A Vampire’s Rise (Stone Masters #1) by V.M.K. Fewings

From the Publisher…

For a vampire, the journey from life to death is just the beginning. For Daumia Velde, this torment will take him from the savage bullfighting arenas of 15th century Spain, into the terrifying chambers of desolate mausoleums. From the darkest, winding, city streets of London into bohemian castles imbued with corridors of eternal secrets and endless lies, yet to be discovered. As Daumia hunts down his brother’s murderer, he becomes entwined in the fateful love of the alluring Sunaria, the woman that will change his life forever. But as the blood spills and the love grows, Daumia finds that the price of revenge may be the very salvation of his soul. Struggling to hold on to the last remnants of his humanity, Daumia emerges from the underworld, rising out of the ashes of his past and evolving into the deadliest of killers, one that no mortal or immortal can resist.

From Me…

Cover: The artwork on the cover of this book is so intriguing. My initial interest in this book was based on the title and the cover.

The Story: I really enjoyed the story. Especially since it was different than most vampire novels that I have read. In this book, we get to see a man grow up from being a boy. He becomes a man, falls in love and has a family. In protecting his family he becomes a victim and is turned.

The story takes place over many decade, instead of following one instance in a vampire’s life. Usually, a book will follow something that is happening to the vampire within a short time, and eternity is acknowledged as an abstract idea. In this book, the reader travels between decades while Daumia is both human and an unchanging vampire. The reader becomes involved in the immortal aging process.

The only problem I have with this story are the villains. Over the course of the book there were several villains, each one with deadly intentions. Each antagonist is dispatched throughout the book, but not without some gruesome confrontations. The focus of the story seemed to get lost as each new villain emerged. While I liked the idea that the reader followed decades of Daumia’s life, this meant that the reader had to follow several story lines. This felt slightly convoluted and distracting, as I had too many things to focus on.

The writing: I really enjoyed the writer’s style. The sentence structures were good, and the descriptions are excellent. My only issue, and this is a stylistic thing, is that the reader entered each seen while it was happening. Rather than introducing the actions that are taking place, we are thrown into the action and forced to infer from the dialogue what has happened.

Overall Impressions: I really enjoyed the story of this book, but I wasn’t captivated by it. I truly believe this a stylistic thing. Though I am giving this book a three, I will probably read the second book in the trilogy. Jump to the second book’s trailer below.

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