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of the Eastern Front: The Blood Red Army
Fiends of the Eastern
Front: The Blood Red Army
David Bishop
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What to Expect:
More bloody horror in the trenches, as Constanta and his vampires turn their
attention on Leningrad.
Review by Richmond
Clements
13th
May 06
David Bishop returns to
the Fiends universe, this time shifting the action quite a distance to the north
of the first book. This novel is set against the backdrop of the siege of Leningrad,
and while the first book dealt with the vampires from the point of view of the
German troops, this time we are in the trenches with the Russians.
Interestingly, Bishop has
elected to write this book in first person. I can’t think of any other books
in the 2k series that have tried this, but on this occasion it’s the right
decision, pulling the reader into the story and creating an almost instant connection
with the narrator. The tale of the siege is related to us by a Russian army officer
called Victor Zunetov. Things start well, with the reader settling in as Zunetov
recounts his experiences as he is sent to the besieged city However, things as
soon turned on their head, and he finds himself in a situation he hadn’t,
to say the very least, counted on.
This is before we get to
the vampires, too. They as more to the fore here than they were in the previous
book, and it’s not just vampires this time round. Bishops pulls out a new
bag of tricks, as Constanta tries out a new method of terror and gives us a stonking
action scene later in the book. But even so, they are still not the main focus
of the story. This is essentially the tale of a group of soldiers in a bad situation.
For my money, genuine horror
comes not from the fantastic, but from people doing terrible things to other people.
Bishop, I think, may agree with this- as by far the most disturbing incident in
this violent and bloody tale doesn’t involve the undead at all. Bishop also
evokes the appalling conditions in the freezing, bombed out city well. The reader
will find themselves shivering alongside the characters in the unrelenting cold.
As for the plot, at first
things just drift along, as we follow the narrator through a series of incidents,
both natural and supernatural. Gradually, as we are drip fed bits and pieces of
information, things begin to come together, and Constanta’s master plan
becomes clearer, thus ensuring our presence when the final book of published.
Some of the many action scenes are nothing short of spectacular, though at times
they err on the side of the incredible, as again and again the brave group of
heroes fight off overwhelming odds. Well, I say ‘heroes’. Bishop introduces
a cast of characters that are anything but. They are an interesting bunch, to
say the least.
One minor disappointment
though, was that none of the characters the reader has invested in from the first
novel make an appearance in this one, except for a brief mention.
But in the grand scheme
of things, that is really a useless gripe. The cast here are more than able to
hold the book together, and hopefully we’ll see them return in the next
volume.
Yet again, Mr Bishops turns
in a quality product. This one might even be better than the first volume, and
that was great. Roll on Vol. 3, is all I can say.
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