The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire Book 1)

Looking for something different to read, I recently picked this up on Kindle Daily Deals. Despite being mostly "over" vampires since the late 90s, I really wanted to like it, at least enough to least enough to give it a three-star review... One thing that this buying experience taught me is I need to visit a bit on the Amazon web site and see how the product(s) I buy in the future are kitted in the genre settings because I don't read romance novels and this is definitely one of those. I like steampunk so I thought, "What the hell?" It was written in third-person (not a fan of first), so I picked it up. I didn't think to stop and look at the product kitting and I didn't read reviews.Thematically, this book is a bit of mixed bag. If you're only interested in steampunk, I wouldn't bother with this one. Aside from the airship scenes, the theme is rather murky and ill-defined. If you're in love with vampires, this might be more your style. This novel does go a bit against the grain of *some* of the vampire cliches. To the authors' credit: the vampires in this actually scary beasts (save Gareth and his man-servant). The steampunk theme isn't the only thing that's curiously absent. Considering that this in an "alterverse"novel, there is precious little world-building most of the time. Now I know a lot of "modern" readers piss and moan about details and descriptions being wordy, but I'm an old-school reader and like world-building detail (shocking!). I really wish the pissing moaners that don't like setting-anchoring details that can help drive plot and characterization would all go stick their noses in the idiot box called television instead of ruining what passes as modern literature for old-school readers. This book had just enough detail at times that I'd start to sink into the story and "be there" and then it would just kind of peter out.As far as characters go. Considering she was the main character, I felt nothing for Adele. I didn't like her, but I didn't hate her, either. I just felt...nothing. I had more empathy with Gareth. Even in the "real world," none of us can help the circumstances of our birth. For main characters, though, both Adele and Gareth are a bit under-developed, even by the end of the book. While Adele isn't a total "Mary Sue," she's not far off from it, sadly. She has some admirable, redeeming qualities, but something is missing, even when the tale is looked at as the first in a series. I really kind of felt a bit like I had been ham-fisted hammered with the idea that Adele isn't quite an "average" human not to far into the book even overlooking some of the _Buffy_-esque action. I lost count of how many times it was stated that Adele was an "extraordinary" human (stated and implied)--several by Gareth himself (out loud and in "thought"). I found myself grumbling, "Yes, I get it, she has special innate abilities (faith/metaphysical/religion and fighting) that are untapped by most humans," several times over. The one thing I will say to Adele's credit as a character is she didn't play up the "spoiled-brat Princess" as much as I figured. She actually got to where she enjoyed the simple life, people, and simple food, ect. The rest of the cast really has no characterization and Simon and Col. Anhalt seem to be the most interesting of the "background" cast (and they're barely even in the story). The fearless leader Adele is slated to marry, Clark, is really nothing more than obnoxious, cartoonish buffoon.Although the plot had some potentially interesting merits, but little of it was used with good leverage or care. I saw the major story arcs coming from miles off. At the first mention of the other prince, I immediately realized that was Greyfriar's true identity. The foreshadowing, if that's what you can even call it, was really clumsy. And going back to the ham-fisted attempts to show that Adele isn't like most "normal" humans... The reveal at Greyfriar Kirk... _Insert eye-roll here_... There were also several really roughly-executed point-of-view shifts that only manged to damage what little plotting devices that were fairly competently executed. Including a few instances of just instantly knowing what Gareth's valet thought of Adele and Gareth's budding relationship with know formatting breaks in the passage. Maybe it's just bad Kindle-edition formatting, but somehow, I really don't think so...I really don't read straight-forward romance. While I'm fine with romance being a very small part of overall plot, I don't want vomit-inducing levels of it shoved in my face. The relationship between Adele and Gareth is awkward and tenuous, but they're both inexperienced and I think it was meant to be those things. I did think Adele's mistrust of Gareth, even after all they had been through, went an a little too long for the very short length of the story, but what do I know...? LOL To the authors' credit: this book is actually refreshingly porn free. While sex is broached--and even discussed--there is none in the book at all. That's nice, in my opinion. The reason I quit reading "modern" fantasy years ago was because of Laurel K. Hamilton (and the rest of the band) turning modern releases into every-bump-and-grind pornfest. I'm not a prude, and while I don't have a problem with brief passages of sex that may actually have something to with a shockingly often-lost thing called "plot"--I really don't need (or couldn't care less about) an every bump-and-sigh transcript--it's boring (and if I wanted something like that, I'd watch an adult video, not read). Aside from a scant references to nudity--and a few awkward fumbles--not much here for "adult content" other than gore and battle-driven-violence. I'm not going as far as to say that this is a good book for kids or as a mis-kitted YA selection because I haven't read the rest of the books.So, that leads me to my verdict... I hate to be mean, but I really didn't like this much and couldn't wait to be finished. If I hadn't been a slow-poke and missed my refund-request period, I may have returned it (this would have only been my second request). Slow-pokiness reading should have been my first warning, I suppose. I am usually a very fast reader with high comprehension, but not with this book. If you like romantic vampire stories with a light steampunk coating, this may be for you. I probably won't be back for any future installments. Luckily, I only paid $2.99 for this (not the retail price of nearly $10), but I am out of a considerable amount of time. Overall, this was a bad choice to get away from my long-standing reading rut: "magical orphan" YA selection, followed by mystery--(rinse and repeat) cycle I seem to be stuck in. And, given that Adele isn't a "normal" human and her mother had passed away... This wasn't even that much of a break in my reading recycling rut...

