Justin SomperCritiques

I bought this for a friend on impulse, because frankly the portmanteau was too delightful to pass up. That dear, she actually read it and gave it back for me to read, too.

Muchas cosas han cambiado en la vida de los gemelos Connor y Grace Tempest. Separados por una cruel tormenta en alta mar, Connor encontró cobijo en el Diablo, un conocido barco pirata. Grace, en cambio, cayó en manos de vampiratas, extraños seres que viven de noche y se alimentan de sangre... Tres meses después, los dos hermanos están juntos en el Diablo, pero las cosas no parecen ir mucho mejor. Connor, convertido en pirata de pies a cabeza, vivirá una dolorosa experiencia... Grace, por su parte, añora dos días vividos con los vampiratas y no puede dejar de pensar en Lorcan, en marinero que arriesgó su vida para salvarla. Busca consuelo en el anillo que él le dejó antes de separarse, pero, cada vez que lo toca, terribles visiones le atormentan: siente que Corcan está en peligro y que la necesita. Mientras, Sidorio, el vampirata expulsado y enviado al exilio, prepara una terrible venganza...

Cuando Connor Tempest y sus intrépidos amigos piratas tienen un raro descanso en sus deberes, están de humor para la diversión, el sol y la aventura. Un encuentro casual con la tripulación de The Lorelei parece ofrecer todo eso y más. Pronto, Connor y compañía están aprendiendo a bucear en apnea en el asombroso mundo que se encuentra muy por debajo de la superficie del océano. Pero los piratas están más lejos de lo que creen. Debajo del agua, el peligro acecha, y van a necesitar todo lo que tienen para salir con vida...

A los gemelos Connor y Grace no les quena nada en tierra por lo que luchar: su padre acaba de fallecer y nunca han conocido el cariño de una madre. Temerosos del incierto futuro que le espera, deciden huir en barco. Una tormenta impredecible les sorprende en alta mar y, cuando están a punto de ser devorados por las olas, dos milagrosos barcos acuden en su ayuda. Recogido por el Diablo, capitaneado por el orgulloso y legendario pirata Molusco Wrathe, Connor se sentirá pronto como en casa y hará suyas las artes de la piratería; en cambio, la suerte de Grace es bien distinta. Sin saber ni siquiera dónde está y encerrada en una habitación a cal y canto, todo irá bien siempre y cuando siga las reglas del enigmático capitán sin rosto...

Quedan atrás los tiempos en que Connor se sentía como pez en el agua en el Diablo. Si antes era uno de los tripulantes que más deprisa aprendían y mejor hacían su trabajo, ahora, un nuevo miembro le observa atentamente: se trata de Moonshine, el odioso y prepotente sobrino del capitán, que le hará la vida imposible, tanto que Connor se verá obligado a tomar una durísima decisión. Grace, por su parte, tampoco está pasando un buen momento: sintiéndose culpable de la ceguera de Corcan, decide acompañarlo al Santuario, un recóndito lugar donde vide Mosh Zu Kamal, un gurú entre los vampiratas y el único capaz de curarlo.

Para Grace y para Connor el encuentro con su madre no puede ser más traumático: sin apenas fuerzas para hablar, les revelará ¡que fue donante de Sidorio, el vampirata rebelde! ¿Qué quiere decir eso? ¿Qué pasa con su padre? ¿Quiénes son ellos en realidad? Connor, incapaz de seguir escuchando esa dolorosa verdad, huirá y se alistará en el Tigre, el barco de la recién nombrada capitana Cheng Li. Mientras, en el mar, un barco desconocido, capitaneado por una bellísima y singular mujer, hechiza y mata a sus víctimas, dejando como único recuerdo una jota de corazones negra. La Federación Vampirata, convencida de que el renegado Sidorio está detrás de estos asaltos, encomienda a Cheng Li su primera misión: acabar con él.

Livro interativo com pistas

"I'll tell you a tale of Vampirates..."

Such is the beginning to a rather blood thirsty sea shanty sung to the Tempest twins, Grace and Connor, by their recently deceased father. How it was able to calm them for bedtime versus raise all their red alerts is beyond me, however it might serve as a good reason behind their ability to cope with the events that were just on the horizon. Losing everything they had on this earth besides each other, they set off to find a new life, only to have it snuffed before they even get started. The mysterious storm that overtook them out of the blue during their escape from dry land was unusual, but what happens to each of them is even more so. For one, it's a pirate's life for them, as they gain their sea legs and never stop searching for their other half; for the other, it's as yet to be decided...if they can manage to survive their savage "hero" and a bloodthirsty crew. Oh yes, my friends...there is MUCH more danger than what lurks in the murky depths below...

