Rating: 
Summary: An awe-inspiring, truly impressive debut novel
Review: E. E. Knight's Way of the Wolf: Book One of The Vampire Earth is one of the most impressive debut novels I have ever read. I'm not sure why the author uses a pen name; if I had written a novel this original and absorbing, I would want my real name plastered across it in gigantic letters. Roc has released the book in its science fiction line, but the story strikes me as dark fantasy with militaristic overtones. Proudly drawing on the work of many great authors of the past - men such as Robert Howard, C.S. Forester, and Louis L'Amour - Knight creates a wholly original world that lives and breathes in the imagination of the reader. Readers should not see the reference to vampires in the title and simply dismiss this book as "yet another vampire novel." The vampires in command of Earth in the year 2065 are like no vampires you have ever encountered, and they do not even take an active part in the proceedings recorded in this first volume of a truly noteworthy new series.Way of the Wolf introduces us to David Valentine, a young Lieutenant in the Southern Command and an extraordinarily human and likeable hero in a post-apocalyptic world. The mythology Knight constructs for this series is rather complex, but basically the earth is, in 2065, under the control of vicious minions from the planet Kur. Long before civilization was borne on the planet, a race of pre-Entities discovered the means for traveling between worlds, arriving on Earth but dying out before the dawn of human history. Another race eventually discovered the secrets of the Interworld Tree, and creatures from the planet Kur invaded and took over the earth after discovering they could essentially live forever by feeding on the auras of other living creatures (namely, human beings). Lifeweavers have long opposed the Kurians, but they exist on earth in numbers insufficient to challenge the Kurian New World Order directly. Their knowledge is passed on to human heroes such as the Wolves, however, men and women who patrol the boundaries of humanity's threatened refuge in the middle of what used to be America. The Kurians have created the ever-dangerous Grogs to help enforce their rule, and some humans (Quislings) have chosen to serve the New World Order rather than perish. It is the Reapers, however, who pose the greatest threat to mankind. Reapers are brutish vampiric creatures able to detect and hunt down human beings; they feed on the blood of their victims while also serving as the conduit for their Overlords' absorption of human auras. This book basically describes David's life from the time in which his family is killed up through his first year of service in the Wolves. We follow his career from his induction into the order through a number of scouting missions, mourn alongside him the terrible loss of several good comrades, and marvel at his ingenuity, instinct for self-preservation, and innovative offensive skills in a number of deadly situations. Eventually, fate leads him to a farm in a Kurian-controlled zone, and here he experiences "normal" life to a degree he has not known since the time before his parents' deaths. Love now enters the mix alongside bravery, duty, and honor, making this an even more poignantly human tale. All of this leads up to a riveting conclusion, one which satisfies the reader while setting the stage for what is to come next in the series. I can't wait to rejoin David Valentine in the forthcoming second volume of The Vampire Earth.
Rating:
Summary: A great mix of science fiction and horror
Review: Fabulous setting descriptions and nightmarish aliens help set the stage for character growth in a world decimated by plague and technological collapse. Ripe for the pickings by a bunch of aliens from whom the vampire legends sprung...except these guys are real and we're all so much cattle to them. This is almost like a post-holocaust earth, with buckskin-dressed resistance fighters running through moldering ruins of today's cities. It's a great read if you like a blend of adventure and characterization as a young resistance fighter rises through the ranks.
Rating: 
Summary: VAMPIRE EARTH SPINS NEW THREADS!
Review: I absolutely loved the overall ideas for this new series. I liked the setting, the characters, etc... But I think it fell short in a few areas.
Still, all in all, it was an interesting and thought-provoking debut novel. I would try it again, but I hope the vampires are more drawn out in the next one. Not 1 vampire was introduced as a main staple character, either good or bad or otherwise.
And that was what was really needed here, I thought.
Like Brian Lumley's vampire series! They are as well known as the humans that battle them.
That's what this series needs.
Rating:
Summary: Color Me Impressed!
Review: I am a pretty jaded reader, and I do not usually become excited about a book, but I positively devoured this one.
