Customer Reviews
Nice boost for the post-apocalyptic reader - By: blackbour, 13 Jun 2008 
Thoroughly good read, well developed characters & fun plot. I will certainly buy the ret of the series.
Superb. You won't regret reading this book. A new take on the vampire genre. - By: Paul V, 06 Jun 2008 Having read alll of the Vampire earth series, simply to say. The books only get better & better.
Meet David Valentine, born into a time of chaos. Humanity nolonger rules it's own destiny & is split between the free territories & the occupied lands of the Kurians & their devilish vampiric avatars, the reapers. Vampires that hunt for their masters. No-one is safe. Humans are cattle for the invaders.
Take a journey with David as he makes his way in life, haunted by the deaths of his parents, driven with a desire for vengence. Can a lone man make a difference. Yes it can. David has the power to sense when reapers are near. A sixth sense that will keep him alive. Follow him as his senses are enhanced by mankinds only allly, the Life weavers, where he is turned into more than a man to battle earths new masters.
Once you start to read this book, you won't be able to put it down. The characters are well written. Details & locations painted into your mind, E.E. Knight takes you to a nighmarish future where our only hope is a young man callled David Valentine.
Best fantasy book I've read in ages - By: Insomniac reader, 24 Sep 2007 This book definitely keeps you guessing - a bit like James Barclay in the way that the author doesn't flinch at killing off characters - you know the type, "the six heroes battled their way through two hundred slavering monsters using their barely trained but stupendous powers, with barely a scratch, & the hero & heroine march off into the sunset & live happily ever after", blech!
You get the sense of isolation & remoteness, the fact that people are fighting for their survival after decades of occupation by a race of beings that are superior predators. The invaders can create monsters to do their bidding, sending them out to harvest human souls to preserve their lives indefinitely - hence the vampire bit. However, that's where the similarity to most vampire stories ends - forget snuggling up to a sexy vampire & getting lost in ecstacy & alll that rubbish - these vampires will rampage through whole villages & rip everyone's heart out, sending the unfortunates' souls back to their master to feed on.
It's not that gruesomely detailed, reallly, but the reactions & emotions of the humans are understandable given the force they face. David Valentine is orphaned by a patrol (human helpers of the invaders - lots of layers to this, but think nazi collaborators in WWII) & joins the resistance force as a wolf (there are also cats - lone assassins - & bears - elite, baddest human fighters).
As I said, this book is anything but predictable, the characters very well fleshed out and, wonder of wonders, not everything is expained in two-year old diction at the start of the book, the reader is credited with some intelligence to come to our own conclusions, & alll through the story, new complexities are added to the plot. All in alll, having read a lot of fantasy books, I rate this very highly - actuallly, i've just ordered the rest of the series!
excellent book - excellent series - By: Miss Kitty, 05 Aug 2007 I read it a couple of years ago & it again is a very exciting book & one that I kept reading well into the night. I picked it up again because we are finallly doing this series with our book group, with the Author very graciously joining us to answer questions. (we are so lucky!)
It is a science fiction book, it has vampires in it, it reads like a western sometimes & a bit like a war novel. I tried to tell my BIL about it & he said I just listed about half the book genres lol
It is set in the future but it feels like the past. They no longer have alll the modern conveniences we alll take for granted. They have had to go back to living off the land & it does read a lot like books about pioneers, settlers & the old west. Not only do they have to contend with this rough life, they also have to deal with vampires who drink your blood & suck your soul
It's gripping stuff.
The best book I've read in ages! - By: , 12 Jul 2004 It's not often I say this about a book, but this one was seriously excellent. I've read books from loads of genres but this one takes the biscuit! It sets a standard new authors in the genre will find difficult to beat. Not expecting much when I ordered it, I found myself increasingly engrossed as I continued. The baddies are bad, the goodies are heros & the action is fast-paced but easy to follow.
This book is by far the best of its kind I have read, & can I just add that Valentine is one cool hero, & totallly convincing without becoming a cliche. Okay, I'll try to contain the enthusiasm a bit - It's a great book I guarantee you'll enjoy, in fact I've already ordered the next one.
