CSFF Blog Tour: Haunt of Jackals by Eric Wilson Published 2009 by Thomas
Nelson, 401 pages. Second in the Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy.
Genre: Christian suspense/horror vampire tale
I’d rate it PG-13 if not R.
I did not intend to review this book for the Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog tour
because suspense stories are too nerve-wracking for me. I really don’t enjoy them.
However, by some oversight the publisher sent me a book. Not wanting to waste a good
book, I decided to start reading it. Sure enough, the suspense on about page 90 just was too much for me. But I can report to you what I found up to that point.
Wilson has done a great job of constructing a tale with a Christian worldview. His complex characters ring true. The action is virtually non-stop, providing a wonderful evening for adrenaline junkies unlike myself. Plus there’s the horror dimension, with the demonic undead vampires which have this uncanny ability to temporarily abandon their host bodies and take up residence in an animal. So the main characters never know if the next blackbird is a spying enemy or not. Talk about nerve-wracking!
The narrative, at least in the first part of the book, revolves around two lead characters, Cal and Gina. The point of view and narrative follows Cal for a while, then Gina. This seems to work well for this tale. Cal is one of those individuals who rose from the dead when Jesus rose from the grave. These individuals were granted immortality and given a task, to protect humanity. They recruit mortal apprentices to help them.
As the second in a trilogy, this book must have been a challenge to write in such a way
that a new reader like myself could understand what came before. I am happy to report that the explanation at the beginning of the book was adequate to the challenge, and I was able to step into the story without a hitch.
At page 90 I leave the book wondering whether the young apprentice Dov survives. I expect Gina to eventually find out that Cal is her father, and that she is half immortal. I wonder whether this news will cause her to accept the predicament she is in and become a follower of the Almighty God, rather than a modern nay-sayer. I wonder whether the Lord will intervene to rein in these all-too-powerful vampire enemies, who seem likely to overcome the good guys. I am curious about the fact that Gina has a twin brother who is not mentioned other than to say he exists. Perhaps he shows up later in this book, or in the final book.
It’s no wonder that Eric Wilson is an NYT best-selling author. He knows what he is doing.
For more info:
Eric Wilson’s Web site –http://www.wilsonwriter.com/
The Undead Trilogy Web site – http://www.jerusalemsundead.com/
Check out other blogs on the blog tour. Since I don’t have an updated list yet, these are the blogs that were listed for the last tour. It’s probably about the same.
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Rachel Briard
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Crista Richey
Cheryl Russell
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher
Great post! This was not your Twilight/Hollywood vamp story.
Good for you for making it to page 90 LOL 🙂 Really, great
post!
“The action is virtually non-stop, providing a wonderful evening for adrenaline junkies unlike myself.” This made me laugh :). Most of your surmisings are accurate, though I couldn’t help feeling that the Lord Himself was fairly absent. More about that in my next two posts :).
Pingback: Vampires and Christian Fiction – Haunt of Jackals Tour, Day 1 « A Christian Worldview of Fiction
Guess I’m a little jaded from all the suspense books and movies I’ve consumed over the years, ’cause the intensity was finally getting to a nice level. (laughing) I read the first book, and it was pretty quiet compared to this one. I was relieved to see the story picking up in Haunt of Jackals.
Pingback: Eric Wilson, Author – CSFF Blog Tour, Day 2 « A Christian Worldview of Fiction
Just had to stop by and mention that Gina’s twin brother is mentioned again later in the story, in further depth. That’s just some foreshadowing :).
Your inability to finish the book makes me want to go buy it! 🙂
Good review!
Thank you, Phyllis.
Many of your comrades on the blog tour seemed to disagree, but
it’s nice to know you understood what I was trying to do here.
I appreciate the kind words. Of course, I always want to get better
at what I do, but I’m not sure the CBA market is open to these
types of stories.
Which is fine, since my intended audience has always been those
on the fringes of faith. I have a NY agent who’s now shopping my
latest idea in the mainstream market.
Again, thanks for the encouragement.
Eric
havent read a suspense in a while. thanks.