Reviews and Commentary for Vampire$ are courtesy of
Amazon.com
and from
The Linkoping Science Fiction Archive

Years ago, I first discovered John Steakley when a friend recommended _Armor_ to me. As an aside, _Armor_ was quite an incredible book, but nothing new appeared on the shelves from Steakley until just last year when _Vampire$_ was released. Those of you familiar with Steakley's first book can expect the same kind of action: fast-paced and very intense.

As one might gather from the title, if not the cover blurb, _Vampire$_ is a novel about a group of modern-day mercenaries who hunt down vampires. Led by Jack Crow, this group travels around the world (mostly staying in the United States) to do its work, hunting down and killing vampires. Being "professionals" in this business means you've got to survive for a fair amount of time, so Team Crow takes no chances and pulls no punches, making for some very entertaining scenes.

One of my favorite aspects of this novel is that I finally get to read a story about vampires told from the point of view of someone with some common sense! Too often, vampire novels are plagued by characters you'd expect on sitcoms like "Three's Company," but here at last is a character who shakes his head at these poor slobs and understands what's going on. Of course, the vampires aren't stupid either, and as time goes on, they begin to realize the danger that Crow represents to them, and the war begins.

As the battles wear on, Crow seeks out help in the form of a mysterious old friend named Felix while a female reporter joins up with the team. A large part of the novel centers on Felix's struggle with himself in the face of such great evil, and his past with Crow makes for a great subplot. The main thread of the novel, though, draws Team Crow to Dallas, where they must find their way out of an intricate trap, and I found I simply couldn't put down the book for the last 100 pages or so.

It's very difficult to describe the plot in more detail without putting in spoilers, so let it suffice for me to say that if you liked _Armor_, vampire stories, or lots of action, then this is worth a read. I'm looking forward to more great stuff by Steakley, but I don't recommend that you start reading this book with any major deadlines looming.

Amazon.Com Synopsis:
From the bestselling author of the phenomenal DAW science fiction classic, Armor, comes the blood-curdling story of a dedicated group that makes a precarious living killing the undead. "This is exciting and surprising stuff . . . a real genre bender that keeps the best elements of both."--Locus. TP: ROC.

Reader Reviews:
saint@inaccs.com.bb from Barbados , 11/04/97, rating=9:
A very gritty book about Vampire Hunters
This is possibly the best Vampire book that I have ever read. Forget about the Ann Rice vampire, forget about how the vampire "feels". The vampires in this book are out for blood, human blood, Steakley never lets you forget that. What makes the book truly entertaining however is the psychology of the hunters. They know that death at the hands of a vampire isn't pleasn't, and they know that as hunters one day their luck will fail and their friends will have to drive a stake through their hearts. But they keep going Great book

ecalton@gwsmtp.okanagan.bc.ca from Kelowna, Canada , 11/04/97, rating=8:
Good book
Vampire$ was a good book which I thought was well written. The main reason I decided to leave a review was to comment on an earlier review. The reviewer stated that he/she had stopped reading the book after 30 pages because of the foul language. I believe the langauge was meant to fill out the main character and show what kind of man he was (doing the job he did). It bothers me to see someone stop reading because of such a small point as language then comment (giving a bad rating 1#) on the book without having read the whole thing.

wfm@storm.ca from Ottawa, ON , 11/02/97, rating=4:
Yawn.
So I finally spot this novel I've read so much about on the net....what a letdown. I was expecting so much more, you know, like maybe some insight into the vampire myth, some great characters, geez, even a good story for cripes sake. What I got were cardboard characters, weak plot and run-on sentences like you wouldn't believe. Save your money & time and read Interview With a Vampire instead. This same review score can also apply to Steakley's Armour as well. Sorry folks, overrated in my book, anyway.

meppo@erols.com from , 10/17/97, rating=10:
I read Armor
I read Armor and I thought it was one of the best books I had ever read. I wish he would write MORE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SNAKEYE2@AOL.COM from AMERICA , 09/08/97, rating=9:
FEED ME MORE!
I READ BOTH BOOKS ARMOR AND VAMPIRE$ AND I THOUGHT THEY WERE BOTH GREAT. EVEN THOU IM ONLY 12 I HAVE ONE THING TO SAY TO MR. STEAKLEY, PLEASE JUST GO OUT THERE AND AND MAKE MORE BOOKS!@#$%^&*()

VFOLIA@AOL.COM , 07/12/97, rating=10:
A Kick-Ass no-nonsense Vampire book you will love!
This story is about a team of aggressive, highly trained individuals who track and kill Vampires in modern day America. The team is run like a Special Operations unit (Seals, Green Berets, Marine Recon). The Vampires are very powerful and brutal. You won't find wimpy Vampires that run away from a simple wooden cross in this book. These Vampires will rip your spine out of your body in the blink of an eye! This book is not for the weak of heart. If you want a facinating and terrifying book, get this one. I like this book so much that I have puchased three copies over the years. I lend them out to friends. Everyone loved it. The one thing I want to know is: When is Mr. Steakley going to write another book like this one? MR. STEAKLEY- PLEASE, PLEASE WRITE ANOTHER BOOK LIKE THIS!!!!!!!

