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Round three of Alpha Showdown 2012 brings together our first vampire-on-vampire match. The ancient villain (and now quasi hero) Lothaire from Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series against the Red Reaper, Cat, from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. Both have enhanced vampire skills. Hell, Cat sometimes has a heartbeat. Who is quick enough to stake the other? Your votes decide.
Also, a quick housekeeping note: The Alpha Showdown is all about fun and finding new books. Support your favorite character to the fullest, but in doing so please do not tear down the other character’s author. You can, however, comment your little hearts out on the ways Alpha A would massacre Alpha B. Now, that’s all fiction and no real feelings get hurt. Deal? With that out of the way…
Read the pitches, then make the call. Who should advance to the next round in the Alpha Showdown? The poll at the end of this post will be open for two days. Remember, alphas don’t share titles. Your votes decide who advances in the Alpha Showdown 2012.
You know him from: Immortals After Dark by Kresley Cole
First appeared in: A Hunger Like No Other (VBC review, Under the Covers review, Buy it at Amazon)
Supernatural status: Vampire
Championed by: Under the Covers | @UTCbookblog
Behold! Lothaire Konstantin Daciano, Sovereign of Dacia, Realm of Blood and Mist, son of King Stefanovich of the Horde and Ivana Daciano, Heir to throne of Dacia. Grandson of Serghei Daciano King of Dacia. But you can call him Enemy of Old. We just call him Sexy.
Ruthless, brutal, beautiful…maybe a little sanity challenged, he nonetheless has a powerful charisma that will draw you just close enough for him to rip out your heart and gleefully snack on it as you watch. In the bloodthirsty world of the Lore, Lothaire is the most feared and yet most lusted after vampire ever known. With white hair, eyes of blood red, firm, sensual lips with a hint of cruelty and a past so dark and full of secrets, no woman should want to know…but we do.
Having relied on his own cunning strength for centuries, he is a fearsome enemy. Unlike Cat, he needs no government backup or a big bad boyfriend to hold his back. With only his wits and wicked sharp fangs, Lothaire could shank Catherine Crawfield with not a hair out of place. I’m sure her fangs would make a cute pair of earrings for his beloved Bride, Elizabeth.
The half-breed wants to take on the ultimate vampire? No contest. Lothaire would dropkick her so hard not even Chapter 32 could revive her. So, Red Reaper, who’s your daddy?
You know her from: Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
First appeared in: Halfway to the Grave (Louise’s review, VBC review, Buy it at Amazon)
Supernatural status: Vampire… with an occasional heartbeat
Championed by: Louise from Between the Covers | @BtweenTheCovers and @MonsterMaX3
I’m sorry to waste your time with this pesky restating of the obvious, but Chelsea is a stickler for the formalities. So, to make her happy… and to offer the appearance of a fair shake to the others in this competition… I will offer a brief summary of the many reasons why Cat is the biggest badass on the block.
* Cat grew up thinking there was something evil inside of her, thinking that she herself was evil. Despite the conditioning of her whack-a-doodle mother and fanatical grandparents, which would have turned a lesser not-yet-turned half-vamp into a homicidal maniac, she went out nightly to hunt vampires that were faster and stronger than her in an attempt to right the wrong done to her mother, and to prevent anyone else from falling victim.
* Cat is strong, both mentally and physically. She never gives up, never quits. And she never backs down or leaves any of her people behind. Even when the fight is one it looks like she has no chance of winning, she will stand her ground and do all she can to protect those under her care.
* Coldly practical and able to rationalize and strategize with the best of them, Cat manages to maintain her compassion and is utterly loyal to those she cares about. There is not one person she loves who she would not take a bullet for. *pauses to think, counts on fingers… breaks out toes* Actually, there may not BE one person she loves who she hasn’t already taken a bullet for.
Cat is the epitome of what an alpha is: a leader who puts the welfare and safety of those in her care before herself; someone strong enough to defend those too weak to protect themselves; someone willing to make the sacrifices necessary to protect and provide for those under their care. And she does it all in stilettos and skin tight leather. There’s no contest here… Cat has titanium ovaries *thinks all the boys in this showdown… especially Lothaire… should try to top that* and is the obvious choice.
I must totally think of this one b/c I”ve read NH and I”ve read some of Lothaire, but haven’t finished, but I know enough about him to absolutely love him. ARRRGHHHH!!!! I don’t know. I’ll come back later. 🙂
Definitely Lothaire. I haven’t been able to finish a Night Huntress book. There’s just something about them that I don’t like.
