Descendant is a decidedly old school type of vampire novel. Whereas these days, the type of vampire that dominates fiction is either the sparkly type or the dashing bad boy type, the strigoi in this novel are clearly more of the monster variety. The concept of this novel is really neat. The nazis in World War II have reached a deal with the Romanian government to not take over their country in exchange for enlisting strigoi to their cause. An American, Captain James Falcon, is recruited by the Allies to hunt down the strigoi, including Dorin Duca, the head vampire. Years later, Dorin, thought to be dead, is killing people all across England, and James is brought back to the UK, where he will once again go toe to toe with Duca.

This is a terrific novel, one of the three or four best vampire novels I have ever read, and I consider myself a bit of an expert since I have written a vampire novel myself. The writing is masterful. The plot is tight. There is very little wasted space, which makes it stand out in comparison to some of the bloated novels I’ve read recently. The characterization is strong, both on the protagonist and antagonist side. And just when I thought the novel was over, there was more to it, and the ending proved to be rewarding. This is a must read novel.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

Meh.

This was a vast disappointment to me compared to the other wonderful works that Masterton has crafted. The plot clears up way too easily when it deserved to be vastly expanded on to sort out the plot threads that were criminally unexplored.

It starts off well enough with a very promising premise in that a student from America has been recruited by the Allies to fight off strigoi gained by Nazi Germany due to a deal made with Romania. These strigoi are much harder to kill than normal vampires, and their threat is very real, causing the protagonist to almost lose everything he has.

All in all this had a great idea, but a terrible execution. I expected much better from Masterton, especially in his characterization of the main character, who cheats on his wife with almost no guilt, and then ends his relationship with her in one of the poorest ways I've ever seen in a novel. I felt cheated myself at the way the book ended, and really wanted to see it fleshed out into what was actually promised by the book's description. For Masterton die-hard fans only. ( )

Descendant is almost a prequel to Manitou Blood, with the Romanian folklore of strigoi (vampires) being explored and utilised for as much carnage as possible. Descendant never really ramps up in terms of suspense or chills, but delivers a solid story, spread from World War II until today, with most of the story occurring in the 1950's. This unusual approach allows Masterton to play with the the options - technology being rather limited at these times ensured some grisly up close and personal approaches to strigoi hunting. It's a short read and although it adds very little to this crowded genre, it is plotted cleverly enough to keep you engaged throughout. ( )