Scan barcode
schomj's review against another edition
2.0
Funnier than I expected, but much less scary than I was hoping for. Actually, it wasn't scary at all; gross sometimes, yes, but that's not the same thing. Also, the story was pretty entertaining at first, but there was a lot of filler and by the end it just devolved into pure cheese, '80s style. Not the worst thing I've ever read, and I did appreciate the humor, but I won't be looking for more by this author.
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
3.0
Technically I have a copy of [b:The Vampire Genevieve|657351|The Vampire Genevieve|Jack Yeovil|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1176831572s/657351.jpg|643439], which is a compilation of Drachenfels, Genevieve Undead, Beasts in Velvet and Silver Nails. But after reading this first story, I'm just not interested enough to stick with it for another 500ish pages. (Not least of which, because for a book titled The Vampire Genevieve, she plays very little role in this first story.) That probably tells you more than the rest of this review ever could.
I picked the book up because it had and interesting cover and was about a female vampire. I thought it could be interesting. I didn't actually know what the Warhammer imprint was (proving unequivocally that I'm not as nerdy as I would have given myself credit for), so I didn't know what to expect.
Drachenfels struck me as a pretty run of the mill über-evil overlord tries to take over the world and is defeated by a spunky group of outcasts kind of book. Meh. It took a long time to get going, then came to a lightning-speed conclusion and ending with an everyone lived happily ever after (or not) recap of the characters. I thought the world-building was weak, the character development shallow, and the action all crammed into one end of the story. There were some really funny passages, but for the most part I was uninvested. It wasn't a waste of my time, but I'm not bothering with anymore.
I picked the book up because it had and interesting cover and was about a female vampire. I thought it could be interesting. I didn't actually know what the Warhammer imprint was (proving unequivocally that I'm not as nerdy as I would have given myself credit for), so I didn't know what to expect.
Drachenfels struck me as a pretty run of the mill über-evil overlord tries to take over the world and is defeated by a spunky group of outcasts kind of book. Meh. It took a long time to get going, then came to a lightning-speed conclusion and ending with an everyone lived happily ever after (or not) recap of the characters. I thought the world-building was weak, the character development shallow, and the action all crammed into one end of the story. There were some really funny passages, but for the most part I was uninvested. It wasn't a waste of my time, but I'm not bothering with anymore.
jmccloy77's review against another edition
4.0
A tad predictable in places but still an entertaining fusion of Warhammer and gothic horror.
kelpiebooks's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I initially thought this might be heading for the DNF pile. After an introduction that felt like a chapter of pure exposition, I didn't hold out much hope for the rest of the book. I decided to stick with it, and I'm glad I did as it ended up being an entertaining read by the second half of the book. At times the humour even showed brief flashes of an almost Pratchett like tone, though the book lacked Pratchett's talent for world-building . If the start had hooked me, this would have been a 4* review, but the subversion of some common fantasy tropes was interesting enough for me to rate it higher than a 3*.
Overall, I'm interested to see where the other Genevieve books take her story so I'll probably pick the next one up at some point but I'm not rushing to the book shop as we speak.
I initially thought this might be heading for the DNF pile. After an introduction that felt like a chapter of pure exposition, I didn't hold out much hope for the rest of the book. I decided to stick with it, and I'm glad I did as it ended up being an entertaining read by the second half of the book. At times the humour even showed brief flashes of an almost Pratchett like tone, though the book lacked Pratchett's talent for world-building . If the start had hooked me, this would have been a 4* review, but the subversion of some common fantasy tropes was interesting enough for me to rate it higher than a 3*.
Overall, I'm interested to see where the other Genevieve books take her story so I'll probably pick the next one up at some point but I'm not rushing to the book shop as we speak.
romankurys's review against another edition
3.0
All things considered, this was a good read.
After having read a few short story compilations that took place in Warhammer universe, I was interested enough to read more about that world.
Admittedly I have never played anything Warhammer and have no idea what the rules are, so the review is just how I felt about the story Jack Yeovil had told.
Characters: 3
I really enjoyed the set up for characters here. There were a bunch of them and many viewpoints in a story have a special place in my heart.
I did not expect Vampires for one reason or another, however so got caught by surprise. What is even more surprising is that it is acceptable for vampires to just walk among the rest of the populace. Then when there was a monastery for vampires to just spend an eternity in to relax, that made my day.
I guess, all things considered, what I felt was that I enjoyed the variety of the side characters more that the two main ones. Although Genevieve is an intriguing femme fatale, she also felt like a side character.
From perspective of character development there isn’t much going on, but there are enough variety to keep things interesting. Good enough for me.
Plot: 4
Call me simple, but I was intrigued right from the start. I simply cannot recall the last book I have read that had anything to do with play making. Now, play making in fantasy universe with all sorts of dark gods and weird creatures is just weird.
I like weird.
It was obvious from the beginning that something had happened and we were in a journey to find out what. I knew something was sort of up in the air, but could not really guess for whatever reason what happened until the very end. In retrospect, I don’t know how I had not seen it, it probably was my fascination with all the dark mythical setting.
Setting: 3
Talking about the setting, that was the glue holding it all together. The more books in Warhammer universe I read, the more I enjoy it. It’s sort of like a compilation of a bunch of mythologies plopped together and then any happiness there is gets sucked out of it all.
BAM.
We’ve got Warhammer. What’s not to like?
