Review: Outstanding vampire fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 27, 2010
"Undead In The City" is a total delight to read.  Erotic elements aside, which Hilburn makes an important part of the story, this is a well-crafted novella with compelling and memorable characters.  The wry humor is a bonus to the fine writing here with such delightful lines as "Although a vampire assassin was rather redundant" and "A tightening in his groin brought him back to the present, and he wondered again whether someone could die from a hard-on."The prose is vivid, yet never overdone, and shows a wonderful flare for vampire humor.  The two strong main characters are the highlight of this piece.  The author superbly puts the reader into their heads.  She also brings humanity to Malveaux's character.There is nothing I didn't like about this novella.  It's strong on the three points I look for in any writing: story, characters, and writing.  Even though the novella is short, the story and character arc are remarkably well drawn.  We see changes in both of the characters over the course of the story.  Just as important is that, being erotica, it DOES have a strong story line, something not all erotica has.  The story integrates the sex and non-sex aspects very well.  The test of a good piece of erotica is whether the story line works without the sex in it.  In other words, is the sex gratuitous?  Here it's definitely not gratuitous because--as I said--the sex (or rather Malveaux's inescapable drive to create an offspring) forms an integral part of the story.  It goes beyond the sex itself, yet it would not be as rich a story line without it.  The sex scenes enhance and enrich the story, and they add a good touch of humor as well.My only (admittedly small) complaint about this novella is that I wanted it to last longer.  As soon as the story ended, I was already missing the characters.  I sincerely hope that the author will write a sequel (or two) because I'd love to see more of Malveaux and Tempest.