The Greyfriar

I have been wanting to read this book forever. I finally got a copy from the library and then that same week ended up going to BEA and was able to get a copy signed and meet Clay and Susan Griffith. They were a lot of fun to talk to and very nice. So, I was really excited to read this book and I wasn't disappointed. The second book in the series, The Rift Walker, is due for a September 2011 release.

Princess Adele of the Equatorian Empire is on a ship that is attacked by a horde of vampires. At first things are looking up when the Greyfriar (a mysterious vigilante) saves her; but then she is captured by the evil Caesar and held in the Tower of London in vampire occupied Britain. Adele becomes the catalyst for a final battle between the show more human and vampire species; along the way she finds out that vampires may not be exactly what humanity thinks.

This was an absolutely excellent book. The storyline is epic and the world incredibly creative. The story is part alternate history, part post-apocalyptic, and part steampunk...with a little epic fantasy thrown in for good measure.

The Griffiths have created an incredibly detailed and interesting world. Vampires have trouble surviving in warm climates which has driven humanity to the hottest parts of the planet. The politics within human factions and vampire factions are complex and interesting to read about. There is a lot of creativity in this story and many things which I haven't seen anywhere else. The human parts of the world have a steampunk feel to them too which adds even more to the story.

The characters of Adele and Greyfriar are engaging, have a lot of depth to them, and as a reader you really want to know them better. You can't help but root for them and hope that everything will work out. Side characters in the book weren't as filled out as they could have been, but that is a small quibble. I do hope that in future books we get to learn more about Adele's mentor and spend more time with her younger brother.

The plot is full of twists and turns and you can never predict what will happen next. This makes for a very engaging book and really pulls the reader through the novel. The novel ends well, but leaves a lot of issues unresolved for future books. The writing style is well done and easy to read.

The only other small complaint I have is that the chapters that depict Senator Clark (Adele's intended) going to war were a bit of a struggle to get through. It wasn't that they were poorly written...it was just that I loved reading about Adele and the Greyfriar so much more that I just wanted to get through the Senator Clark parts. I am hoping in future installments Senator Clark will be more filled out and we will learn either to love or hate him with greater passion :-)

Overall this was a spectacular read. It is very creative, the world-building was incredible, and Adele and Greyfriar are captivating characters. The writing style was very well done and easy to read and it was hard to put the book down. I love the detail that went into world-building and love how many fantasy elements (historical, post-apocalyptic, steampunk, epic) went into making this story. I am very excited to read The Rift Walker when it releases in September. show less

Prelim Review: In a word: love. Sincere, genuine, unadulterated love is what I feel for this book. Its entirely possible I love this book more than I love strawberries--and I adore strawberries.

I wasn't exactly certain what to expect when I began reading this book (a loaner from a friend). Chris McGrath did the cover art--that's always a good thing in my estimation. It has vampires. Steampunk. Its the future but isn't. Strong-willed Princess. Dashing hero. On the surface it sounds like a book I would gobble up. And it is! But its so much more than that.

Adele begins the book as an aloof, determined and willful girl. She's only 19, but she knows that the future of her Empire rests on her shoulders. She is wistful for the ability to just show more be a girl, but understands the gravity under which she has as the heir to the Equatorian Empire. After the initial attack, the fight and flight from the Vampires, and her capture...so many things happen that shake her. The unknown North, infested with vampires or the knowledge that she doesn't know what happened to those dear to her all plague her, but she absorbs it...and then it doesn't effect her. Fear is the mind killer correct? She takes this principle to heart and makes the vampires daring to chase her bleed for it.

I can honestly not think of a single thing Adele said or did that caused me to frown. A little willful perhaps, definitely stubborn, but the Griffiths don't make her infallible. Just very good at retaining her poise and determination. Without forcing the point they made Adele capable and independent, with a slightly reckless abandon for common sense at times, but a core of iron. Adele understood her duty, her role in life and was willing to forgo what she wanted in order for the greater good. Doesn't mean she still wasn't a relatively young girl, with dreams and hopes though.

The Greyfriar, who you'll figure out who this is rather quickly since its not a secret to the reader, was everything a folk hero should be. Cunning, witty, ruthless even he didn't allow injustice and sought to right things. He's also monumentally stupid at times and a bit thickheaded. He didn't seem to grasp that if he told Adele not to do one thing, she'd do it anyway. Especially if it involved saving herself, protecting those she loved or snubbing her nose at the Vampires.

The Vampires, by and large, aren't 'good'. They are savages, reveling in their debauchery and decadence like Sultans of old. Some want something different, they want to make a peace with the humans since as a species the Vampires can't survive without them so its in their best interests not to glut their bellies until they burst and the streets turn black from rivers of dried blood. Even of those who are different they still see humans as food, just they take better care of them and treat them better. Except for one guy, but that's a different story and a bit spoilery so we won't talk of him.

