Customer Reviews

Vampire Zero: A Gruesome Vampire Tale

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vampire Zero, the third installment in Wellington's Laura Caxton series of novels, is, I think, the best of the series so far. While the first two, 13 Bullets and 99 Coffins, offered plenty of action and good old-fashioned vampire chewiness, this one, in my opinion, has the most compelling plot. I think it's also the tightest of the three.

Caxton has been promoted from State Trooper to Deputy U.S. Marshall and put in charge of the vampire-hunting task force based in Pennsylvania. Luckily, after the events of 99 Coffins, there are only two vampires left in the world. One is so old and decrepit she can't even leave her coffin. The other is a man who was once Caxton's mentor, the man who taught her everything she knows about fighting vampires. It's not just that he's a vampire now that's worrisome, nor the fact that he can anticipate all of Caxton's moves because he taught them to her himself, but rather the fact that he's a vampire zero, intent on spreading the curse and turning others into his kind. In particular, the members of his family. And that's what makes this the best of the series, to me at least. The personal element of the ticking clock plotline elevates this one to the status of a damn fine, and damn fast, read.

The Laura Caxton series gets better and better with each book.

I adored this book until the ending. I started reading it and simply could not put it down. It's got great characters, good writing, excellent dialogue and plot. It's not exactly realistic at all times, but what vampire book is?

But the ending fell short. I feel like I was whisked into this whirlwind story only to be dropped. I think because it's a series. Most series make me excited for the next book though, and this one simply left me wary. It's also not that gruesome.

Two kinds of vampires have emerged from modern media. One sort is a romantic, misunderstood creature who is beloved by a troubled, isolated heroine. The other is a terrifying, (literally) bloodthirsty monster which preys on humankind. At one end of the spectrum, Edward Cullen sparkles and smolders in the hearts of adolescent girls.

David Wellington's vampires are not Edward Cullen. They are, in fact, at the far end of the spectrum, past Stoker's Dracula and Whedon's Buffy. These vampires are vicious, inhuman and utterly without remorse. Wellington's vampires quickly lose what connection they once had to humanity, and when not feeding on us, find slowly torturing us quite amusing.

This book is the third in David Wellington's Vampire Tales, and is the most terrifying and suspenseful of the series so far. Laura Caxton is a state trooper who was inadvertently cast as a vampire hunter just over a year ago, when Jameson Arkeley recruited her. Arkeley was a federal agent who, over 20 years, made it his personal crusade (obsession?) to obliterate the last shark-toothed, rotting, throat-ripping vampire in existence.

Noone knows vampires like Arkeley. During his career hunting them down, he learned every trick in their book and every strategy for catching them and killing them. Arkeley taught Caxton everything she knows about killing vampires--which is unfortunate, because now he is one.

Jameson Arkeley is the smartest, strongest, most vicious vampire Caxton has ever faced, and now she faces him alone.

This book kept me on my toes, defying my most confident (and usually correct) predictions as to where the story would go. Caxton never gets a chance to rest, and neither does the reader, as you always have to know what slaughter the next night will bring.

The development (or perhaps decay) of both Caxton and Arkeley is also fascinating, as Caxton finds herself casting aside everything else that once mattered to her and becoming the obsessed loner she despised in Arkeley and Arkeley finds himself becoming the single-minded killer he once made it his mission to destroy.

Wellington's setting for the final confrontation was a brilliant choice, borrowing a real-life hell-on-earth for the vampire's lair. (I won't ruin the surprise, but I will say that it's a real, man-made disaster area in Pennsylvania, and will remain so for another century or two.)

Wellington crafts an excellent adventure/thriller story, but he occasionally allows distracting, overly poetic language to creep into his book. I don't need elaborate metaphors to describe the scene of impending slaughter. If I want poetry, I'll read Robert Frost. But this is a minor gripe about an excellent horror novel.

Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good suspenseful, scary read. And I promise, you won't find anyone sparkling in this book.

In my opinion the story has never been as exciting and the action never as gripping as the first act of his first book - 13 Bullets.THAT was a TRULY gruesome vampire tale.

That being said Vampire Zero is still worth the read if only to prepare for the inevitable next chapter.. no spoiler intended.

