haiti, where the resistance has uncovered a powerful new weapon that could potentially destroy the Kurian's. All he has to do is convince the crew to mutiny against the ship captain and seize control of the Thunderbolt. In the meantime, Alissa has to figure out a way to escape New Orleans with all the sailors wives in tow. Ahn-Kha and a group of his Grogs join the Thunderbolt crew as menial laborers.
...and, that is where the story really begins. Very action packed with a few plot twists and an interesting new ally against the Kurian invaders.

Enjoy