But Lothaire is awesome. He’s so bloodthirsty and sexy.
Im the same way Kate. I have tried and tried to finish them and I just cant do it. It may be because the characters name is Cat. I HATE HATE HATE cats. Cant stand them. I know its stupid of me but I keep picturing this cat my child hood best friend had. It was a psycho little thing. Jumped on me claws out when I was sleeping. And the stupid thing was name Katherine. My bf had a sense of humor huh?
Besides I would vote for Lothaire over anyone. That is my man. I have dreams of him at night. 😉
Gosh. I love Cat but I’m remembering that picture of you and Lothaire from the book signing, Chels, and it’s swaying me. [yes, I’m a teeny, tiny bit shallow] I don’t know which way to vote!
Kelly, if you need visuals I’ll put on my leather jacket and a pair of boots then go stand in the sunlight so my hair looks more red so you can see my total embodiment of Cat. *nods and crosses heart* #CommittedLikeWhoa
*excitement level high* Yes, Lou! YES! You should totally do that! And take pictures. Lots of pictures. Makes them action shots. And if it’s at all possible, find a nice man to stand in as Bones. Please.
Mmm. Lothaire and I made a lovely couple, no?
Absolutely lovely!
Car is kicking ass in this one! High five for the girl !
I’m all for girl power, but Lothaire can dematerialize. And he’s really sneaky. And sort of demented, which makes him unpredictable.
Sneaky sneaky. I like.
Red Reaper is awesome!!!! She took a beating from Bones and also a heartbreak!! She’s known as the Red Reaper for a reason!! She takes on powerful vampires without worries!! Oh and she’s married to Bones!!
Love RED REAPER! Its close….she needs more votes!
No matter how strong this guy might be, Cat makes it!
She’s the strongest woman ever 😀
She will win for sure!
“a little sanity challenged” had me laughing. Love his royal craziness (sorry beloved Cat) and his unique idea of giving away his heart.. so Lothaire it is for me! 🙂
I’m all over Paul, and he’s my lothaire now, but CAT FTW!!
I love Cat through and through but against The Enemy of Old…sorry but this point’s going to the man…er..vamp…uh…vampire man guy. Yeah!
I love that Cat is stomping this useless guy in the ground.
Don’t you think the Oded Fehr would make an awesome Mencheres if they did a movie!!
I love Cat but without backup from Bones, Vlad and Mencheres she doesn’t stand a chance against the Enemy of Old. All he has to do is flash and shank her with some silver. It’s Lothaire all the way for me.
…and we both know he’d go for the shank.
Mel, you evil woman. Leave the Romanian out of this. You know Vlad would light Lothaire’s boy parts up just to protect Cat. Not that she would need it, of course. She would land a couple of knives before the Enemy of Old could dematerialize.
Candace, you mention Vlad roasting Lothaire’s dangly bits and now I’m picturing the bloody showhound and the Enemy of Old fighting. Thing is they are naked, covered in oil and begging me to join them. Granted they’d probably eat me alive but I don’t have a problem with that. *sinister grin*
Oh, the visuals that creates. Nnnngh:)
I’m still going with Cat. Our boy, Lothaire has pissed so many people off, he’s spending too much time watching behind his back to see Cat slinging her knives. He’s got Valkyrie, witches, demons and all sorts of BSC factions after him.
Oh my. This was a tough one. But Lothaire it is. Come on. He has no conscience. He is always right ( well his thoughts anyway) he never second guesses himself because he is alway 10 steps ahead of everyone’s next move
TITANIUM OVARIES! BWA HA HA! Let’s just be honest, I would offer up an artery for the Enemy of Old anytime, but Cat kicks ass, takes names and when she’s done, finds new and interesting places on Bones to feed from. She’s Alpha material not because of the guys around her, but because she doesn’t need them. Rock on, Reaper. Rock on.
Wow, this is hard. I have read both books and love Lotharie and Cat. Think I am going to go with Cat though just because us girls need to stick together. Besides Elizabeth would kick Lothaire butte for killing someone else, and you know Lothaire would do anything for her. After all, he did cut out his heart and give to her and then was going to do it again. Oh my …
While my vote (naturally) went to Cat, I have to give props to Under the Covers for the following sentence:
Lothaire would dropkick her so hard not even Chapter 32 could revive her.