It was both well written, and well conceived. The action was non-stop, and actually exciting. I could not put it down, took it everywhere with me, and even found myself out reading in the parking lot when the beach closed one night.
Physical details abounded, and I felt drawn in by the style. The world was actually well enough described that I had clear mental images of both settings and characters. I can't believe that I've not seen this author before, with this sort of effort coming out as an apparent first.
Lt. David Valentine, the central character, was both likeable, and believably heroic. He gradually becomes something more and more special, both through external changes of an apparent science that borders on supernatural, and through actual character developement of a rather thorough nature. You certainly get a very good impression of what he's about, and what sort of actions he might be willing to take from the author.
About the only thing that I sometimes wondered about in both this and the sequel was an occasional question of tactics against the Kurians. I'm thinking, however, that this may be explained in book three, so I'll wait and see on that.
Overall, I was highly impressed.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: I am not a fan of Vampire fiction so I would never have found this book unless a friend recomended it. I am very glad he did.
After reading it I don't consider it Vampire fiction I consider it a great story. The author takes the first half of the book developing the main character and slowly painting a picture of the world after the Kurian's invasion. Once the story started moving it kept me up late for a couple nights then the third night I had to finish the book and didn't turn out the light till 3:30. If what you're looking for is an Anne Rice knock off don't bother, but if you want to read a great story give this one a try.
Rating: 
Summary: A brand new world
Review: I have read books similar to this genre, but there is just something about it that gives it a new flair. While reading the book, I thought it was helpful to also check out the accompanying website ( vampireearth.com ). It gives more insight into the "beginnings". Can't wait for the next two books of the trilogy to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Skillful blending of genres into something truly original!
Review: I loved this book! There is something in it to appeal to every reader. A little horror, a little SF, a little mysticism, even a touch of romance. The main character, David Valentine, is an elite soldier on a near future earth that has been turned on its ear. Man is no longer at the top of the food chain--he has become prey to turncoat humans, genetically created monsters called grogs, the menacing, vampiric Reapers and the alien Kurian masters. He is of the first generation never to have known life without the fear of the Reapers. The book shows his development from childhood, through his training, and into young adulthood. He is chosen by a good Kurian, a Lifeweaver, to become a Wolf, an elite warrior with the finely honed senses and strength of a wolf. His job--to help destroy the minions of the Kurians and protect the safety of the Free Territory. The post-apocalyptic world and the characters of this book ring true. You see the best and worst of human nature close up. And although the world under the Kurians is a violent and unpredictable place, there are still flashes of happiness and humor and love as humanity survives and adapts to life under the world's new masters. And David is a true hero that anchors this at times grim and violent book with a human heart. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well-spun, fast-paced adventure tale!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable...
Review: I picked up this book at the behest of a writer friend and packed it with me on vacation. Although this is not typically the type of book I would pick out to read, I ended up spending a couple of rainy afternoons in a beach house in Kauai completely absorbed. I am ready for Book 2. Great read, Eric.
Rating: 
Summary: Depite the new twist, rather disappointing
Review: I read the book with high expectations because of the good reviews, but ended up disappointed. Yes, as has been stated before, the plot has a new twist, but the book ended up in an awkward superposition between horror and science fiction.
The author has taken great pains to make some backgound details beleivable, so the details about the grim life under the alien invaders are worked out, but after a quarter of the book they tend to crowd out the horror/adventure elements. What you get is a post-apocalyptic novel that rather reminds me of Heinlein's juveniles, with a young man rising through the ranks in a war against aliens.
The aliens -blood-sucking as they may be- end up rather trivial adversaries, they may be hard to kill but do not scare in the manner of the "Alien" aliens. The "Quislings" are also too trivial bad guys to be interesting. The cast of villains, and the background of America's decaying infrastructure is shabby rather than horrifying.
As science fiction, it is not original or exciting enough to "take off", and as horror/urban fantasy it does not have the romantic edge of, for instance Anne Rice or Laurell Hamilton.
I give it two stars instead of one, only because the author has clearly made an effort with the "world-building" of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: I still cannot believe that this is EE Knight's first published novel. His writing is fantastic and the world he has created will blow you away. Eagerly awaiting the next Vamprie Earth novel
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