Young archaeologist, Zoe Miller, seems to be having a run of real bad luck lately. In the months after her mother’s death, she discovers she belongs to a race beings called Fangborns. Werewolves, Vampires and Oracles, who protect mankind from evil. Great! Until her cousin is kidnapped by a psychotic Russian mobster, sending her on an international race to save him and there also might be something about her having the ability to destroy the world.
At first this book had me a little confused. The Werewolves and Vampires story has been done to death, but adding the Russian mobster? It felt like the author was not confident in the story. That will teach me to judge a book by its blurb.
(Thanks, Twilight and Underworld for ruining Vampires and Werewolves for me.)
Well, Twilight and Underworld this is not, there is nothing sparkly about the vampires and the moon doesn’t affect the werewolves in this world nor are they at war with each other, phew. This book is unique, from the storylines to the characters and culture. It is fantastic. Each being in this book is nothing like their mainstream counterparts. Werewolves are the same, but are not affected by silver or the moon. Vampires are not bats, but snakes like creatures with the powers of healing and persuasion and Oracles aren’t really explained in this book, but they seem to have the ability to sense people in their surroundings.
While the story reminded me a little of Tomb Raider, the Russian Mobster and the Fangborn storylines blend together nicely. It was part of it, the main narrative is about the Fangborns. It does make the stakes feel very high, of course, since the main character was meant to be put through hell.
The characters aren’t bad, Zoe is a wise cracking protagonist, she is likeable, but her mumbles do get a little irritating, but then again, she does feel like she is crazy half the time so it does fit. My favorite characters are Gerry and Claudia, their interactions are just comedy gold, especially when placed in a room filled with phallic symbols.
The writing style is a very descriptive and historical, taking you to exotic European countries and time periods. I did feel a little like I was in history class learning about ancient Greek cultures. The Fangborn as a culture seems to be very interesting and the idea of mankind being this big evil and Fangborns revealing themselves to us does makes me want to look out for the rest of the books in the series, because how would humanity respond to learning that there is a whole culture out there running behind the scenes. I want to see where it goes. Mysterious character Adam Nichlos commented ‘We kill each other over the colour of the bandana we wear, how can we deal with your kind?’
Overall, ‘Seven Kinds of Hell’ is an interesting read, at times it did become a little confusing, but as soon as it shoots out of the gate you will not stop until the end of the book.
If you want to check it out it is on Amazon, Audible and your local book stores.
This review was brought to you by Kindle for Samsung. Like reading? Want a free book every month? Has a Samsung mobile phone or tablet? Download Samsung for Kindle and get a free book every month.