Tag Archives: Clay Griffith

The Greyfriar

Book Review of The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1), by Clay & Susan Griffith

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I borrowed a copy of Clay and Susan Griffith‘s The Greyfriar from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming. Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. When she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan, her only protector is the Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans.

The first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, the Vampire Empire series brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.

Review:
I’m going to call this an OK read. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it either. I liked that Adele was self assured and self-confident, but also willing to accept help. Plus, she never threw a strop and ran of to do anything TSTL. I can appreciate that. And I admit, I thought Gareth was just adorable. I liked the writing and it’s well edited. But I had one major personal niggle.

The whole premise of the plot hinges on a subtle supremacy of the human race. Gareth not only appreciated humanity in a way no other vampire does, he actively want to be human and is willing to risk his whole race for the desire. I’ll grant that the vampire culture seems to be in some decline in this book. But I am never comfortable with books that present two competing cultures and make one more morally desirable than the other. Especially when this is done subtly, such that the reader is gently nudged to see one race as superior to the other.

See, I’m uncomfortable with it in the same way I am uncomfortable with that last sentence when used just for humans, when one race is presented as superior to another. Nope, I’m out. I realize this isn’t necessarily something that was intended and it’s totally superimposing reality on fiction, but it’s something I’m almost always sketchy about.

The Conquering Dark

Book Review of The Conquering Dark (Crown & Key #3), by Clay & Susan Griffith

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The Conquering DarkI received a copy of The Conquering Dark, by Clay & Susan Griffith from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
The Crown and Key Society face their most terrifying villain yet: Gaios, a deranged demigod with the power to destroy Britain.

To avenge a centuries-old betrayal, Gaios is hell-bent on summoning the elemental forces of the earth to level London and bury Britain. The Crown and Key Society, a secret league consisting of a magician, an alchemist, and a monster-hunter, is the realm’s only hope—and to stop Gaios, they must gather their full strength and come together as a team, or the world will fall apart.

But Simon Archer, the Crown and Key’s leader and the last living magician-scribe, has lost his powers. As Gaios searches for the Stone of Scone, which will give him destructive dominion over the land, monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane, alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther, gadget geek Penny Carter, and Charlotte the werewolf scramble to reconnect Simon to his magic before the world as they know it is left forever in ruins.

Review:
If I was giving this a numerical star rating I would give it a 2.5 and I’d roll up reluctantly. I’d honestly like to roll down, but mechanically the book is fine. For me, that’s just about the only thing I would say was fine.

This book is action packed. It starts on the very first page and doesn’t stop until the very last and I’m almost being literal when I say that. This book is ALL, let me repeat that, ALL running, fighting, attacking, being attacked, dismantling this mechanized beast, defeating that elemental wizard, shooting him, stabbing her, setting this baddie on fire, blowing that up, almost falling into that lava pit, narrowing avoiding being dashed on those rocks, skidding to a stop inches from this ledge, etc. It just never ever stop.

And lets be honest, a book needs a little stopping on occasion. Character need time to discuss and grow (none did here). Plot needs non-fighting moments to progress (it really didn’t here). You wouldn’t think action could get boring, but in its repetition and exclusion of ANYTHING else it really did.

Additionally, I found the villains’ motivation flimsy (both the main one and the shadowy one). But beyond that I’d really like to rage a little about how often female villains’ motivations come down to romantic rejection, as if that’s our only available motivating force. Gah! Think larger people.

The only saving grace was the occasional amusing quip and that I basically still like the characters. Though their tendency toward artificially rousing speeches and heartfelt thanks of each-other got a little saccharine and Kate’s transformation from a ballsy 20-something to a coddling ‘that’s nice Dear’ spouting mother was graceless and abrupt.

Perhaps this is just third book syndrome and the series will improve, but at this point I think I might be tapping out.

The Undying Legion

Book Review of The Undying Legion (Crown & Key #2), by Clay & Susan Griffith

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The Undying LegionI received a copy of The Undying Legion, by Clay & Susan Griffith, from Netgalley. I read and reviewed the first book of this series, The Shadow Revolution, here.

Description from Goodreads:
When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.
 
But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and monstrous serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic. 

Review:
Eh, this was OK. Not bad, but not as good as the first one either. I still liked the characters. I still liked that the women are fully engaged in action. I still liked the tone of the narrative and such. But, frankly, I was bored. It felt like the overly elaborate fight scenes went on and on. Then, as soon as they finally ended another started. This left very little time for the actual plot to play out and almost no time for further character growth. Maybe it’s just suffering from second book syndrome. But the brevity of this review should tell you something. I was left with so little interest in the events of the book that I’ve nothing of note to say.