I rather fell in LOVE with this story. Grace and Connor are stars in their own right, and their journeys are far from over...but the author set this series up with an incredible cast of characters that are equally charming (well, some are more monstrous, but beauty IS in the eye of the beholder...just don't let some of them ACTUALLY be HOLD anything of yours!) in their own ways that make you want to learn their stories (Grace has the right idea!), and see just what the sea has in store for them! The mysterious captain, midshipman Lorcan, Cheng Li, and the one that we shall not name here that was cast out...all of them are quite obviously going to play integral roles in what's to come, and for that matter what happens here, so yes...I say GIVE ME MORE to satisfy my own book thirst!



*copy received for review; opinions are my own

Fourteen year old twins, Grace and Conner Tempest, grew up listening to their father's tales of a ship of Vampirates sailing the seas. He sung a shanty about the Vampirates to them to comfort them when they were scared. After their father's death, Grace and Conner decide to run away. They steal his boat and set out to sea and straight into a storm. Their boat is destroyed and the twins are picked up by two different pirate ships - one of them by the Vampirate ship. Each child struggles to deal with ship life and with the possible death of their sibling and their undesirable need to continue looking for each other.



I enjoyed this book. It wasn't great but it is a different idea and storyline and a good, if shaky, start to the series.

Final book in the series which has the final battle between the Vampirates and the humans. Many of the loose ends are tied up with this one. Lola has her twins which may play an integral part in the prophecy from 500 years ago. Was filled with twists and turns as well as quite a bit of action. Connor it seems comes to an untimely end. Sidorio meets the sun. Grace calls upon the cardinals to help with the war. Very fast paced read and seems to be fighting and intrigue from start to finish.

Long but fast paced book. This one takes place right after the last one ends. Sodorio invites his two children to come and live with him and his new wife. This is shortly after they have found out that they are dhampirs. They accept the invitation to work as spies for their respective ships. But unbeknownst to them the vampirates have a secret plan of their own, they are secretly feeding the twins blood. Each works as a spy for their respective ships as planned and feeds them information with the book finally coming to an end with an epic battle with the vampirate assassins and the vampirates.

Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean Book Review

by Justin Somper

I'd give this book 4 donors out of 5.



Vampirates...the concept... the title... its one of those things that I wished I had come up with. It's a great concept. I must say, though, that I feel bad for the author. As I gathered my thoughts for this review I took a look at other reviews of the book, and some of them are just cruel. The book was a good book, in my opinion, even though it had a few quirks.

This book has a ton of covers. Perhaps that a function of being originally published in 2005, and refreshing the book cover is a way to make it new again (marketing) and drive sales. Either way, the book has several fantastic covers, and as you know, I love a good cover.

The story follows Connor and Grace Tempest, a couple of humble children that live with their father, who man's the lighthouse. One of their bonding traditions is for him to sing them a shanty as they go to bed. The thing is, its a little bit creepy, as its about Vampirates. Here it is:

I'll tell you a tale of Vampirates,
A tale as old as true.

Yea, I'll sing you a song of an ancient ship,
And its mighty fearsome crew.

Yea, I'll sing you a song of an ancient ship,
That sails the oceans blue...
That haunts the oceans blue.

The Vampirate ship has tattered sails,
That flap like wings in flight.

They say the captain, he wears a veil
So as to curtail your fright.

At his death pale skin
And his lifeless eyes
And his teeth as sharp as night.

Oh, they say the captain, he wears a viel
And his eyes never see the light

You'd better be good, child- good as gold,
As good as good can be.

Eles I'll turn you in to the Vampirates
And wave you out to sea.

Yes, you'd better be good child- good as gold,
Because- look! Can you see?

There's a dark ship in the harbor tonight
And there's room in the hold for thee!
(Plenty of room for thee)

Well, if pirates are bad,
And vampires are worse

Then I pray that as long as I be
That though I sing of Vampirates
I never one shall see.

Yea, if pirates are danger
And vampires are death

I'll extend my prayer for thee-
That thine eyes never see a Vampirate...
...and they never lay a hand on thee.

The children's father abruptly passes away one night and, unfortunately, he has left them with nothing. The children, after listening to the local banker offer to take the children in, or to be forced into the orphanage, decide that their only chance is to steal their father's ship (it no longer belongs to him) and to test their luck on the open seas.

They do this for some time, and get some distance out into the ocean, until a great storm brews and dashes their boat into pieces. The twins are separated, each scooped up by a different pirate ship. One crew consists of normal pirates, and the other, you guessed it, the Vampirates.

