Welcome aboard the Baltic Charisma
Bewertet mit 5 Sternen
Shame on me for letting this book simmer for such a long time before finally reading it. One reason was that I thought this was a zombie novel, which I was not in the mood for recently (of course, when I chose this book I was definitely interested, but right then I had a couple other books lined up on my TBR which prevented me from digging right in, and then it was kind of 'too late'). Another reason was the book's length, which made me hesitate as well - could a doorstopper like this in a genre like that actually hold my interest? Now that I've read the book I can't understand my needless hesitation at all, because the book was a real gem. While the fact that the 'monsters' here where no zombies at all (which in the end makes no dramatic difference I guess) I am pleased to see that there are still some great new vampire stories to be found, and this is among the best. I love that the author focused so much on the characters and took his time building them with so much detail. I immediately felt 'at home' aboard the Baltic Charisma and familiar not only with the crew and passengers, but the ship itself as well. The vampire angle was well created and I appreciated the way the vampires, especially the first ones aboard, were portrayed, and that the vampire world was not all black and white - I would almost say some vampires actually kept their conscience after turning, but that may come across as weird. However, I was fascinated by how the vampires seemed to keep, or enhance, their former characteristics with some of them adapting better and faster than others, regaining control of their minds and actions and not simply succumbing to their hunger for blood. A very remarkable vampire story and a new author to watch out for.
(thanks to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)