Rage of The Vampire by Hubert L Mullins and published by Author House is the second book in the Covenant Trilogy. At approximately 512 pages this is a long book. But who wants to rush a vampire…
Hubert L Mullins grew up in a small town, Welch in Southern West Virginia, a love for writing fantasy developed at an early age but the desire to make more from his work and of his work did not come until later.
Having written numerous other pieces Mr Mullins refused to allow his work to be released into the world. Then having generated local interest in the Covenant Trilogies with his first book The Vampires of Hope’s Covenant he sought a publisher. With rejections piling up and demands for change he stuck to his original idea refusing to make any changes and eventually found himself joining Author House.
Mr Mullins has just completed the third book in the Covenant Trilogy and will soon be starting a new story titled Birth of The Vampire.
The cover art for the book Rage Of The Vampire, is a sketch created by his father artist Hubert H Mullins and depicts a female crouched in what appears to be a prison. Through a barred window the outside world in the form of a vine meanders in toward her as she sits grasping her bleeding wrist while a scratch on her head also bleeds.
The first two pages or so depict maps showing the lay of the land of North and South Corscus. These are followed by a page of Deities Who Govern Mysteria, both Good, Evil and Neutral and the prologue which gives a short history of how the vampires came to be.
Rage Of The Vampire is a dark fantasy centered on the world of Mysteria. Here we follow the heroine Kersey Avonwood a prisoner for 15 years, a simple woman with a dark and murderous core. Why she is here, is she protecting someone, something, or herself?
The deities here though worshipped seek power and control, and to be named the one true god. They'll use any means possible and anyone they can to destroy their enemy, temples and followers. In their quest war waged tearing apart Mysteria and millions of followers died or turned against their gods. As Mydian god of the underworld seeks his worst enemy a war is breaking out amongst the gods whilst others join forces to de-throne the self proclaimed one true god.
A decade has passed since Dyne's death and finally her soul has found its resting place but Dyne must return to Mysteria amongst the living to kill Kersey for Mydian before seeking her own revenge against the man who killed her and her family, her prize to see her family again.
This is a story packed with colorful characters and species including mages, warriors, alchemists, gods, vampires and dragons, and will take you on a journey crossing land, air and sea.
The vampires portrayed here aren’t the typical Anne Rice romantic version we all expect to see but are in fact terrifying creatures
With Mydianites and Ruinites out to thwart each other can Kersey acquire the spell book of Aneesa and raise her dead army to outnumber that of Mydian or will Dyne acquire the book and kill Kersey herself.
Full of different aspects of love, hate, bloody revenge, and fear, which transcends all time and place as well as the system of belief and religion. This is a book which grasps your attention from the very first page with ideas both old and new combined and deserves not to be rushed through.
Having not read the first book in the trilogy Rage of The Vampire it did take me a little longer than most to read and find a pace to the book. However, I did thoroughly enjoy what it had to offer, which was an unending tale of darkness, despair and death in a world seeking the light at the end of the tunnel.
Personally I'm used to seeing vampires in a certain light but the darkness here works just as well you won’t know whose side you are truly on.
I would recommend this book to anyone aged 18 years and over. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
However, I'd recommend reading the first book of the Hopes Covenant Trilogy before picking up this one as there were one or two occasions which left me a little baffled.
By R.N. Hadley
