Customer Reviews

Vampire A Hunger Like Fire (1) (Vampire the Requiem)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First and foremost, A Hunger Like Fire is a fantastic novel! The writing portrays each character very well and provides just enough information so that the reader can inhabit the world without drowning in rpg-speak.

Every main character is very well drawn out, as are most of the peripheral characters. Stolze is quite adept at storytelling and his use of first person and change of POV seems neither contrived nor forced. I got a very good sense of each individual character.

The story is pure World of Darkness. Mood is everything and this book is dark and creepy. You get a very good sense of the pain Bruise feels after he drains a human and is left with the aftermath. Persephone is a hoot, but you also get the feeling at novel's end that she may have bitten off more than she can chew, so to speak. Solomon is a monster, pure and simple, yet truly does care for his best friend, Prince Maxwell, even as he plots the man's downfall. Religious zealotry must be fun to write! The rest of the characters, from Loki, to Bella to Scratch, are all well plotted. Most have little to do with advancing the story, but their inclusion adds to the world we are just now begining to explore through fiction...and does so gracefully and thoughtfully.

Five stars to Greg Stolze for this wonderful novel. The typeface was somewaht difficult to deal with at first, but became inconsequential once the story drew me in (almost immediately). The cover art is awesome. I'm glad to have the chance to be with this new World of Darkness from the beginning and Greg Stolze has certainly set the bar high for future writers.

I'll be honest, while I've been a role-player for something like 25 years (or close to it)and a LARP-er for about 5, I never really got into White Wolf games such as Vampire. It always seemed like they were just "Monster: the Adjective" and had some way too weird people taking the business of playing a vampire far too seriously. But my gaming group decided to get into the Requiem. I decided to be one of several Storytellers. So in addition to the rule books, I picked up "A Hunger Like Fire."

It's great. I now feel like I have a handle on the feeling and the atmosphere of Vampire: the Requiem. On what it must be like to be one of the Damned in the newest version of the game. What must it be like to wake up thirsting for blood? How do you go from one society, of humanity and everything you know, to a totally different and alien society you know nothign about? How does one learn their gifts? How does one even survive? This book really gets into those questions.

Ultimately, I didn't want this book to end. I wanted to keep it going. I kept reading to turn the page, to find out what happened next. That's the true test of any book. I've read some books I simply completed to just finish. A few, I've never finished. This wasn't one; I'm hooked on the Requiem and this is the book that did it.

I'm really glad to write a good review for this book. I started reading thinking that it would be like another clan novel, bland, chock full of stuff I didn't quite understand and about as fun to read as playing in mud. I was happily mistaken!

I've never played Requiem, and I have limited knowledge of Masquerade, but I was able to enjoy this book regardless. The main attraction was the characters, although the plot as quite good as well. The characters were all fleshed out, I felt as though they could be actual people (or vampires, actually). They were all interesting, not the cliche vampires you'd see in a novel like Twilight. This book was the only World of Darkness book I've ever read that I couldn't put down. I highly recommend it, not only for gamers but for any fans of vampires that aren't `pretty' (yes, Twilight fans, I'm talking to you. ;D ).

Other than the miniscule font, this was a great read. I like that the fiction has returned to accompany the RPG. Being an avid fan of the previous White Wolf system in my youth, I was a little disappointed that the whole system was being redone. I picked up this novel to test the waters, as I have often liked the fiction. I felt that the author was a great choice for the gritty feel of the subject matter. I am looking forward to reading the second and especially the third book by the same author.

Wonderful novel, fast read. I thorough enjoyed this author and I would recommend his other WOD novel "Marriage of Virtue and Viciousness (Vampire the Requiem #3)" as well. These books give great insight into the "vampiric condition" associated with the World of Darkness. Even if you aren't a roleplaying fan, the characters are compelling and the web of their stories is intriguing. Stolze seamlessly blends the Kindred we known and love with the corruption and beautiful decay of Chicago into a novel that explored nearly every aspect of what it means to be a vampire in horrifying detail. My only complaint is that he didn't write ALL the books in the series!

First off, pay NO attention to the amazon product description. I'm not sure why they felt the need to put a generic vampire novel description here considering this book is far from your generic vampire story. I was advised to read this book by a buddy and I was reluctant, because I had passionately hate vampires. However, after reading only a couple chapters in this novel I was intrigued and then hooked.

Persephone is not some blood lusting fiend in this book. She's a newly made vampire trying to survive in a world she did not chose to be apart of. She was sired (made a vampire) by the Prince of Chicago himself which automatically makes her a target in a huge political game.

