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They Are Among Us
BLOOD WILL SPILL
Special Agent Alexandria Maxell believes in human monsters, those whose soul is tainted by the desire for torture, rape, and murder. However, the discovery of a burned body may change her mind as all the evidence indicates the victim and the killer are creatures that exist on human blood. As the body count rises, Alexandria and her team initiate a desperate manhunt to bring the killer to justice, only to uncover a plot to decimate mankind and enslave the survivors.
Jack Damage has hunted humans for centuries, preying on them at will. Now, twice betrayed by his own kind, Jack is conscripted into the impending human genocide, and he must fight the war on two fronts if he hopes to preserve anything from his old way of life. When the return of a vicious, unrelenting enemy threatens the future of both races, Jack must shift his focus from preservation to survival.
Out of time and options, Alexandria and Jack both realize that truth and salvation will only exist when they are among us.
Special Agent Alexandria Maxell believes in human monsters, those whose soul is tainted by the desire for torture, rape, and murder. However, the discovery of a burned body may change her mind as all the evidence indicates the victim and the killer are creatures that exist on human blood. As the body count rises, Alexandria and her team initiate a desperate manhunt to bring the killer to justice, only to uncover a plot to decimate mankind and enslave the survivors.
Jack Damage has hunted humans for centuries, preying on them at will. Now, twice betrayed by his own kind, Jack is conscripted into the impending human genocide, and he must fight the war on two fronts if he hopes to preserve anything from his old way of life. When the return of a vicious, unrelenting enemy threatens the future of both races, Jack must shift his focus from preservation to survival.
Out of time and options, Alexandria and Jack both realize that truth and salvation will only exist when they are among us.
- GenresVampires
268 pages, Paperback
First published April 14, 2015
About the author
C. Bryan Brown
17 books16 followersI hope you like what you read. If so, visit my website where you can find out where to get more of my work!
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Find me on Facebook, too! www.facebook.com/cbryanbrown
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 27, 2015
A great new vampire thriller, this book presents yet another take on the vampire genre. It was well-written, with lots of blood, but also a complex plot and in-depth characters. The story divides into two parts. The first part follows a group of human FBI investigators who suddenly find themselves face to face with a race they never would have thought existed. The second part is told from the POV of the vampire Jack, who finds himself in the crossfire of humans and vampires alike. When he finds out that the self-acclaimed vampire leader intends to go in the open and slaughter all humans, he has to seek allies in unusual places.
The plot was convincing, though the ruthlessness of Jack's killings sometimes contradicted his intentions. The introduction of a very vicious kind of animal-like vampires who feed on humans and vampires added another interesting facette to the already gripping story. The ending holds the promise for a sequel that will hopefully come soon.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
The plot was convincing, though the ruthlessness of Jack's killings sometimes contradicted his intentions. The introduction of a very vicious kind of animal-like vampires who feed on humans and vampires added another interesting facette to the already gripping story. The ending holds the promise for a sequel that will hopefully come soon.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
August 12, 2015
C. Bryan Brown brings the realism of horror back to the vampire scene; abolishes gender and sexuality stereotypes in the process.
I had the pleasure of meeting C. Bryan Brown in person at a festival in my hometown where he was helping man a booth for Post Mortem Press along with a handful of his fellow authors. I’ve been meaning to pick up some books published by that company for a long time, so I was very pleased to find them operating a stall at the faire. There were too many wonderful options to choose from and I had a limited number of resources at my disposal, but Mr. Brown sold me by telling me his book was about “vampires that do not sparkle.” This is very important.
The one thing I liked immediately about this book, aside from being about vampires that do not sparkle, is the fact that the main female protagonist is married. I felt I didn’t need to worry about a stupid romance sub-plot gumming up the works while I read along; that was an instant relief, and I was not disappointed. Usually I do not like female protagonists because they are far too often vapid and unlikable. Alexandria Maxell pleasantly surprised me by being genuinely relatable.
The shamelessly normal representation of human sexuality all around in this book made for a refreshing read as well. It was nice to see a bit of realistic role reversal with a woman unabashedly appreciating a man’s physical attractiveness, for instance, and a gay cameo character who was not fashionable and didn’t talk with a lisp.
The first half of the book completely engaged me and kept me riveted. I found it very hard to put the book down because I kept wanting to know more. I very much enjoyed experiencing the horror of the revelation of vampires existing through the limited perspective of the rational human mind. I was especially pleased with the contrasting levels of belief between characters, one who was terrified by what they were learning to be true and one who continued to cling to the safety of “it must be a hoax.”
When the perspective changed from human to vampire in Part II, I had trouble trudging through. I’m not one to cringe at violence or shy away from bloodshed, but a lot of it read as if it was written as an homage to Quentin Tarantino, whose films I’m not particularly fond of. Blood was flying everywhere and it was just excessively ridiculous most of the time. Part II failed to maintain my interest until close to the end of the book, where one vampire asks the other “wtf is wrong with you?” and then it started to click. Everything came together and Brown redeemed himself in regaining my attention with the introduction of another more dangerous threat to both human and vampire-kind. I admit I’m curious to find out what happens next and will likely be picking up the next book.
