Demons of the Ocean

"I'll tell you a tale of Vampirates..."

Such is the beginning to a rather blood thirsty sea shanty sung to the Tempest twins, Grace and Connor, by their recently deceased father. How it was able to calm them for bedtime versus raise all their red alerts is beyond me, however it might serve as a good reason behind their ability to cope with the events that were just on the horizon. Losing everything they had on this earth besides each other, they set off to find a new life, only to have it snuffed before they even get started. The mysterious storm that overtook them out of the blue during their escape from dry land was unusual, but what happens to each of them is even more so. For one, it's a pirate's life for them, as they gain their sea show more legs and never stop searching for their other half; for the other, it's as yet to be decided...if they can manage to survive their savage "hero" and a bloodthirsty crew. Oh yes, my friends...there is MUCH more danger than what lurks in the murky depths below...

I rather fell in LOVE with this story. Grace and Connor are stars in their own right, and their journeys are far from over...but the author set this series up with an incredible cast of characters that are equally charming (well, some are more monstrous, but beauty IS in the eye of the beholder...just don't let some of them ACTUALLY be HOLD anything of yours!) in their own ways that make you want to learn their stories (Grace has the right idea!), and see just what the sea has in store for them! The mysterious captain, midshipman Lorcan, Cheng Li, and the one that we shall not name here that was cast out...all of them are quite obviously going to play integral roles in what's to come, and for that matter what happens here, so yes...I say GIVE ME MORE to satisfy my own book thirst!



*copy received for review; opinions are my own show less

Twins Connor and Grace never dreamed that there was any truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, but that was before the two were shipwrecked and separated from each other. For Connor, who is taken aboard a pirate ship, there's the chance to learn to sword fight, but for Grace, aboard a mysterious ship of vampire pirates, the danger is great. The twins want more than anything to find each other, but their time is limited and they're an ocean apart.

This was a swift-moving, interesting read... reminded me a bit of Darren Shan's wonderful Cirque Du Freak series. It's young adult so not a very complex or convoluted story line, but that simply made for an even quicker read considering it's 330 pages.

Though all show more ends on a happy note when Connor and Grace are eventually reunited, another danger has boarded the Diablo, which causes the story to end on another minor cliffhanger, and thus left me craving Tide of Terror, the next in the series. show less

Summary: Grace and Connor Tempest's father, the lighthouse keeper, has always sung them to sleep with a sea shanty about the Vampirates, bloodsucking fiends that wander the ocean. When their father dies and the twins are forced to leave their home, they take to sea, only to be have a giant storm wreck their ship. Connor gets picked up by a motley pirate crew, while Grace gets rescued by a ship with tattered black sails, whose inhabitants never venture out during the day, and whose captain can read her mind. Both are convinced that their twin is alive, and both must adapt to their new environments, and survive the dangers long enough to find each other again.

Review: There are very few books that I am so embarassed to be reading that I show more try to hide them... but this was one. Not that it was all that bad, but when someone goes "Hey, whatcha reading?" and I hold up the book, and I can see their progression of thoughts go "Vam...pirates. Vampirates. That can't possibly be what I think it is, can it? But... vampire pirates. Reeeeally.", there was a little piece of my dignity that died. It's not a terrible book, but the whole concept is just so over-the-top that I did occasionally wish I had a book jacket to hide the cover, so I could read anonymously.

Because it hits so many current cultural trends at once (next up: Vampirate ninja LOLcats!), there's plenty of appeal to this book, and on the whole it manages to pull off a fun little supernatural action-adventure. It also didn't hurt that I've got a crazy affinity for anything nautical, so that probably bumped my rating up at least half a star relative to someone who doesn't listen to sea shanties for fun. I also appreciated that one of the main characters was a girl, and that there's a few slight hints of romance stirred into the action, and plenty of mysteries to unravel - although that's clearly coming in the sequels; this book ultimately didn't provide a lot of answers.

I did have some fairly large problems with the story, however. The first was the author's decision to set it 500 years in the future. Apparently in 2505, instead of spaceships we have pirate ships... and pirate academies... and pirate vampires. Of course. This book would have worked just as well if not better as supernatural historical fiction, or in some generic fantasy universe, so unless there's a logical reason for setting it in the future that will be explained in the sequels, it seems random and out of place, and I'm just not buying it. Also, the writing itself didn't do much for me. There are a lot of good guys, a few mysterious-but-clearly-good-at-heart guys, and only one bad guy, and I never really felt a sense of menace or danger... which is problematic when you're reading a book about VAMPIRE PIRATES. I mean, really. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: A fun fantasy adventure that leans pretty heavily on its cultural "cool!" factor. Not really any better or worse then much of the mid-grade fantasy-adventure books I've been reading recently, but the fact that it's about boats gives it a little bit of an edge. show less

