A review by issamshahid
Blood on the Water by P.N. Elrod
4.0
This played out very much luck like a superhero story, where a nemesis finds out a secret identity and goes after the hero's friends and family.
Except, of course, the superhero here is just a humble vampire up against a Chicago mob boss in the Depression era. It's enough of a twist to make things interesting, and the book doesn't disappoint—It's action packed the entire way through, with some good 'ol fashion fisticuffs, to tommy-guns, car chases, and grenade lobbing (for safe measure).
Fleming is also very much a traditional vampire (RE: Stoker), with hypnosis, super-strength/hearing/vision, invisibility, and flight in his arsenal. Something like this might make him seem overpowered in a world without Slayers, but Elrod does a good job of not only giving him tough (and multiple) challenges to face, but enough to push him to the edge—To finally overcome his fears and see what his limits really are.
Along with Jack, the side characters are as solid as ever, and there are some great new characters introduced that are strong enough to set the series up for further installments.
Overall, a significant improvement; It's clearly the strongest entry of the second volume. In fact, the previous two books can be skipped entirely, because they're summed up well enough to get to the good stuff.
My only gripe is the somewhat rushed ending, but there's enough meat in this to make me not regret reading it. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.
Except, of course, the superhero here is just a humble vampire up against a Chicago mob boss in the Depression era. It's enough of a twist to make things interesting, and the book doesn't disappoint—It's action packed the entire way through, with some good 'ol fashion fisticuffs, to tommy-guns, car chases, and grenade lobbing (for safe measure).
Fleming is also very much a traditional vampire (RE: Stoker), with hypnosis, super-strength/hearing/vision, invisibility, and flight in his arsenal. Something like this might make him seem overpowered in a world without Slayers, but Elrod does a good job of not only giving him tough (and multiple) challenges to face, but enough to push him to the edge—To finally overcome his fears and see what his limits really are.
Along with Jack, the side characters are as solid as ever, and there are some great new characters introduced that are strong enough to set the series up for further installments.
Overall, a significant improvement; It's clearly the strongest entry of the second volume. In fact, the previous two books can be skipped entirely, because they're summed up well enough to get to the good stuff.
My only gripe is the somewhat rushed ending, but there's enough meat in this to make me not regret reading it. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.