Rating: 
Summary: great post-apocalyptic vampire fiction
Review: Just reading the description of this book had me hooked. Like I am Legend, which the author acknowledges, Midnight Mass is a post-apocalyptic vampire masterpiece. There are a lot of short descriptions of events in Midnight Mass that leaves the reader wanting more. In fact, Midnight Mass is but one story in what is best described as a vampire world war. Wilson could have easily made this the second volume in a series as it lends itself to a prequel. And with the open ending there's definitely room for a follow-up. It's a fast, fun, book that's full of action and gore.
Rating:
Summary: great post-apocalyptic vampire fiction
Review: Just reading the description of this book had me hooked. Like I am Legend, which the author acknowledges, Midnight Mass is a post-apocalyptic vampire masterpiece. There are a lot of short descriptions of events in Midnight Mass that leaves the reader wanting more. In fact, Midnight Mass is but one story in what is best described as a vampire world war. Wilson could have easily made this the second volume in a series as it lends itself to a prequel. And with the open ending there's definitely room for a follow-up. It's a fast, fun, book that's full of action and gore.
Rating:
Summary: Vampires are scary again!
Review: Kudos to F. Paul Wilson for saving the vampire genre. Vampires are my favorite monsters and it's great to see a writer bring back these predatory beasts to their true form. Gone are the sissified vampires bemoaning the meaning of it all while deciding what lacy frock to wear. In its place are demonic creatures bent on taking over the world and using humans as food. Smart, coordinated and purely evil, these vampires unleash an apocalypse on an unprepared world. A great cast of characters is at the heart of this novel. Everyday people forced to overcome their own grief and band together to fight legions of vampires and the humans that serve them. There is sufficient back story on each character to make you identify with these people. By the end of the book you'll have gone through the same roller coaster of emotion the characters have. Great use of dialogue and location as well. This is a novel that ranks up there with Salem's Lot, I am Legend and They Thirst. It's scary, heart breaking and action packed. A classic tale about loss, faith and survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Thank you, Dr. Wilson, for resurrecting the true vampires. Here's hoping that there's a sequel in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Why are all the vampires bad?
Review: Perhaps it's me. I just don't understand why all vampires have to be bad. This book was okay. It was written with a very open end for a sequel. Touch on the religious side.
Rating: 
Summary: A Cross between the "V" Miniseries and Dawn of the Dead
Review: The Book starts out gangbusters but then lulls the reader to sleep in the later chapters. The story would have been better if kept larger in scope, not just focusing on a small group of survivors in New York. Clever updating of some of the vampire mythos but too many talking heads and not enough action in the middle of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Muddled Mess
Review: The first chapter, printed at the end of _The Haunted Air_, is crisp vintage Wilson. On the strength of that, I bought the hardcover! The mildly offensive "Author's Note" sets the tone for a novel that seems to be awkwardly and unwisely resurrected from the author's back files. In Stephen King's words, "Sometimes dead is better." Every imaginable cliche and stereotype appear. A rabbi wavers between stage Yiddish and standard English. A whiskey priest is, of course, Irish American, and infatuated with a religious sister. His late 20s niece, cutely and improbably baptized Lacey, calls him "Unk." Adorable. Lacey is a remarkably boring militant feminist lesbian atheist with lots of corny Celtic tattoos and bulging biceps. Her "anarchist" hero is, of all people, Madelyn Murray O'Hair! The religious Sister of Mercy (a la Leonard Cohen?) is Carole, and her best buddy is a stage Irish Sister Bernadette, with an accent to make Barry Fitzgerald vomit. Even the vampires seem as wooden as if already impaled. In _The Tomb_ and other "Adversary" novels, Wilson shows regrettable ignorant and juvenile religious prejudice. Sheer story-telling ability makes the reader forgive this. Not here! He has 5 year old altar boys, and adolescent fantasies of an empty Pepsi can used for a chalice -- no one in New Jersey could find a drinking glass or coffee mug? Not even the woman who bakes bread and heats up stew? At a guess, this was written in the early 1970s, rejected for everything from bad writing to tasteless bigotry, and finally published based on later success. Wilson is now a fine writer, and this book is terribly unfair to his present skill. Don't read this, but do buy the "Repairman Jack" and most of his other excellent novels!
Rating:
Summary: Muddled Mess
Review: The first chapter, printed at the end of _The Haunted Air_, is crisp vintage Wilson. On the strength of that, I bought the hardcover! The mildly offensive "Author's Note" sets the tone for a novel that seems to be awkwardly and unwisely resurrected from the author's back files. In Stephen King's words, "Sometimes dead is better." Every imaginable cliche and stereotype appear. A rabbi wavers between stage Yiddish and standard English. A whiskey priest is, of course, Irish American, and infatuated with a religious sister. His late 20s niece, cutely and improbably baptized Lacey, calls him "Unk." Adorable. Lacey is a remarkably boring militant feminist lesbian atheist with lots of corny Celtic tattoos and bulging biceps. Her "anarchist" hero is, of all people, Madelyn Murray O'Hair! The religious Sister of Mercy (a la Leonard Cohen?) is Carole, and her best buddy is a stage Irish Sister Bernadette, with an accent to make Barry Fitzgerald vomit. Even the vampires seem as wooden as if already impaled. In _The Tomb_ and other "Adversary" novels, Wilson shows regrettable ignorant and juvenile religious prejudice. Sheer story-telling ability makes the reader forgive this. Not here! He has 5 year old altar boys, and adolescent fantasies of an empty Pepsi can used for a chalice -- no one in New Jersey could find a drinking glass or coffee mug? Not even the woman who bakes bread and heats up stew? At a guess, this was written in the early 1970s, rejected for everything from bad writing to tasteless bigotry, and finally published based on later success. Wilson is now a fine writer, and this book is terribly unfair to his present skill. Don't read this, but do buy the "Repairman Jack" and most of his other excellent novels!