Laughed myself silly over that one.
Why do we have to pit men versus women? Couldn’t we do one bracket for men and one bracket for women and pick an Alpha couple?
Christime, that’s a thought, but really, would it be fair to the men? We grow children, manage finances and leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s not really fair to single men out to their special group just because they can’t do that.
Plus, vampire slayer vs. vampire makes sense regardless of gender.
I agree!
Oh this one is tough. Love both of them. Had to go with Cat though. 🙂
Arrghh, this is hard. I think Lothaire has superior skills and experience…but Cat is Cat. She’s a whack job who’s taken so many bullets (and kicks, knives, arrows to the knee…) she may as well be totally inured to pain. How do you take down an idiot who just keeps getting back up? I think I’ll go with Cat on this one…I may be biased coz I love her so much though :p
Lothaira is a Super Master Vampire, but not sure if he could beat the Reaper. Besides Bones would get him. Wouldn’t that be fun.
I voted for Lothaire. I actually like both characters and it was a tough call but I decided on L because he has no scrupules. He wouldn’t hesitate in a fight nor would his feelings get the better of him, also he’s way older and more experienced. That’s the only reason. 😉
If, this comes down to Bones & Cat, no way would Bones hurt her.
Go Cat! Go Cat!!
Definitely Cat…I mean Lothaire is totally hot and yummy and everything else, but Cat can still kick his ass!
This was a tough one. Cat, I think, would win in the end. Her mind never stops with just ONE thought on how to kill a vampire. But Lothaire is just as calculating. Even now, I’m really not sure I made the right decision.
This was a hard decision but I have to go with Lothaire on this one. He’s cold, bloodthirsty and doesn’t care about anything (well except Elizabeth). Where as Cat though she’s determined usually has some kind of back up with her. She does what she does for those she cares about but Lothaire is in it for himself and always, always has a plan.
This was a hard decision but I had to go with Cat because she’s a woman!
Wow, this was a tough one for me. I love them both, but I had to go with Cat.
I’ve got to go with Cat. She can absorb the powers of other vamps by taking their blood. All she’d have to do is get fangs in Lothaire and she would have any powers he did, including the dematerialization. Meanwhile, she could have already picked up powers from Bones, Vlad, et al, to get her close enough to take Lothaire’s blood.
REALLY good point, Kiera!
I love,love, LOVE Lothaire.
Cat for sure. I love Jeaniene Frost’s books. Cat is bad assed and no even more so since she is a vampire. And she has bad-assed friends and BONES. She is a lucky girl to have such a gorgeous, sexy husband.
I just broke the tie, go Cat!!
Cat all the way. I ❤ her
As much as I love Cat, she’s no match for Lothaire. Now, if you had put Bones up next to him, we would have a different sort of bat-race.
Or put Vlad up against him even. Oh yeah, then we get to have some serious fun.
Cat all the way! I do like Lothaire, but… no. Cat still beats him.
LOTHY All the way!!!! I love how he gave Ellie his heart and she have him the bird!!!!
Voted for Cat because I haven’t met Lothaire
Kate Daniels is the only female character I can think of that could take down Lothaire, but it would be a close fight!
I was thinking about Kate Daniels too, she could take him. There is also Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin. Cat, Kate, & Gin all great with knives.
Both Kate and Gin are in the Showdown, so who knows?!
Please vote for GIN in her battle, she really is just that kick ass!
I would never bet against The Enemy Of Old.
I love Lothaire so much, but I love Cat & Bones more, so my vote is for Cat. 🙂
I love Cat! Can you imagine Anita Blake, she is unstoppable!
My vote goes to Cat, I haven’t read Immortals After Dark yet but Cat is one of the strongest vamps out there. Then again, I love the series so I might be biased ^.^
Oh my word, look how close it is!! Mind you I imagine it would be very close if these two ever did face off!
Amazing battle 🙂
No question about it Lothaire would kick som butt! He is all alpha and sexy as hell.
Lothaire!!! :))
While I love Cat, I have to admit Lothaire is definitely the bigger Alpha…
There was never any doubt. I am superlative, after all *weg*
Definitely CAT!!! She is one of the strongest Vamps I know outthere.
:0 that is impossible!!!
Cat lost :0
Know Boned have to take revenge!!!