Vampires. And pirates. Two genres that mash really quite surprisingly well. I'm enjoying this series and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Kui torm kaksikud Grace ja Connor Tempesti teineteisest lahku kisub, peavad nad kumbki üksi hakkama saama. Connor satub tõelisele piraadilaevale ja peab endas selgusele jõudma, kas ta on piraadiks olemiseks piisavalt sitke. Poisile saadetud katsumused ei ole kerged, aga nagu ütleb üks tema uutest meeskonnakaaslastest: „Kerged teed ei ole meie kingataldu väärt.“

Grace leiab ennast sootuks kummaliselt laevalt, mis on juba väga kaua meredel seilanud. Mida rohkem tüdruk salapärase purjeka ja tolle meeskonnaga tutvub, seda enam saab talle selgeks, et tegemist pole mingi tavalise laevaga. Kas õel-vennal õnnestub uues ümbruses ellu jääda ja kas nad näevad veel kunagi teineteist? Ühine nendega reisil läbi kaardistamata show more vete. Vampiraatide teekond on kohe algamas...

Justin Somper on tuntud Suurbritannias tegutsev lasteraamatute reklaamikonsultant. Muuhulgas on ta teinud tööd Roald Dahli loomingu tutvustamise heaks. Oma elu on autor iseloomustanud kui avastusretke ja tema elumotoks on: usalda loodeid! „Ookeani deemonid“ on vampiraatide seikluste esimene raamat . show less

This book has pirates, vampires, vampires who sail like pirates, and, just so no one feels left out, is set in the year 2505 with vampires who insist on living as if it's still 1920s or earlier. Put that way it sounds like Vampirates must read like a train wreck; to a certain extent, it does. There are so many different elements to the basic premise of this novel that some definitely fall by the wayside. For example, once you read past the page that tells you the year is 2505, it is impossible to tell that you are not being plunked down into another Caribbean pirate story (that still has about a million twists) set whenever our favorite bucchanears usually make an appearance.

Though the many angles of this book can cause some problems, show more they also allow for many, many entry points into this novel, making it a great choice for reluctant readers. The chapters are also short, and, because they switch back and forth between Connor and Grace's experiences, the reader doesn't have to slog through too much to get to the storyline s/he is really interested in. And, problems aside, these storylines suck you in. As Grace and Connor are distracted from their mirror goals of finding the other by their own circumstances, the reader cannot forget that Grace's special status as a twin is all that keeps her alive and that Connor must succeed in finding her for her to survive. The ending is satisfying on some levels and COMPLETELY UNFINISHED on others, causing me to rush out to find book two of the series (Tide of Terror) as I will most likely run out to find books three and four. show less

All I had to do was read the title and I knew I had to buy this book. I am a lover of all things pirate. And when you throw in vampires too, I thought this book was going to be the most bad-ass thing ever. Sadly, that was not the case.

I will say that the idea of vampire pirates is wicked cool and I think I might use that someday in my own writing. But these were not the kind of vampirates I thought would apear.

The story features boy and girl twins who lose their father, are presented with unwelcome choices for their future and decide to runaway instead. Stealing a boat, they flee town, only to have a storm destroy the boat and leave them separated in the water. Pirates pick up the boy, and vampirates rescue the girl.

The story started show more off seemingly normal, then appeared to be comically and ridiculously innaccurate about anything at all to do with ships, ship life or pirates. I eventually realized that this must have been done on purpose and, indeed, aimed the book specifically at a very young and innocent audience. Once I realized this, I was better able to appreciate the humour of it. Like when the pirates board a ship in 4-4-8 formation and plan their attack on a blackboard on the ship, as if it's all a big soccer game. I think I prefer more realistic stuff myself, but kudos to Somper for his imaginative creativity. I think 10-12 year olds would get a big kick out of it.

The pirates are silly, friendly and just about the nicest and least pirate-like pirates ever. As if they're out of some kids cartoon. They're very happy and helpful and nothing serious ever really happens to them.

The vampirates themselves were nothing how I pictured. Turns out they're just a collection of lost souls on a timeless cruise ship, biding their time and hiding out from the world to prevent their bloodthirst from causing too much trouble. They're generally polite and formal and very kind and not at all monsters, with one mild exception. I found it teasing to begin with, then rather dull in the ultimate delivery.

I think my low rating is a result of my personal disappointment as much as any lacking in the book itself. Given the cover and title, I was expecting something cooler and darker. And there's nothing on the book itself which says the age range it's targeted at, so I had no idea it would be for young kids.

Even taking that into account, I'm not sure that the story itself held up; it felt like it was ok in the beginning, then flatlined once they got on their respective ships and never really went anywhere after. I thought that the plot unfortunately dragged on and the 'climax' was only in the final few pages. There are more books in the series though, so maybe more will happen there. And, for a young reader, it would be fun just being immersed in Somper's world in its own right, so maybe the plot doesn't have to do much quite yet.

This book might be a good starting point for little kids who like pirates, but I'd move on to Treasure Island for something cooler. show less