Imatge de l'autor

Clay Griffith

Autor/a de The Greyfriar

29 obres 1,445 Membres 112 Ressenyes 2 preferits

Sobre l'autor

Crèdit de la imatge: Amazon profile photo

Sèrie

Obres de Clay Griffith

The Greyfriar (2010) 525 exemplars
The Shadow Revolution (2015) — Autor — 217 exemplars
The Rift Walker (2011) 184 exemplars
The Undying Legion (2015) 118 exemplars
The Kingmakers (2012) 116 exemplars
The Conquering Dark (2015) 75 exemplars
Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen (2016) — Autor — 62 exemplars
Banshee Screams (2002) 17 exemplars
The Stupids (1996) 8 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Data de naixement
20th century
Gènere
male
Nacionalitat
USA

Membres

Ressenyes

Oh my, what fun! I had tried a Kindle sample of this book right after I finished the unimpressive [bc:Soulless|6381205|Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)|Gail Carriger|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314020848s/6381205.jpg|6569140] and quickly 'ugh'-ed and kept moving. Thanks to one of my GR friends, I tried it again and even though vamps are the bad-guys (not my thing) I am hooked.

I have added the series to my auto-buy list and am off to buy the next. My only complaint is that for whatever wrong-headed reason, the publisher has turned OFF Kindle Text-to-speech so I can't listen on my daily commute.

Highly recommended--the writing is tight and clear, the characters well thought out and sympathetic--if a bit too black and white at times and the story didn't seem me to be too short or too long.

This totally made up for my up to now lack of reading inspiration this January.
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jazzbird61 | Hi ha 49 ressenyes més | Feb 29, 2024 |
Prelim Review: In a word: love. Sincere, genuine, unadulterated love is what I feel for this book. Its entirely possible I love this book more than I love strawberries--and I adore strawberries.

I wasn't exactly certain what to expect when I began reading this book (a loaner from a friend). Chris McGrath did the cover art--that's always a good thing in my estimation. It has vampires. Steampunk. Its the future but isn't. Strong-willed Princess. Dashing hero. On the surface it sounds like a book I would gobble up. And it is! But its so much more than that.

Adele begins the book as an aloof, determined and willful girl. She's only 19, but she knows that the future of her Empire rests on her shoulders. She is wistful for the ability to just be a girl, but understands the gravity under which she has as the heir to the Equatorian Empire. After the initial attack, the fight and flight from the Vampires, and her capture...so many things happen that shake her. The unknown North, infested with vampires or the knowledge that she doesn't know what happened to those dear to her all plague her, but she absorbs it...and then it doesn't effect her. Fear is the mind killer correct? She takes this principle to heart and makes the vampires daring to chase her bleed for it.

I can honestly not think of a single thing Adele said or did that caused me to frown. A little willful perhaps, definitely stubborn, but the Griffiths don't make her infallible. Just very good at retaining her poise and determination. Without forcing the point they made Adele capable and independent, with a slightly reckless abandon for common sense at times, but a core of iron. Adele understood her duty, her role in life and was willing to forgo what she wanted in order for the greater good. Doesn't mean she still wasn't a relatively young girl, with dreams and hopes though.

The Greyfriar, who you'll figure out who this is rather quickly since its not a secret to the reader, was everything a folk hero should be. Cunning, witty, ruthless even he didn't allow injustice and sought to right things. He's also monumentally stupid at times and a bit thickheaded. He didn't seem to grasp that if he told Adele not to do one thing, she'd do it anyway. Especially if it involved saving herself, protecting those she loved or snubbing her nose at the Vampires.

The Vampires, by and large, aren't 'good'. They are savages, reveling in their debauchery and decadence like Sultans of old. Some want something different, they want to make a peace with the humans since as a species the Vampires can't survive without them so its in their best interests not to glut their bellies until they burst and the streets turn black from rivers of dried blood. Even of those who are different they still see humans as food, just they take better care of them and treat them better. Except for one guy, but that's a different story and a bit spoilery so we won't talk of him.

The ending had me biting my lip because its the sort of painful ending that you don't WANT to happen, but you know it has to. The Griffiths don't promise happy endings or love triumphs over all. They instead focused on the larger battle ahead and the cost of sacrifice.
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lexilewords | Hi ha 49 ressenyes més | Dec 28, 2023 |
Advance copy provided by NetGalley

It was all forms, frames and figures with this one. There was never simply someone doing something. Instead, it was the figure/frame/form of someone doing something. Or someone observing the figure/frame/form of someone/something. I found this distracting.
I wasn't sure I would stick with it, but I read a review that said the book got better. And it did get better for a while. I kind of liked Kate Anstruther. But I didn't love her or any of the characters, really. I felt like I'd seen them all before.
The constant battles and high body count was tiresome, although I did like the descriptions of how Simon and Nick used their magic in battle.
If you're in the mood for non-stop action and lots of bloodshed, and not much else, this might be just the thing for you. It's the first of a trilogy. And to the authors' credit, they didn't end on a cliffhanger. There are plenty of unanswered questions, but this part of the story had a beginning and end. I do appreciate that.
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Harks | Hi ha 15 ressenyes més | Dec 17, 2022 |
I had the disadvantage of not having read any of the books in the Vampire Empire series before I read this one. Sometimes that doesn't matter and sometimes it does. In this case, well I had no problems getting into the book thanks to the author explaining now and then what had happened in the books in the first series and also explaining things like a vampire is not an undead human, it's apparently a parasite that causes it. The geomancy-thing was a bit strange, but I think I got a hang of it.

But I think it's best to read the series from the beginning because even though the book was not boring to read, I just couldn't really find myself engrossed in the story or the characters. For me, something just was lacking and I think it's because in the end I just couldn't connect with Adele and Gareth. And, perhaps it would have worked better if I had read the previous books, I don't know. All I know is that I just didn't find them or their relationship terrible interesting.

But I did enjoy the vampire with a dash of steampunk world that the authors have created. I found it intriguing to read about how the world came to be like that with vampires dominating the northern latitudes and I loved the royal vampire family in Versailles. I just wished that I could have found the story a bit more interesting to read.

Thanks to Pyr and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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MaraBlaise | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Jul 23, 2022 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
29
Membres
1,445
Popularitat
#17,792
Valoració
3.9
Ressenyes
112
ISBN
56
Llengües
3
Preferit
2

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