Kell's Legend (Book 1 of the clockwork Vampire Chronicles)

Title: Kell's Legend (Book 1 of the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles)

Author: Andy Remic

Publisher: Angry Robot Books

Publication Date: August 2010

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 444

Kell's Legend is an epic fantasy in the tradition of the writings of David Gemmel. It is a wonderful blend of fantasy and horror. Yes, there is action, plenty of action. Yes there is blood, buckets and buckets of blood. Yes, this book will test the boundaries of your imagination. But it does so very very well.

Example: Get used to the idea of a vampire race (called "vachines") that is partly humanoid, partly mechanical. The vampires have clockwork gears working underneath the flesh. Their fangs are metallic. Instead of out and out blood, they need "Blood Oil" to survive. There is a hierarchy of vampires and those that do not take to the mechanization become abominations....with a use.

The main character, Kell, is a retired soldier who wants to live out the rest of his life in peace and quiet. He has a grand daughter, Nienna, that he loves very much. However, his own daughters want nothing to do with him.

When the invading army comes from the north, Nienna learns a bit of Kells past. The he is indeed the Kell of legend. Kell and Nienna, along with her friend Kat and a swordsman named Saark, escape from the city and barely manage to stay one step ahead of the enemy. This frantic pace is kept up through out the book.

You will also meet a vachine character named Anukis. She is a different sort of vachine. Her father is needed to help the vachine race survive and yet she does not know where he is. She is taken prisoner by an engineer named Yashell, who is desperate to find her father as well.

Both story lines are juggled and brought together by the end of the book. Speaking of the end of the book.....SPOILER ALERT....the book ends on a cliff hanger. So you might want to pick up the second book (Soul Stealers) if you are the sort of person who has to jump right into the second one.

All in all, this was one hell of a read. Very much worth the time (which goes fast) to read.

5 stars out of 5    

Re-read factor 5 out of 5