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brisbookreviews's review
5.0
The Vampire Underground by Brian Rowe is about Sixteen year old film geek Brin Skar. During her first day of Film Class at Grisly High she discovers that the entire semester is devoted to the horror genre, which isn't Brin's cup o' tea! After the students are assigned a group horror film project and having a egotistical director Anaya, Brin finds herself at the creepy Bodie Ghost Town. Little does Brin and her classmates know that there is a lot more going on then just a film shoot.
The Vampire Underground was such a fantastic read. I couldn't put this down! I loved the writing style and the characters were well written. My favorite character was Brin's best friend, Ash. He's thoughts on films and remakes are exactly the same as mine! (I won't give any spoilers away but he has a certain moment at a gas station that I swear Ive spoken the exact same words before)
The Vampire Underground was funny, interesting, and freaky. Brian Rowe is a great story teller and I can easliy see this becoming a movie. I honestly became freaked out by the "vampires" and can't wait to see what else is in store for Brin and her friends.
5 out of 5 stars Brian Rowe has made a new fan!
Special thanks to Brian Rowe for providing an e-book copy of The Vampire Underground in exchange for an honest review.
http://memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com/2012/04/vampire-underground-by-brian-rowe.html
The Vampire Underground was such a fantastic read. I couldn't put this down! I loved the writing style and the characters were well written. My favorite character was Brin's best friend, Ash. He's thoughts on films and remakes are exactly the same as mine! (I won't give any spoilers away but he has a certain moment at a gas station that I swear Ive spoken the exact same words before)
The Vampire Underground was funny, interesting, and freaky. Brian Rowe is a great story teller and I can easliy see this becoming a movie. I honestly became freaked out by the "vampires" and can't wait to see what else is in store for Brin and her friends.
5 out of 5 stars Brian Rowe has made a new fan!
Special thanks to Brian Rowe for providing an e-book copy of The Vampire Underground in exchange for an honest review.
http://memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com/2012/04/vampire-underground-by-brian-rowe.html
foreverbeautifulbooks's review
5.0
FINALL! Vampires who are literally bad! And they are evil! Oh! And they are just down right wicked awesome!
So--imagine if you will-- The Lost Boys, Scream, and From Dusk 'Til Dawn had a dirty little menage.
Yep, then you have The Vampire Underground!
This book wasn't just clever with the dialogue, but it told an actual scary vampire story! I mean I was like, "Oh my god!" about 90% of the book! This was a true horror story. The whole thing was well paced, it made me feel like Joss Whedon had written a young adult book, and I kept laughing out loud. I literally have casted every character in my head and I'm waiting for the movie version of this because it could so work!
I had tingles as I was reading this and I found it really had to put down the book at all! Nothing about this book went wrong! They were teens--acting like teens--and the movie puns! Brilliant! I love that they teachers name was Mr. Barker. I saw that instantly mentioned Clive in my progress and BAH! Ash asks if he's related!
This is how young adult books should be done. They need to have more of these. They even had a sort of kind of love interest but that plot device didn't dominate the story. It was this small part, but I fear readers may latch onto that. Or I can hope most readers have matured beyond the need for some tragic love story!
I highly recommend this book! It is awesome! It is well written, it is one of the top books I have read this year!
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
So--imagine if you will-- The Lost Boys, Scream, and From Dusk 'Til Dawn had a dirty little menage.
Yep, then you have The Vampire Underground!
This book wasn't just clever with the dialogue, but it told an actual scary vampire story! I mean I was like, "Oh my god!" about 90% of the book! This was a true horror story. The whole thing was well paced, it made me feel like Joss Whedon had written a young adult book, and I kept laughing out loud. I literally have casted every character in my head and I'm waiting for the movie version of this because it could so work!
I had tingles as I was reading this and I found it really had to put down the book at all! Nothing about this book went wrong! They were teens--acting like teens--and the movie puns! Brilliant! I love that they teachers name was Mr. Barker. I saw that instantly mentioned Clive in my progress and BAH! Ash asks if he's related!
This is how young adult books should be done. They need to have more of these. They even had a sort of kind of love interest but that plot device didn't dominate the story. It was this small part, but I fear readers may latch onto that. Or I can hope most readers have matured beyond the need for some tragic love story!
