I really wanted to like this series. I'm a big fan of his Emberverse books; unfortunately these just don't quite match up. It's still an entertaining read, but I think it's missing something. Like a previous reviewer said, the bad guys are too bad and the good guys are too good. ( )

S.M.Stirling has put together his usual well written novel. In this Earth, humans and Shadowspawn (vampires) have evolved together, such that many humans contain at least some Shadowspawn DNA, but those nearly pure Shadowspawn are true vampires, able to wield magic, 'The Power'. The Shadowspawn basically control the entire world from behind the scenes and somehow keep their existence hidden from humans - despite having entire communities of normal human 'renfields' that serve them. That part seems a bit unlikely, but apparently they control enough banking, government and internet resources to be very, very rich and very, very private. There's a good vampire, Adrian Breze, married to a normal human woman, Ellen. Adrian and his faction are trying to stop his very evil sister, Adrienne, and prevent their plot to significantly decimate the human population so the Shadowspawn can take full control.
This was well written and interesting. If you like vampire novels, you will likely enjoy this one. I would rate it higher but I do not like vampire novels. There's even a sparkly vampire comment. ( )

Have been a fan of Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time and The Change novels but just can't seem to really enjoy the Shadowspawn series. It has too much S&M and violence that just didn't move the plot along enough. ( )