In the Godforsaken badlands of Transylvania the fragile truce between mankind and monsters is about to explode…When bounty hunters target one of 19th century Europe’s most feared vampire clans, the last place any lawman wants to be is caught in the middle… him in a supernatural stand-off that can end only in a bloodbath.
A gang of mercenaries led by Anton’s former army comrade Milosh Drubrick have captured vampire aristocrat Stefan Modjeski, wanted for a string of frenzied murders, and have come to Anton to claim the reward. And as Stefan’s predatory undead kin lay siege to the jailhouse, Anton is faced with an agonising choice – hand over his prisoner and abandon the bounty hunters to their unspeakable fate, or stand and fight.
The jailhouse defenders are outnumbered and out of options. It’s a battle that can’t be won, certain slaughter for them all, and Anton can’t trust his scheming allies. But Lord Marshal Yoska isn’t about to surrender.
For he’s an experienced vampire hunter, a dangerous man when cornered, and a single minded warrior who knows there are worse things to fear than death…
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It has been a very long time since I read a true, horror filled vampire novel. Crimson Siege is exactly what I was hoping it would be and more! There is no paranormal romance, the vampires in this novel are blood-thirsty monsters and they are scary.
This is one action packed novel, that sucks (pun intended) you in from the beginning and keeps you until the very end. I could not put it down, and read it in one day. I loved the gothic, historical writing style of Jay Raven. I loved the twists and turns, and I loved the creepy factor that stayed with me through the entire novel. I absolutely love when a horror novel is actually scary.
There are a ton of characters, but each one was unique and different from the others. It’s a testament to Jay Raven’s incredible writing skills. I had no trouble differentiating any of the characters.
I could go on and on, but I think you really should just read the book. This is a scary rollercoaster, full of twists and turns, that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Even if horror is not normally your thing, I highly suggest you check out Crimson Siege! It’s on my list of favorites read this year!
*I received this book as part of a blog tour. All opinions are my own.*
A wonderful story of revenge, honor and bloodlust, this one has it all and them some! It begins with a gang of bounty hunters on a mission of greed as they set a trap to capture the son of an infamous vampire family, but the leader has an ulterior motive as to the destination he wants to drop off this bounty. Anton,the marshall Lord for a dried up mining backwater town is forced into the conflict between the vampires and the bounty hunter gang, opening up old scars and memories of his deed during the vampire wars. There’s a lot of horror, violence and many unexpected twists that will keep you turning the pages, just to see how story will unfold.This is a book that is difficult to put down and will, dare I say it, sink its fangs into you and keep you mesmerized from start to finish! I highly recommend this one for those that love all things vampire and horror. You won’t be disappointed.
“You’ll have no trouble telling when the moment is right”
“By the gunfire?”
“By the screams.”
You know when you watch a really scary movie, and you put your hands over your eyes, trying to block out the horror. Only, you can’t NOT watch it, you have to spread your fingers out just a little and peek through because no matter how scary it is, or how gory it is, you just can’t turn away? Well, I couldn’t very well read my Kindle like that, but it was tempting!! I was on the edge of my seat!!
Anton Yoska is the Lord Marshal in Brejnei, a small town on the farthest spot on the Transylvania map. He’s a legend in history -known as a warrior in the war against the vampire Bretheren. The lone survivor of the bloodiest battle at Ossiak. Something he’d just as soon forget. He’s left that part of him in the past. His concern now is his dying wife, Sophia and trying to keep law and order in this sleepy town. Now, a rival with vengeance on his mind has brought evil to his front gate. A move that will throw the tenuous balance between Humanity and the Bretheren off kilter, with deadly consequences. With a choice to make, neither ending with him alive, Anton is forced to put his trust in the untrustworthy in the battle of his life – of all of their lives.
