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Title: V-Wars
Series: V-Wars #1
Editor: Jonathan Maberry
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 405
Words: 154.5K

Synopsis:

From Vwars.fandom.com

Conceived of and edited by Bram Stoker Award-winner Jonathan Maberry, V-Wars: is an anthology series of ‘eyewitness accounts’ and ‘frontline reports’ from the vampire apocalypse. After an ancient virus that causes vampire-like symptoms is accidentally released during an Antarctic expedition, humanity must scramble to survive. In this collection of interconnected but unique tales, contributing authors Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, James A. Moore, Gregory Frost, John Everson, Keith R. A. DeCandido, and Scott Nicholson offer gripping accounts of a world spinning towards war and destruction.

My Thoughts:

The “synopsis” was the best I could find without writing my own. A set of authors all write multiple short stories about a character and Maberry, the editor and one of the contributors, weaves the stories all together into one tapestry. So you'll get a chapter from Maberry about Character X, then a chapter by Navarro about Character A, etc. Most of the characters have no overlap and are written so as to give a broader view of the events happening.

Which basically is that vampires make a huge comeback and how humanity deals with it. This was what I want in a vampire story. Vamps kill humans in one way or another, bloody and violent and it's all kill or be killed. The thing is, one or two characters are perfectly slotted into the “Woke” side of things and bleat about vamps and it not being their fault and we just have to understand and try to get along with them. They were perfectly done and it took all of my mighty might to appreciate that instead of raging at a fictitional character.

The main reason this is getting only 3.5 instead of 4 is because along with the blood and violence associated with vamps, we also get the sexual side of things. There were too many near explicit scenes for me to be comfortable with. If this trend continues in the next book I'm afraid that it will be the last book in the series I read.

Right at the end there is a character who is revealed as an anti-vamp. She's a werewolf and transforms in the presence of vampires and kills them. It was awesome!

In many ways this reminded me of the Necroscope series in both good and bad ways. That was another vampire series I had to stop, so we'll see what happens with this one.

★★★✬☆ ( )

The best way to describe this collaboration is as an anthology, but it's different to most. The stories are broken up and interwoven, painting a gradual picture of unfolding events. I felt like there was a lack of resolution at the end, but then again the nature of the narrative didn't really allow for it. Overall, it's a great read. And there are echoes of current events that give it a bit of an extra kick. ( )

V Wars: A Chronicle of the Vampire Wars was released in 2010. I did not come across it until 2012. I am so glad I did not miss it. V Wars in an unique anthology. It is a collection of several stories that all have some connection. The first story “Junk” is by Jonathan Maberry. It is the jumping off point for all the stories that follow. “Junk” has six parts but they are dispersed throughout the book. All of the multi part stories are dispersed. All the different stories are threads that weave a very compelling tapestry. V Wars creates a fertile universe as illustrated by the sequels. My favorite thread was “Epiphany” by Yvonne Navarro.

The narration was fantastic. The team of narrators was first rate. It included Cassandra Campbell, Gabrielle de Cuir, Roxanne Hernadez, Arte Johnson, Stefan Rudnicki, Wil Wheaton. Each narrator handled a different thread of the overall collection. Each did a fantastic job with any accents, male vs female characteristics and conveying emotion.

I enjoyed V Wars: A Chronicle of the Vampire Wars so much that I am currently listening to V Wars: Night Terrors (2015). I will eventually get to V Wars: Blood and Fire: New Stories of the Vampire Wars (2014). I really enjoy the ensemble aspect of this audiobook, not only in the author's’ writing but in the narrator's’ also.
( )

While this is a collection of short stories, the overall effect is reminiscent of World War Z by Max Brooks and Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson with different narration threads creating a history of the end of the world. It feels like a single story, not a collection.

The story starts just as the virus I1V1 hits the population after being released from polar ice. We watch as the virus activates dormant genes in "junk" DNA causing multiple vampire types from folklore to appear, as well as a few werewolf types. The entire world is "infected", with the stories focusing on the US and New York. Human takes on a entirely different meaning, as the apocalypse starts, and arrives, from a source we never suspected. ( )

This isn’t the apocalypse, it’s genetic de-evolution?

V Wars reminded me somewhat of World War Z by Max Brooks except this was with vampires instead of zombies and V Wars was written by a handful of authors instead of one. Each chapter it switches to a different character thread.

Reading V Wars made me so curious as to how this book was plotted out. Did Maberry plot the whole thing and pitch the story or did all of the authors brainstorm together? I seriously want to know!

There were a few of the character threads that I extremely enjoyed, first of which being the one written by Jonathan Maberry called Junk . This is the first chapter written by him (and it continues in several more chapters throughout the book.) Several story threads work that way. It successfully captured my attention from page one. It was intense, comical at times and naughty in others – of course with the expected blood and gore! Above all it sets a great scene and tone for all of the stories to follow.

Roadkill by Nancy Holder was a great one with an unexpected twist ending. It is a look at how a small town might be held captive by mosters, the human kind. Another favorite is Vulpes by Gregory Frost. I love the character he created and the awesome folklore that is melded into this one.

Overall, I enjoyed V Wars but I did feel some of the stories were not as well written as others. I’d recommend it too any vampire and apocalyptic fans. Though if you aren’t the type to like a disjointed storytelling style this may not be for you. ( )