Fiends of the Rising Sun

by David Bishop

Black Flame, 415 pages, $7.99

Set on the eve of America’s entrance into World War II, Fiends of the Rising Sun is a tale of Japanese vampires serving their empire in preparation for the attack on Pearl Harbour. This book is inspired by Fiends of the Eastern Front by the same author.

I must admit, this book sounded ideal - vampires, war, and Japanese culture are all things that fascinate me. As a result of such high expectations, I was disappointed as the story began. It seemed rather predictable for what I considered an original idea. As each character was introduced I could see from which generic character box they’d been grabbed and predict to a healthy degree their fate. Still I read on.

It reads quickly, perhaps because there is so little description of the environment. Halfway through the book, the predictability factor goes down; however, my attachment to any of the main characters never rose above ‘mild interest’. Once the attack began, I really didn’t care who survived on either side. I just kept waiting for the battles to become interesting; and then, they were over. The book faded to an end; obviously left open for another novel, one I have no plans to read. - Suzanne Clay