Milosh Drubrick wants revenge for what Anton did to him. He lost years because of that man. Now, he’s drawn up a diabolical plan that will give Anton no survivable choice. He’ll have to take custody of the Bretheren Prince Stefan, pay Milosh the bounty, and then deal with the Modjeski vampire family, who will surely not allow him to live. It’s fool proof! When that plan goes awry, and Milosh finds himself and his band of vigilante hunters barricaded in the prison with Anton, fighting a impossible war, and outnumbered by the Modjeski’s, he realizes Anton isn’t the only one that has the target on his back. Can anyone be trusted? Will any of them make it out alive?
I love a good horror story. This one isn’t good, it’s great! It was full of action, twists and turns, betrayal, and delicious bloodbaths! Gore Galore!! Loved it! As this is clearly marked as Book One, expect a bit of a cliffy, but that only leaves you craving Book Two!!
Jay Raven is a new author to me. Although it took a chapter or two for me to really get into the book, once I did, I did not want to put it down. Such a varied cast of characters. This book definitely has carnage, self-sacrifice, love and hatred. Add a little deceit and some minor trickery and this book keeps you hooked. My favorite characters were Quintz and Samson, but I was also pulling for Stephan too. Not all the characters will make it to book 2, will your favorites survive? I am looking forward to the next installment to see what is in store for those that survived. And I so can’t forget to mention, I did not see the secret one character was keeping. Fantastic book!
After the first few pages, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down, until I got to The End. If you like dark, absolutely unpredictable, twisted, raise-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck type of horror thriller as much as I do, you can’t go wrong with this book!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Like watching a train wreck, what’s happening is horrible but you can’t look away.
It’s pretty hard to find an author who can do what I call the ‘unremitting march of doom,’ where every turn in the story is a step toward the worse and you can’t look away. Jay Raven is one such author, and is to be commended for his artful debut novel.
I found the first two thirds of the novel much better than the final act. The first two acts are well constructed, and in some ways, masterfully so, with boldly drawn larger than life characters and a creeping, every tightening sense of impending doom that builds an excellent foundation for the climax of the story.
If I was rating the first two acts, I’d give this book a solid 4.5 to 5 stars. However, the last act was a let down for the following reasons.
[1] The major villains are arrogant well past the boundary of stupidity weakening the tension of the finale with consistently dubious choices. Please save me from blazingly stupid villains.
[2] Characters that could be safely deemed to be dead, are revived to fight again – to effect a critical turn around of events. (Although, the particular character in question I’m happy to see survive.)
[3] Characters made value decisions that seemed poorly motivated (i.e. that didn’t ‘sell well,’ as fully authentic to this reader), where those decisions were required to move the narrative forward – a case of narrative driving the character, rather than character driving the narrative.
The ending was a missed opportunity that failed to live up to the promise of the first two thirds of the book – however it will still serve for many a reader, there are moments of true dark poetic beauty written in courage, death, and perseverance beyond all bounds of hope. There’s talent here, for sure.
To sum up, there’s plenty of action, and dramatic scenes of high emotion and grisly fare, and there are many readers who will love this book all the way through.
Wow! This was a cool action packed vampire book!
Our hero is Lord Marshal, Anton Yoska who is the marshal of the town of Brejnei which is located in the badlands of Transylvania. Bounty hunters arrive in the town with a very interesting prisoner, the vampire prince Stephan Modjeski. Anton is beyond upset when he finds out who they captured as he knows that he will be having a very bad day when the Modjeski vampire clan arrive to rescue the prince.
The Modjeski vampires are considered very dangerous when you piss them off and Anton fears that when they arrive all hell will break loose. Which that is exactly what happens and Anton has to not only protect his own family, he has to protect the town. Does the town survive the attack? Who lives? Who dies? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book.
The book starts out just a little slow as it forms the characters and the storyline, but once it gets going, it is like a train with no brakes as the momentum keeps rolling along till it is at full throttle with steam blowing out of the engine of this book!
At 50% I was having a hard time even laying this book down. At 70% the kindle was attached to my hand as I would take the book with me into the dining room so I could eat and read at the same time. The last 30% of the book I finished last night before bed as I knew I would not be able to sleep till it was completed and I stayed up till after midnight completing the story. New author and new vampire series! Looking forward to the second book in this series! Five stars for this one!