+ Gives spotlight to different personality types; real people.
+ Main character has real flaws; her marriage is not perfect.
+ Delete and double delete; these characters cover their tracks digitally. No browsing history or emails left behind. Me likey.
+ Realistic responses to possible existence of vampires; Josh thinking it’s bogus and Alex being terrified.
- Use of real company/brand names. Not sure if legal?
- Handful of formatting mistakes; disappointed in proofreader not doing thorough job before printing.
- Part II too much like From Dusk Till Dawn (which was a terrible movie, in my opinion) in the city.
I had the pleasure of meeting C. Bryan Brown in person at a festival in my hometown where he was helping man a booth for Post Mortem Press along with a handful of his fellow authors. I’ve been meaning to pick up some books published by that company for a long time, so I was very pleased to find them operating a stall at the faire. There were too many wonderful options to choose from and I had a limited number of resources at my disposal, but Mr. Brown sold me by telling me his book was about “vampires that do not sparkle.” This is very important.
The one thing I liked immediately about this book, aside from being about vampires that do not sparkle, is the fact that the main female protagonist is married. I felt I didn’t need to worry about a stupid romance sub-plot gumming up the works while I read along; that was an instant relief, and I was not disappointed. Usually I do not like female protagonists because they are far too often vapid and unlikable. Alexandria Maxell pleasantly surprised me by being genuinely relatable.
The shamelessly normal representation of human sexuality all around in this book made for a refreshing read as well. It was nice to see a bit of realistic role reversal with a woman unabashedly appreciating a man’s physical attractiveness, for instance, and a gay cameo character who was not fashionable and didn’t talk with a lisp.
The first half of the book completely engaged me and kept me riveted. I found it very hard to put the book down because I kept wanting to know more. I very much enjoyed experiencing the horror of the revelation of vampires existing through the limited perspective of the rational human mind. I was especially pleased with the contrasting levels of belief between characters, one who was terrified by what they were learning to be true and one who continued to cling to the safety of “it must be a hoax.”
When the perspective changed from human to vampire in Part II, I had trouble trudging through. I’m not one to cringe at violence or shy away from bloodshed, but a lot of it read as if it was written as an homage to Quentin Tarantino, whose films I’m not particularly fond of. Blood was flying everywhere and it was just excessively ridiculous most of the time. Part II failed to maintain my interest until close to the end of the book, where one vampire asks the other “wtf is wrong with you?” and then it started to click. Everything came together and Brown redeemed himself in regaining my attention with the introduction of another more dangerous threat to both human and vampire-kind. I admit I’m curious to find out what happens next and will likely be picking up the next book.
+ Gives spotlight to different personality types; real people.
+ Main character has real flaws; her marriage is not perfect.
+ Delete and double delete; these characters cover their tracks digitally. No browsing history or emails left behind. Me likey.
+ Realistic responses to possible existence of vampires; Josh thinking it’s bogus and Alex being terrified.
- Use of real company/brand names. Not sure if legal?
- Handful of formatting mistakes; disappointed in proofreader not doing thorough job before printing.
- Part II too much like From Dusk Till Dawn (which was a terrible movie, in my opinion) in the city.
January 15, 2016
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Despite feeling that vampires are vastly over-used in fiction, I was curious enough about what this book would be like to request a copy of it.
I did like reading the first half of the book. It was good to see the story focus primarily on human detectives having to deal with the issue of facing a creature that should only exist in fiction. The first scene did a really good job of drawing me into the book... but since I had no idea what was on the disk, I was a bit on edge until I was able to see the video through the eyes of some of the other characters.
I didn't much like JayJay or Josh during the book... but Josh was especially irritating, since he seemed like a nice guy from the outside... but he made my skin crawl when I was reading from his point of view.
I did find Alex to be an interesting character and it was good to see her trying to deal with the possibility of vampires. I did think the opinions of the other characters involved did make sense... except for Richard, who seemed to have quite a lot going on in his head deep down.
There were a lot of dark scenes in this book and I thought there were a lot of good descriptions. The second half of the book was a bit more difficult to get behind. I wasn't actually sure what to make of the vampiric characters, even though it was good to see that they weren't dark, brooding, romantic heroes. And I found it interesting to get glimpses into Jack's past, as well as to see the other kinds of vampires.
I did get a bit confused about what was going on with the different groups formed in the vampires, but I liked the fact that Alex saw the potential danger in arresting a presumed vampire. While there were some aspects that were quite fantastical, I actually felt that a lot of the reactions of the characters made sense and were realistic.
I did find this book to be entertaining to read, even if it was hard in places. I'd be interested in reading a sequel to this book at some point in the future.