The Greyfriar is the first book in the Vampire Empire trilogy by the husband and wife duo, Clay and Susan Griffith.You know how they say not to judge a book by it's cover, well I'm guilty of it, including this book, I'm not a big fan of the cover and so I wasn't in any kind of hurry to read it although the synopsis sounded really good, but I was given the chance to review it and I'm incredibly happy to say that I loved it!I very much enjoyed immersing myself in this world that Clay and Susan have created, the perfect combination of paranormal (I love my vampires), steampunk and action all thrown together into an alternate history set in 1870.We have a strong heroine in Princess Adele of Equatoria, engaged to be married to a man that she has never met, all for political reasons, her fiancée Senator Clark who also happens to be a vampire hunter sets out to rescue Adele after she is kidnapped by the vampire Prince Cesare, who hopes to discover the secret war plans that Equatoria have planned against the vampire race.But on their tail is Greyfriar who originally rescued Adele before she was captured, Greyfriar who is a secret identity of a character in the book, and whom I had pretty much guessed who it was before it was revealed to the reader.Held in the Tower Of London for quite a bit of time, she finds herself associating a fair bit with Prince Gareth, Cesare's brother and heir to the vampire throne, Gareth is very different to all the other vampire's around and Adele finds herself not fearing him as much as she should.After escaping she finally reunites with Greyfriar and they make their way to Scotland where Adele discovers she has powers that could potentially destroy all vampire's forever!An extremely enjoyable read that I hope to continue on with at some point.

i love this book! i just finished it and found that the next book in the series will not be released until sept.'11. so i have to wait.......i'm not happy about it, i really would love to begin the next book in the next second after finishing the first one. this book is very well written, very exciting, the characters are very well rounded- they feel very real-the scenes are cinematic in detail and scope. the alternate history between the humans and vampires on a very different earth is carefully created, and is very different from any other book.....part of the greatness of this book is, it is unique.i was looking for another vampire book, something different, and better written than the ones i'd found lately. i am a huge anne rice fan, and love the twilight books as well. most of the vampire books i have found lately are ya books, not in a good way, and not well written at all, or passible. this book was recommended on an amazon discussion site, someone was looking for vampire books and asking for suggestions- this book was one of the suggestions. owing to the price at the moment i saw it ($2.99), i took a chance on it. so glad i did!a gem of an idea, if it is not well stated, isn't worth much; i have hated reading thru some pretty basic writing skills in other books. to my relief, this book has the writing skills to flesh out the wonderfully unique and fascinating ideas dreamed up by the authors. the atmosphere created, the tension as you wonder what will happen next, the conflicts within some of the characters, as they struggle with themselves......all explained so well, so beautifully.maybe this book will optioned for a movie, it would make a great one (i hope). read this now, it's got the goods: outstanding!!

