Customer Reviews

Vampire$: A Novel

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I read a lot of horror books, many of which deal with vampires. About one in ten is good (an unfortunate low number), and about one in a hundred is great. This one is. The other two (concerning vampires) that springs to mind are Carrion Comfort (a novel approach by Dan Simmons) and the original Dracula (and yes, Bram Stoker's film sucks). Anne Rice, well, that's for the kiddies and supermarket crowd.

Steakley manages to make the vampire a completely believable "thing" without any mumbo-jumbo "flying around in the night" stuff. That makes it a scary book (which is why we read horrror in the first place, yes?). The pace is just right, the cast is great and the story's premise is stupendously brilliant. It is actually hard to pinpoint any specific reason, but this is a GREAT book. I've even reread it several times (I've had it for close to ten years, and NOW I am writing a review, that should say something), and it is a great read even the second (or third) time around.

Steakley is one of the authors I run through Amazon's search engine every now and then, hope shining in my eyes. Sadly, only the two same hits ever come up (the other is "Armor", an awesome 5-star sci-fi story I also fully recommend).

I mean that. "John Carpenter's Vampires" was a decent movie, if a bit trite (a black cross? reverse exorcism? please...), but this book is anything but trite. It is vulgar, edgy, dark, and very very good. Forget the limp-wristed characters Anne Rice writes about. Steakley's vampires are a monsterous lot, full of violence and horror. Brian Lumley's books are a much closer comparison, and that is high praise in deed (for me, anyway). It doesn't hurt that I grew up not ten miles from Cleburne, Texas, and it was a kick in the pants when I saw the city represented in the book (it's a small, dusty, Texas town without much of note), not to mention the fact that John is from there. On a side note, his dad's dealership has moved to Fort Worth, I believe.

Anyway, before I digress further, go buy this book! It was action aplenty, characters that just grab you by the lapels and shake you, and a story that never tires no matter how many times I read it. This is a first class American vampire novel. Forget about Rice. THIS is was a vampire book *should* be.

I am an avid fan of the vampire genre. I read this book five years ago. At first, I thought it was one of those foolish parodies, like Doon, because of the cheezy dialogue and antics of the character Cherry Cat. However, I decided to read on and give it the benefit of the doubt. Well, neither the dialogue nor the antics got any better, but I have to admit that I liked the book regardless. Another one of your reviews stated that the reader laughed, cried, and clapped their way throughout the story. I believe that this is what makes this book so good. Some may say this is an excellent book whilst others may say that it is a waste of trees. However, it succeeds in taking the reader through a myriad of emotions and that, if nothing else, earns it a "moving read" review from me. My advice to anyone interested in reading this book, don't let the cheezy dialogue fool you. Underneath that is a pretty good story.

Jack Crow and his Team don't fool around. They go after the vampires with stakes, crossbows and dynamite while wearing chain-mail. And they go after the vampires during the DAY, because this professionals prefer to have the sun as backup.
They get paid LOTS of money, they play hard, they drink hard and they have the backing of the Church. How good can it get?
Team Crow are doing great till the vampires decide enough is enough. And the Masters, the powerful vampire elders, who are the ones coming after him also know his name. The book is ten times better than the movie that was based on it (not that the movie was bad - but you know movies and the books they're based on). John Steakley is a great author. I would also suggest his sci-fi book - 'ARMOR'

I picked this up because I hadn't been able to get to the John Carpenter movie version. About halfway through I noticed how much the writing and characterizations -- especially the wonderful, male adolescent view of women! -- reminded me of Heinlein's stuff from the late 40's through Glory Road. (There may even be an homage to the old man, although Steakley's Dr. Harshaw is no copy of Stranger in a Strange Land's). And this was before I saw the reviews of "Armor"! It's good, old Saturday Evening Post action writing, with an economy of words that makes the action even tighter and faster. Steakley's monsters are monsters, his heroes are heroes, the women are women, and his priests are noble enough to make boys all over the USA feel safe around clergy again. His vampires love opera and hate rock and roll, and in his universe, (like our own) rock and roll WILL set you free -- even from hateful vampires. This book predates the "Buffy" stories, but it shares with them the idea of vampire slayer as a chosen, doomed child. I think most "Buffy" watchers, even us girls, will enjoy Steakley. I would have liked a little more back story. I wonder if there's an "author's cut" of the manuscript that was sacrificed to the demands of the mass-market paperback marketplace? I'm looking forward to reading "Armor" even if it is a shameless Starship Troopers knockoff, and even more if it turns out not to be. And I'll be interested to see where and who Jack Crow and Felix turn out to be next time.