The ending had me biting my lip because its the sort of painful ending that you don't WANT to happen, but you know it has to. The Griffiths don't promise happy endings or love triumphs over all. They instead focused on the larger battle ahead and the cost of sacrifice. show less

This was a story in which I was able to really come to love the characters. Despite all the political matters whirling around that made up the central plot, it still managed to be a character-driven story. Princess Adele and the Greyfriar were both given plenty of room to grow and develop into very realistic and charming characters.

I found myself being reminded of one of my favorite novel series, Trinity Blood, a Japanese light novel series in which the vampires have their own empire that goes up against the human nations. I love the set-up of that series and, although it was very different, The Greyfriar's premise was also fascinating. I won't write much about its steampunk elements, but they gave the story an old-fashioned atmosphere show more that was easy to envision, which was interesting given that the story was set in the year 2020.

Still, I couldn't help but have a problem with how the shifting 3rd-person POVs were handled. We'd be inside Adele's head one paragraph, and then, without warning, we'd be inside of Greyfriar's, or someone else's, in the next—all during the same scene. It was very confusing and this was a constant problem from beginning to end. Also, I didn't much care for the overuse of passive voice. I found myself rewording sentences in my head as I read them to get rid of the “to be” verb.

Despite these errors, I truly loved this story and its evolving characters, Adele and Greyfriar, as well as their relationship. Adele had to grow so much to overcome her extreme prejudices against vampires, even though they were warranted. But, her time spent with them taught her things she never knew about them, and therein, she grew in leaps and bounds. Prejudice is an ugly thing, and she was truly awful while displaying her bigotry, but when it started to crack and fade, it became a beautiful thing to witness.

The story was not particularly sensuously romantic, but the feelings were all there and I loved how it was handled. No need for groping and whispers of sweet-nothings. Adele and Greyfriar seemed to have something more substantial between the two of them, and I anxiously look forward to reading more about how they could possibly continue their sweet romance in the next volume. More, please!

P.S. The vampires in this series RULE! They can lower the density of their bodies to float in the air? How cool is that!? show less

I consider this series (and specifically this book) to be my Crackle Bar of my collection. It's a guilty pleasure and I have eaten/re-read it too much, but I keep coming back for more.

This book was an impulse check out of the library that lead into a month long binge and a very speedy trip to my bookstore to buy my own copies. We are in a time where Young Adult vampire romances flood the shelves, however don't let that turn you away from this little gem.

While it is predictable in most places and isn't challenging to read, it's proves to be a lovely little steampunkish adventure in an alternate history where vampires are a complex alternate evolution of humans (been done before, but the unique characteristics in the Greyfiar trilogy are show more quite smart), and they have started an all out war on humankind.

Possible spoilers ahead from here on.

I actually do not wish to spoil much of the story because I want readers to enjoy it going in rather blind. However, I must emphasize some points in the story to say just why I adored this book so much. Keep in mind, this book is not breaking too much ground or making too many grand leaps (though I did find how the vampires function and work all together to be quite interesting and unique in it's own way). It is it's execution that makes me love it. It's what you expect once you get the groove of the story. It's predictable and you know what's going to happen in most cases, but you are actually happy they happened.

At one point there is a betrayal arch (you know where the friend/companion turns out to do or be something the protagonist can't accept) that you see coming from a mile away, but afterwards how things develop is so nice that you can't help yourself but keep reading.

And may I just say, how refreshing it is to have an adventure/romance like this where the romance is slowly developed from a friendship over the course of the entire series. Yes, you see the romance budding as clearly as you see how blue the sky is. But, it's so healthy and fluffy that it's addicting. It feels natural and sweet. As someone who is constantly bombarded by very erotic novels from friends and who gets tired of the same rehashed sex scenes, this was so refreshing to see a slowly building relationship like this that does last over all 3 books. And this cute romance isn't any surprise as this book and series is written together by a very cute couple. Their tenderness and affection to one another oozes in the books. I loved it.

That being said, the romance in the first book is not forefront. The conflict and politics along with the action and adventure are. It's just overall well executed I must say again.

I enjoyed every character and I enjoyed almost every moment in the book. Gareth and Adele are lovely and reading their story is something I'll never regret. My only regret is that I'm a lone person in my circle of friends who was willing to give the series a shot and I'm still to this day trying to convince them this isn't some fantasy Twilight rehash.