I highly recommend this book! It is awesome! It is well written, it is one of the top books I have read this year!
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
bosicbyi's review
5.0
The Vampire Underground by Brian Rowe is about Sixteen year old film geek Brin Skar. During her first day of Film Class at Grisly High she discovers that the entire semester is devoted to the horror genre, which isn't Brin's cup o' tea! After the students are assigned a group horror film project and having a egotistical director Anaya, Brin finds herself at the creepy Bodie Ghost Town. Little does Brin and her classmates know that there is a lot more going on then just a film shoot.
The Vampire Underground was such a fantastic read. I couldn't put this down! I loved the writing style and the characters were well written. My favorite character was Brin's best friend, Ash. He's thoughts on films and remakes are exactly the same as mine! (I won't give any spoilers away but he has a certain moment at a gas station that I swear Ive spoken the exact same words before)
The Vampire Underground was funny, interesting, and freaky. Brian Rowe is a great story teller and I can easliy see this becoming a movie. I honestly became freaked out by the "vampires" and can't wait to see what else is in store for Brin and her friends.
5 out of 5 stars Brian Rowe has made a new fan!
Special thanks to Brian Rowe for providing an e-book copy of The Vampire Underground in exchange for an honest review.
http://memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com/2012/04/vampire-underground-by-brian-rowe.html
The Vampire Underground was such a fantastic read. I couldn't put this down! I loved the writing style and the characters were well written. My favorite character was Brin's best friend, Ash. He's thoughts on films and remakes are exactly the same as mine! (I won't give any spoilers away but he has a certain moment at a gas station that I swear Ive spoken the exact same words before)
The Vampire Underground was funny, interesting, and freaky. Brian Rowe is a great story teller and I can easliy see this becoming a movie. I honestly became freaked out by the "vampires" and can't wait to see what else is in store for Brin and her friends.
5 out of 5 stars Brian Rowe has made a new fan!
Special thanks to Brian Rowe for providing an e-book copy of The Vampire Underground in exchange for an honest review.
http://memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com/2012/04/vampire-underground-by-brian-rowe.html
kellysreads's review
2.0
The Vampire Underground reminded me of a b-movie horror flick, where you get moments of true fright, interlaced with moments of seemingly intentional comedy. It had twists and turns, not all of which seemed necessary, and provided me with a sometimes entertaining, if unusual, read.
I absolutely loved all of the cult film references, though I did hate Ash's pretentious attitude towards modern-day remakes and his outright rage at seeing someone watching one of those remakes. I loved how spooky Rowe's vampires were, with their glowing red eyes and how they growled to introduce their presence, and I loved the atmosphere of Bodie Ghost Town - just the thought of a completely abandoned town was enough to give me the creeps (Silent Hill, anyone?).
I did stumble across several continuity/plot hole issues, which definitely made me take pause. There was constant reference to the weather, and how it was snowing quite heavily, but somehow through all of the snow, the characters were able to distinguish between when a road turn from pavement to dirt. There are also several mentions of someone hitting the dirt, or dropping something in the dirt, or wiping the dirt of their clothing - and with each dirt reference, I was pulled out of the story as I wondered what had happened to all of the snow? I want to know how Ash made it past the barrier, when it took four people to move it in order for the van to squeak by. I also want to know how he managed to fend off four vampires on his own - but it's never touched on. I wanted Paul to explain something - anything! - about his kind of vampires or their folklore, but I got zilch. And for the entire book, the character's are constantly mentioning how cold it is - but once they make it out of the underground, stark naked, not one of them complains about facing the elements in their birthday suits.
I didn't like any of the characters, as I found almost all of the actions were over-the-top. And that's why I'm getting the feeling that this had to be written like a parody of old horror flicks. For example, after watching their only vehicle burst in to flames, burning one of their classmates alive, Anaya's response is not to feel sorrow for her lost companion, or fear for their safety after being stranded in the middle of winter, but an overwhelming responsibility to finish their film for class. And this was a continuing theme! Instead of fearing for their lives, everyone was constantly worrying about getting a failing grade! Anaya's outbursts towards Brin had been annoying up until this point, but after her insistence that they finish what they started, I decided that it had to be an intentional ploy to lessen the horror of the vampires' attack. Adding to the character's embellished reactions was the fact that several horror flick cliches were used: an isolated location, check; extreme weather that restricts mobility, check; upon reaching isolated destination everyone realizes they have no cell service, check; one character feels like things aren't right but is ignored, check.