After being shaken to my very core by "Armor", I ran to the book store to find anything by John Steakly. At the third one I finally found Vampire$. While not nearly as intense or gripping, this book merits reading. Incidentally, the movie unforgivably omits the character Felix. Anyone who knows Steakly's work intimately couldn't do such a thing. The idea of vampire hunters for hire is a novel one and Jack Crow comes off like Abraham Van Helsing in a steroid rage. The role of Felix was made for Gary Oldman, an emotionally crippled killer with a dead on shot. I liked the idea that these guys listen to SRV. The dialogue is stardard Steakly; Hemingway influenced, stream of consciousness banter that is very real sounding. Kind of like sitting in an empty bar in the afternoon, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer, listening to a great storyteller spin a yarn you half believe and half don't want to. Besides the names of the main characters, another thread tying Steakly's books together is the emotion he conveys in his writing. The emotional level in his books reaches high levels, you really feel for the characters, even if you don't like them. I definitely recommend this book if you like vampire stories, and who does'nt. While not as fully fleshed out as the very gothic works of Anne Rice or Brian Lumley's British Necroscope, the American twist on the vampire theme is interesting. In a way, this is the definitive American vampire story. And whether you liked Vampire$ or not, for God's sake read "Armor". Long live Felix.

I first saw John Carpenters movie and found it rather lousy, full with adolescent jokes and bad acting (even by James Woods). That's why I was suprised when this book got good reviews and decided to buy it.

I like this book - a lot. There's almost no likeness with the movie, apart from the character names. The feeling is different from every other vampire-book I've read (and they are many). There's a whole team hunting vampires - sanctioned by the Pope. It's more of a war-story than an ordinary Vampire-tale. And the vampires aren't the ordinary cliché vampires, as they have become after Anne Rice. They have great powers of mesmerizing, but inside remain the same sloppy and unclassy people as when they died.

The characters are good, the best part of the book, and you really get into the story. The only times I stopped reading was when I had to go to work. Don't miss this one, if for nothing else, only for Gunman Felix, one of the most interesting characters ever invented.

Sometime after I see a good movie I'll read the book to see if it adds something the movie missed or as in this case is better. I enjoyed the characters of Jack Crow and Felix, the balls to the wall vampire hunter and the old west gunfighter, kind of the new to the old twist. The book makes the vampires out to be more the monsters they are then in old movies and that heroes can have bad days too and don't always win over evil.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It doesn't give in to the 'Anne Rice' version of the vampire; none of this 'noble vampire' absurdity. The vampires in Vampire$ are not noble, misunderstood fellows, they're monsters, dark and evil and without the slightest mercy or humanity in their hearts. The vampire hunters are believable, too- i particularly enjoyed the Jack Crow, Cherry Cat and Felix characters, even though they were a wee bit too macho and overblown. The book accurately depicts the horrible fears and stresses placed on the vampires, but as a trade-off, it's a little depressing. Also, drinking, cussing, and violence abounds- proceed at your own risk. There are several flaws and poorly done sections to this book, but overall, this is an interesting and thoughful adventure. I enjoyed the quality of the writing and plot, as well. Highly recommended. Also, read Steakley's earlier book, Armor,which in many ways is even better.

John Steakley's first novel, Armor, ranks with my top ten books of all time. If you haven't read it, it's even better than Vampires. I have long awaited a sequel to Armor, which I hope may still come. I was happy to stumble across Vampires, which is also well done, but left me a bit depressed. Any fan of Armor will see many parallels in these two books, aside from the obvious reincarnation of the Jack Crow and Felix characters (in name only) from Armor. The "Antwar Saloon" was cute. As with Armor, we have a powerful character endowed with extraordinary strength and a sense of duty to wipe out evil, despite the toll it takes on his loved ones and his own psyche. You find yourself enthralled by the action, but drawn into a morose, visceral world where the characters all have pretty depressing lives but are connected by a kind of macho doomsday comaraderie. You can really feel how immensely TIRED everybody in the story is. For all of its action noir, it's a great read. Just keep the Prozac handy.