https://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2015...The Vampire Empire series has been around for a while and was one of those books that I fancied reading but then hit that ‘had enough of reading vampire novels’ type of feeling. Fortunately I’m over that little wobble now and having read and enjoyed the first book I have more to look forward to and no tedious wait inbetween – win!So, Greyfriar is one of those books with a bit of a vampire romance in it. Whilst all the other vampires are nasty and loathsome this one poor vampire is the odd one out, he ‘feels’ for humans, he finds them fascinating, in fact frankly, he prefers humans to vampires and sees a world in which they can co-exist. That probably sounds cheesy and if I’d read this a few years ago there would have been some rolling of eyes. As it is I just really enjoyed this, perhaps I was simply in the right frame of mind but rather than following the ‘cheesy and perhaps cliche’ fork in the road I opted for the ‘really enjoyable and compelling’ route.Vampire Empire is set in a world where vampires, no longer content to survive in the background join together in a massive all out war against humans. Many people die and the vampires take over control of great swathes of the world – particularly those that enjoy a less tropical style climate. Whilst the war took place around 1870 the book is set in a slightly futuristic time – and yet it feels like a much earlier date historically speaking. I think this is based primarily on the fact that the vampires mainly destroy, they take over cities but they create nothing. They rely on humans to build things and to also keep them alive! I guess that many of the innovational leaps and bounds that humans would naturally have made under different circumstances have been put on hold while they try to stay alive and come up with plans to take back control of the world.At the start of the story, Princess Adele, heir to the throne of Equatoria is embarking on a journey to see her subjects. This is a fore runner to her impending arranged marriage to a US Senator and Vampire killer/hero. A diplomatic trip but one that goes horribly wrong when the vampires attack the dirigible they’re travelling on. During the vampire attack Princess Adele becomes separated from the rest of the people and assisted by the man known as Greyfriar – who is something of a legend by all accounts. A man so mysterious that nobody truly knows who he is – or for that matter if he really exists – until now. Now, from here the story takes a bit of a capture, escape, capture, escape scenario so I won’t elaborate too much upon that. For me, one of the best things about the book is the vampire politics and in-fighting between families and other clans. The king’s two sons particularly share a good deal of animosity. There’s the mystery surrounding the Greyfriar. There’s an additional element of mystery surrounding Adele who seems to enjoy some form of special ability herself – there’s also a very curious magical element that is presumably going to be explored in future books and there is the promise of a slow building romance.Characters. I liked Adele. She’s resourceful and she doesn’t mope about. She goes through some tough experiences yet manages to keep a clear head. Her intended, Senator Clark – well, he’s a bit of a cardboard cutout which is a bit of a shame – he’s very wooden and totally an unsympathetic character. Everything he does simply makes you dislike him more, even though he’s supposed to be one of the good guys and clearly this is a ploy to make you have no guilt for preferring the Vampire Gareth instead of Adele’s human intended! That being said, yes, the Senator is a bit cliched but the vampires have a number of new traits to explore. They’re violently ruthless and herd humans like cattle draining them dry and flinging them aside like rubbish. Unbelievably I actually like the character Flay – she gives a good insight into the vampire psyche and it isn’t pretty. On top of that there are a few myths put to rest and new elements such as flying – no transforming into bats but just super light bones similar to birds.The plot, as I said above, follows a capture, escape and run and hide format. It certainly isn’t boring – in fact quite far from it as there is plenty of action along the way.The world building doesn’t take too much imagination – it’s pretty much the place we know already but set in an alternate history. For example, London teeming with vampires who perch like gargoyles atop the city’s famous landmarks and Buckingham Palace now home to the most powerful vampire family.Okay, the real winner of the story for me was the romance – it’s not overly done at all or in your face. In fact it’s not the main element of the story at all and really only becomes obvious towards the conclusion of the story. I think that’s probably why I liked it here – it’s subtle. But, I liked the slow build. The understanding between the two characters and, yes, this almost had a Beauty and the Beast type of feel to it. You really can’t help feeling drawn to Gareth he’s a vampire but, put simply, he acts like he wants to be human – which is kind of ironic!I had a couple of criticisms. The reckless killing of humans by the vampires was one – I totally understand that the point is being hammered home a lttle to reinforce how nasty these vampires really are – but it got to feel a bit over the top and I couldn’t help wondering how they even had any herds left to feed upon at the rate they were ‘eating’ their livestock. I was also puzzled about the vampires in general – they literally do nothing. They’re immortal, they live forever and can’t sleep and yet they just seem to sit and wallow – they don’t create, build, read or write. They don’t cook and now that they’ve conquered the world they don’t even hunt. They really come across as being terribly bored and who can blame them – perhaps that’s why they fight amongst themselves so much. Really – what do they do for eternity!Anyway, in spite of a couple of little niggles I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading the next instalment. A strange fusion of dark and brooding vampire horror, steampunk and alternate history interwoven with the subtle beginnings of a love story and the catalyst for future adventures.