All in all, this book and this series (and I must warn you that the later books aren't quite as good as the first, but I can't say I regretted reading them at all in any way), is like that movie that you know isn't groundbreaking or doing too much new, but it's so satisfying to watch that whenever it's on tv, you leave it and enjoy the ride just to feel that warm feeling again.

I also highly recommend the audiobooks if you don't have the time to sit down and read it yourself.

Just please give it a shot. show less

Concoction of a Review:
This was a great ride – not your average ordinary bland bandwagon vampire novel. I wanted to read it fast because it was so good and slow because I didn’t want it to end. When Greyfrair finally did come to an end I was full of emotion for this book that once I read the last word I literally hugged the book. For the Mad Scientist this book was that good. No, it was an amazing string of words that needs to be put on a silver platter!

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar is quite a book that is made by twisting and welding together Steampunkery, a dash of horror, whipped with major action and adventure, if that were not enough lets top it off with slight romance with a side of politics and of course some bloody war. show more Really, what in the world is this book missing. Not a thing!

However, this book was not good just because it was the ultimate at combining genres. Clay and Susan Griffith have a gift for providing the most wonderful words together to bring you right into the book. The images that were tossing about in my head were bold and full which had me thinking I was really along for the ride. Not only did the imagery of the world blow me away but the fight scenes had me all up in a huff of excitement! I wanted to grab a sword and a hero and jump into the fight!

The Northern Hemisphere was attacked in 1870, nearly killing and destroying what we know to be the Western Civilization. The Great Killing.

Princess Adele, the heir of Equatoria is due to wed a renowned vampire killer, Senator Clark, and united her Empire with America. This arrangement now poses a threat to the vampires that live in the northern areas of the world. Adele and her younger brother Simon are on their way to northern territories for political matters in Marseilles when their dirigible is intercepted by a larger than normal ban of vampires lead by Flay. She is warrior vampress that follows orders from her master, Cesare the youngest son of King Dimitry. He is known for mass killing of humans. Now the heir of Equatoria, Adele, is running from… Flay. These vampires are parasitic with very powerful physical characteristics whom roam freely in the colder areas, feedlot humans for dinner, and terrorize others so they are afraid of being enslaved by them.

*Damsel in distress announces the entrance of said hero.*

The Greyfriar swoops in to save her. I fell in love with him as soon as he pulled out all of these weapons and started hacking up the vampires on top of him in a gory morbid way. *sigh* It is also quite a shock because The Greyfriar is a man whose stories of heroism and acts of battle are all thought to be fables. He ended up being this strong yet mysterious man who drew in not only me but our lovely Adele as well. (I should mention that she is crafty with a weapon as well!) Ultimately is kidnapped… ah, heiress-napped albeit her best efforts of flight and the efforts of her masked mystery fighter, by Flay who brings her to England for Cesare.

Enter… Gareth, the oldest son and heir to the Vampire Empire once King Dimitry leaves this world. He lives in Scotland away from his role of heir to the supposed throne. He pulls the heir card and takes Adele away from Cesare’s hand. He starts to learn more about “human” culture through Adele. I found myself chuckling when he was learning to write.

There is one huge shocking twist to this tale that had me and probably most of the readers a bit shocked when it was revealed. It is something that makes this story just that more incredible. I urge you to read this one because if you don’t you are missing out, *wink*.

The growth and development between Adele and Greyfriar was utterly touching, it had me dabbing a small tear away. Their emotions gradual grew to make it all that more believable. She was strong and held herself up to her values. He showed her that not all things you are taught are always right. She learned to trust another. The tender relationship between these two was very pleasing.

Overall, Loved Loved Loved Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar. Tis was truly a grand tale of vampires and humans that was packed full of action right from chapter 1! I am going to be waiting for Book Two... Wait! I am already waiting for Book Two, from the minute this book ended!

*Thanks to the wonderful people behind PYR I received a copy of this fabulous Steampunkery novel. However, this has not affected my actions, feelings, or review of this book.* show less

This Fairy was surprised by such a great ride!! I must tell you right away; this is NOT your average ordinary bland bandwagon vampire novel. You will see no sparkle here. The Fairy devoured this book because it was so good, yet I wanted to read slowly because I didn’t want it to end. When Greyfrair finally did come to an end I honestly was sad to know I was going to have to shut the cover. However, when I did I quickly swooped up this book into a huge bear hug. I was so happy to have read a book this wonderful!

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar is a mess of genres in such a way that it works. Steampunk is why I wanted to read this book but it didn't take long to find out that it was choked full of horror, including horrid politics, show more action/adventure, romance, and some bloody war. I think I have to admit I'm fond of bloody wars. Yes, indeed!

