Early Review: The President’s Vampire by Chris Farnsworth

The President’s Vampire (Nathaniel Cade #2)
Chris Farnsworth
Published: April 28, 2011 (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

Ladies and gents, The President’s Vampire is not your standard vampire fare.

Chris Farnsworth gives us the supernatural equivalent to 24 with vampire Nathaniel Cade as our Jack Bauer.

Long ago Cade swore a blood oath to protect the President of the United States and the country. He works as black ops taking care of the nasties that come from the Other Side. For the last century he’s been working to exterminate reptilian hybrids — what his handler Zach calls Snakeheads. But they keep changing and now they’re showing up in the middle of enemy territory. Cade arrives and slaughters, but someone is pulling the strings now. Probably someone within The Shadow Company (a.k.a. the ultimate bad Men in Black).

Vampire Cade is very clearly not human. Everyone he encounters shies away, because there is an instinctual pull away from predators. And that’s truly what Cade is: a predator who sees others as either threats or prey. Despite this, he still willingly entered the oath and is incredibly loyal. Just, you know, super scary simultaneously. You want him on your side. His handler Zach is still adjusting to working with the living dead, but Cade keeps saving his life and the work needs to be done.

We aren’t about to spoil the plot on this one. It’s a thriller and you need to experience each event as it unravels. But expect that The Shadow Company has men everywhere and being aware of the infiltration isn’t always enough. Big plans have been set into action, and now Cade has to stop them to save not just the U.S., but humanity.

All of Farnsworth’s writing is precise, but it’s particularly extraordinary during action sequences from Cade’s point-of-view. The sharp, almost staccato prose matches the lightning-fast moments and detachment of the otherworldly assassin.

It was easy to get swept up into the fast-paced story of espionage and a decades-long mission coming to a head. If you appreciate a good mystery, a brilliant take on the vampire and stellar writing, The President’s Vampire is a must.

Note: The first novel in this series is Blood Oath, but Farnsworth has crafted The President’s Vampire in a way that you can enjoy it without having read the prior novel.

Sexual content: One brief sex scene