Rating: 
Summary: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Review: Generally, I expect Vampire stories to have a strong element of horror in them. Their nature is one that should inspire fear, not pity, and they are endowed with a set of powers that makes them efficient killers. The successful exceptions to this are those vampires that combine humor, sex appeal, intelligence, or unexpected ethics with their grimmer nature. Because a vampire that breaks from its essential nature really isn't a vampire any longer. This is the major flaw of 'Cathedral of Vampire.'Cecilia, a vampire, has conceived a need for vengeance for Sade's complicity in the death of her child's death. Allied with her are Justin, a half vampire, and Marie, who has reincarnated in the dead body of Justin's mother. Marie is actually Sade's mother-in-law, killed by him, and shares the old master's lust for pain and cruelty. Justin has dedicated his life to helping vampire 'find peace,' a politically correct euphemism for killing them. Standing against this trio of misfits is the count himself, ensconced in his French chateau, debauching and eating the nymphets of the village when he is not throwing gala bondage parties for people he generally seems to dislike. Sade has adapted the local cathedral so that he can lock up vampires behind its walls, hence the title of the novel, and most of the story is about Cecilia's incarceration there and the efforts of Justin to free her and her fellow victims. Marquis Donatian Aldonse Louis de Sade, was very much a thinker, as well as one of Frances's most famous perverts. Rather than a man of intelligence and wit, we, we are presented with a very petty old man who takes senseless risks to sate his lust, and who spends even more time plotting petit vengeance than he does torturing the innocent. Indeed, both he and Marie who are well over two hundred years old behave with a surprising and unconvincing lack of maturity. There is something farcical about Mary Ann Mitchell's characters and her humans fare little better. This would be acceptable if the farce was intended, but it was not. Anne Rice, who is hardly much kinder to her casts, still treats them with a basic level of respect and dignity that is lacking here. I have not read any of Mitchell's previous stories in this series, which are apparently better, but this one is ill conceived. Hopefully that will be remedied in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Review: Generally, I expect Vampire stories to have a strong element of horror in them. Their nature is one that should inspire fear, not pity, and they are endowed with a set of powers that makes them efficient killers. The successful exceptions to this are those vampires that combine humor, sex appeal, intelligence, or unexpected ethics with their grimmer nature. Because a vampire that breaks from its essential nature really isn't a vampire any longer. This is the major flaw of 'Cathedral of Vampire.' Cecilia, a vampire, has conceived a need for vengeance for Sade's complicity in the death of her child's death. Allied with her are Justin, a half vampire, and Marie, who has reincarnated in the dead body of Justin's mother. Marie is actually Sade's mother-in-law, killed by him, and shares the old master's lust for pain and cruelty. Justin has dedicated his life to helping vampire 'find peace,' a politically correct euphemism for killing them. Standing against this trio of misfits is the count himself, ensconced in his French chateau, debauching and eating the nymphets of the village when he is not throwing gala bondage parties for people he generally seems to dislike. Sade has adapted the local cathedral so that he can lock up vampires behind its walls, hence the title of the novel, and most of the story is about Cecilia's incarceration there and the efforts of Justin to free her and her fellow victims. Marquis Donatian Aldonse Louis de Sade, was very much a thinker, as well as one of Frances's most famous perverts. Rather than a man of intelligence and wit, we, we are presented with a very petty old man who takes senseless risks to sate his lust, and who spends even more time plotting petit vengeance than he does torturing the innocent. Indeed, both he and Marie who are well over two hundred years old behave with a surprising and unconvincing lack of maturity. There is something farcical about Mary Ann Mitchell's characters and her humans fare little better. This would be acceptable if the farce was intended, but it was not. Anne Rice, who is hardly much kinder to her casts, still treats them with a basic level of respect and dignity that is lacking here. I have not read any of Mitchell's previous stories in this series, which are apparently better, but this one is ill conceived. Hopefully that will be remedied in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Blood, Gore and the Erotic
Review: I picked Cathedral up at the supermarket. When I got home, I discovered that it was part of a series. I don't normally start a series in the middle but the thought of the Marquis de Sade having been a vampire really intrigued me. Mitchell couldn't have picked a more perfect historical figure, aside from Vlad the Impaler, for her vampire villain. Depraved and sadistic, the Marquis has only one flaw that stands as a stumbling block to his evil passions he tends to occasionally become obsessed with one woman and that is always his downfall. In Cathedral, her name is Madeline. While he pursues her, Cecelia one of her previous obsessions who wants revenge for being turned and for the way he used and abused her, Justin a half-breed vampire bent on laying the undead to rest and a former mother-in-law he thought he'd destroyed are closing in. Blood, gore and the erotic, Cathedral has a little something for every horror aficionado with tendencies toward vampirism.
