V Wars by Jonathan Maberry

Before I begin my review I'd just like to give you all the good news about my latest hospital operation. I had to go to Sunderland Eye Infirmary last Friday to have cataracts removed from my left eye. Both eyes are affected and I have noticed my vision worsening in recent months. If you think the black lines on my miniature figures have gotten thicker, this is the reason why! Anyway, the operation was a complete success. I was in the hospital just under two hours and the operation was both painless and quite short. I noticed a huge improvement in my eyesight as soon as I entered the recovery room. As a result, I now have near perfect vision in my left eye and best of all, I no longer have to wear glasses. For 43 years I have worn glasses, so to no longer need them has taken some getting used to. I thought I'd need at least three or four days to recover but I was feeling great as soon as the operation was over. Also, I did not have to wear an eye patch or have a bandage on my left eye. I left hospital feeling like a new man. Now everything I look at seems so much sharper and brighter. It is a truly remarkable transformation. Now, I can't wait to have my right eye operated on. That should take place next month.

So, onto the review. V Wars by  Jonathan Maberry is an anthology of short stories all set in a world created by Jonathan. A sweeping, threaded narrative of the global phenomenon known as the Vampire Wars! Mankind is silently infected by a millennia-old bacteria unknowingly exhumed by a scientific expedition in Antarctica. Now, in some rare cases, a person's so-called "junk DNA" becomes activated, and depending on their racial and ethnic heritage they begin to manifest one of the many diverse forms of the "others" that are the true basis for the legends of supernatural creatures. These aren't your usual vampires and werewolves - it goes much deeper than that. Conceived by Jonathan Maberry, V Wars features stories from various "frontlines" as reported by such contributors as Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, James A. Moore, Gregory Frost, John Everson, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Scott Nicholson (as well as Maberry himself, of course). The result is a compelling series of tales that create a unique chronicle of mankind's response to this sudden, hidden threat to humanity.

You all know I am a sucker (pun intended) for vampire stories and this one certainly pushed all the right buttons for me. I found it a thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable read. Quite often with anthologies, some stories stand out more than others and you often find good tales sitting alongside bad tales. With V Wars, however, I felt that all the stories were worthy of inclusion and that there wasn't a bad one amongst them. It was also refreshing to see that not all of the stories were set in America (although most are). Jonathan, himself, contributes the most to this anthology and I have long been a fan of his work. Suffice to say, I was immensely pleased to read his take on the vampire mythology and this is a series that can run and run.

Indeed, following on from the release of this book, IDW Publishing have recently began publishing a series of comics, also called V Wars, based on this anthology. It probably won't surprise you at all that I am collecting the comics as well. It was nice to be able to put pictures to the faces of some of the characters mentioned in the anthology.

I only have one criticism to make of the novel, and that is it features a truly ghastly front cover. It has been rendered in the style of a battered old paperback, which to me, just looks and feels wrong. It is not attention grabbing and I do not like it one bit.

V Wars by Jonathan Maberry is published by IDW Publishing and has a page count of 481 pages. It costs $9.99. I picked up my copy for £7.50 from Amazon.Co.UK. A Kindle edition costs £4.37 from Amazon.Co.UK. I liked it enough to give it an 8 out of 10 rating. It lost a point for the awful front cover. I hope there will be a second volume or more.