(This review may contain spoilers).
Despite feeling that vampires are vastly over-used in fiction, I was curious enough about what this book would be like to request a copy of it.
I did like reading the first half of the book. It was good to see the story focus primarily on human detectives having to deal with the issue of facing a creature that should only exist in fiction. The first scene did a really good job of drawing me into the book... but since I had no idea what was on the disk, I was a bit on edge until I was able to see the video through the eyes of some of the other characters.
I didn't much like JayJay or Josh during the book... but Josh was especially irritating, since he seemed like a nice guy from the outside... but he made my skin crawl when I was reading from his point of view.
I did find Alex to be an interesting character and it was good to see her trying to deal with the possibility of vampires. I did think the opinions of the other characters involved did make sense... except for Richard, who seemed to have quite a lot going on in his head deep down.
There were a lot of dark scenes in this book and I thought there were a lot of good descriptions. The second half of the book was a bit more difficult to get behind. I wasn't actually sure what to make of the vampiric characters, even though it was good to see that they weren't dark, brooding, romantic heroes. And I found it interesting to get glimpses into Jack's past, as well as to see the other kinds of vampires.
I did get a bit confused about what was going on with the different groups formed in the vampires, but I liked the fact that Alex saw the potential danger in arresting a presumed vampire. While there were some aspects that were quite fantastical, I actually felt that a lot of the reactions of the characters made sense and were realistic.
I did find this book to be entertaining to read, even if it was hard in places. I'd be interested in reading a sequel to this book at some point in the future.
January 11, 2016
I liked to thank the author for offering this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book is divided in two. It starts off with a murder mystery that has a bizarre and frightening twist. We follow Alex and her FBI team as they try to unravel this mystery and deal with the realization that vampires are real. We are introduced to Jack a vampire who left them a tape at the crime scene introducing the truth. Jack takes over in the second half of the book and we learn his reason for his disclosure to the humans.
I found the writing to be well, the story flowed well, I became easily engrossed in the tale. The characters were interesting , pasts were hinted at and I could see how they could be developed more in a sequel. The ending is crisp and left one to wonder what will happen next.
An interesting read a little different from other vampire books with the twist on the vampire blood creatures. Much more scarier and gruesome.
...
The book is divided in two. It starts off with a murder mystery that has a bizarre and frightening twist. We follow Alex and her FBI team as they try to unravel this mystery and deal with the realization that vampires are real. We are introduced to Jack a vampire who left them a tape at the crime scene introducing the truth. Jack takes over in the second half of the book and we learn his reason for his disclosure to the humans.
I found the writing to be well, the story flowed well, I became easily engrossed in the tale. The characters were interesting , pasts were hinted at and I could see how they could be developed more in a sequel. The ending is crisp and left one to wonder what will happen next.
An interesting read a little different from other vampire books with the twist on the vampire blood creatures. Much more scarier and gruesome.
...
August 2, 2015
Loved this book. Its good to a read vampire book with guts. So many books have pretty vampires who feel so guilty about their kills. These have no conscience....... and the lead female doesn't fall in love with the vampire.... women need to stop writing vampire books so we can have more like this as I'm bored wasting time on a vampire book only to find out half way through it turns into a slush romance story. It seemed quite short and ended on a cliff hanger. Without a great deal of progress in the story but I still loved it. There are some gruesome scenes. They don't bite then wipe their chops with a napkin b4 having cucumber sandwiches!! Its more like they chew through the neck! lots of blood! Despite the length of the book U get a feel for the characters and I will read the next one.
April 22, 2016
Ok...this started off brilliantly. The tension build up was superb (tantalising and teasing) and the characters well drawn and above all believable with the unbelievable happenings going on around them. I loved it..then came the second half and that's where it fell apart. It almost felt as if it was written by someone else or that the storyline was running away with itself, out of control.
The potential was huge on this and I'll definitely give this author another go.
Source: Purchased (kindle)
The potential was huge on this and I'll definitely give this author another go.
Source: Purchased (kindle)
August 19, 2016
This one will keep you turning the page long after you should have turned off the lights and gone to bed. Thrilling, visceral and mysterious. Everything you'd want from a vampire novel. And while the two part format is unorthodox, it works, showing us both sides of the upcoming war between humans and vampires. Recommended.
January 14, 2016
Bloody good
The vampire story has been redeemed from the realm of angsty ex-humans or sparkly pedophiles. Brown combines the visceral horror of vampires as apex predators with a solid police procedural he displayed in his previous novel "Necromancer". The entertaining first entry of a new series. I can't wait to see more.
The vampire story has been redeemed from the realm of angsty ex-humans or sparkly pedophiles. Brown combines the visceral horror of vampires as apex predators with a solid police procedural he displayed in his previous novel "Necromancer". The entertaining first entry of a new series. I can't wait to see more.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews