1 out of 4 stars
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The Obur Syndrome by David T. Ward is a dark mystery thriller that introduces a fresh take on vampires. The novel raises an important question: what are you willing to sacrifice to free yourself from the clutches of evil?
Eddie Rasputin Garmone was a Knight of Danar and a seasoned vampire slayer. He was on medical leave when he received a late night call. He was summoned to aid Niles, his friend, who was pursued by vampires. This rescue mission turned out to be a setup – aimed to eliminate Eddie and Niles in the process. Things got more complicated when his fiancée, Tracie Cassidy, was abducted by an ancient vampire. Now Eddie has two goals in mind: find out who set him up and rescue Tracie as soon as possible.
While searching for Tracie, Eddie crossed paths with two vampires. Adham and Laban belong to different vampire clans. Additionally, they do not share the same perspective. However, both yearn to free themselves from the shackles of a sadistic and evil vampire. These three individuals try to achieve their individual goals. Will they succeed?
The novel has a lot of things in its favor. First, it has an intriguing concept. This was not the usual vampire versus humanity book that I read. Rather, it focuses on how each main character, vampire or not, strives to win his freedom. Their goals and methods differ from one another and this added variety to the story. Second, the author introduced a fresh take on vampires and vampire slayers. Mr. Ward created a detailed history on the origin of vampires. He also had a story about the first war of humanity against vampires. The vampire slayers that he introduced in the novel had a certain edge to them that I had not read in other books. Third, there were minimal errors found in the novel.
On the negative side, there were many points which hindered my reading pace and enjoyment. The Obur Syndrome is one of the most confusing books I have read in a long time. The novel was written in first person point-of-view, but it has three narrators. There was no hint of a change of narrators which made it confusing. Also, there were too many characters that the author introduced in a short period of time. There were also many words which were introduced that were never explained. To his credit, the author gave a glossary of terms, but I found out about it when I already finished reading the book. Another thing that slowed my reading pace was the author’s use of difficult words. It would have helped if the author chose simpler words instead. Lastly, there were too many loose ends. For example, there was no mention of what happened to the vampires in the carnival after Adham left. Additionally, it was not revealed who tried to kill Eddie. Though there were presumptions, it would have been better if there was a resolution.
Unfortunately, the negative aspects of this novel outweigh the positive aspects. Thus, I give The Obur Syndrome by David T. Ward 1 out of 4 stars. This book has potential and if improved, this would be a great mystery thriller.
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The Obur Syndrome
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