Title: Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter
Author: A.E. Moorat
Publisher: EOS
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Let me start out by saying, despite the fact that I really did almost “ROFL” when I heard the title of this book, I didn’t have very high hopes. There are a variety of reasons for this, including: I genuinely love historic fiction, but I’m not crazy about all of the literary mash-ups and altered histories coming out lately; I’m not a big fan of the zombie/vampire phase going on; and when you get down to it, horror isn’t my preferred genre. That aside, I still knew that as soon as I got my hot little hands on this book I’d have to read it, and I did breeze through it pretty fast.
By breeze, I don’t mean it’s necessarily light (on the horror) fare. Thinking it would be mostly slapstick and without a nod at all at being remotely serious, I was quickly forced to change my opinion. If you don’t like reading about gore, don’t read this book. I had moments where I definitely had to put it down and come back to it a little later. (Remember, I’m not a horror fan, and I am REALLY not a fan of gore.) The evil in this book is truly, grotesquely evil, and in that sense, the story was compelling. How is this evil going to be thwarted by the newly made Queen Victoria?
If the menace was believable, or at least capable of gripping my interest, other parts of the story were somewhat lacking. Perhaps if you were already a fan of this genre of story, some of the things wouldn’t bother you, but I’m not and I make no apologies. I was going along with the story, enjoying it for the most part, when they introduced what is basically a steampunk/Victorian circular saw/chain saw. Honestly, I’m sure most readers would have just gotten a giggle out of that and moved on, but I don’t know, I didn’t care for it at all.
What I DID like was Queen Victoria, circular saw or not. In her early life, it doesn’t surprise me that she was a hard charger and a go-getter, not willing to sit on the sidelines and be protected. I liked that she wanted to take action against the demons that were clearly trying to take her down. I felt that in many ways they depicted her early love for Albert spot on, and I liked her as a character. She was truly the highlight of the book. Now, I don’t know if I can believe that she was in the thick of a zombie attack, killing them with a sword and a circular saw, but in my not-so-serious moments, it was amusing.
Overall, this is a fun book to read with some extreme gore in parts and a few eye-roll moments. If you’re a fan of this genre, you will definitely enjoy it, but if not, this probably isn’t the book you want to pick up next. As I have expressed, I have some mixed feelings about it, but again, it was a fun read. From my personal point of view, I’d have to give this 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Stars
