Review: Terrible
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 11 9, 2011
There are so many issues with this book that a list is the easiest way to point them out.  Spoiler alert for anyone that hasn't bought it, but I highly recommend you don't.The main character simply makes no sense.  A warrior priest that is also married with a family shoots his way through most nights fighting Vampires.  His family is killed in front of him, his church burned down and he is shot many times, left for dead.  Within a week, he is back on his feet, showing no emotion at the death of those he loved and flirting with a beautiful "good" vampire.  His dialogue is stilted and flat, moralizing and constantly shouting.  Innocents get killed all around him and he shows not the least bit of emotional response.Every other character shows similar lack of emotion.  A cop's partner is shot in the head right next to him, and the man is at work the next day, casually mentioning the funeral is a few days away.  The reader is never told the reason for the Bishop or his secretary's actions.The action makes no sense.  Casinos catering to rich, powerful people are guarded by less than 12 people, easily dispatched by the protagonist.  The arch-villian vampire's den is just as easily penetrated with few security measures.  The protagonist takes an M4 round in the chest from less than 20 feet and his bullet proof vest shrugs it off, allowing him to continue to fight with no effect (this is impossible, by the way).  When our hero is wounded through his unprotected arm, he cheerfully goes about the next 4 hours or so with little effect.  This is Hollywood at it's worst, an early Stallone movie where the bad guys expend millions of rounds while the hero fights on, picking them off with a gunshot wound to the shoulder that doesn't seem to bleed.There was potential here for character development, but the author never pursues any.  Why does the beautiful "good" vampire act as she does?  Are there others like her?  When does she feed?  Where did she get her weapons training?  When did Bill the protagonist warrior priest get his considerable weapons training?I understand this is the first book of a series and I usually give some leeway for a starter, hoping the other books would fill in the blanks.  However, the flaws I've pointed out are just the beginning of a much larger list.  I won't be picking up the other books, nor can I recommend this one.  By the end, I just didn't care about any of the characters nor was I satisfied about the too-predictable ending.  "Punisher" comic books are better written.