Vampire Empire - The Greyfriar

By: Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

Narrated by: James Marsters

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Paranormal, 2013

1870. A time known as The Great Killing. The vampire clans arose and slaughtered humanity with unprecedented carnage in the northern parts of the world. Millions perished; millions were turned into herd animals. The great industrialized civilizations of the world were left in ruin. A remnant fled south to the safety of the ever present heat which was intolerable to vampires. There, blending with the local peoples, they rebuilt their societies founded on human ingenuity, steam and iron. The year now is 2020. The Equatorian Empire, descendant of the British Empire, stretches from Alexandria to Cape Town. Princess Adele, quick witted, combat trained and heir to throne is set to wed the scion of the American Republic, a man she has never met. Their marriage will cement an alliance between the nations and set the stage for war against the vampires in an attempt to retake the north. Prepared to do her duty she finds herself caught in a web of political intrigue and physical danger.

The Greyfriar, a legendary vampire hunter from the north, appears ready to rescue the Princess and return her home—but he harbors secrets of his own. As the power struggle between the vampires and humans increase Adele and The Greyfriar are caught in the middle, on the run, being hunted, and fighting for not just their own lives, but for future of humanity.

©2010 Buzzy Multimedia Publishing Corp. (P)2012 Buzzy Multimedia Publishing

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Nominee, Paranormal, 2013

Wellwritten fun steampunk preternatural strory

Story is well developed and the characters make sense. The story churns along without much crawling to allow plot advancement. Would recommend this and rest of the series.

Engrossing

What an enjoyable journey. Could not stop listening! Highly recommend this book. Very entertaining and different from other vampiric tales. Fine world building

Beats sparkly vampires any day!

Where does Vampire Empire - The Greyfriar rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is such a well written book and was very easy to get into from the start. I greatly enjoyed it and couldn't stop listening to it when I started.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The princess was my favorite because of the character development with her. Plue there are so many unknowns with her that it makes her very intriguing.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Adele and Greyfriar were in the library looking over the vampire's collection of books

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the gift was deliver to the Adele at the end was my favorite. It actually brought tears to my eyes.

Perhaps better than Dresden files.

James Marsters got to stretch his vocal skills on this one. Hard to stop listening.

Combining plot, characters & narrating: perfection

What made the experience of listening to Vampire Empire - The Greyfriar the most enjoyable?

I loved how Marsters was able to interpret each of the characters voices and inflections, even their dramatic pauses, and brought them all to life. The story itself is wonderfully written, and listening to it made it all the better.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Vampire Empire - The Greyfriar?

I loved the combination of tender moments, with gruesomeness. I loved getting the full picture of what this world is all about. But truly I loved the characters, particularly the main characters, and all the obstacles they faced. I especially liked as Adele was teaching Gareth about simple things like writing. Very sweet. And the cats were a fun addition.

Have you listened to any of James Marsters’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first, but I loved his narrating.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I don't want to be spoilery, but of course the end was touching. And there were tender moments before that, but I won't specify to avoid spoilers.

VT. FAN

If you could sum up Vampire Empire - The Greyfriar in three words, what would they be?

CLEVER VAMPIRE STEAMPUNK

Who was your favorite character and why?

GREYFRIER (GARRETT). THE CHARACTER WAS SO WELL DEVELOPED.

What about James Marsters’s performance did you like?

I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW WELL MARSTERS DID. HE DID ALL CHARACTERS VOICES EXTREMELY WELL AND HAD NO TROUBLE TELLING EACH ONE APART.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

TWILIGHT MEETS HUNGER GAMES.

Any additional comments?

HOPE THE DO AUDIOBOOKS OF THE NEXT TWO BOOKS AND THEY STICK WITH MARSTERS.

Great story

I have always loved a good vampire story, but this may be one of the most enthralling I have read in a long time. it is so unlike what you usually get in this genre. the death of characters and goog storytelling made it impossible to put down. I can't. wait to start the sequel.

A great surprise

I came for James Marsters and as usual, brilliant performance. But I really liked the story as well. Looking forward to part 2.

Really 4.5 Stars...

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read book 2. It is a different twist on the vampire genre and the story leaves you guessing and keeps you listening. If you like paranormal romance or YA, you will not be disappointed. Totally worth the credit.

meh....

Not bad... not good.... warm .... Vampires and steam-punk... It held promise but left me lacking enthusiasm for the sequel.