Vampires: A Hunter's Guide by Steve White and Mark Mckenzie-Ray

It is not just fellow bloggers and gamers who can surprise me with free gifts. Just last month I received an e-mail from Emily Heagerty, the Marketing Administrator of Osprey Books. She mentioned that I had reviewed one of their previous books - Zombies: a Hunter's Guide by Joseph McCullough. You can see my review here - http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/zombies-hunters-guide.html
Note that this review was posted in November of 2010, meaning that Emily has an excellent memory. Anyway, she was wondering if I'd be interested in reviewing their latest book in this series - Vampires: a Hunter's Guide by Steve White and Mark Mckenzie-Ray. Naturally, I was very interested. So, a  few days later, I received a copy of the book in the post and was absolutely overjoyed.
The easiest way to tell you what this book is about is to quote the blurb from the back cover.
"For centuries, vampires have lurked in the shadows, preying upon the weak and defenceless. It is only thanks to a group of dedicated and powerful hunters that the vampire threat has remained largely suppressed and evidence of their existence confined to the whispers of myth and folklore. However, with world population centres booming, the vampires have found new hunting grounds in which to hide their activities and build their underground empires. Covens across the world have grown powerful. It is now only a matter of time before they step into the light and begin their war on humanity.
Vampires: a Hunter's Guide contains all the information necessary to recognise and combat this growing threat.After an exploration into the origins of these undead creatures, it examines the numerous vampire species and subspecies that exist around the world today, placing particular emphasis on the role of the vampire hunter in combating the rise of the undead throughout the centuries. Focusing on the hunters' weapons, tactics and skill sets, this book provides information on identifying and eliminating vampires, noting the best practices from hunters from around the world. With full-colour illustrations of predator and prey, this is the ultimate resource in the fight to save humanity from the vampires."
As with Zombies: a Hunter's Guide, this book works on the premise that vampires do exist and are at large in the world around us. Its tone is serious and I have nothing against that. The bulk of the book details the "facts" about vampires from five continents - Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and South America. The most prominent vampires from each continent are respectively, the Strigoi, the native American Wendigo (more myth than a reality), but more likely European vampire immigrants, the Asanbosam (a monkey-like hybrid), the Jiangshi (pronounced ching-shee) aka the hopping vampire, and finally the Chupacabra, aka the goat-sucker. Sub-species include dhampires, incubi and succubi, amongst others.
The vampire hunters collectively work for an organisation called Special Action Unit (SAU, pronounced "SAW") who are a covert branch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). These small groups of highly skilled agents operate across the globe in a hidden war against the vampire menace. Their tactics have evolved from many centuries of study of vampire hunters to give them the best chance to deal with the growing rise of vampires in the modern world.
Anyone  looking for a suitable background for a vampire hunting campaign set in contemporary times will find this book very useful. I could easily see it working best with a GURPS Horror campaign or with THW's After The Horsemen setting (with a little tweaking). To the casual reader it is an interesting read but hardly essential. To a vampire fan like myself, it is very much a "must have" book. I know that I got my copy for free, but I'd have happily paid for it.
My major criticism of the book is exactly the same as my criticism of Zombies: a Hunter's Guide, and that is that at 80 pages it only scratches the surface of the subject. I'm sure that a longer book could have covered more vampire types and mentioned a lot more on SAU weapons and tactics. It is nicely illustrated with a combination of black and white photos and drawings and some exceptional full colour illustrations.
Vampires: a Hunter's Guide costs £10.99 or $17.99 from Osprey Adventure Books. I give it a 7 out of 10 rating. I did enjoy it but I wish it had been a lot longer.

Foundry Vampire Hunters

Vampire slayers must have the lowest life expectancy of any profession. But despite this obvious drawback, there are still brave and hardy folk willing to step up to the mark to rid the world of evil bloodsuckers everywhere. Wargames Foundry make a range of four 28mm scale vampire slayers and I'm going to review them here.

 

At the far left of the group is VIN061 Father Eamon McSweeney. He looks like a grizzled veteran who has been in many a fight. Note how the right sleeve of his long coat has been ripped off. This guy is just armed to the teeth. His primary weapon is a 5.56mm Minimi Squad Automatic Weapon held in his right hand. In his left hand is a 9mm Machine Pistol with fitted silencer and scopesight. As back-up he has a small pistol in a holster on his right hip, a dagger in a boot sheath on his right leg, a bottle of holy water on his belt, numerous silver stakes and loads of ammo pouches strewn across his chest. His crucifix is prominently displayed hanging around his neck. To further show off his veteran status, I gave him greying hair with a while streak. He's probably only in his early forties. This is a figure that just screams out "player character" or "Star."
Standing by his side is VIN62 Elizabeth Anne McSweeney, whom I'm assuming is Eamon's daughter. With a blonde hair paint job, she'd make a very passable Buffy the Vampire Slayer. By the way, did you know that Buffy's middle name was Anne? That always amused me because if she dropped the name Buffy she'd be called Anne Summers, which prompts thoughts of the well known lingerie stores of the same name. Anyway, Elizabeth Anne is armed with a wakizashi (Japanese shortsword) and a wooden stake. I think she's a beautifully sculpted figure and like her father, just oozes character.
Next in line is VIN025 Sister Wendy. I wish Foundry had chosen a better name for her than that, because whenever I hear the words "Sister Wendy" I think of the old nun who is an art expert on various TV programmes. She appears to be some kind of elite killer working for the Vatican or some secret religious order. Her most obvious weapon is her 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 machine pistol with fitted silencer and scopesight. Her back-up weapons are very similar to Eamon's - pistol, dagger, wooden stake, bottle of holy water and a grenade. I very much doubt it's the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, Monty Python fans! Her left hand is adjusting a microphone from a headset hidden by her hood. At first I thought she was pulling the pin out of a grenade with her teeth but closer inspection revealed that was not the case. Shame!
Finally is the vampire slayer who is best equipped to deal with any undead menace - VIN022 Hot Wax the Flamebabe. I have renamed my figure Marie Saint-Juste because I didn't like Hot Wax as a name or a nickname. Her flamethrower is perfect for incinerating vampires, zombies or any other kind of threat. The question is, is she fast enough to use it? Her back-up is minimal - nothing more than a small flask of holy water, which she is brandishing in her right hand.
Collectively, they make a great team of vampire slayers. They would also work extremely well as zombie hunters. You could just as easily split them up as the figures are sold separately. Knowing how tough most vampires are, I'd recommend keeping them together. I'd like to see how they fare when THW releases its After The Horsemen supplement, due out soon. Rules for vampires will be included in the supplement.
The figures are sold for £3.50 each. But buy them now and you'll get 20% of the RRP whilst Foundry's current sale lasts.