Overall, nothing groundbreaking here. However, it is a solid, fun to read story with its own quirks and interesting world to delve into. It’s pretty short and definitely worth the read.
Roman “Ragnar”
After having read a few short story compilations that took place in Warhammer universe, I was interested enough to read more about that world.
Admittedly I have never played anything Warhammer and have no idea what the rules are, so the review is just how I felt about the story Jack Yeovil had told.
Characters: 3
I really enjoyed the set up for characters here. There were a bunch of them and many viewpoints in a story have a special place in my heart.
I did not expect Vampires for one reason or another, however so got caught by surprise. What is even more surprising is that it is acceptable for vampires to just walk among the rest of the populace. Then when there was a monastery for vampires to just spend an eternity in to relax, that made my day.
I guess, all things considered, what I felt was that I enjoyed the variety of the side characters more that the two main ones. Although Genevieve is an intriguing femme fatale, she also felt like a side character.
From perspective of character development there isn’t much going on, but there are enough variety to keep things interesting. Good enough for me.
Plot: 4
Call me simple, but I was intrigued right from the start. I simply cannot recall the last book I have read that had anything to do with play making. Now, play making in fantasy universe with all sorts of dark gods and weird creatures is just weird.
I like weird.
It was obvious from the beginning that something had happened and we were in a journey to find out what. I knew something was sort of up in the air, but could not really guess for whatever reason what happened until the very end. In retrospect, I don’t know how I had not seen it, it probably was my fascination with all the dark mythical setting.
Setting: 3
Talking about the setting, that was the glue holding it all together. The more books in Warhammer universe I read, the more I enjoy it. It’s sort of like a compilation of a bunch of mythologies plopped together and then any happiness there is gets sucked out of it all.
BAM.
We’ve got Warhammer. What’s not to like?
Overall, nothing groundbreaking here. However, it is a solid, fun to read story with its own quirks and interesting world to delve into. It’s pretty short and definitely worth the read.
Roman “Ragnar”
alienwriter's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was quirky and interesting, and the story was genuinely interesting.
Unfortunately, it fell a bit short in regards of the characters. I loved Genevieve, she was an interesting character and I could see so much potential for her to be more complicated and driven, but that wasn't capitalised on, and she fell a bit short.
There was a lot of text that focused on characters I personally didn't care much about, and I often found myself thinking "when will we get back to Genevieve".
Other than that, a few pacing issues and general predictability let this book down a bit.
Also, I wouldn't class this as a horror, per say. There's some body horror elements, but they're a bit generic and lack any new ideas. Other than that, there was no element of horror in this book, I would say its a fantasy adventure. So, if you want to read this for the horror element, pick something else.
Otherwise, it was fun and interesting. I loved seeing how far Detlef would go just to finish his play. A dedicated man, if there ever was.
I think I'll read more of the books that follow Genevieve.
Unfortunately, it fell a bit short in regards of the characters. I loved Genevieve, she was an interesting character and I could see so much potential for her to be more complicated and driven, but that wasn't capitalised on, and she fell a bit short.
There was a lot of text that focused on characters I personally didn't care much about, and I often found myself thinking "when will we get back to Genevieve".
Other than that, a few pacing issues and general predictability let this book down a bit.
Also, I wouldn't class this as a horror, per say. There's some body horror elements, but they're a bit generic and lack any new ideas. Other than that, there was no element of horror in this book, I would say its a fantasy adventure. So, if you want to read this for the horror element, pick something else.
Otherwise, it was fun and interesting. I loved seeing how far Detlef would go just to finish his play. A dedicated man, if there ever was.
I think I'll read more of the books that follow Genevieve.
tclinrow's review against another edition
4.0
It's been a long time since I played any Warhammer but it was a familiar world to step back into with this book.
It was gruesome, dramatic and detailed, just as Warhammer should be. A very good book, but I would only recommend it to people with at least a basic understanding of the Warhammer universe.
It was gruesome, dramatic and detailed, just as Warhammer should be. A very good book, but I would only recommend it to people with at least a basic understanding of the Warhammer universe.
mayastone's review against another edition
3.0
I'm surprised to be rating this 3 stars. The beginning and the ending of the story was fast paced and interesting but the middle part dragged. Once Detlef was introduced and the story became about planning the play, things moved at a snails pace, a very boring, mostly uneventful snails pace at that.
The story picked up once the acting party had arrived at Castle Drachenfels and bodies started turning up. I also really enjoyed the nasty twist that’s revealed. All in all, it was a good read despite having to slog through the middle. I will be picking up the next book.
Genevieve herself isn't much more than a sexy lamppost until the near end where she finally does some actual fighting. I liked the description of the killing frenzy, especially the physical changes she underwent during her berserker-like rage. Usually vampires are shown as basically super humans but here she truly became an "other."
3/5 – Slow in parts but ultimately worth the read.
The story picked up once the acting party had arrived at Castle Drachenfels and bodies started turning up. I also really enjoyed the nasty twist that’s revealed. All in all, it was a good read despite having to slog through the middle. I will be picking up the next book.
Genevieve herself isn't much more than a sexy lamppost until the near end where she finally does some actual fighting. I liked the description of the killing frenzy, especially the physical changes she underwent during her berserker-like rage. Usually vampires are shown as basically super humans but here she truly became an "other."
3/5 – Slow in parts but ultimately worth the read.
delton215's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75