Rating: 
Summary: A Vampire Novel
Review: The first time I ever read F. Paul Wilson, in the early eighties, it was the quasi Vampire novel, The Keep. Although the antagonist of that book wasn't truly a Vampire, The Keep read like a vampire novel.(and a very good one at that) Well Wilson decided he would write another Vampire novel and Midnight Mass is the result of that endeavor. Now Wilson thinks there aren't any redeeming qualities in Vampires, citing the fact that some authors romanticize even glorify the bloodsuckers in their recitals. With that in mind Wilson has written a book about Vampires as the merciless, venal, malevolent creatures they are supposed to be. MIDNIGHT MASS Plot They came out of the East, starting shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain. They were unstoppable overrunning country after country killing millions, no billions or converting people into nocturnal monsters. Now they were entrenched in the East coast of America. They had a method, convert the religious and secular leadership, convert them and make resistance seem hopeless, they had a plan, transform all humans at first to a point of saturation, then using them only as food or breeding, harvesting at will. The Vampires also had allies, they left some of the lowlives and dreck alive to watch over them and seek out new victims during daylight, this unholy vanguard are called the "cowboys but, the Vampires the have a vulnerability. The Story The Vampires certainly seem invincible but in a small New Jersey town an unlikely cadre of citizens are fighting back, a pinprick at first but gradually a ripple. Meet Father Joe - a disgraced priest, Sister Carole - a one woman vigilante, Rabbi Zev - a rabbi with a cross, and Lacey - the feisty niece of Father Joe. Together and with the help of the congregation, they take back Father Joe's church, St Anthony, which the vampires, and cowboys, had taken over and made into a grisly, macabre, killing Temple. In addition cowboys are being killed and displayed upside down from trees or telephone poles and even a couple Vampires including one of the strongest has been dispatched In the overall plan of the Vampires, this little rebellion seems insignificant but they thrive on fear and no dissension can be tolerated, so help is sent from New York Vampire headquarters to stem the unrest. Conclusion I'll admit I'm a little ambivalent about Midnight Mass. F. Paul Wilson is one of probably my three or four favorite authors. I have read every book he has written including the inscrutable end of the Adversary series, Nightworld - which is mysteriously not in publication - so I tend to be favorably inclined toward the good doctor but I do have some issues with this book. Good The Wilson writing style is still there, so the story is very accessible and understandable. His writing is also fluid and a pleasure to read. There are no unnecessary use of large words which the average Joe would have to look up. The story as a whole flows well and is fast paced. The book itself, at three hundred and thirty-two pages is short in this day and age of word processing and there are no dead or boring chapters. Bad Where I thought the book fell short was the premise of the book itself. I found it a little incredulous why or how legions of malevolent creatures would descend on the West from the East, as Gengis Khan or Tamerlane did centuries prior, merely because of the collapse of the Soviet Empire. There was no explanation of how this event precipitated such an invasion nor of what was keeping them from doing so sooner. It was like they were hibernating or metamophosing. Any reasonable explanation would have been welcome. Another thing I didn't like was, the Vampires were ruthless, yet their servants, the cowboys, from whom they depended on for daytime protection, seemed less than efficient, in some cases screw ups. Overall First, this is a good book and if you can discount my aversion to origin of the plot, I think you might like Midnight Mass. No it's not a classic but it is enjoyable, nonetheless, for fans of tongue in cheek horror plus a sequel may be forthcoming. I found the book to be innovative and the Vampires vulnerability well thought out. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, therefore it is deserving of a Final Rating of low four stars / high three stars rounded to four stars because of the author.
Rating:
Summary: Great horror tale by a master writer
Review: There were vampires living in Eastern Europe that nobody knew about and when the Iron Curtain fell, a power vacuum developed. The vampires were quick to feed on the vacuous world leaders turning political, industry, and religious figures into vampires. Next they shut down electricity and telephone service leaving humans isolated and fearful. Finally they recruited humans to act as their watchers in the daylight hours, promising to turn them into vampires after loyal servicing of ten years. They overran Western Europe, Asia and Africa and now have turned their attention to the eastern seaboard of the United States. They used the same tactics they did in the old world and it looked like they were winning until a resistance was started by father Joe. He and the members of his parish join forces to throw the vampires out of the church making it a place of refuge from the creatures of the night. He, a commando nun and his lesbian niece form a plan that if it succeeds will give hope to the rest of humanity that vampires can be eradicated from the earth. This is not in any sense a Repairman Jack novel but in tone and substance it will remind reader of THE KEEP. This is a true horror novel because the vampires are so evil with no redeeming equalities see human beings as a food supply for their blood hunger. F. Paul Wilson creates a new world order with vampires as the leaders, the human collaborators tantamount to Quislings with other humans on the bottom of the food chain. MIDNIGHT MASS is horror at its very best. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: midnight mass
Review: This is one of the least interesting books that I have read from this author. I lost interest after the first two chapters.
I do like a plausable plot and this book doesn't deliver.
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