A Thrilling Dark Fantasy Action AdventureHunters and vampires are fighting a secret war for control of the fabric of reality. Whoever acquires mastery of the reality shifting powers of the Metaframe will become the new gods of the universe.“Imagine if you could change the rules of the game, what rules would you choose?”Witness to a brutal murder, eighteen year old Anton Slayne is inducted by the … choose?”
Witness to a brutal murder, eighteen year old Anton Slayne is inducted by the mysterious Mr Wu into the secret society of vampire hunters, the Order of Thoth. He soon discovers that vicious local gangsters, determined Boston Police Detectives, and relentless Shadowstone operatives pale into insignificance as he is drawn into the machinations of the enigmatic vampire general, Chloe Armitage.
Heir to a legacy of extraordinary powers, Anton joins a team of hunters, but that is no guarantee of survival against the most powerful vampires in the world, especially when they’re equipped with the latest available technology and super weapons.
“When mastery over your soul is at stake, survival is the least of your problems.”
“Like Underworld on speed, it’s got all the adrenaline and action-packing shots of entertainment you could want, wrapped up in a no-nonsense narrative.” – Adam Smith, Cultured Vultures
Be prepared to be blown away by a high-octane, dark fantasy, action adventure thriller, that would be at home in a summer movie blockbuster.
Join the heroes of the Metaframe War, buy A Subtle Agency now.
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Like Brian Lumley’s “Necroscope” series, “Metaframe” is a spy thriller with vampires. Here, the vampires’ agents employ state-of-the-art tracking devices, civil information-gathering, electronic forgery, and a small army of state-authorized operatives to track down our hero, Anton Smith. I can totally get into modern-day vampires utilizing all these resources.
Chapter 1 begins with a cavalcade of names and characters listed and no way to keep track of them. We are told about Chloe, Marcus, Cornelius and his five generals, Anna, William, Anton, Arthur, James, Louise, Jean Philippe, along with mention of an Order and a Dominion and a Red Empire. Throughout, there are a lot of names thrown out, both characters and technical terms, and both pivotal and peripheral. I think that “A Subtle Agency” would have played better if it started with our hero, Anton, and we were to experience what’s happening through his innocent eyes.
If you can get through that, the techno-thriller that follows is cool. At about the one-third mark, the book really comes into its own. The pace is brisk and exciting as Anton learns of his heritage and gains allies.
“The Metaframe War” is a good spy vs. spy novel. It falls a bit short as a horror novel, despite the presence of vampires. These vampires are powerful and dangerous but not horrifying or mysterious or haunting. They kill, but so do car crashes.
Fortunately, these vampires don’t whine and bemoan their fate for 200 pages. Rodaughan’s vampires have goals and ambitions and they do whatever they need to achieve those goals. These vampires are evil.
Their leader is Cornelius Crane, who overlooks the Vampire Dominion from atop the tallest building in New York City. Despite having existed for a thousand years, Crane battles organizations even older.
These enemies, the Order of Thoth and the Red Empire, also try to keep up with the times, despite being as old as civilization. But these two organizations hate one another and spend more time fighting each other than the Undead. That is totally believable.
Harder to relate to, however, is the vampires themselves. I hate when vampires come off as superheroes, smashing through the wall with their fists (as one does). I prefer when they maintain their supernatural mystery and not become something that’s analyzed under a microscope. But many writers and readers seem to prefer this, so I’m clearly in the minority.
The writing is fast-paced, though it could use more dialog and less brooding thoughts. Periodically, sentences run on and should be broken into two sentences, but overall, this is good writing.
The plot, with vampires manipulating human affairs and a handful of humans fighting an uphill battle against them, is very clever.
The action is very good, though a little complicated if you’re not familiar with all the weapons and technology presented. There’s an epic fight scene at the end with tons of swordplay, gunplay, and explosions.
The characters might be the weakest part of the story. Yes, the villains are evil but they are also rather stiff. Of the heroes, the Wu family are the best developed and likeable. Anton, at one and the same time, can come off as inept and then turn around and be just a little too perfect. I think I would have liked this plot better if we had been following an everyman. (The relationship between Anton and Li seems inspired by the characters from “Pacific Rim”.)
Quibble: I can’t imagine Anton, or anyone, asking “What’s at Riker’s Island?” as it’s one of the oldest and largest jails in America. But considering the author is Australian, that’s a small quibble. Still, I enjoyed “Metaframe War” and I look forward to seeing the next book.
A Subtle Agency was a very unique, energetic and creative story. It is a ‘smooth read’ and enjoyable, but to a very specific audience (Specifically fans of the Matrix and Underworld films). It utilizes extensive detail, especially during the great deal of high-octane action throughout. However, the story becomes very blurred at times, making it hard to follow the various groups, alliances, hidden intentions, and even the thoughts versus dialogue of each character. It also does a good deal of foreshadowing, leaving a lot of unanswered questions entering the next book in the series.
I was left breathless throughout the whole book from beginning to end as I jumped back into the Metaframe War on my fourth time reading the book!
I have made it a habit to reread this series every year as it has turned into a tradition now to keep things fresh in my mind before the author releases the next book in the series which another book is coming next year, so I thought I would tip-toe back through the series for another traditional ramp!
A little backstory:
A Subtle Agency kick starts this whole series of books off with a bang!
Secret organizations, high tech weaponry, vampires (lethal and vicious) and the hero of the story, Anton Slayne.
Anton’s world is thrown upside down when he answers the door one night letting in a beautiful woman who murders his parents right before his eyes. The world that he thought he knew does not exist as there is far more dangerous creatures walking the earth: vampires. From the moment of his parents murder, this books takes off like lightning! Other characters come along in the story to assist Anton on his journey into the Metaframe War.
Let me give you an insight to what I am talking about: Take all the books in this series and compare them to these movies. Mission Impossible (for intrigue, conspiracies, and high tech gadgets), Underworld/Blade (vampires that have superhuman physical abilities, resilience to pain, healing powers, excellent sword fighters, and able to move at lightning speed); Submachine gun action; add a dash of high tech vehicles including a stealth helicopter; then add martial arts sword fighting to the mix like you would see in the movies Underworld; and you have one hell of an action packed/marital arts series that just happens to include vampires!
The action is intense, the characters are constantly in high gear, and the book thunders along at the speed of light!
Movie cinema action is constant within these pages to the point that your heart careens out of control as your fingers fly across the pages! This first book sets the tone for the rest of the series and once you enter this world there is no going back as it will pull you along into the Metaframe War! This book is staying at five stars as it deserves nothing less!
Highly recommend this book for action adventure/urban fantasy fans!