Phil Tucker (1)

In a sundered world whose dominant religion believes in reincarnation, and largely ties individuals’ intrinsic moral worth to where they were born, the protagonist Asho was given a rare opportunity to elevate himself and train to become a knight under the lord whose life his father saved. Yet many only see as far as his origin, and he himself comes soon to witness both the death of his protector and troubling revelations about the faith. Still, he is determined to support his lord’s show more widow and new liege to the best of his abilities.

So far feels like very solid and fairly classical Epic fantasy with a welcome fresh coat of paint (like the orcs initially present as hired shock troops in the opening battle, but then having a POV and developments back home rather than being just endless disposable mooks irretrievably in thrall to some villain). show less

4 ½ Stars

Vampire Miami is the first book in The Human Revolt series by Phil Tucker.

The first thing that caught my attention about Vampire Miami was the title; I lived in Miami for almost ten years so I’m pretty familiar with the city; knowing the setting picked up my curiosity, then I read the book blurb and I was sold, it left me wanting to read this book badly.

Vampire Miami starts with the transportation of Selah Brown from the US to the vampire city of Miami.
A bit over five years ago show more the vampires came out of the coffin and became a public problem; their going public started a horrific war that ended after the cities or Miami and Los Angeles were given to the vampires. Now these cities have a heavily guarded wall that protects the US from their bloodsucking neighbors. Nobody can go from the vampire city to the US and the only way to get in the vampire cities is through deportation.
Selah’s father disappeared couple of months ago, he was investigating a new and very powerful drug that is selling on the streets of US. During his investigation he discovered that the vampires were somehow involved with this drug. When he was getting close to expose the culprits he mysteriously disappeared. The only thing he left behind for Selah to find was his omni (a futuristic portable computer with 3D effects), which contains encrypted files about his investigation.
Selah is a minor, the government wants to place her with a family, but to everybody’s surprise she requested to be deported to Miami where her grandmother still lives. Selah wanted to go to Miami to investigate the disappearance of her father, leaving the only life she has known for seventeen years behind wasn’t easy, but she has a plan and is willing to go the extra step to solve the mystery behind his father’s disappearance. What Selah wasn’t expecting was to find a city that is ten times worse than what the TV programs in US shows. If she wants to survive she needs to reevaluate everything she knows and follow the very strict set of rules the residents on Miami have set in place to survive, rules that hinder her plans. If adapting to a new dangerous city wasn’t enough she also needs to learn to live with her grandmother, a woman that is an institution and a leader among the residents of the city.
Selah won’t stop at anything, even if she has to risk her life; she came to Miami with an objective in mind and she will do everything in her power to get to the end of it, even finding allies in the most unexpected places.

On the beginning I was a bit afraid for Selah, I knew things weren’t going to be easy for her and OMG I was right. Selah is young and with an idealist purpose in life, finding what happened to her father. She is at a difficult age, she feels she can accomplish whatever she wants, but life is not as easy as that, especially not in a vampire city like Miami.
Selah felt very real, her behavior and reactions to the different situations she experienced felt realistic and believable for a character of her age. I connected with her from the very beginning; page after page I cheered for her and sometimes I even hurt for her. Despite being young and inexperienced in life Selah is smart, strong and a fighter at heart, all this made of her a very easy to like character.

I really liked Cloud; he is smart, sexy and perfect for Selah, together they made a great team. My only complaint about Vampire Miami is regarding their relationship; they meet and next they are in love, I would have liked to see more of a relationship development than the almost insta-love they succumbed to.

The secondary characters made of this book an even better one. Selah’s grandmother, Mama B. is a very complex character, my first impressions of her were of a cold and hard woman, slowly I realized my mistake, Mama B. is a woman that cares deeply for others, without a care for her own welfare she has sacrificed a lot in her life to help those in need. At the end of the book I didn’t like her I loved her.

