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Summary: Back to my vampires....!!
Review: I collect vampire fiction. I'll tell anyone who listens that I'll buy anything in a bookshop if it has a bat on the front cover, or looks like it vaguely resembles a vampire book..And this is one of them! I'll often pick up four or five books at a time and many of them will sit in my bookcase un-read until I actually have the time and the inclination to read them. Or, I'll start reading every one of them simultaneously, which is bad. I'll read one on the train on the way to work, another during my lunch hour, and another at night before bed..... Yes you're right, they do all tend to blend into one big book! Bad habits aside, out came Vespers from my book case. I knew it would either be totally non-vampire related or an attempt to put vampires or vampirism into a modern day context (which is an achievement, so far, only Mick Farren has done sucessfully). It's probably a good thing that this book was neither. In fact, it's not a vampire book at all, it's a real good fun sci-fi about giant killer bats invading New York! Set in modern day New York, an investigation is commenced into various 'bat' attacks throughout the city. These are treated as pretty much routine (and amusing - ever sniffed Guano?) until whole bodies begin vanishing. A Bat expert is enrolled from the local Bronx Zoo to examine their behaviours and whether something more sinister is behind the disappearances. The action hots up. It turns out that a Doctor returning from a Nuclear disaster in Russia accidentally brought back with him a contaminated bat. It disappeared into the wild and was found dead but it seems the bat gave birth before it died from it's poisoning. Resulting in a giant, bull sized bat being alive and well in NYC and picking off whole deer, sheep and people for lunch. It commands the local bats, 'the vespers' who in effect protect it by attacking anything that comes within reach or threat of the giant. It has plans, another giant is on the horizon. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of bats swarm over the Hudson River to welcome the "Queen" - even a Helicopter is attacked..... An all out battle ensues and- nah, 'shan't tell you the ending. Wouldn't that just spoil it!! A good, easy, entertaining read!! Back to my vampires....
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Summary: Vespers: Dreadful Bat Guano
Review: I happen to be a scientist who studies bats but I'm also a fan of horror novels especially those that provide reader's with some useful information in addition to the requisite visceral jolts. I was therefore looking forward to reading Vespers. Unfortunately well before I could get through the first chapter I began to encounter a mountain of misinformation and abysmal science that ran through the book like a bad meal through my digestive system. I won't give away the plot but here's an example of what I mean - by the end of page four a thirteen year old boy is attacked by a 10 gram insectivorous bat. In reality these harmless creatures could barely bite through the skin on your palm but in Vespers it takes the bat three bites to scissor it's way through the kid's rib cage where it severs his pulmonary artery. Well it was downhill from there. I'm still trying to recover from the scene where the author tells us about the NYC Emergency Service Unit's standard protocol for dealing with bats: hairspray and a tennis racket. I could go on and on. Beyond the bad science, it's also unfortunate that Vespers is a novel without a shread of originality. It is completely derivitive of cinematic shockers like the Thing and Mimic as well as far more imaginative novels like Charles Pellegrino's Dust. I guess I should have known better when sole "bat scholar" cited in the Acknowledgements chose to remain anonymous. Good career move.
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Summary: I have a question.
Review: I have not yet read the book but the premise is similer to a new movie out now called Bats. Is the movie based upon this book?
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Summary: Good little book about some bad little bats.
Review: I have read this book and it is not one that leaves the reader saying "boy the infomercials are looking real good now". If you want a book with some plain old fashion guy and a gal verses the monster, then this is it. It's a fun read and would make a great movie, especially the elevator scene. Read it for the fun of a good scare.
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Summary: Good story but not terribly original. But fun nonetheless.
Review: I heard this book as a book on tape and I will talk about that aspect at the end.
If you saw any of Hollywood's animal disaster B movies (Giant ants, snakes, bugs, etc. that attack humanity) than you get the idea behind this book. Normally placid bats are attacking people and gathering in a murderous swarm above New York City. Meanwhile, something else - something very large - is killing people in the subway tunnels. Will the animal expert and the rough cop be able to save the day?
Even though the plot is formulaic, I still found myself wanting to know what happened next. I couldn't wait to pop the tape in the player as soon as I got in the car!
The book on tape is read by Boyd Gaines who does a phenomonal job. Every character has a unique and distinct voice in accent. 5 stars for him, if I could.
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Summary: I started reading this on a flight to New York
Review: I landed at night and I have got to say this gave me the willies. An excellent job with a pretty unbelievable topic. I also thought the characters were true to life. I mean, how they would act in a situation like this. They weren't super men (and women), just ordinary people. I'm impressed. I hope the author does more books like this.
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Summary: Really, Really Big and Scary Bats
Review: I LOVED this book. I am not the biggest fan of horror, but it wasn't that gruesome. This is not for the squeemish/light hearted. There is a considerable amount of swearing (Hey, this takes place in NYC, waddaya expect?!). Well, picture this. 2 really big, ugly, mutated bats get brought by a pregnant mutated bat from Russia. They continue to live peacefully and secretely in New Paltz, New York. Then for a reason that I don't want to give away, they come to NYC and terrorize the civilians. They even can control the other "vesper" bats for miles. What would YOU do?
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Summary: Really, Really Big and Scary Bats
Review: I LOVED this book. I am not the biggest fan of horror, but it wasn't that gruesome. This is not for the squeemish/light hearted. There is a considerable amount of swearing (Hey, this takes place in NYC, waddaya expect?!). Well, picture this. 2 really big, ugly, mutated bats get brought by a pregnant mutated bat from Russia. They continue to live peacefully and secretely in New Paltz, New York. Then for a reason that I don't want to give away, they come to NYC and terrorize the civilians. They even can control the other "vesper" bats for miles. What would YOU do?
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Summary: An exciting novel. You will not be able to put it down.
Review: I loved this book. It usually takes me a long time to complete a book. This was one that I could not put down. A wonderful fast read.
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Summary: Great Beach Book
Review: I really had a good time with this book. Sure, the romance angle was a bit out of place. But what a hoot to have Manhattan attacked by big bats. The details of that alone are worth the read. I have recommended this book to many people and they all game it a thumbs up.
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