The Kingmakers
Vampire Empire Book #3
By Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith
ISBN# 978-1616146740
Author’s Website: http://clayandsusangriffith.blogspot.com/
Brought to you by guest reviewer Erin
Summary:
A war to the death.
Empress Adele has launched a grand crusade against the vampire clans of the north. Prince Gareth, the vampire lord of Scotland, serves the Equatorian cause, fighting in the bloody trenches of France in his guise as the dashing Greyfriar. But the human armies are pinned down, battered by harsh weather and merciless attacks from vampire packs.
To even the odds, Adele unleashes the power of her geomancy, a fearsome weapon capable of slaughtering vampires in vast numbers. However, the power she expends threatens her own life even as she questions the morality of such a weapon.
As the war turns ever bloodier and Adele is threatened by betrayal, Gareth faces a terrible choice. Their only hope is a desperate strike against the lord of the vampire clans—Gareth’s brother, Cesare. It is a gamble that could win the war or signal the final days of the Greyfriar.
The Vampire Empire trilogy rushes to a heart-wrenching conclusion of honor and love, hatred and vengeance, sacrifice and loss. (Amazon)
Review:
I tore through the first two books in the series, but I had trouble getting into this one at first. The beginning was a much slower pace than the first two; there were a lot more politics involved, and catching up on where all the characters were and why, since the actual war has started. Once we got into the battles it picked up. It still has a steampunk feel to it, with bigger weaponry, but the warfare was reminiscent of World War I (trench warfare being the most obvious similarity). The whole thing felt more modern, and I could see the authors drawing parallels with real historical events, but it didn’t stray from the tone of the previous two. The chapters jumped between the front in Europe (with views from both sides), the social events and war planning in Alexandria, and the political games in England.
I got more of the back story on periphery characters that I’d been hoping for, although I would have loved more geomancy details. There was a little more, and it was obviously left out because it have bogged down the plot, but I love little things like that. And I still had some questions about what exactly was going one with one of Adele’s new found talents.
I wasn’t surprised by the ending, but the events leading up to it were fantastic and action packed. It’s still the pulpy, swashbuckling romance that was implied from the beginning. It wasn’t my favorite book of the series, but it was a strong ending, and overall the series was incredible.