jean-luc_peyret@peoplesoft.com , 07/08/97, rating=3:
The pit
I'm a big fan of vampire stories and this one starts out great with the premise of vampires in a modern world. But that doesn't last very long and it really lapses into a yarn about manly heroes who protect helpless and useless damsels in distress. O.K., so did Stoker, but that's 100+ years ago and it had style. This is just trash! It does seem like Steakley polarizes reviewers...

xanax@pinebelt.net , 06/26/97, rating=8:
in a different vein
I've read many vampire books, and most all of them treat vampires as mystical, saintly creatures. This is one of the first books I've read that portrays vampires as what they would be if they actually existed, monsters. A great read with enough humor thrown in to make the scary parts that much scarier.

wilhelmATtotalnet , 06/13/97, rating=9:
Action, humor and vampires, it will put a spell on you
This book was a funny, smart and quick on it's feet I can't wait to see the John Carpenter movie, he is shooting it as I speak.

When I started to read VAMPIRES I was very pleased with the climax of the book Since I am a huge John Carpenter fan, I thought that the cast of this book was inspired by some of his movie characters and that's what made me like this book That's the only reason I bought Vampires, because of the movie and also I wanted a headstart on the plot so I can compare the book to the movie.

En bref, this book was a very good entertainer and it gave me a good time every night before going to bed.

puttputt@crtelco.com , 06/08/97, rating=1:
Foul Language Killed It
The foul language in this book was constant and completely unnecessary to the storyline. After 30 pages I gave up and refuse to read it anymore. I was also disappointed because John Steakley's ARMOR is one of the few books I have read several times. I would rate ARMOR an 8 or 9. (It would be a 10 if there was less Jack Crow and more Felix.) I have regularly scanned bookshelves for a new book by Steakley so this was a bitter disappointment.

piaw@mpath.com , 05/13/97, rating=10:
Unorthodox approach to vampire novel
A hard core, tough approach to vampire hunting. None of this skulking around in the dark. Want to get at a vampire in a house? Just demolish the house and pull the vampires out into the sun. These guys have their own priest, armor with LED crosses, and crossbows with wooden-stakes in them. I'm waiting for Jim Cameron to make this movie. This is the way I'd hunt vampires if I had to do it professionally. If this sounds intriguing, wait till the vampires themselves start to wise up...

David Holmes (allenhyserman@sprintmail.com) , 04/13/97, rating=10:
Want to be taken INTO the terror? Read on!
"VAMPIRE$" and his first book, "ARMOR" are rides through John Steakleys nightmare vision of the human reaction to overwhelming terror. Using ten foot tall alien "ants" or seductive, destructive "master vampires" Mr. Steakley is a pro at mixing descriptions of action and emotion in language that convinces you that you are THERE, or at least that he has been... His heros are scared right down to their toes, and go right back in for another round because it is the only way to escape a fate worse then death, living with fear. My hope is that Mr. Steakley has worked through his own visions, and that he is writing kinder, gentler stories of the same caliber under an assumed name. If not, bring in the next unstoppable, implacable, inhuman abomination for Felix and Jack Crow to take on!

vermeeca@muohio.edu , 03/31/97, rating=9:
GIVE ME MORE!!!
Please, Mr. Steakley, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stop it and write more! After reading Vampire$ and especially Armor, I find it a tragedy that no more books were written. Steakley has a way of presenting characters that are completely real and human. Give me more of Felix and Jack Crow, please!

KLPeel@aol.com , 12/27/96, rating=8:
A new "Eternal Champion" theme?
As far as I know, John Steakley has only written two books to date: the far future military sf book _Armor_ in 1984 (in the tradition of Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ and Haldeman's _Forever War_), and this book in 1990, superficially an entirely different work of fantasy/horror on a modern day troop of vampire hunters. Having just read this book immediately after reading _Armor_, however, it is clear to me that both books are meant to be variations on an "Eternal Champion" theme. Not only do the names of its two main characters repeat (John Crow and "Felix"), but there are other clear indictions throughout the text of this intent. Both books, by the way, are excellent. Now, if Steakley would just write more in this pantheon -- or anything else, for that matter! Note, that DAW Books plans to bring _Armor_ back into print in March 1997, after it being unavailable for far too long.

cmt@airmail.net , 02/09/96, rating=9:
Great fictional book about vampire hunters.
John Steakley the author of "Armor" delivers another action packed book with "Vampires", a book about vampire hunters that find themselves in over there heads.