I thought that the premise was interesting and the authors have clearly put some thought into their Vampire characteristics but the princess.... oh dear!. She is the archetypal feisty heroine who can do EVERYTHING , she can fight( Killing many vampires with a sweep of her dagger), act as diplomat/ambassador (sent off around the world to fly the flag before her marriage)Be generally lovable (her brother adores her)be vulnerable, she (cries)and she likes cats.This girl can do no wrong, but she is strangely one dimensional, she has no faults or flaws, no little quirks that set her apart, apart from the suggestion of magical abilities that are so far hidden.The Greyfriar is a far more interesting character, but even his big secret was no surprise to me. It should have made me gasp, but instead all it I did was think, 'yeah, I could see that coming'While I quite enjoyed this book , and I will read the next books in the series, I won't be rushing out to preorder them.

I agree with the reviewer above about the character of Princess and being not surprised to find out Greyfriar is actually a vampire. Nevertheless the plot is great. I enjoyed the book throughly and read it overnight already geting excited to get hold of the second book.

Overall, an interesting vampire story with steam punk elements but I found the head hopping, omniscient narrative annoying. This tale would have been much more effective if told using deep POV, allowing the reader to engage with the characters. As it is, they come across as cardboard and one dimensional. I won’t be reading any more of this series although other readers who don’t mind a distant narrative may enjoy the swashbuckling action.

Ganz ehrlich, wenn man Serientitel wie "Vampire Empire" liest, sind die Erwartungen nicht sonderlich hoch. Ich hatte mir erst einmal den ersten gekauft, doch schon recht bald konnte ich feststellen, wie gut der Roman ist.Das Setting ist außergewöhnlich und überraschend. Der Grund, warum die technische Entwicklung Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts im Viktorianischen stehenblieb und es so ein glaubhaftes Steampunk-Setting geben konnte, ist plausibel und die Charaktere sind dreidimensional und mit Leben erfüllt. Und, was mir wichtig war, es ist kein Softporno wie viele andere Romane in dieser Richtung. Ich habe kein Problem mit Pornos, aber wenn ich phantastische Abenteuer lesen will, dann möchte ich mich nicht mit seitenlangen Beschreibungen irgendwelcher Bettszenen herumschlagen müssen. Vampire Empire ist voll von romance, sword fight action, steampunk, airships, höfische Intrige und großartigen villains, und noch großartigeren Heldinnen und wahrer Liebe. Um ein Vielfaches besser geschrieben als pulp fiction aber mit all den spaßigen und fesselnden und spannenden Elementen. Man leidet mit den Protagonisten und erfreut sich an jedem bisschen Ruhe, dass sie zwischendrin mal haben. Und wie es sich für einen modernen Roman geziehmt, sind die swooning damsels in distress selten swooning und noch seltener in distress. Und wenn, können sie sich sehr gut selbst aus dem Dickicht helfen, in dem sie gerade gelandet sind.Ich mochte den ersten nicht hinlegen und habe mir nach der Hälfte gleich den Zweiten und Dritten gekauft und alles quasi in einem Rutsch durchgelesen.Ermuntert und angeregt durch diese Romande werde ich an andere des Autorenpaares gehen.