UPRISING

SEAN McCABE

UPRISING

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

The first installment of the new series “Vampire Federation” could not be off to a better start with an optimistic future.  It consists of 463 pages/87 chapters worth of “I can’t put this down” intensive story.  This is not your kid’s vampire story of teen love with walls of human/vampire separation.

Every time another vampire book/series is released, my thought is always, “What can this writer do with a vampire story that no other writer has done?”  McCabe brings a completely new twist with several sectors of vampires.  The Federation brings order to the underworld of vampire living. Alex Bishop is a lead agent in the vampire intelligence agency (VIA), licensed by the ruling council to pursue and demolish all offenders of the laws.  She packs a different punch with the guns she carries called Nosferol which is equivalent to the destruction a cross would bring to vamps in the old black and white movies.  Alex is a vampire of more than 100 years of age who maintains control of her violent vampire ways with a drug called Vambloc.

Detective inspector Joel Solomon is thrown into the world of vampires, learning the truth behind his grandfather’s reclusive lifestyle.  Nicholas Solomon had been on the trail of a unique cross that would relieve the world of all the vampires that walk the earth.  His death before completing this task all but halted the search for the lethal instrument to obliterate the vampire race.  When Joel is confronted with the realization that vampires do exist, he begins back stepping through his grandfather’s trails. Alex and Joel’s paths cross at the most unlikely point in both of their lives.  They come from different backgrounds and the collision is as reckless as it is powerful and neither one can resist the impulsive draw.  Although their goals are the same, Alex keeps her vampire heritage hidden from Joel.  She has a never-ending supply of Vambloc, but still needs to feed on humans for survival.

McCabe set the foundation for this new series with what must have been a great outline.  He seems to know exactly where he wanted these characters to go, but the reader should be prepared for unexpected loss within both of these main character’s worlds. The chapters are not overwhelmingly long with unnecessary descriptive details of the surroundings.  I am a believer in strong dialog that allows characters to be expressive as opposed to withdrawn.  Sean McCabe makes the reader wonder while flipping through the pages, “How can this end?”  During chapter 70 and knowing there are only 87 chapters, the twist with turns begin to unfold with unexpected death and survival.  From the moment of purchase it is revealed in the last few pages that the next installment already has a tentative release date.  The first few pages are disclosed following the final chapter. I prefer to wait until the second book of a series is released before delving into a new series, but the cover had a pull that was irresistible.  Once I had the book in my hands, reading the back cover summary that started with “This is not a warning.”, there was no way to shelve this for future reading.