Customer Reviews

Watchers: the Coming of the King

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Review by David Wilbanks

In the eighteenth century, the wall that divides Scotland and England is guarded by the Watchers, men trained to fight the Others (vampires) and their human slaves. The Watchers are sworn to protect England should the Bloodking gather his vampire army and invade from the north, and that's just what happens in this novel by William Meikle.

What are the Bloodking and his undead army after? The British throne.

These are the adventures of Martin and Sean, two officers of the Watch.

Martin's father is the Thane, Keeper of Milecastle, leader of the Watch, who reluctantly sends his son on a journey into the Scottish wilderness, along with a barbarian named Campbell from same, to spy on the Bloodking's activities.

Meanwhile, Martin's dear friend Sean is sent south into England, along with Campbell's daughter, on his own dangerous mission where on many occasions, he must kill or be killed.

Adventure. Dark Fantasy. Horror. Call it what you'd like, but if you have a taste for swashbuckling tales, then you should enjoy WATCHERS: The Coming of the King; there is plenty of horror, gore and heroism here to be savored as the two young men are challenged by danger upon danger. The author, in the endnotes, compares the work to a Hammer horror movie. Personally, I can't speak to that, but maybe you who read this will know what he means. Horrific sword and sorcery anyone?

This is the first book in a trilogy, so there's plenty more to come for you bloodthirsty sorts.

Watchers is set in 1745 on the borderlands of England and Scotland. The Watchers are a group of people sworn to protect England from the Bloodking and his vampiric horde, known as the Others. The Bloodking seeks the throne, as well as the continuation of the bloodline, and will not stop until he achieves his goals. Will the Watchers of the wall be able to hold back the vampiric horde when the time comes and keep England from it's seemingly dark fate?

The book is centered mostly on two specific characters, and follows each of their journeys in turn. Sean and Martin are both men of the Watch who end up with large quests to accomplish after hearing news of the return of the Bloodking. Martin is to accompany the Scottish newsbearer to the North to gather more information regarding the growing horde, while Sean is to go south to protect a secret few people, including the Bloodking, know about. They must complete their assigned tasks and return to help fend off the blood thirsty Boy-King before it is too late.

Once I began reading this book, I couldn't put it down. Anyone who is a fan of epic dark fantasy novels with a historic twist will love this series. Those of you who are fans of Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, and Tolkien will most likely enjoy this series as well. Meikle intertwines mythology, vampire lore, and history together so masterfully that fans of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and historic fiction genres would all find this short series appealing. The book makes for a quick, simple, fun read that will have you turning page after page to find out what happens next, and then ends with a great cliff-hanger that will leave you desiring the second installment. I highly recommend this trilogy!

If the concept of a hoard of Royalist vampires attacking from Scotland and trying to reclaim the English crown sounds a bit corny, don't worry - it really works.

William Meikle has managed to forge a dark and compelling story by taking some exciting British history and his own brand of vampire story telling and then giving them a good mix.

The story introduces us to Martin and Sean, two soldiers of the Hadrian's Wall watch who are tasked with looking after a traveller and his daughter who arrive from the north.

Between them, their stories introduce the reader to the history of the Others and how they plan to retake the throne.

As the first part of a trilogy, it sets the scene perfectly for the remainder of the series - and I, for one, can't wait for the next book.

Meikle just gets better and better. A tour through his vast back catalogue of superb short stories followed by the scarce debut novel "Book of the Dark" and the ground breaking "Island Life" leads us to his best work yet, "Watchers: The Coming of the King". Not content with confining himself to the realms of fiction, this time Meikle takes us on a journey through the mists of time and myth, seamlessly melding his unique exploration of vampire lore with the cast iron straight jacket of fact. Armed with the skilfully drawn characters of Martin, Sean, Campbell and the Thane he begins an epic tale of the vampire involvement in the hard fought battle for the glory and valour of a long ago Scotland. "Watchers" gives the reader an immensely compelling read replete with a tantalising cliff-hanger, paving the way well for a sequel. Could it really have happened this way? Find out for yourself. In the past. In the shadows of the Glens and the Black Horde. In the thick of the battle. In the Forty-Five.

This book is genious! It takes history and gives it a horrific twist. Full of action, suspense and words that fill your mind with ghastley images, the first installment of 'Watchers' will keep you turning page after page.

If You are up for a great Vampire novel and hunger for something different, this is the perfect book.

~Stephanie Simpson-Woods ~ Author of 'I.M. Internet Message' and book reviewer for 'Camp Horror'.

It's a long time since I read a vampire novel, although I remember being hooked on Bram Stoker's Dracula many moons ago. This vampire novel, though, is nothing like the Stoker one. This is a gripping story with a historical base. Martin and Sean are the two main characters and the reader first meets them when they are keeping watch from Hadrian's wall in case the black hordes invade. The black hordes, of course, are a vampire army led by the boy king, who is part of the Royal Stuart dynasty. This is a strange mix of history, myth and vampire lore, but it is gripping and keeps the reader reading right until the end. I must admit I was a bit disppointed at the end, not because the story wasn't good, but because it ended on a cliff hanger and I felt there should have been more. Somehow or other the story didn't seem to be finished. But this is a trilogy, so I suppose, if I want to know what happens next I'll have to keep following.

This is a very interesting variation on times in 1745. You find yourself transported to a fantasy world that is vastly different than the history we know. The story is shorter than most full-size novels (around 3000 locations on kindle), but it reads like a full book. It is very well-written, flows smoothly from beginning to end, and has great character development. Willie has a knack for writing in a way that you see the story like a movie rather than reading it.

I really enjoyed reading this novel and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the trilogy.

Hi there,

I read this book as a portion of the Omnibus edition that contained the trilogy. The author masterfully weaves known history with his world creation to generate a realistic environment for his epic fantasy.

The characters are superbly developed. The battle scenes are solid and, at times, grimly realistic.

If you like epic fantasy with a historical basis, you'll love this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in vampire novels.

Sincerely,
Ricky

Jacobite Vampires, biblical curses and mystical forest dwellers - you'd think there would eventually be a limit to Mr Meikle's verdant imagination, but once again we have a well-crafted, tense story, featuring interesting, complex characters you really hope will survive and foul beasties aplenty.

Set in turbulent times atop Hadrian's Wall - with Scotland left in the dark grip of the Others (oh, you'll hear a lot about these ancient bloodsuckers in the Trilogy), this first book sees lifelong friends Martin, son of the ruling Thane of Milecastle, and Sean battling ageless dark forces and paranoid prejudices in an effort to save Mary, the unfortunate chosen daughter of Campbell, who lands himself straight into the heart of the story from beyond the Wall and sets events in motion that will change everyone's lives forever. Rushing to avoid a dark ritual that will return the Boy King to power with an heir, our would-be heroes must overcome fear and suspend their disbelief to fight the coming Evil.

The cast also includes the sturdy Thane whose rule is being threatened, his trusty advisor and doctor Menzies, the lithe Green Man Lennan, the garrulous innkeeper Fitzsimmons and a host of brigands with an eye for a fight. And some hungry Wolves, Vampires and other assorted Undead....

Told with the usual flowing vigour, dark humour and eye for detail displayed in everything else of Mr Meikle's that I've read, there's more than enough ale quaffing and sword rattling herein to keep you suitably entertained, and also hungry for the next instalment in the Watchers Trilogy.