The rest of the tale explores each of the twin's experiences on their respective ships, and their efforts to not give up hope of finding each other again.

I felt the quality of the writing was very good, and so was the storytelling, even though the plot seemed to have some holes that could be addressed. The characters were fun, and distinct, even though some of the more critical reviews underscored the characters as something they wanted more from.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but the one thing that I found strange was the ending. The climax built up to what felt like might be an awesome pirate brawl, but it ended up getting resolved by simply correcting a character's identity, and then all was well. It was a little anti-climactic. Overall, though, it was a good read. I'll probably continue on with the next book at some point. Happy reading!

A fun pirate/ vampire YA novel.

spoiler-free review: ★★★
Allies & Assassins was good, but not the Game of Thrones type novel it is being hailed as. While the writing can be quite dry and repetitive sometimes, the plot manages to carry it along. The characters are all very well-written and fully fleshed out. The world can seem a bit too modern sometimes, but it's an interesting change from realistic medieval Europe.

diversity: ★
I wasn't expecting much from a medieval fantasy, but surprisingly, sexuality (and asexuality) was brought up.

Allies & Assassins takes place in a fascinating medieval world which is utterly different than any other medieval fantasies. Gender equality is commonplace in historical fantasy for children and teenagers, but there's a matriarchy mentioned in the book, and the concept of sexuality is brought up casually. Medical conditions like hypothermia are known about, as well as placement of arteries. Because of this, the medieval world seems incredibly modern - possibly too modern. Other than that, I rather liked the world-building. It was different from the normal fantasy getup, even if some of the logistics didn't personally make sense to me.

The novel is at its heart a mystery novel, and mystery it is. Savvy readers might be able to guess the final culprit. (I'm not a savvy reader. I didn't guess prior to reading the Big Reveal, though I didn't find myself surprised - rather, I found myself rolling my eyes that I didn't expect it.) I haven't read much mystery, except for some Nancy Drew, so I don't know if it's a genre thing, but I found that there were far too many twists and turns. It got overwhelming by the end.

Most of the characters were nicely developed. Jared was a nice main character. I've read The False Prince and the similarity between the two characters end with both of them being boy kings with a name that starts with "Jar." Jared was hesitant, and he acted his age. Child monarchs wouldn't be cunning or wise, and Jared reflected that. I also enjoyed Asta Peck a lot. She was the right amount of inquisitive and devoted, though I dread that there may be romance coming up between Jared and Asta in later books. Asta is a strong character - well written without being ass-kicking. Oddly enough, my favorite was Edvin; even though we saw only a bit of him throughout the book, what we saw of him developed him very well. The Executioner was also one that interested me.

Allies and Assassins is a good book that manages to be a refreshing alternative to other fantasy novels consisting of battles and magic. I will be looking out for the sequel once it comes out.

All I had to do was read the title and I knew I had to buy this book. I am a lover of all things pirate. And when you throw in vampires too, I thought this book was going to be the most bad-ass thing ever. Sadly, that was not the case.

I will say that the idea of vampire pirates is wicked cool and I think I might use that someday in my own writing. But these were not the kind of vampirates I thought would apear.

The story features boy and girl twins who lose their father, are presented with unwelcome choices for their future and decide to runaway instead. Stealing a boat, they flee town, only to have a storm destroy the boat and leave them separated in the water. Pirates pick up the boy, and vampirates rescue the girl.

The story started off seemingly normal, then appeared to be comically and ridiculously innaccurate about anything at all to do with ships, ship life or pirates. I eventually realized that this must have been done on purpose and, indeed, aimed the book specifically at a very young and innocent audience. Once I realized this, I was better able to appreciate the humour of it. Like when the pirates board a ship in 4-4-8 formation and plan their attack on a blackboard on the ship, as if it's all a big soccer game. I think I prefer more realistic stuff myself, but kudos to Somper for his imaginative creativity. I think 10-12 year olds would get a big kick out of it.

The pirates are silly, friendly and just about the nicest and least pirate-like pirates ever. As if they're out of some kids cartoon. They're very happy and helpful and nothing serious ever really happens to them.

The vampirates themselves were nothing how I pictured. Turns out they're just a collection of lost souls on a timeless cruise ship, biding their time and hiding out from the world to prevent their bloodthirst from causing too much trouble. They're generally polite and formal and very kind and not at all monsters, with one mild exception. I found it teasing to begin with, then rather dull in the ultimate delivery.

