- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Roc (TRD) (July 7 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451462742
- ISBN-13: 978-0451462749
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #383,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
The cause of freedom in Kentucky balances on a knife-edge. Major David Valentine and his fugitive battalion are all that is left of an expeditionary force shattered in its long retreat from disaster in the Appalachians. Between a raging blizzard, the remnants of the brutal and fanatic Moondaggers—bands of headhunters kidnapping entire towns to sell to the Kurians—and the need to recover wounded soldiers lost during the retreat, Valentine is in for the toughest winter of his life. And Valentine is losing allies fast. Some of the clans in the region have declared themselves in favor of the Kurians, throwing Kentucky into civil war. But the Kurian overlords have determined that the region isn’t worth the effort of another conquest. Their order: extermination. By whatever means necessary...
--This text refers to the
MP3 CD
edition.
About the Author
E. E. Knight was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Minnesota and now calls Chicago home, where he abides in domestic felicity with a spouse, a young son, and assorted pets. He invites readers to visit his Web site at vampjac.com or his blog, Bohemian Word Werks.
--This text refers to the
MP3 CD
edition.
Inside This Book
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Setup Novel,
By Moe Sasseville "Moester" (Montreal, QC, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Winter Duty (Hardcover)
This book is a direct continuation of the previous novel in the series. The protagonist (Valentine) is leading an army very much in the spirit of the french foreign legion except this one recruited from former collaborators. Following a fighting retreat Valentine is forced to find ways to equip and supply his men while waiting for an inevitable counter attack by his enemies. Outnumbered, out-gunned and marginalized by his own side; Valentine doesn't have much going for him.This book squarely focuses on Valentine's growth as a character and has just enough action to keep the storyline from bogging down into a character study. While less action oriented, it is an easy book to pick up for new readers and a satisfying read for long-time fans of the series. My only quibble about the book was that it could have been longer and could have moved the overall storyline ahead more. But all in satisfying and in many ways a better read than the previous book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews) 15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Get to the point.,
By Christopher Weiss - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Winter Duty (Hardcover)
Like many science fiction series with more than 5 books, this one is beginning to wander a bit. We know the ultimate goal - drive out the Kurians. However, the battles back and forth without dramatic victories in the last few books make the outcome less clear. It would seem that the story needs some milestone goals to make the plot more interesting. Every step forward seems to come with several steps back. For example, the election of what looks like a bad government seems to counteract the progress David has made in Kentucky. Fortunately, the big strikes by the Kurians such as the new strain of Ravies seem equally ineffective.It would appear the Life weavers have started a new trend in human evolution, but even this is fuzzy. Valentine has chronic injuries that plague him even now in the series, but he also appears to be getting tougher in spite of his age. I would hope the next book would take the story sharply in one direction or the other. This is not a bad book, and I have not given up on the series, but I am beginning to feel like the series is fizzling. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unpleasantly Surprised...,
By Kelsey Coleman-Stark - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Winter Duty: A Novel of the Vampire Earth (Mass Market Paperback)
While still a reasonably good book this is nothing I would bother to recommend.It reads like filler co-written by E.E. Knight and a female ghostwriter with an over-fondness for descriptors. Frankly, it reads more like fanfiction written about Vampire Earth than it does Vampire Earth. You'll find two voices or styles within this book. The first is the E.E. Knight fans of this series have come to know and love, the second is...something new. The second style is the more prevalent of the two and the transitions are anything but seamless! It's obvious and distracting. You'll also find the series' second continuity error and most (if not all) of the typos within the areas of the book written in the second style. It reads like the voice of a female writer instead of the more masculine style of the previous novels. And while the descriptors are sometimes very elegant or evocative they take up far, far too much space. Furthermore, you'll find the word choice a step removed from the old style. Whether the author is trying out a new style and hasn't made the transition yet or has hired a ghost writer (as seems more likely as it seems to have somebody else's fingerprints all over it) I can't say I'm happy with the results. What's more, the book doesn't go anywhere. You'll find action scenes and plenty of hustle-bustle but no development and no movement towards anything. There are none of the turning points or board setting indicative of a transitional book. It's just filler. As strange as it may seem to fans of David Valentine the book even closes with him in the same physical location as the book opened - the whole thing just makes one great, big, seemingly pointless loop. And some of it I'd rather hadn't even ended up in the book at all. For instance, the music's effect on the Woolies? Where did the writer even get that? Some B- zombie movie? And the quotes and the military bits seem rather more "stuck-on" than usual. When you see work like this it's usually an indication that a series has died and it's time to start purchasing new reading material - whether or not they continue publishing the novels. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal and I will go ahead and buy the next book. (Fortunately, the series as a whole is still worthwhile.) And maybe if the series' run really is over somebody will give it a decent burial instead of letting it decay like this. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Vampire Earth Series is Losing Its Way,
By Maharajah - Published on Amazon.com
This series got off to a great start; I really enjoyed the first 3-4 books. Valentine is a compelling character and the post-apocalyptic world building was well-done and creative. However, like many successful SF/Fantasy authors such as Jordan, Martin, Jones and even Erikson (yes I said it!), after several books Knight seems to be losing his way.This book and the last one did little to advance the overall storyline and Valentine seems to be just slogging his way through major and minor skirmishes without achieving much. In fact, the new books are shorter and are taking on the appearance of a TV serial - a few adventures and on to the next episode. Why anyone would pay a hardcover price for this is beyond me. I just get them from the library. I suppose I will keep going, simply because I like Valentine, but my hopes for a return to the quality of the initial books are fading fast. I get that this is E.E. Knight's living, but this is a good argument for wrapping up a series in four books (max) and starting something new. Alas, no other successful authors seem to understand this either. |
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