Those Who Hunt the Night

This book was an unexpected surprise. I'm a big vampire fan, but in the 'vampires as horror' not 'vampires make good boyfriends' tradition. I had been looking for new vampire books to read when I came across Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly. I was skeptical at first. An ex-spy teams up with a vampire? As it turns out that spy, James Asher, makes a great protagonist. He isn't just ANY ex-spy. He apparently is an ex-spy familiar with the occult. He is talented without being ridiculously unbeliavable.

As for the most important part, the vampires themselves, I was pretty impressed. Hambly imagines a method for becoming a vampire that I've never heard of before. There are multiple discussions of the nature of the vampiric condition. The vampires themselves are fleshed out with varying talents and personalities (and no, being irresistibly seductive is not one of those talents). Most importantly, they're pretty darn creepy!

I unexpectedly loved this book for the great alternative history world it created and its refreshing take on vampires.