Thursday, January 2, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "The Thirteenth Child" by David Dean

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I love vampires. Don't everyone faint at once, haha! Since I was about two, I have been obsessed with the creatures, but the stories can become monotonous, or take away the horror element.

That being said, I want to thank Malena PR for sending me David Dean's novel The Thirteenth Child. It is not a vampire novel of modern years (the monster can't even be called a vampire, per se), but something from a truly unique mind. I haven't read about an undead creature so innovative since Darren Shan's creatures in his Cirque Du Freak series.

The Native Americans in New England called him the "snow boy" in in the 1700's. He'd come in late fall and hunt their children as they would hunt deer. After a few children were found wandering aimlessly in the cemetery, they were executed as vampires, but they didn't know that the cause of their children appearing like that would remain among them for more than 300 years...

Preston Howard is a drunken, disgraced professor who has only his beloved books and his daughter to keep him sane. Sometimes, when he is too drunk to walk, he sleeps in a shack in the woods. It is there that he encounters a strange boy who is older than time. He is who killed a child who had been missing for seven years, and who kidnapped three kids in a week this year.

But who would believe a sane man, let alone a drunk, who tells the police this kind of story?

Can Cheif Nick Catesby solve these inexplicable crimes when all signs point to the perp being preston...and Nick is in live with Preston's daughter, Fanny?

I am not speaking as a reviewer but as a fan when I say that this novel is a joy for longtime vampire fans to read especially of they want something that brings a whole new atmosphere to the creatures), and fans who might be new to the genre as well. It is not overly frightening, but has an eerie vibe that climbs steadily as the book goes on to a climatic end.You will find a little Jonathan Harker in Nick, and I can't forget to mention the priest, Father Gregory, who was a bigger part in this than he seemed to be in the beginning. I enjoyed the way that the Catholic Church is portrayed here, as victims and as a sanctuary, rather than the popular opinion of making them either jokes or villains.

Great storytelling, a unique view, many interesting characters and a story that takes horror and crime genres to a new level is a must read for anyone and everyone!

5/5--amazing!

Purchase The Thirteenth Child via:

Official Site

Genius Books Publishing (publisher site)

Amazon

Goodreads

Google Books

Barnes And Noble (NOOK)

Don't forget to visit Malena PR's official site to see all of their talented clients!

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