I think my low rating is a result of my personal disappointment as much as any lacking in the book itself. Given the cover and title, I was expecting something cooler and darker. And there's nothing on the book itself which says the age range it's targeted at, so I had no idea it would be for young kids.

Even taking that into account, I'm not sure that the story itself held up; it felt like it was ok in the beginning, then flatlined once they got on their respective ships and never really went anywhere after. I thought that the plot unfortunately dragged on and the 'climax' was only in the final few pages. There are more books in the series though, so maybe more will happen there. And, for a young reader, it would be fun just being immersed in Somper's world in its own right, so maybe the plot doesn't have to do much quite yet.

This book might be a good starting point for little kids who like pirates, but I'd move on to Treasure Island for something cooler.

I have to agree with everyone who didnt care for this book. The setting made no sense - if this had been billed as a regular pirate/vampire story minus the sci fi (supposedly) twist i might have been ok with it. Not the worst thing i have read... But could have been so much more.

When you forget abot reviewing a book for years..... O.o
Anyway, I remember enjoying this book, it was kind of a fantasy/political/mystery mashup of a thing (No magic that I can remember though, so more of a GOT feel than LOTR) but yeah. It was a pretty quick read; the story grabbed my interest, and the political aspect wasn't to heavy. I also seem to remember not being able to guess the end until I was almost there, which is kinda rare for me, so there's that. :)
(I'm pretty sure I got this for free in a goodreads giveaway....? Not 100% though.)

#4 in the Vampirates series. In this book we learn more of the twins background history. Picking up where book 3 left off. Grace is with the Vampirates and her mother. Connor is trading one pirate ship for another however. In so doing he may be set at odds with what Grace believes. Grace on the other hand is spending much time with her mother and is learning how they came into existence and it's not what she believes at first.

Third in the Vampirates series. This one has Grace taking Lorcan to Sanctuary to help with the healing of his eyes. Connor on the other hand is learning how to be a pirate. Things take a turn for both of them however. Grace is turned away by Lorcan after his healing is completed. Connor on the other hand tries to turn away from his life as a pirate.

This Vampirates novel seems very much like a set up novel. Now the reader is aware that there is a deeper connection between Lorcan, Grace and Connor. There are also some mysterious allusions to a lost weekend that Connor, Bart and Jez experienced that involved Moonlight, Molucco's nephew and the Vampirates captain. Grace's tale at sanctuary was is more interesting than Connor's, because it is deeper. Grace's tale allows the reader to meet more characters and learn more about their histories. Can't wait to find out what will happen next.

In this volume of Vampirates Grace learns the origins of the twins from her mother and the other vampirates. Connor (as part of Cheng Li's crew) embarks on a mission to assassinate vampirates. While he tries to explain to those in power that not all vampirates are the same (ergo not evil), in the end he fails and Cheng Li convinces him that they will be able to get Grace away from the other vampirates before they get that far into their mission. Cheng Li is still the same as ever,pretending to be people's friend and then scheming so that their aims become her aims. Both of the twins begin relationships in this book and appear well on their way to growing up.

Connor and Grace's adventures continue in this book with a visit to the Pirate Academy. It is interesting to see how the twins are developing. There is much treachery in this book and I love how the books have concrete endings but still leave you with a "what's going to happen next" type feeling.

This book was extremely different then I thought it would be. I got it because the whole concept was kind of funny and I figured even if it sucked it would probably be amusing. Well it is a great adventure story. Most chapters alternate between Connor and Grace telling the story. Connor and Grace are twins who have never quite fit into their small town. When their father dies they have plenty of offers to go live with other, but instead they take to the ocean in their father's boat. There is a storm and they are separated. Connor is picked up by Cheng Li and taken aboard the Diablo. Grace is picked up by Lorcan and taken aboard the Vampirate ship. Connor is caught in the middle of the Diablo's politics and Grace is in constant danger from the ships inmates. They are reunited at the very end and no one knows what will happen next.

In this volume of Vampirates Grace learns the origins of the twins from her mother and the other vampirates. Connor (as part of Cheng Li's crew) embarks on a mission to assassinate vampirates. While he tries to explain to those in power that not all vampirates are the same (ergo not evil), in the end he fails and Cheng Li convinces him that they will be able to get Grace away from the other vampirates before they get that far into their mission. Cheng Li is still the same as ever,pretending to be people's friend and then scheming so that their aims become her aims. Both of the twins begin relationships in this book and appear well on their way to growing up.

Connor and Grace's adventures continue in this book with a visit to the Pirate Academy. It is interesting to see how the twins are developing. There is much treachery in this book and I love how the books have concrete endings but still leave you with a "what's going to happen next" type feeling.