A People's History Of The Vampire Uprising

A virus that turns people into something somehow more than human quickly sweeps the world, upending society as we know it.

This panoramic thriller, A People’s History Of The Vampire Uprising begins with one small mystery. The body of a young woman found in an Arizona border town, presumed to be an illegal immigrant, walks out of the town morgue. To the young CDC investigator called in to consult the local police, it’s a bizarre medical mystery.

More bodies, dead of a mysterious disease that solidifies their blood, are brought to the morgue and disappear. In a futile game of catch-up, the CDC, the FBI, and the US government must come to terms with what they’re too late to stop: an epidemic of vampirism that will sweep first the United States, and then the world.

Impossibly strong, smart, poised, beautiful, and commanding, these vampires reject the term as derogatory, preferring the euphemistic “gloamings.” They quickly rise to prominence in all aspects of modern society: sports, entertainment, and business. Soon people are begging to be ‘re-created,’ willing to accept the risk of death if their bodies can’t handle the transformation. The stakes change yet again when a charismatic and wealthy businessman, recently turned, decides to do what none of his kind has done before: run for political office.

Duffy’s Thoughts On A People’s History Of The Vampire Uprising

The premise of this book was interesting to me. What would REALLY happen if we were exposed to such a disease or an ‘uprising of vampire-like humans’?

I really enjoyed the world that author Raymond. A. Villareal built, particularly the set up in the beginning and the intrigue which builds as it dawns on the young CDC investigator that there is something far more world-changing happening than a few freak murders or a rare disease outbreak.  I also loved the way Villareals thinks about the practicalities. For example; would vampires get disability allowance? Would we have to offer flexible working hours so that they can carry on with their careers after dark? What about housing and healthcare? Would society kill them all or put them in prison?

A people's history of the vampire uprising

The blurring of the fantastical with the practical had me laughing at times, yet bringing relevance to today’s world too. How do we treat those that are different, are we immediately suspicious as humans?  Why do we seem to blindly follow what celebrities and the ‘beautiful ones’ do and say, as if they are elevated and even angelical to some? Yes, Queen Bey and Jay-Z, I’m looking your way. One thing is for sure, in a vampire world or a human world, there is increased corruption and temptation the higher up the ladder you climb. But, was this plot enough to keep me engaged throughout the whole book?

No, it did not.

What is an original and clever plot, built into an almost believable future world, unfortunately, had weak characters which were just not strong enough to sustain my interest or care for. Characters were too flimsy and too many, they all seemed to have the same voice and blur into one another. I even skipped the second third as I just wanted to get to the good stuff at the end.  This is a shame as Villareal obviously invested time and effort into the structure of this book and keeping the details on-point, however,  I fear to the detriment of character development.

For me, A People’s History Of The Vampire Uprising is a very original idea but could have been 100 pages shorter and a little less self-indulgent. A good first novel, and if you love anything Vampire, you might want to give this one a go. I also note that the film rights have been optioned, and if they can make a tighter script and focus on developing the main characters, it could be a winning movie or TV series.

For fans of World War Z, Warm Bodies, True Blood and Who’s Afraid?

2.5 from me – A fantastic world, just a shame the characters didn’t match up

Buy your copy here

Published May 2018 RRP $29.99

A People's history of the vampire uprising