However, this book was not amazing just because of the genre mess... which made for different reading. Clay and Susan Griffith have a gift for stringing words together to provide minimal but optimal images. I was right there with Greyfriar the whole way! The images that were floating around in my head were amazing... if I do say so myself. Not only did the imagery of the world blow me away (& I have wings) but the fight scenes had me all up in a huff of excitement! Blood, gore, mayhem. I was in heaven. A bloody hero *sigh*.

The Northern Hemisphere was attacked in 1870, nearly killing and destroying what we know to be the Western Civilization. The Great Killing!

Princess Adele, the heir of Equatoria is due to wed a renowned vampire killer, Senator Clark (whom I didn't care for at all), which would unite her Empire with America. This arrangement of merging both of the biggest human empires together now posed a huge threat to the vampires that live in the northern areas of the world. Adele and her younger brother, Simon, are on their way to Marseilles when their dirigible is intercepted by a larger than normal ban of vampires lead by Flay. Her master, Cesare, is known for his human massacres & is the youngest son of King Kimitry, Flay follows his orders to capture the heir. Now the heir of Equatoria, Adele, is running from… Flay. These vampires are parasitic with very powerful physical characteristics whom roam freely in the colder areas, feedlot humans for dinner, and terrorize others so they are afraid of being enslaved by them.

Classic damsel in distress... I think not. She takes out a few vampires before the hero enters. The Greyfriar swoops in to save her. I fell in love with this dark cloaked man right when he pulled out all of these weapons and started hacking up the vampires on top of him in a gory morbid way. *sigh* It must of been a beautiful sight.

It is also quite a shock to Adele because The Greyfriar is a man whose stories of heroism and acts of battle are all thought to be fables. He ended up being this strong yet mysterious man who drew in not only me but our lovely Adele as well. He is mine, back off Adele! (I should mention that she is crafty with a weapon as well!)

Ultimately she captured by the war crazed Flay albeit her best efforts of flight and the efforts of her masked mystery fighter, by Flay who brings her to England for Cesare. I love that the head warrior is a female. How hot is that!?!

Enter… Gareth, the oldest son and heir to the Vampire Empire once King Dimitry becomes ash. He lives in Scotland away from his role of heir to the supposed throne. Drum Roll.... Gareth now swoops in to save Adele by pulling the heir card and takes Adele away from Cesare’s hand. He starts to learn more about “human” culture through Adele. It ended up being a cute situation.

Surprise! Yes, there is a surprise twist. **Spoiler** I was doing the dreamy thing and thought maybe it would be awesome if he was he. Oh, that is code for trying to cover up the surprise twist. But my dreamy manner ended up shocking me anyway. **Spoiler Over** It is something that makes this story just that more incredible. I urge you to read this one because if you don’t you are missing out on some yummy twist!

The growth and development between Adele and Greyfriar was well played. I was so happy to watch them become a tender relationship throughout the book instead of right away. It was refreshing not to have them jump in the sac by page 5. Gradual is more believable and needed at times.

Overall, Vampire Empire: The Greyfrair was amazing. Truly. A Fairy even a Black or a Disaster of a Fairy would lie. It is a favorite book and will be forever. My copy will become greatly ragged from love. No... I will not borrow it out --> GET YOUR OWN!

*Thanks to the wonderful people behind PYR I received a copy of this fabulous Steampunkery novel. However, this has not affected my actions, feelings, or review of this book.* show less

This one is just fantastic fun. Set in an alternate history's future, one in which decidedly non-sparkly vampires are real and have risen up and destroyed human civilization throughout the temperate zone and colder climates just ahead of the industrial revolution, and humans have retreated to the equatorial regions, protected by the sluggishness which heat induces in their stronger, faster, crueller foes. Who can fly by the way, floating on wind currents. A princess of a neo-Victorian Alexandria is to be politically wed to a great American vampire killer, in advance of a great war to push the vampires back and reclaim Europe; however, Princess Adele's airship is attacked in force by vampires intent on her capture. Adele is combat show more trained and able, though when things look their bleakest... enter The Greyfriar, fast, skilled, strong, and tireless enough to match swords with vampire claws and spirit Adele into the French countryside. So: we have a kind of "Steampunked" alternate future of airships and goggles; we have deadly, amoral vampires and The Greyfriar; and we have the rise of a decidedly fantastic element, of mystical arts, amidst the rising tides of all-out war, circling around a badass and capably armed princess. All narrated wonderfully by Marsters, no stranger to vampires to say the least. Best known in audio as the long-standing voice of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, he's absolutely landed on his feet in a role absolutely perfect for him, and one which allows him to display a range of accents, ages, genders, and give voice to breathtaking derring-do. This one's enthusiastically recommended. show less