Review: Original and modern vampire story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 8, 2012
The Last Vampire by Kathryn Meyer Griffith is set in an apocalyptic background, reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  Her protagonist, Emma, witnesses waves of disaster, wiping out most of the population including her family.  Her co-worker, Larry, a `Prepper', dies while they flee the devastation during the work day.  He leaves her with his hidden cave stocked with months' worth of supplies.  The aftermath of the disaster shows humans at their ugliest, looting, raping, and pillaging for survival.  Many die of plague as it spreads throughout the makeshift communities across the country.Without giving too much away, Emma is almost raped and saved by Byron, a vampire/werewolf.  He brings her into his lair, turns her into a vampire, and takes her under his wing.  He ends up dying, leaving Emma alone, hence the title `Last Vampire'.Emma meets another survivor, Matthew.  He is partial Native American Indian, trained in many survival ways.  He, too, has lost his family.  They instantly bond, and then fall in love.  She keeps her `vampirism' a secret by hunting animals for blood at night.  She gives herself one rule, never drink human blood.Emma and Matthew face several obstacles as they make their way East, where Emma's sister lives.  She finds others like her and is forced to leave Matthew.  Several twists and turns later, I finished the book, hungry for more.Ms. Griffith is gifted at description, meaning she can accurately describe a setting without bogging down the reader with endless, needless details.  I am a big fan of the Prepping/End of Days movement currently going on, and love how she incorporated it into the story.  Ms. Meyer also provided realistic dialogue, logical character actions, and a somewhat surprising ending with several curve balls thrown in.  This is very original and would not dismiss it as another `vampire/werewolf' story.  I tremendously enjoyed reading it and give it 5 stars out of 5 stars.  I'm an instant fan of Ms. Meyer and will look forward to reading more of her work.  Dina Rae, [...], [...]