(The Evolutionary War #1)
by Thomas Winship
Summary:
"It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.
"It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.
Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution.
Væmpires—former vampires who mutated into warm-blooded creatures with an insatiable hunger for cold blood—have launched coordinated attacks across the globe, with three goals: the eradication of humanity, the enslavement of vampires, and the ascension of væmpires as the dominant species on the planet.
The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons: a new breed of væmpire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.
What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?"
Excerpt:
Daniel’s father would have the situation under control; he’d stop the killing. He was the captain of the guard. He trained for these situations. Hell, Daniel trained for these situations.
Five seconds.
My Review:
I was extremely surprised with every single page in this book!
I didn't even realize that this was a self-published book until I had to do my post - Winship's writing and story-telling is so well thought out, I could not put this book down.
From the very first sentence we are thrown into a futuristic and chaotic world were vampires and humans exist in harmony until some rogue vaempires attack and executes most of the vampires royalty and human leaders.
Due to advance sciences, Vampires have been able to exist without blood cravings and no longer have to fear the sun. However, VAEMPIRES, are mutated vampires that have surprisingly transformed into heart-beating, warm-blooded animals with unimaginable powers.
Right away I learned, VAMPIRES are good and VAEMPIRES are bad, very bad.
We first meet our main character, Daniel -
a fifteen year old vampire, son of the captain of the Royal Guard turned orphan and leader.
He is courageous, strong and thoughtful - it was easy to forget that he was only 15.
This book is action packed! Fast moving! and so very good!
And of course, it gets better!!! There is a love story in here too!
Meet Princess Cassandra, or as Daniel so lovingly refers to, Cassie - she is one of the only royal survivors and Daniel must find her and save her for more reasons than one.
Again, it is sometimes hard to remember that Daniel and Cassie are only 15 years old. But due to the circumstances that they are in and that the world is in disarray, everyone must do what they have to do.
I have to warn you, the ending is a killer!
It is one of the best cliffhangers I have ever read!!!
I am looking forward to the next book...
In the meantime, I am going to be jumping right into Vaempires prequel,
Vaempires: A White Christmas.
Daniel’s father would have the situation under control; he’d stop the killing. He was the captain of the guard. He trained for these situations. Hell, Daniel trained for these situations.
There was no answer for three seconds, four seconds, and a
finger of fear formed in his stomach.
Five seconds.
Six seconds.
“Hello.” It was a whisper.
“Dad!”
“Daniel, where are you? Tell me you’re not in the city.”
“I am. I’m coming, Dad.”
“No! Don’t come here.” Someone screamed in the background.
“There are only a handful of us left.”
“What! How is that possible? Every guard in the city was
there.”
“They tricked us, Daniel.” His father’s words were pained.
“We were so blind. The væmpires are not only stronger and faster than we
realized, but some of them have powers, Daniel.”
“I know, Dad. Some of them can Read memories in our blood.”
“I’m not talking about Reading, Daniel, I’m talking about
other powers.”
“Other powers! What do you mean—”
“Shut up and listen! I haven’t got much time.” His father’s
whisper was like a shout in his ear. “Some of them teleported. One created a
wall of flames. One killed with a touch of her bare hand. And some of them,
some changed shapes—they looked like people we knew, other guards, dignitaries,
and then they reverted to their true forms before our eyes and attacked.”
“How is that possible?” Daniel cried. “How is any of that
possible?”
“How doesn’t matter, Daniel! What matters is that they are
much more dangerous than we ever suspected. They killed King Brant, Queen Anne,
the human president and the First Lady before we even realized we were under
attack. It was a slaughter.”
The words reverberated in Daniel’s mind. The king and queen are dead. Cassie’s
parents are dead.
“What about Mom? She’s okay, right?”
No answer.
Ohnoohnoohno.
“Dad!”
“She’s gone, Daniel. I couldn’t save her.”
“No!”
“Listen to me, Daniel! Get out of the city!”
“No. I’m coming to help. I can—”
“Flee, Daniel. Now!” An explosion made his ear ring. He
heard rubble hitting the floor and then labored breathing.
“Dad!”
“Daniel.” His father’s voice was weak and thin. “Run. Once
they know I’m dead, they’ll come for you. You’ll be the acting king.”
“Who cares about that?”
“The people do, Daniel.” The voice was so low it was almost
imperceptible. “Vampires and humans just lost their leaders in one afternoon.
The væmpires attacked at least a dozen major cities around the world, vampire
and human cities. There’s no telling how many people will be killed before the
world even realizes we’re at war, and there’s no telling how the humans will
react to being attacked. You must bring this conflict to a peaceful conclusion
before it’s too late.”
“Humans wouldn’t dare unleash atomics,” Daniel said,
experiencing a wave of unease at the thought.
“There are no limits to
what humans will dare,” his father whispered. “Never forget that. It’s their
greatest strength and their deadliest weakness.”
My Review:
I was extremely surprised with every single page in this book!
I didn't even realize that this was a self-published book until I had to do my post - Winship's writing and story-telling is so well thought out, I could not put this book down.
From the very first sentence we are thrown into a futuristic and chaotic world were vampires and humans exist in harmony until some rogue vaempires attack and executes most of the vampires royalty and human leaders.
Due to advance sciences, Vampires have been able to exist without blood cravings and no longer have to fear the sun. However, VAEMPIRES, are mutated vampires that have surprisingly transformed into heart-beating, warm-blooded animals with unimaginable powers.
Right away I learned, VAMPIRES are good and VAEMPIRES are bad, very bad.
We first meet our main character, Daniel -
a fifteen year old vampire, son of the captain of the Royal Guard turned orphan and leader.
He is courageous, strong and thoughtful - it was easy to forget that he was only 15.
This book is action packed! Fast moving! and so very good!
And of course, it gets better!!! There is a love story in here too!
Meet Princess Cassandra, or as Daniel so lovingly refers to, Cassie - she is one of the only royal survivors and Daniel must find her and save her for more reasons than one.
Again, it is sometimes hard to remember that Daniel and Cassie are only 15 years old. But due to the circumstances that they are in and that the world is in disarray, everyone must do what they have to do.
I have to warn you, the ending is a killer!
It is one of the best cliffhangers I have ever read!!!
I am looking forward to the next book...
In the meantime, I am going to be jumping right into Vaempires prequel,
Vaempires: A White Christmas.
About the Author:
"Thomas Winship was born in Middletown, NY and still resides in Orange County. He holds an MBA in Management from St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he serves as an adjunct professor of courses in English Composition, Communications, and Business.
He also spent fifteen years working for a global pharmaceutical company, specializing in organizational development, talent management, and training.
Tom writes in his spare time. His first novel, a mystery/legal thriller entitled Temporary Insanity (a.k.a. Case Closed), was a 2008 finalist in a national contest but failed to garner industry attention. His second novel, Væmpires: Revolution, was published in October and a follow-up novella, Væmpires: White Christmas, was published in December.
He is an avid collector of books, comic books, music, and movies. His interests are diverse: on any given day, Tom is likely to be found watching a horror movie, attending a hard rock concert, or enjoying a Broadway show.
He is currently working on the next installment of the “Væmpires” series, which is scheduled for an early 2012 release."
Thank you so much for the promo and the wonderful review, Margie. I really appreciate your support of my blog tour and I'm excited that you loved the book!
ReplyDeleteI'll check in throughout the day to respond to any comments that come in.
Take care