I had previously read a trilogy by David Wellington, and the short version of that review is the first book was fantastic, the second was lacking, and the third was better but not as good as the first. However, despite the fact that I wasn’t thrilled with the second and third books, the first one was so good that I have been itching to pick up more of his stuff. I finally did.
13 Bullets is a story about vampires. In the world he crafts, vampires exist and everyone knows about them, but vampires are extremely rare so people often forget that they exist or at least deny to themselves that they are really real. These are not your Anne Rice vampires, these are vicious monsters who thirst for blood. In fact, the more they eat, the more they crave, so a smart vampire might be able to hide for a while, but eventually his thirst will lead to large enough slaughters that he can no longer go unnoticed. These vampires don’t have two fangs, they have a set of jaws like a shark with rows of sharp teeth.
But specifically, the story is about Laura Caxton, a State Trooper in Pennsylvania who stumbles on to vampires and gets mixed up in the horror along with a U.S. Marshall who has been hunting vampires for twenty years.
Wellington’s writing in 13 Bullets is as strong as Monster Island. I devoured the book, and am hoping that the sequel, 99 Coffins, doesn’t fall like Monster Nation did. Definitely, though, 13 Bullets is a damn fine read, especially if you like horror.