In Wilson's dystopian world, the United States is no more and its place the American Empire rules the people. It is a theocracy ruled over by an emperor. The people are forced to live under strict morality laws and those who refuse to conform are sent to Necropolis the former Las Vegas and now home to a population of vampires. Hank Evan is sent to Necropolis as punishment for procuring a prostitute and he is determined to survive somehow because he is all that his son Toby has yet. What Hank does not realise is that surviving this night will cost him so much more than he ever imagined.

As an introduction to a trilogy, Shining in Crimson was not bad. Wilson gave us a sense of the dystopian world and its divisions. I would have liked to know more about how the American Empire came to be and more specifically how the truce with the vampires came into existence. We start the novel learning that the war has now been over for 20 years and that the government uses religious propaganda to prop up its rules, along with a fear that the alternative is to become prey to the sinning vampires.

The POV constantly changes throughout the book and though I normally find this irritating, it helped to bring the different elements of the story together. I found it interesting to see vampires who based on their long lives understand better than the humans, exactly what the American Empire is all about. For safety, the humans have traded their liberty. Hank has vague memories of a time when the world was different and a father who fought and died for the United States. He is tormented by the horrible bargain he is forced to make. Then we have Simon a devout member of the Empire, to the point that he even thinks of his own mother as a whore, finally coming to grips with the fact that he has been sold a book of lies and finally, Ishan who is determined to hold his vampire council together and bring down the empire.

The majority of the characters in this book are male. The only three female characters of note are Simon's mother, who viscously slut shamed. When she is raped by Peter, Simon is horrified and yet when Peter says that you cannot rape the willing, Simon is quick to agree. It is because of her dress and the fact that she didn't physically fight back and instead begged for her son's safety that Simon refuses to see her as the victim that she is. It is only after gaining empathy from Ishan, that Peter begins to understand he may have potentially wronged his mother. The second female character is the human vampire Rachel. As with Simon's mother, she is also a rape victim. Each day she is subject to rape and beatings by her father and her brothers, which she endures until Peter kills them. In turn, after being judged worthy, Rachel becomes a vampire, only to rape Hank in a bid to help Peter become the leader of the vampires. There is also Grace, the dead wife of Hank. Years later he is still mourning her loss. Grace is really little more than a footnote in this story. Finally, we have the Queen of the Ancients, the only ancient vampire to be sentient. We don't really learn much about her beyond this.

As you can see, we have one female character who is promoted to obscurity and two others who largely exist as victims of sexual violence and Grace whose death provides angst for the male characters. These characters are never really developed beyond their victimhood. Turning Rachel from victim to predator given that Simon's first reaction to Rachel is to shame her for his sexual attraction to her does not develop her whatsoever and instead is more to position Simon's frame of reference. Shining in Crimson doesn't so much have female characters, as it does cardboard cut outs who are either fridged for male angst or victims for male judgment.

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My first introduction to urban fantasy was through vampires. Vampires opened the door for me into a world of books I could not have even fathomed on my own. They are responsible for bring to light the world of werewolves, the fae, and all things magic through this fantastic genre I love more than any other. I have been waiting for a really good vampire novel for some time now, and this was a pretty good book for me.

I have to admit I haven't read a lot of dystopian books, I have read books that take place in the future, but in a world very similar to the world we have today. And for me lately I have been enjoying reading books I haven't read a lot of, you stepping out of my comfort zone. I think I could really get behind this whole dystopian thing, it really forced the reader to imagine a world where things have changed dramatically. Not only that but it forces the reader to really think about what they would do in a time and place where the world has changed. And I love anything that makes me question things, or what I would do in the characters positions. It's books like this one where you want to think about it after you are done reading.

I really like the world that was created in the book, it was innovative and unique. It's a really interesting way to put together the whole vampire genre, and their place in this new world is truly original. I really like the characters generally speaking. The author does a great job at making it clear how the reader should feel about the characters, which I consider a good thing because it shows that the author has thought the character through and that they have many different dimensions.

One thing I really enjoyed about the book is that even though the Empire has changed the form of government, if you will, you still see the same themes as you do in just about every government. You can find corruption and politics just about everywhere you look these days, in the past, and of course you would find it in the future dystopian vampire populated world.

My one big complaint about the book was there were some moments within the book that I felt a bit confused, I had a hard time keeping track of who was talking. I really don't like books where I have to go back a couple of pages and re-read in order to fully grasp what is going on. But in spite of me having to do this a couple of times, the story line was good enough for it not be a huge disappointment or not like me enjoy the book overall.

Overall, the book was pretty good, the confusion thing is the only reason why I gave the book a "Good" rating and not a "Great" rating. I will say that people who are really into having a lot of romance in their books, this is most likely not the book for you. But if you want a book that is going to make you think, or if you like dystopian books then I think you would enjoy this book without a doubt. I think urban fantasy readers would really enjoy it as well. I have to say I love a vampire book that makes me think. ( )

Shining in Crimson has two kinds of vampires – the natural vampires (the ancients) who are just what vampires were meant to be – lean, mean, blood-sucking machines – and human vampires, who are the members of the Vampire Federation, trying to preserve their little corner of the former USA in agreement with the Empire.

The way this story is told is interesting – the history of the vampires and the humans is told via a series of flashbacks during the book which gives a feeling of history and provides the backgrounds of the characters gradually. Flashbacks can be difficult to write and meld into a story, but in Shining in Crimson it is done seamlessly and doesn’t detract from the current day story.

I did feel that in a few places the action either wasn’t fast enough or was too fast which resulted in me being a little confused as to who was siding with who and where characters were and what they were up to at certain points in the book.

Overall, Shining in Crimson has some great elements and is a well-written book. As a writer, Mr. Wilson sells a good story and builds solid characters, which are key elements in any good book. ( )