Vamp-Hire
Author: Gerald Dean RicePublisher: Permuted Press
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Book Description via amazon.com--
Mankind has won the Vampire Conflict. But the cost of victory is that a few humans have been turned into vamps–half human, half vampire. Prejudice against the vamps is high so finding work is near impossible. Plus, the slightest infraction could send any one of them back to the Pens, a place that’s as awful as any place on Earth.
Nick is a loner who walks a narrow line between legal and illegal to make ends meet. He begrudgingly shares his home with a woman and her young child and finds work doing odd jobs suited only to vamps. When a chance encounter seems like it could lead into real work, Nick discovers he’s in more danger than ever. The military is trying to kidnap him, and something old and hungry has begun to roam the streets preying on his kind. To fight this ancient evil, he has to reach out to his own kind for help–and decide how human he is after all.
I usually cringe when I hear the word Young-Adult(YA), and reviewing another YA novel wasn't one of my top priorities. But when the author has a past of producing some great horror fiction like Mr. Rice; I would be stupid to pass of the opportunity.
The story is set in a world where humans have survived a vampire war. Like all wars there are casualties. Since the conflict some have been turned into hybrids known as 'Vamps'(half human half vampire). The world hasn't come to terms with these new 'vamps' so prejudice and emotions run high leading to the hybrids being incarcerated in the 'pens' or worse dead.
Nick is the primary focus of the story. He is a loner and a 'vamp' struggling to survive and to stay out of the 'pens'. As a reader, it was fun to follow the character of Nick as he began to explore and push himself to new boundaries.
Below the fabric of this YA vampire story, sits a concept that mirrors today's society. Ex-cons are often looked down upon and rejected for jobs that they would have been hired for if not for the fact they were in prison. I could go on about the parallels between the society in the story and our own, but that would make for boring reading and plus this is just my personal opinion.
"Vamp-Hire" is another great read from the author and I hope to see Nick's journey continue in future stories.