The ending served to cement my rational, as upon return to their hometown, no one mentions going to the police and reporting the deaths of their classmates. In fact, they fear they'll be committed of perjury for their blatant lies about the events they managed to survive. So instead, they ignore all responsibility and simply head home to worry about what other homework was due the next day.
I'm not even going to get started on Brin and Paul's....relationship? If seems that the ending foreshadowed a sequel, in which Brin would come to realize how important Paul was to her but after all of the Twilight trashing the book did, to even hint that it might try to do a human-vampire relationship is hypocritical at best.
Had I read The Vampire Underground with the understanding that it was going to be like a b-movie, I might have enjoyed some of it's cornier moments. And I can see lots of people enjoying it, for those same moments. But I was expecting a dark and twisted horror story and instead, I got dark and twisted horror-like elements, with a side of cheese.
I absolutely loved all of the cult film references, though I did hate Ash's pretentious attitude towards modern-day remakes and his outright rage at seeing someone watching one of those remakes. I loved how spooky Rowe's vampires were, with their glowing red eyes and how they growled to introduce their presence, and I loved the atmosphere of Bodie Ghost Town - just the thought of a completely abandoned town was enough to give me the creeps (Silent Hill, anyone?).
I did stumble across several continuity/plot hole issues, which definitely made me take pause. There was constant reference to the weather, and how it was snowing quite heavily, but somehow through all of the snow, the characters were able to distinguish between when a road turn from pavement to dirt. There are also several mentions of someone hitting the dirt, or dropping something in the dirt, or wiping the dirt of their clothing - and with each dirt reference, I was pulled out of the story as I wondered what had happened to all of the snow? I want to know how Ash made it past the barrier, when it took four people to move it in order for the van to squeak by. I also want to know how he managed to fend off four vampires on his own - but it's never touched on. I wanted Paul to explain something - anything! - about his kind of vampires or their folklore, but I got zilch. And for the entire book, the character's are constantly mentioning how cold it is - but once they make it out of the underground, stark naked, not one of them complains about facing the elements in their birthday suits.
I didn't like any of the characters, as I found almost all of the actions were over-the-top. And that's why I'm getting the feeling that this had to be written like a parody of old horror flicks. For example, after watching their only vehicle burst in to flames, burning one of their classmates alive, Anaya's response is not to feel sorrow for her lost companion, or fear for their safety after being stranded in the middle of winter, but an overwhelming responsibility to finish their film for class. And this was a continuing theme! Instead of fearing for their lives, everyone was constantly worrying about getting a failing grade! Anaya's outbursts towards Brin had been annoying up until this point, but after her insistence that they finish what they started, I decided that it had to be an intentional ploy to lessen the horror of the vampires' attack. Adding to the character's embellished reactions was the fact that several horror flick cliches were used: an isolated location, check; extreme weather that restricts mobility, check; upon reaching isolated destination everyone realizes they have no cell service, check; one character feels like things aren't right but is ignored, check.
The ending served to cement my rational, as upon return to their hometown, no one mentions going to the police and reporting the deaths of their classmates. In fact, they fear they'll be committed of perjury for their blatant lies about the events they managed to survive. So instead, they ignore all responsibility and simply head home to worry about what other homework was due the next day.
I'm not even going to get started on Brin and Paul's....relationship? If seems that the ending foreshadowed a sequel, in which Brin would come to realize how important Paul was to her but after all of the Twilight trashing the book did, to even hint that it might try to do a human-vampire relationship is hypocritical at best.
Had I read The Vampire Underground with the understanding that it was going to be like a b-movie, I might have enjoyed some of it's cornier moments. And I can see lots of people enjoying it, for those same moments. But I was expecting a dark and twisted horror story and instead, I got dark and twisted horror-like elements, with a side of cheese.
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