Rating:
Summary: Blood, Gore and the Erotic
Review: I picked Cathedral up at the supermarket. When I got home, I discovered that it was part of a series. I don't normally start a series in the middle but the thought of the Marquis de Sade having been a vampire really intrigued me. Mitchell couldn't have picked a more perfect historical figure, aside from Vlad the Impaler, for her vampire villain. Depraved and sadistic, the Marquis has only one flaw that stands as a stumbling block to his evil passions he tends to occasionally become obsessed with one woman and that is always his downfall. In Cathedral, her name is Madeline. While he pursues her, Cecelia one of her previous obsessions who wants revenge for being turned and for the way he used and abused her, Justin a half-breed vampire bent on laying the undead to rest and a former mother-in-law he thought he'd destroyed are closing in. Blood, gore and the erotic, Cathedral has a little something for every horror aficionado with tendencies toward vampirism.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissappointing...
Review: I saw this book and I thought, hey, Lord Byron... gotta be kool. I was dissappointed, for this book didn't speak to me at all. The characters were underdeveloped and it was too fast paced for my tastes. There are parts and aspects I did like however, but not enough to make me want to read more of the subject and author. Being an Anne Rice fan, I think she has spoiled me and this book just seems to me another plain ole vampire novel. If you are interested in Lord Byron as a vampire, I suggest Tom Holland's work.
Rating:
Summary: Dissappointing...
Review: I saw this book and I thought, hey, Lord Byron... gotta be kool. I was dissappointed, for this book didn't speak to me at all. The characters were underdeveloped and it was too fast paced for my tastes. There are parts and aspects I did like however, but not enough to make me want to read more of the subject and author. Being an Anne Rice fan, I think she has spoiled me and this book just seems to me another plain ole vampire novel. If you are interested in Lord Byron as a vampire, I suggest Tom Holland's work.
Rating: 
Summary: Mitchell outdoes Rice and then some...
Review: Mitchell gets better and better with every novel and she is way ahead of the queen, Rice. She sets the story up, paces it, and makes us identify with her characters. Honestly, I never have been a big vampire fan because most of it is too flowery and wordy. But Mitchell breaks it down and writes in a straight-forward way as not to "over-write." She can write with any of the other splatter-punk's, too; she writes in an orgy of blood and gore. She writes with just a hint of sexuality and sensuality, keeping us wanting more and more. Her ideas are fresh and very well-thought out and planned. She writes like a bat out of hell and composes her fiction in a literary manner, but not too wordy. Mitchell is one of the few female writers in the genre that is truly gifted and can deliver chills and shivers down your spine.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Once I picked up this book I just could not put it down. It's a very easy read and really takes you into Mary Ann's world. She's an excellent writer. Her characters are well developed and her world is also well developed. The book keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen. I was more fascinated in the book and its contents than horrified but you may think differently. Mary Ann also seems to have a firm grasp of reality and does not stretch vampires too far into a fictional world that doesn't seem to exist.
Rating:
Summary: Fast moving!
Review: This book is for people who hate the twenty pages of description that go along with such authors like Anne Rice. Yes, the candle stick is nice, but do I need to hear about it for half the darn book. This book flows quickly and has tons of dialog. The only downfall was that I would've liked to see my description on some of the more coupled scenes. They seem to light a fire and then go no where. Also, the end is very abrupt... maybe this book continues, but it just seemed to end with no conclusion. Great beach reading though!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but a tease
Review: This book was a good engaging read, but was a little disappointing in the way it ended. The book is well-paced and well written, and the characters are likable, but the book does not really resolve anything, and leaves you wondering what happens next. It did not even seem to have as much resolution as a traditional book-in-a-series, where one quest has ended and another begins... for that reason, it was a little disappointing, but if you are happy to keep on purchasing books to get the story, you would be fine...
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