When Francis Ford Coppola's movie Bram Stoker's Dracula came out, my Vampire: The Masquerade gaming group debated its merits. The part we universally enjoyed was not the stylish costumes, or the goofy reincarnation plot, or Keanu's acting, but the opening ten minutes when Vlad Tepes is in plate armor spearing his enemies and throwing swords at crosses. "Why," we asked, "doesn't someone make a movie just out of that bit?"

This book is for that gaming group.

If you ever wondered what Dracula did between his death as Vlad Tepes in the late 1400s and the time of Bram Stoker's story, wonder no more. Vampire Wars is a short story collection about some of those missing years. It begins at the time Dracula (here using the Romanian, "Draculea") barely had two underlings to rub together. It progresses over the centuries to a climactic battle against the only unearthly horror that could possibly stop his minions or dampen his nigh-unbreakable will.

Along the way, Vlad kills, maims, tricks, or strikes bargains with more dead things than you'd find in a Kansas City slaughterhouse. Sure, he has a few monstrous minions such as lycanthropes and humans fed vampiric blood, but in the undead world there are revenants, Persian, African, and Russian vampires, and two notable vampire rivals from China (whom, as far as I could gather, do not hop like in Hong Kong horror comedies, because that's about as terrifying as sparkling).

Some of these undead are wholly original, while many others are well-known in horror circles from mythology, fiction, and history. Johann Faust, Erzsebet Bathory, Mircalla "Carmilla" Karnstein, and a conga line of undead from public domain works make appearances. For some extra spice, there's a cameo by some Lovecraftian byakhee and a passing reference to Angelus from you-know-where. If there's an overarching theme to the world-building here, it's simply "It's true -- all of it."

As other reviewers have pointed out, it's essential to view the chapters as individual stories and not a novel. Practically all my quibbles with the narrative style came from the expectations of reading a single story. The author repeats some information (like Vlad's minions' roles and his powers) quite often, which is irritating in a novel, but makes perfect sense in short stories where one can't be assured of reading the previous installment. Because the stories can't depend on each other, Vlad's rise to power is less a long-term campaign with masses of legions, and more a series of small-unit attacks on powerful undead. Decades go by between stories, giving it an episodic feel, and Vlad's minions are often done in during the fighting or just as often, killed off-screen before a new story begins. By the time we get near the climax, Vlad's survival alone seems like reason enough to crown him as the ruler of the vampires. While Vampire Wars is the first in a trilogy, the ending had enough closure to leave me satisfied, which is usually a sticking point for me.

My remaining quibbles are mostly with editing and the odd anachronistic phrase. Vlad uses "thee" and "thy," but his minions will occasionally pipe up with modern language like "you have to be kidding." As for content, I personally wanted to see a bit more interaction between Draculea and his allies apart from the campaigns, and it appears I am not alone in this. The sequel, Brides of Dracula, appears to cover exactly that ground. So though I took off a star or so for not being a work I would reread obsessively, I think I will be checking out more by the author.

At about 200 pages, Vampire Wars is pretty fast reading. I personally got it on Kindle. I'd recommend it to Lovecraft fans, vampire buffs, and yes, to my old gaming group.

Note: I can't find the author on Booklikes, nor am I able to add him, which means I can't add this book, either. Navigate to Amazon/Goodreads if you are curious.

“Surrender your expectations. Surrender your doubts. Surrender your fears. Surrender your strengths. Surrender your anger. Surrender your control.” - Yasmine Galenorn, Darkling


as Peredur lies bleeding to death, he curses God for his fate and for denying him of having a future with the woman he loves.
a stranger appears by his side and offers him a second chance. Peredur accepts and becomes the newest member of the strange and elite Brotherhood.
author Julia Phillips Smith spins a unique tale of vampires, sacrifice and love. her story takes place in Wales during the late 600th century A.D. and she vividly captures the atmosphere of this period. the reader travels back in time to a society where warriors march off to battle against invading tribes and bring home the spoils of war; where women await with anticipation and dread the return of their loved ones; where the border between superstition and the supernatural was a thin line.
this worldbuilding was one of the best elements of the book. i also loved the romantic aspect and love triangle which played out among Peredur, Tanwen and Cavan.
although the story is given in different points of view, there is no confusion as to who is speaking or what is taking place. some readers may not be comfortable with this set-up but i think it was effective in clarifying events and connecting them together.
i had difficulty, though, in dealing with Peredur's turning after cursing God. it seems that this same God allowed him to become a vampire so that he can become one of the Brotherhood - a group of vampires really - whose objective is to stop their other "cousin" vampires from turning humans.
i was confused and tried to see the justice in all this. i also did not find out how the "cousin" vampires became vampires. obviously they did not curse God so how did they end up as the undead? what really sets them apart from the Brotherhood aside from their shared bloodlust? Peredur himself had this dilemma. when he asked questions, all he got were cryptic answers from one of the Brotherhood. i admit, these dialogs were well written but i wanted answers as well.
for the most part, this first book in the Dark Ages Vampire Trilogy had its shining moments especially the last remaining chapters. i would not have finished the novel if i did not find merit with it. perhaps, the second and last books would explain and provide more details and closure.
overall, this was still a good read and something i would recommend to readers who want a different vampire story.


Disclosure of Material Connection: i received a copy of Saint Sanguinus from the author. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.