fantasy and science fiction book reviewsfantasy book review Alicia Benson The First Vampire: A Novel of Samson and DelilahThe First Vampire by Alicia Ryan

I am a big fan of alternate history books and urban fantasy. Alicia Ryan has done a more than adequate job of blending the two into a fun book. The First Vampire is a story based on the Biblical Samson and his seductress/destroyer Delilah. Ryan weaves urban fantasy into the culmination of a millennia long search by Samson to have his final revenge.

The First Vampire takes elements of alternate history to explain how vampirism came to be through a fluke event. There are twists and turns to the story and a fair amount of sexually explicit tension and activity. This book has some hard edges and treads on some very interesting themes of Christianity without attempting to make any judgment. Ryan keeps a light shining amidst the dark.

On the whole I found Ryan’s writing style to be entertaining and the storyline to be complex enough to keep my attention. The First Vampire is a quick read with a rapid-paced plot. The First Vampire appears to be book one in a series and leaves us with plenty to anticipate in the future.

And Kudos to Ryan for being willing to kill important characters instead of the usual habit of keeping everyone alive until the story grows stagnant.

 

The Samson & Delilah Chronicles — (2010-2012) Some journeys take more than one lifetime. Ever since Delilah turned him into a vampire, Samson has been plotting revenge against his former lover. When he finally catches up with her in modern-day New York, it seems he has all the time in the world to see that the last chapter of their sordid saga is finally written. Much like old enemies, however, old passions die hard, and Samson is forced to make a surprisingly hard choice — does he want her dead more than he wants her back? Intelligent, disquieting, and deeply erotic, THE FIRST VAMPIRE cleverly weaves the past into the present in a captivating tapestry of suspense, intrigue, romance and betrayal.

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Note: Alicia Ryan is the author formerly known as Alicia Benson.

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  • John Hulet

    JOHN HULET is a member of the Utah Army National Guard. John’s experiences have often left a great void that has been filled by countless hours spent between the pages of a book lost in the words and images of the authors he admires. During a 12 month tour of Iraq, he spent well over $1000 on books and found sanity in the process. John lives in Utah and works slavishly to prepare soldiers to serve their country with the honor and distinction that Sturm Brightblade or Arithon s’Ffalenn would be proud of. John retired from FanLit in March 2015 after being with us for nearly 8 years. We still hear from him every once in a while.

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