Musketeer Miniatures Vampire Hunters & Zombies

I'll be honest, until very recently, I had never heard of Musketeer Miniatures. I came across them on the Post Apoc forum, which had a thread listing makers of zombie miniatures. Musketeer Minis was the only name I hadn't heard of. So I clicked onto their website and liked what I saw. Here's the link to where their zombies hang out - http://www.musketeer-miniatures.com/store.php?r=10&rule=Historical&id=34 If you do a Google search for Musketeer Miniatures and find their homepage, be aware that the zombies are listed under the tab for Hazel's Heroes. They are a UK-based firm and their figures are reasonably priced.

I'll look at their zombies shortly, but first I want to review their two vampire hunter figures - Night Stalker and Big Kris, both of whom should be instantly recognisable to fans of the Blade series of films. It isn't that hard to find figures to represent Wesley Snipes' eponymous hero. I know that there are at least two Heroclix versions of him and West Wind make a nice male vampire hunter in their Road Kill range, who is clearly Blade in everything but name. For obvious copyright reasons, the Musketeer version is just called Night Stalker but we all know who he really is. The figure comes in two parts, with the katana and right hand being a separate piece. I was glad of the photos on their website to show how the sword should be fitted, otherwise I would not have glued it in place behind his body. He is a very nicely sculpted figure. The weapon in his left hand is a sawed-off pump action shotgun. He has a row of silver stakes strapped to his left thigh and of course, he wears his cool looking wraparound mirror-shades. You can just make out his fangs, which I must admit, were a bitch to paint. It took me four attempts to get them right!

Much as I like the Night Stalker figure, I was even more impressed with the figure of Big Kris. Blade fans won't need telling that he is based on Kris Kristofferson's character, Abraham Whistler, Blade's mentor and weapons' technician. I truly applaud the decision to make a not-Whistler figure and it sure is a good likeness of him. Of course, the figure had to have his leg splint. I know all about them as my dad had to wear one recently after a fall which bust the tendons in his knee. It looks remarkably similar to the one worn by Big Kris. His weapon of choice is similar to Night Stalker's, although his shotgun is not sawed-off. I can see this figure getting a lot of uses. He'd make a great survivor character in ATZ.

Moving on, here are the three zombie figures that Musketeer Miniatures sell. At the far left is Brian the zombie. Sorry folks, it's not me! My name is spelt Bryan and besides, he looks nothing like me. If anything, he reminds me of Colin the zombie from the low budget English movie called Colin. (Memo to self, I ought to review that film here.) Brian is a teenage zombie dressed in the archetypal jeans, hoodie jacket and trainers. Note the crushed Cola can that I added to his base.  Brian has suffered some nasty injuries - half of his face has been ripped off, he's lost his left arm at the elbow and there is a hole just above his right knee.
In the centre of this group is Drew the zombie and he reminds me of a university student. He wears a sweatshirt and jeans. His long hair has been tied back in a ponytail and he sports a goatee beard, both good reasons for turning him into a zombie! A chunk of his right cheek has been chewed upon. He also has a large bite wound to his left arm and a cut to his left leg. There is nothing remarkable about him, but that doesn't make him a bad figure.
Finally, we come to what has to be the star of the show - zombie Gene Kelly! This truly is a unque figure amongst the horde of zombie miniatures! The very idea of turning Gene Kelly into a zombie would never have occured to me. So full marks to Hazel for originality. He is described on the website as "screaming in the rain" - a rather apt description, I think. Zombies are not noted for their singing ability, or dancing ability, come to that... unless you include the Michael Jackson Thriller zombies! I added a strip of pavement to his base using Milliput modelling putty. I wanted it to appear as if he had just jumped off the pavement onto the road. He has been wounded in all four limbs, although not too badly, but his head and body are still intact. Naturally, he is still carrying his umbrella. As soon as I saw this figure I knew that I had to have him.
All five figures are roughly 28mm scale and will fit in well with many other popular ranges in this scale. Night Stalker is the most expensive of the bunch at £3.50. Big Kris and zombie Gene Kelly retail for £3.00 each, whilst Brian and Drew are a very reasonable £2.00 each. These five figures are well worth checking out. I like all of them but I especially love Big Kris and zombie Gene Kelly.