That was what pulled me into this book so thoroughly, the political wars that were constantly going on with the vampires. They didn't use mobs, brute force, or their super amazing abilities to get what they wanted. They made calculated attacks, used scare tactics, gathered information to use against their enemies, and publicly called out other vampires in order to deface them. The book wasn't about who's got bigger fangs or who's a stronger vampire, it was about using subterfuge, plotting, and alliances to gain power over others.

Before Twilight became big, I was already sick and tired of the over glorification of vampires in every media. They were nothing but super powerful sexy blood drinkers that no normal person could ever defend against. The constant God-moding of the vampiric heroes just became dull. This is nothing like any of those. Are their super strong vampires? Yes, the elders but they rarely display their full strength because it shows a lack of control and just burns too much blood. By the end of the book you'll see there is more than one way to beat a vampire and not having to lift a finger against them.

The characters were incredible in this book. Though its hard to figure out who to trust in this big political game, the depth you get into each character is very capturing and makes you just want to read more. I feel in love with the Nosferatu in the book, read it and you'll see why.

I couldn't really see anything wrong with the book except it left me wanting more and apparently has a horrible product description. Trust me, I don't even like vampires and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

3 AND 1/2 STARS

I'm not a gamer or familiar with the whole World Of Darkness universe or Vampire the Requiem very much, but I was in the mood for a vampire tale from a company that supposedly is one of the leaders in dark, edgy undead material. And surprisingly, I was very satisfied with this novel by Greg Stolze, particularly his keeping the focus on vampires with varying experiences, each with a different moral compass. It was quite fascinating to read the differing experiences, from the perspective of a newly turned vampire, to one that has been undead for about a year, and then even others that are generations old. Although they are all different, the one commonality they share is the most important; to maintain the Masquerade (their existence) above all else.

Author Greg Stolze moves the action at a breakneck pace but pulls back when he needs to for the more dramatic, emotional moments, balancing characters and story very nicely. I did find things to slow down a little in the middle of the book, meandering a bit, and a couple times had to reread sections for clarity. It was also too laden with Kindred politics, where I would have preferred more action. But regardless, in general, this was an atmospheric, intelligent story with some great descriptions. Here is a rather fantastic description about a shirtless man getting sliced with a sword... "He swings it in a rapid sweep, skipping down the knobs of Solomon's spine, slicing off coins of flesh at each bone." Pretty great, huh?

While this book did have a few sections of vampires whining, self-reflecting, and overall brooding, it was not as heavy-handed as other mainstream authors I won't bother to mention. The font of the print was also way too small and bordered on giving me a headache. However, Stolze managed to balance everything very nicely, and the ongoing mystery of who wrongfully sired one of the main characters keeps you hooked. And while I can't say that this is the book that finally gives vampires back their teeth, it is a step in the right direction.

This book seems to start off following the Requiem of a newly risen Neonate as he learns about Kindred society and finding his place in it. It then tracts off to follow some of Prince's Childer's Requiem with Persephone and her attempts to join the Cirlce of the Crone. The is just rather... lack luster and about its only use is help get an idea of running Kindred in Chicago with characterization for either an ST or Players.

It is difficult to write good RPG fiction (I've got a shelf of Magic novels that attests to this): the author needs to showcase various elements of the RPG, including not just characters and locations but also different powers that the player characters can use. The author has to create interesting conflict and resolutions that nevertheless won't change the setting from the way it is sold to players. Greg Stolze took these limitations in stride and crafted a tale I simply could not put down.

The game system in this case is Vampire: the Requiem, the Chicago setting, which has certainly benefited from game fiction. Stolze has made the setting come alive for the players, subtly weaving in important game elements while maintaining a smooth narrative flow. The characters are much more complex than you normally see in game fiction, with both pro- and antagonists eliciting sympathy and revulsion.

I greatly enjoyed reading A HUNGER LIKE FIRE and dreaded the final pages, because I would be done. Fortunately, Greg Stolze has also written A MARRIAGE OF VIRTUE AND VICIOUSNESS, so if you find yourself sucked into Greg's world, you at least have another fix coming your way.

I hadn't read a World of Darkness novel before this one. That being said I didn't expect much, a book based on an RPG, probably going to be forgettable and the only reason I was reading it in the first place was because I enjoy the setting of Vampire so much.

I think this book does justice to the wonderful New World of Darkness. I think Greg Stolze would do well to write outside the genre, because this book was remarkably enjoyable.