Review: 13 Bullets by David Wellington

Book Details:
ISBN: 978-0-307-38143-9
Pub. Date: May, 2007
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 336 pages


From the Back:

All the official reports say they are dead--extinct since the late '80s, when a fed named Arkeley nailed the last vampire in a fight that nearly killed him. But the evidence proves otherwise.

When a state trooper named Caxton calls the FBI looking for help in the middle of the night, it is Arkeley who gets the assignment--who else? He's been expecting such a call to come eventually. Sure, it has been years since any sign of an attack, but Arkeley knows what most people don't: there is one left. In an abandoned asylum she is rotting, plotting, and biding her time in a way that only the undead can.

Caxton is out of her league on this case and more than a little afraid, but the fed made it plain that there is only one way out. But the worst thing is the feeling that the vampires want more that just her blood. They want her for a reason, one she can't guess; a reason her sphinx like partner knows but won't say; a reason she has to find out--or die trying.

Now there are only 13 bullets between Caxton and Arkeley and the vampires. There are only 13 bullets between us, the living, and them, the damned.

My Take:

This book was recommended to me in a posting over at Library Thing. I had just finished reading The Strain and drneutron thought I would like it. Well, he was correct. There are a lot of vampire novels available. This one falls, without a doubt, into the horror genre. There is nothing pretty about these vampires.

There is quite a bit of violence in this novel. The vampires are monsters and the humans are not much of an obstacle for them. Arkeley, the seasoned vampire hunter, is the strong, alpha male type hero. He recruits the assistance of Laura Caxton, a young lesbian police officer that encounters a vampire at a roadblock. Wellington handles the storyline of Caxton being a lesbian with great tact. I was worried that she would be portrayed as a really bad stereotype, but I was completely wrong.

Wellington creates a unique vampire methodology. These vampires are strong monsters and nearly unstoppable. They can heal themselves, more so when they have reserves of blood in their system. They also have the power to raise the dead and force them into servitude, although these servants lose strength somewhat quickly.

Overall, this is a solid vampire story. It does well as a stand alone novel, but I understand it is book one of a series featuring Laura Caxton. I will add the next book to my wish list and see if the series delivers down the line.


About the Author:
David Wellington was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Syracuse University and later received an MFA in creative writing from Penn State. David also holds a masters degree in Library Science from the Pratt Institute. He is the author of seven novels. His novels include a series on zombies, a series on vampires, and his latest novel, Frostbite, begins a series featuring Werewolves.