Chris Hepler

I loved this amazing spec fic / legal thriller masterpiece. CIVIL BLOOD hit all the right notes for me as a vampire fan and someone who loves legal thrillers! The setup throws humanity into a tailspin where a lab has bioengineered vampirism (oops) then tried to keep it hush hush by sending out vampire hunters to exterminate its mistakes, mixed in with a legal thriller where the vampires sue for the right to survive. Civil Blood is told from multiple povs—from Infinity, a former vampire hunter who finds herself as one of the infected, Ranath, one of the vampire hunters with special abilities, as well as characters within the organization that created vampires and “patient zero” (who was one of my favorites.) It’s smart, well written, has lots of surprises in store, and is a definitely must-read for vampire fans. 5/5 stars.… (mais)

In the near future, European Bat Lyssavirus-4 causing Virally Induced Hematophagic Predation Syndrome or VIHPS has been accidentally released to the public through the Benjamin Rush Health Initiative. Causing symptoms such as increased strength, improved healing and the need to ingest human blood. BRHI has kept the disease and its spread under wraps by hiring a Forced Protection team to identify and eliminate anyone infected. Infinity DeStard is on a Forced Protection team when she is accidentally infected. Soon after her infection, Morgan Lorenz, a high-powered trial lawyer comes out to the public saying he has been infected and is suing the corporation that has been hiding the virus. Infinity sees this as her chance to act as a double agent and save herself from being taken out by her own team. She finds Lorenz and gives him the lowdown before teaming up with the F-Prot team ordered to kill him. As Morgan's case gains attention and leverage, Infinity's secret is uncovered, but it may prove to be the best thing in Infinity's life.

Civil Blood is a vampire story that reads more like a contemporary science-fiction thriller than paranormal. Elements of the Lyssavirus and how the affected people are treated are especially relevant now as the world faces a very different pandemic. I was swept up by all of the science of the virus, the spread and the qi force within living things. The virus definitely seems like it could be something that could pop up any day now and the qi-force, while definitely in the sci-fi realm, was plausible. The writing is fast paced and kept me interested as the point of view switched between Infinity, Morgan, Ranath, and members of BRHI. Infinity and Ranath were the most intriguing characters for me. I loved Infinity's back story, her journey to becoming an F-Prot and her willingness to see both sides. Ranath was more of a mystery and I enjoyed watching Infinity tease information out of him little by little. The BRHI corporation was scarily accurate in the way it acted in trying to defend itself in court by trying to prove that people infected with VIHPS were no longer considered human and could not have Constitutional rights. I also liked that all of the vampire characters were essentially just normal people, they had a range of traits, backgrounds and personalities and dealt with their diagnosis in a variety of ways. Gripping and engrossing to read, Civil Blood will draw you in unlike any vampire story you have read before.… (mais)

"Civil Blood" is a self-published genre-crossing novel: part vampire, part courtroom drama, part science fiction.

"Civil Blood" starts in familiar territory for videogamers: The Umbrella Corporation A big Pharma company accidentally releases a vampire virus on America and tries to cover it up by using squads of Forced Protection subcontractors to round up and imprison quarantine the infected.

We leave the familiar behind partly by having a virus that is powered by a new technology that harnesses Qi, the lifeforce in biological entities and partly by having an infected lawyer turn whistle-blower and demand his day in court to get redress from whoever created the virus.

The book is told from the point of view of two strong characters. There's a first-person account from a screwed-up but kickass former enforcer for the evil corporation who has gone rogue after she was infected while rounding up targets, and a third-person account, focused on a senior enforcer inside the corporation who has a complex corporate history and some extraordinary talents.

The story read more like science fiction than a traditional vampire or zombie apocalypse tale. There was a strong focus on the science, the politicals and the legal niceties.

I felt the legal parts were the weakest. The idea was intriguing: can the infected be declared non-human and have their rights taken away because they are dead and in the grip of a virus that compels them to fatal violence. Unfortunately, the lawyer character wasn't charismatic enough and the courtroom scenes felt flat and went on too long.

There were some great action scenes and some novel ideas but character development beyond the two primary characters was a little lacking.

It was a fun read but I felt the pace was uneven and there were too many changes in points of view to maintain high levels of engagement and tension.

I'll be looking out for Chris Hepler's next book. I think he's a writer who hasn't quite hit his stride yet but will be compelling when he does.… (mais)

Jag vet inte om det låg någon sorts cynism bakom det usla slutet i Mass Effect 3, baserat på att fans som lagt så mycket tid och energi på en serie skulle fortsätta att vara den trogna vad den än gjorde, men faktum kvarstår: jag kan tänka mig köpa det mesta som Bioware står bakom. Som The art of the Mass Effect universe, en imponerande volym med diverse skisser, teckningar och målningar som användes vid skapandet av spelserien: hur skulle de olika utomjordingarna se ut? Platserna? Rymdskeppen, fordonen, vapnen? De personer man möter, de monster man skjuter, de stora rymdskepp man försöker besegra?

Om man vill kan man se en utvecklingslinje över de tre spelen: inför det första så försökte man fundera ut hur utomjordingarna skulle se ut, inför det andra hur olika personer, och inför det tredje försökte man designa om mycket av vad man redan sett. I alla fall mycket grovt sett; naturligtvis fanns dessa element i alla spel – men föga förvånande är spel två också det mest intressanta.

Lite tråkigt är de olika lakuner som finns: inget om de nedladdningspaket som finns till spel 3, förutom det som släpptes första dagen. Inget om Aria T'Loak, inget om batarer eller vorcha – men en halv sida med skisser för olika dräkter för Miranda (hon skulle ha kunna vara än värre än vad hon är), och en hel sida med den jäkla stjärnslyngeln.

Nå, det är vackert, och intressant nog för en fantast. Andra bör nog inte försöka bry sig.… (mais)