The Vampire Within, The Beginning by Drew Silver
This is the “first book” in a trilogy, and it sure seems like it. As this was a book that I got at the Book Expo, I was surprised to realize it is the actual book, not a galley or a review copy, as it is set in typewriter-like font, which is okay to read, but makes it seem less serious than a traditional font. That’s just one of the reasons it seems less than serious.
But it isn’t meant to be campy, from what I can tell. Everyone in it is a sincerely drawn character, even if they are all characters you would recognize. They are all college students, so we have the studious ones, the “jerky jocks,” the “devoted couple,” the “party girl,” the “lesbian,” “poor little rich girl,” – you get the picture. And of course the Evil Professor.
I normally like vampire tales, but this one kind of bugs me, as it strains credulity a bit too much. The Evil Professor is turning people into vampires to increase their abilities – strength, intelligence, curing illnesses like asthma, diabetes, acne, etc. This is how he lures students into signing up – that and a paycheck. Oh, and he uses a serum to turn them, it isn’t initially a neck bite, and they are not told they’re going to be vampires. But he’s been doing this for years and no one has noticed? Do none of these people have parents or families? Hello?
So our plucky band of heroes decides to try to infiltrate and take down this Evil Plan, but of course gets caught up in a battle, some get infected, others volunteer, and then the book ends. Sure, usually the first book of a trilogy has some leading questions, but this one just stops like it hit a brick wall.
I guess I’d rea the next chapter – I mean book – if I was given it for free, but it seems more like a cheesy made-for-TV horror movie than a book. In fact, with little effort I could mentally cast current TV personalities to fill each role. Don’t bother with this one!