Theo in another very interesting character, saying much about him will be spoilerish, let’s just say that my heart ached for him and I hope he gets the HEA he deserves in future books.

Vampire Miami is a very especial book, one that surprised me from beginning to end, with so many twists and turns that keep me on the edge of my seat guessing about what was to come next.
The great characterization and vivid descriptions only made of Vampire Miami a more enjoyable read.
As I previously said, I’m familiar with the setting and with his fluid prose Mr. Tucker not only made me travel to known streets but also made me see them in a new a completely different way, a way that chilled me to the bone.

With its well-tied and clever plot and a very creative and unique world Vampire Miami it’s a book I recommend you to read. I guarantee you it will keep you glued to its pages from beginning to end, I’m sure of this because it happened to me. Since the first paragraph Mr. Tucker’s words tied me up to the pages and didn’t let me go until I reached the very end.

Vampire Miami is not an easy or walk in the sun read, it’s gritty, grim and dark, but it’s so good that I can’t help it, but want more! Luckily for me next book in the series, Vampire L.A., was released on February. I already bought it and I’m planning to read it soon.

(At the time this review was written Vampire Miami was free on Amazon, to “buy” it click HERE) show less

Tucker brings urban fantasy back to its roots with this dark and gritty story of humans who become unwitting pawns in the struggle between the two Sidhe courts.

The writing is fabulous. I wish the characters had been fleshed out more, because no matter how much time I spent with them I still never felt like I knew them, especially Maribel. The pacing also felt like it needed to be tightened up a bit; much of the book were Maribel and Maya stumbling blindly through the plot, and neither they show more nor the reader really know why, and then the epic battle took over.

This book isn't perfect but it is pretty damn good. It could be fantastic with some more editing and polishing.

Review copy courtesy of the author. show less

4.5/5
This is a fairy tale the way I like them, dark, disturbing, ancient in its battle between Good and Evil and gripping. This is also not a YA to my relief despite one of the characters being a 16-year old girl. I am tired of Holly Black and Julie Kagawa, give me War for the Oaks and Pan's Labyrinth, pretty please.

If you like the latter, this book is for you.

Both the main protagonists, or shall I say, antagonists? are women forged in tragedy and pain.

Maribel is a model and a talented show more photographer who followed her diplomat husband around the war conflicts of the world taking beautiful pictures of women and children caught in the conflict. Heavily pregnant she flies to a gallery in New York only to give birth to her daughter and see a weird transparent figure take her daughter away and replace her with a husk which everyone thinks is the dead baby.

Crazed with grief Maribel employs help of a psychic and a phooka to find her baby and bring her back. Only the creature leading her on her quest has other much darker goal in mind, - the Unseelie Court is ready for a new Queen of Air and Darkness.

Maya is a 16-year old illegal immigrant working her butt off for miserly $2 an hour in a Chinese restaurant during the day and crafting fake brand belts in a crowded factory during the night. Fighting her way through sexual harassment and prejudice she is determined to save enough money to find a lawyer and get her parents out of prison, while one evening kiss from a beautiful man with fiery green eyes renders her mute and able to see through fae Glamour on the streets of New York.

Maya is asked by Seelie Court to try and stop the Unseelie Queen ascension and with nothing to lose, led by her courage and determination, Maya can only go forward.

This is a fast read, beautifully structured and written. The language describes the fae world as wise, ancient, dark and very much unhinged.

"Maya, look. I understand your frustration. But you’re asking me questions akin to what is love, or heart break. I can describe them as simply as I can, and still not convey their essence to you. They need to be experienced. No matter what I tell you about Jack, or this land, or myself, you will still not understand. Perhaps you might delude yourself into believing you do, but that would be even more dangerous than ignorance. So please. Pick up your left foot, and step forward. Repeat with your right, and let’s keep going until we reach whatever place is invoked by your heart’s desire.”

Fans of War for The Oaks and Pan's Labyrinth will certainly love this story just as much as I did. show less