Uncharted Waters...The year is 2505. The oceans have risen. A new era of piracy is dawning. A vicious storm separates twins Connor and Grace Tempest, destroying their boat and leaving them fighting for their lives in the cruel, cold water.
Picked up by one of the more notorious pirate ships, Connor soon finds himself wielding a cutlass. But does he have the stomach to be a pirate? Grace finds herself aboard a more mysterious ship. Kept under lock and key, she's assured no harm will come to her, just as long as she follows the enigmatic captain's rules...
Can the twins survive life on-board - and find their way back to each other? The voyage of the VAMPIRATES is about to begin...
Vampirates Series:
Demons of the Ocean
Dead Deep (short story published in 2007 - doesn't have to be read to follow the series)
Tide of Terror
Blood Captain
Black Heart
Empire of Night
Immortal War
For more information visit the Vampirates website
Review:
In this first installment of the Vampirates series Grace and Connor find themselves orphaned after the death of their father. They have always been outsiders in their village and when their only choices seem to be either living with the local bank manager & his nosey wife or moving into the local orphanage they decide they'd be better off on their own. However, things end up going from bad to worse when, after taking their Dad's boat, they end up shipwrecked in a storm.
Connor is unable to find Grace but is rescued by Cheng Li, the deputy captain of The Diablo. The captain Molucco Wrathe lets Connor join the crew and so his training as a pirate begins. Meanwhile Grace was rescued by a completely different ship - The Nocturne. She was rescued by Lorcan and is now being kept locked in a cabin. But why is she there? Can she trust Lorcan who tells her she is there for her own protection or is she actually a prisoner?
I really enjoyed this story & I liked the way it switched between Grace & Connor's stories with every chapter - often leaving you on a cliffhanger. There are some great characters - captain Wrathe really reminded me of Johnny Depp's captain Jack Sparrow & the Vampirate captain is a mysterious character who I'm looking forward to finding out more about. I also can't wait to see what happens between Lorcan and Grace in future stories.
If there was anything about the book I was unsure of it was the fact that the book is supposed to be set in 2505 but I didn't get any feel of what the future holds. All we know is that there was a flood and it is easier to get around using boats but other than that it could almost have been a historical novel, there is no futuristic technology & the pirates weapon of choice is the sword. That didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book though & I'm hoping there will be more explanation in future installments. Overall I really enjoyed the book & am looking forward to continuing the series.
Source: Recieved for review from publisher Simon & Schuster
Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.
This sounds like a super good and unique book. I love books where they switch from character to characters points of view, so I'll defiantly look into buying this one!
ReplyDeleteHi Morgan, I loved the idea behind this one - it was completely different from anything I've read before :o) You'll have to let me know what you think of it if you do read it!
ReplyDeleteWow, this sounds very unique gotta read this one.
ReplyDeleteI heard of this serie before, but never thought that I would like them. Now after reading your review, they sound like fun. Even the names are cool, Wrathe, Cheng Li. :) Like them. Thanks for the great review.
ReplyDeleteThis is the third positive review I've read on this series in the past few weeks. I wasn't sure about reading it myself, I was told it was aimed at younger YA readers, so was put off slightly. But maybe I'll give it a go now. Just need to get my hands on the first book! Thanks for the great review, Sarah!
ReplyDelete@ Jessilyn - I really liked the fact it was completely different to anything I've ever read before :o)
ReplyDelete@ Nina - They are definitely a fun read & I love some of the character names!
@ Jo - I'd say it probably is aimed at younger readers than some of the YA books I've read but I still enjoyed it. It's a good book for when you're looking for something fun & light to read :o)