Vespers

Rating:
Summary: Freaks Of Nature
Review: The first bat attack in "Vespers" takes place after a baseball game. A father and son are mysteriously ambushed in a parking lot next to the woods where the swarm seems to have emerged. Dr. Nancy Joyce, a 29-year-old zoologist, is the prime investigator to determine why these typically docile bats attacked. She's later joined by Detective Robert Gentry, a 33-year-old NYPD veteran and charge of the Accident Investigations Squad.

Several more bat attacks occur, each growing more violent, and all making a line towards New York City. However, some of the attacks don't seem to have been done by small bats, but a much bigger animal, possibly an abnormally large bat.

Their investigation leads them to a radiation specialist who had unknowingly transported a pregnant bat in his luggage on his way back from Russia. The bat (which immediately escaped upon arrival in the U.S. and later died after giving birth) had been exposed to radiation which would explain why her children would be so enormous. The biggest concern now is how many of her offspring are alive.

As the story progresses, Dr. Joyce and Detective Gentry pinpoint the two offspring--one female and one male, each protected by thousands of small bats. Apparently, the female is already pregnant and expecting to give birth soon. With the help of New York's best defenses, they set out to destroy these two bats before they have a chance to breed and further prey on humans.

"Vespers" is bloody in some parts, so if you're squeamish, I wouldn't recommend reading this one. Otherwise, fans of horror or bats (even though they don't necessarily win in the end) should pick this one up. It's well-written, fast-paced, and all-around entertaining. It's no wonder this book was considered to be made into a movie; it almost felt like I was watching a movie when I was reading it.

If you're still hungry for more bat fiction, you might like "Nightwing" by Martin Cruz Smith.

Rating:
Summary: Not that original, but very (very) fun!
Review: The story may not be all that original: giant bats try to take over New York city and the only two people that can stop them are both disfunctional characters. So, it won't win an major awards for it's plot, but if you are a fan of Hitchcock's "Birds", Disney's "Arachnapobia" and "Mimic", then this is a book for you. And no wonder that it has already been picked up by Touchstone (again, Disney).

The author takes you on a rollercoaster ride of thrills and violence while providing an education on the modern bat and NY's history. The main character's aren't all that interesting themselves, but the fast-pace and action make up for it. Like Crichton and Preston, Jeff Rovin uses his knowledge of science and history to win his readers over by making his plot more realistic and believable. This paperback is worth it, especially if you need a quick summertime read.

Rating:
Summary: Beware the Bats
Review: The title gets its name from a family of bats containing hundreds of species. It is a successful family with members all over the world in almost every niche.

A young boy and his father are attacked at a little league game by some bats. The bats are insectivores but seem to be acting in a territorial fashion. Once the boy and his father move away the bats leave them alone. But then there are other sightings. The bat population of New York City seems to be climbing but there is also something else going on.

The carcass of a deer found in a tree top and some dead homeless in the city's subway system indicate something far more powerful than any bat. It could be that whatever is responsible is causing the normal bats to act with abnormal behavior. When a bat expert and a policeman team up they find a trail leading across the surrounding countryside and leading into the city. The evidence points towards a mutant bat brought in from Russia that has managed to propagate.

Now the problem is known but there is the matter of getting the right people top believe it. There is an abnormally large bat loose that somehow controls the smaller bats. But soon the bat is spotted by the authorities and plans are made for its capture. But there are two and one is pregnant so there is little time. The final confrontation is a real page turner.

VESPERS is a very interesting book. On the front of it we have a monster story. But that story is handled more like a vampire tale than anything else. Mix in some classic Night Stalker-esque interactions between the investigators and the City officials and you get a far more complex book than one would first think. In a way it reminds me of NIGHTWINGS, by Martha Cruz Smith, which also has bats on the surface but a much richer, and deeper, story line lurking just below. VESPERS is an excellent book and Jeff Rovin really knows how to pace it to keep the reading following.

Rating:
Summary: You Have Got to Be Kidding...
Review: This book is insipid. I'm a fan of horror, sci-fi and the like and this book is neither. The plot is vapid and the characters are completely underdeveloped. The author lacks the most basic descriptive powers. If I didn't live in NYC, I believe I would find the story's geography hard to follow. Stay away from this silly book.

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Summary: This is the best book I have ever read in my life!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is never boring, there is always something new happening when another ends, and it is not difficult to read at all. It is as if you become the characters in the book and everything that happens is so intense you can't help but continue to read. I am not a big reader and this book took me two days to read because it was so good I did not want to put it down. Trust me buy the book and you will not be sorry. The first chapter there is already two people who are murdered by these creatures and it done in great detail. Love the book!!!

Rating:
Summary: I Loved This Book!
Review: This book rocked! Wouldn't that be cool if bats really raided New York

Rating:
Summary: An excellent read -- movie could be like Mimic/Relic
Review: This is a much better than average "bug book" and ought to make a movie along the lines of The Relic or Mimic. Good tough cop/warm scientist pair and a really scary premise. Kind of a "Jaws of the sky" scare. I hope Rovin is going to do more horror novels. His first is an auspicious start.

Rating:
Summary: The ghostwriter of Clancy's Op-Center novels scores big
Review: This is a techno-thriller with monsters, if you can believe that, and it works. I can't wait for the movie! Ordinary people are caught in an extraordinary situation, which makes it very easy to identify with them. Visual and extremely entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This is my second Jeff Rovin novel and I have enjoyed both of them. This one deals with bats gone bad or would that be "Batty Bats"??? "Vespers" is a good, fast read. You'll have to buy it used since it is out of print, but it's well worth seeking out. I am looking forward to more from Mr. Rovin.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting, if far-fetched thriller
Review: This is one of those "can't-put-it-down" type reads. An exciting thriller that will make an equally exciting film (it's underway I believe). Poor NY is attacked and destroyed once again, this time by bats (some of them quite huge). It's definitely far-fetched and downright silly in spots, but it still makes for suspenseful, engrossing reading.