This is the third book in a series about Vampires and the humans who hunt them. This story was slow at first but built up to an exciting conclusion. I enjoyed this book especially at the end. Trying not to give anything away, the story becomes worth it so stick with it.

I so badly wanted to give this 5 stars, but I just liked Jamison too much as a character. I know that the story is not 1st person POV, but I felt more connected to his character than any other. As dumb as it sounds, I felt that his character would have handle several situations much differently in his new mindset.

I don't want to go into heavy details and spoil the story, but the person he confided in...it didn't seem like his style to confide in anyone at all. I know with this series, as a person changes into the undead, they lose track of what they were when they were human. I just felt that Jamison's character was much stronger, had more knowledge, and was prepared for what he had taken on. When he desided to become a full blown monster, he would have the smarts to keep from getting caught.

The plus side for me is that slowly but surely, Laura is becoming just like him.

Enough about the characters, I get too attached to them. Over all the story was great and David's writing style is awesome. His stories are gripping and fast paced, and they keep you wanting more. He's writing is inspiring, and I can't wait to finish his next book and move on to read the rest of his writing.

*Zero* fails. Probably the worst book in the series, unfortunately. Malvern is infinitely clever, and through four books it's clear just how powerful she is. The greatest disappointment, of course, and one I anticipated, is that Arkley is a cool, smart vampire, but that in his vampire state he is no longer the badass copper I loved from the moment I opened *13 Bullets.* Here, we have Arlkey running around Pennsylvania, trying to reconcile guilt from his human life by offering those he should have loved the curse and eternal life. *Zero* is something about loneliness, of course, about social exclusion, but it's infinitely weak compared to the self-reflection of other vampire tales (partly because we're hearing again from the crusader, not the vampire).

If characterization and logic are two major problems with this book within the series, telegraphed linearity and dumbly complex action are major flaws of *Zero* as a satisfying (autonomous) book. That the son-brother was the Arkley impersonator in the blue suit, for instance, that the daughter-sister had already taken the curse and was a vampire (we all know by now they can be perfectly still and don't breathe), that Fetlock was constantly spying on Caxton and that the arrangement would bite the latter, that Arkley-the-vampire was going to plummet to his death in the coal fires---it all made for a book that offered zero surprises, zero innovation, full linearity.

That said, the last thing I want to write about is Wellington's construction of the vampire. Decisively the thing that sets Wellington apart in scifi-fantasy-action is his reconfiguration of the classic aristocrat into the brutal monster. But it doesn't always work, it doesn't always make sense. For instance, in *Zero,* Caxton drives a pickaxe through Arkley several times, but we understand through Wellington's construction lore that fully-fed vampires are essentially impervious to such strikes. The exponential increase in required blood, too, while interesting, is -just- interesting since it struggles with its implications in the world of the books.

For me, *13 Bullets* was easily the best. The remaining books in the series (*99 Coffins,* *Zero,* and *23 Hours*) were a must, and they do continue with the atmosphere and brutality set up in the first. If that's enough for you, *Zero* should be satisfying. (And that's why I offered 3 stars.)

Let me start out by giving my personal rating of this well written trilogy.

1. 13 bullets ... Very good.
2. 99 Coffins ... Excellent.
3. Vampire Zero.. Tremendous

It isn't often that I can find a trilogy that progressively gets better.
David Wellington nailed it when he penned these 3.

Very, very good work David, thank you.

This is the 3rd in the series. Not sure if 23 hours is the last. I am just about to start. You have to love how the characters have grown and just marvel at the sheer violence so far. Anyone who has read the prior 2 there is no reason to stop until you have finished all in the story.

While I don't think that this book is as good as the first in the series (is it ever?) I'll call it the 2nd best and hope that it leads where I think it's leading. Caxton is as tough-as-nails as ever in this installment. Her mentor, having trained her to be the best only next to himself in the vampire hunt, has sacrificed himself to save her and has become a vampire himself. Caxton made him a promise that she would end his un-dead life when he did, but darndest thing; he disappeared and now quite likes his "life"! Caxton breaks all the rules (and several laws) chasing him down and trying to protect his mortal family from him as he leaves a long trail (of entrails!) behind him, yet still just eluding her until the climax... This book leaves lots more to come; do yourself a favor and read the entire series!