Vampire City and Tales From the Shadows
by Matthew Bellingham
Copyright: © 2008
256 Pages
$18.04 Paperback
Free E-book (Preview)
ISBN: 978-1-4303-0756-3
Okay, put all of your preconceived thoughts away. Matthew Bellingham’s book, Vampire City and Tales from the Shadows, is NOT just another vampire story. Sure, there are lots of them out there. We all know who Anne Rice is. Stephenie Meyer has earned her place on the New York Times Bestseller with her “thick” YA series. But Bellingham has actually written a book that has a bit more to offer than just some dramatic old blood sucking villains. His book has much more than bite!
The title story is actually in two parts followed by three other short stories, each having its on different set of characters and plot that attempt to keep you awake at night. We’ll discuss those first.
“Holocaust of the Dead” is a fun zombie story. It takes place in a town where strange dog attacks are taking place and turning the survivors into the undead, while one man fights for his survival. Sound familiar? Yeah, I immediatly conjured up images from movies like 28 Days and I am Legend. Here’s a taste:
Slowly he stepped towards the corner; he heard a tearing sound. Eventually he came to the Dr; the zombie was eating him. Keith was dead; his stomach had become the creature’s dinner.
It’s a quick read at 32 pages, and although it doesn’t present the reader with any new take on the “living dead” theme (does one even exist?), I still found it to be a fun engaging, and even humorous, read at times. I think it would make an excellent graphic novel or comic. If there are any artists out there interested in a project, maybe you should get in touch with Matthew.
Next is my favorite of the other stories: “Mars 2050.” It’s a science fiction spin on the end of planet Earth in the year 2030. Again, nothing new, but the author actually saves mankind in the beginning by putting us on spaceships and sending us out there to look for other planets to live on. Scientists are immediately drawn to Mars and begin making it suitable for human life. Just like us humans to go in and sling up a Wal-Mart and a Starbucks! There’s already life there, but it’s not acid dripping aliens waiting to be destroyed by Sigourney Weaver. Instead, the aliens are a bit exotic and docile, so we make some new friends. But then things go terribly wrong! “Mars 2050″ is actually my favorite story, and I read it twice. Out of all 3 of the extra stories, it’s where the author’s writing style and imagination really shines.
Last is “Project Z,” where scientists are in a remote jungle and tampering with genetics to create the ultimate warrior. Suddenly, all contact with the compound is ceased and we send in a military unit called the RAZOR to find out what happened. Now, this story begins with potential, especially since we are obviously in the future (RAZOR travels in a really cool spaceship), but this thriller suffers from too much description and too many semicolons. The author gives too much useless detail where it’s not needed, and not enough where I did want it. Sorry Matt! Here’s a sample:
The squad’s Commander was Craig Hawking; he was tall and like the others was in the squad uniform, which was black with grey patches, and an armour chest plate. Craig’s hazel eyes swept over the other members of the unit: Sergeant Darren Smyth, Corporal Charlotte Jenkins, and Privates Leon Martinez, Marvin Dawson, Brian Pippin, Christopher Weaver, Nicole Trent, Patrick Williams, Alan Peters, Maria Pedro, Kristine Clayton, Neil Lewis, Peter Samson, Richard Hayes, Thomas Butler, Shawn Gray, Mikhail Francis, Matthew Black, and Jamie Cross. All were battle-hardened marines skilled in various versions of combat.
Lastly, the title story “Vampire City” is where the author has put forth his best effort. Jason Brook, a former British Special Police member, is called to America by an old friend who believes someone is trying to kill him. Simon, the friend, believes his neighbor is a vampire.
The story that plays out is a fun sexy twist on the vampire story as a whole, with a bit of predictable mystery thrown in. It only suffers from the author’s love of detail that only clouds up the story and causes a reader to stumble through. This is an old argument that I’m afraid as our attention spans decrease, the “lack of detail” side of this fuss will win. I remember reading in Stephen King’s On Writing, that he didn’t like to spend any time on describing what characters looked like or what they were wearing. He left all of that up to the reader’s imagination. Bellingham, I’m afraid, spends too much time on describing appearances, and then the progress of the story suffers. For instance, when Jason arrives at Simon’s house in the very beginning, there is no dialog for 7 pages. We are only “told” what is happening as they first face the mysterious female vampire, rather than being shown.
Overall, Matthew Bellingham’s book is a nice attempt and has great potential. The art gallery on his website proves that I think his writing style would be excellent for comics or graphic novels. The cover of this book is superb, and with a little polishing and practice, I know future work from this author will be just as appealing.
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