Customer Reviews

Vampire Transgression

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

 

 

Over two thousand years ago, Victor Decimus, son of patrician parents, was a Roman soldier stationed in Judea. He knew and loved Jesus who rejected his love; with his new knowledge that he could love and be hurt, he went to a vampire and asked her to transform him. Once she did, she went on to the DARK KINGDOM, a heavenly realm for vampires. Victor lived on hating Jesus and killing many members churchmen through the ages.

Now in the present he has found love with Paul who loved him enough to want to spend eternity with him. When Victor transforms Paul, he breaks two sacred rules of the vampire world, not passing on to the Dark Kingdom and staying with Paul in a consolidation of power that goes against the natural laws of the universe. The powers that be in the Dark Kingdom are getting ready to strike at Victor, but he believes, perhaps foolishly, that he can outwit them.

Fans of Brandon Massey and Poppy Z Brite will thoroughly enjoy this new take on the vampire mythos. Paul is an infant compared to Victor and doesn't want to be separated from his lover for the two centuries it will take for him to be eligible to enter the Dark Kingdom. Victor, who never loved like this before, makes many sacrifices for his lover and in the process becomes an endearing anti-hero. Michael Schiefelbein makes his audience believe vampires actually exist.

Harriet Klausner

Compared with the meaningless trash published in the field of vampire fiction this third instalment of the serial shines brightly as a star but compared with the first two episodes it is disappointing, so much evident is the lack of real inspiration and polish that permeated the other two.

First and foremost the writing is good but non as refined, subtle and tense as it used to be.
I have loved Mr Schiefelbein's use of language too much not to feel that here it is professionally anonymous.
Second, the plot is rather poor: the story of Victor and Paul hardly moves on and all we are left with is Paul's dislike for killing and the need for them to be apart.

While reading I got the unpleasant feeling the author might have grown a little complacent depriving this third volume of the razor sharp edge of the first.

I do hope the fourth volume will erase this feeling and am looking forward to reading it.

Victor is the epitome of an antihero. As a matter of fact, the author does a great job making Victor a villain as the book progresses. As Victor's motives become clear towards the end of the book, the reader realizes that Victor acted out of love and self-sacrifice. It's scary how much I can empathize with Victor. I'm glad I finished this book only a month before the next installment is released. I can't wait!

I enjoyed this book because, over the course of the previous two books, I've grown quite attached to Victor the vampire. However, I didn't feel that this book was nearly as good, let alone as orginal, as the first two books in the series. It was just somehow lacking something that the other two had. It didn't have the heart (or the steamy-ness *LOL*) of the previous books. Luckily, the ending seemed to set it up for further books, so there is still hope that the series will be redeemed.

I would say that anyone who has followed these characters needs to read this book, they won't regret it, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone unfamiliar with the series because it is not the best representation of the series.

The first two books gave me such a rush, and I did not feel it continued in this one. Maybe it is because the love is already established, hence the sexual tension between the two MC's is a lil less, although... well, do not want to give too much of the book away.

I felt like for the ending 50 pages of manuscript were cramped into 10. There were so many unanswered questions at the end of the book, one of them being one of the major plot points in the series...

But, I do give the book 4 stars, because of the solid writing, even though the plot is a bit more wobbly than in the previous two books (which both are a solid 5 stars)

If you love vampire mythos, and want to see a very unique take on the genre, read it. I can honestly say you won't regret reading the books. Also check out Blood Brothers, same writer. That book was even more mind boggling than this series.

The idea that drives this novel is a great premise with great promise but the author fails to deliver the goods. The result is a boring, disappointing read. Readily, I admit entering a series at the 3rd installment will leave the reader with questions. My hope had been these questions would compel me to find the 1st two novels and so be happily ensconced in a new series. I love serial fiction, but Schiefelbein blatantly and embarrassingly fails the true litmus test of any good series; VT could not stand on it own without the reader keeping in mind what had occurred in the previous books. There's also the bland, choppy characterization and the tepid crisis points as the plot dragged wearily to a forgettable conclusion. There were moments when certain character actions would've made intuitive sense but just did not happen. It felt like the author decided not to let events unfold, another huge no-no when it comes to good fiction writing, no matter the sub-genre. The author MUST remain invisible to the reader. Schiefelbein kept getting in the way of his own characters. It's my personal review policy to not spoil things for the next potential reader by giving away the story. Suffice it to say the characters were so generically cookie cutter and ho-hum that Schiefelbein drew never me in sufficiently such that I engaged in their weepy angst. I kept waiting to care. Worst of all, the novel's supposed big, bad threat never made a legitimate appearance; boring. After reading VT, I do not recommend either the novel or the series. Schiefelbein's a lucky guy who must have a very pushy guardian angel. If VT is to be taken as substantial evidence of Michael Schiefelbein's imaginative and writing abilities, it's quite a feat he's published at least 4 novels.

Supper, I wish there were more gay novels like this one. I like the way the characters interact with each other. The Author has a way of writing that makes you want to read the book from cover to cover in one sitting. That is, assuming ones eyes don't get tired from too much reading.

I picked this up on a whim, without any knowledge of the previous two books, figuring it'd be an amusing but trashy vampire-sex novel. I was surprised and quite happy to find it had an interesting story backed by solid writing. There were certainly a few good twists, and I found the religious aspect interesting. There were good sex scenes but they weren't tedious or boring (think LKH). Really the only reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because the ending seemed rather rushed after a big build up.

I would definitely recommend this to any vampire lover, or even a general fan of the horror genre, but if you're easily offended, especially when it comes to religion, stay away. I'm putting the first two books on hold right after I finish this review, and I hope the author will write another one to tie up all the loose ends. Really a great book.

This book was sooo amazing!!! I have tyo say at first i thought it was just the typical vampire book with romance and all that but this book was sooo intense and soo dramatic nd like i couldnt stop reading it it was soo amazing and like sooo SEXY!!!

This book can hold its own against any other Vampire Novel with a gay theme or otherwise. It is well written draws you in makes you heart pound and gets you drawn in.