Shadow saga #1 saints shadows

Peter Octavian is a vampire. But vampires are not what we humans have been told they are, at least not in Christopher Golden's fascinating tale of intrigue. Of Saints and Shadows is the first in a series of novels entitled the Shadow Saga. It is a dark, fast action, at times gory, but completely in a cool way, poli-religious vampire adventure. Whew! Say that ten times fast. Peter was brought over to live among the vampires or `shadows' as they call themselves, the Roman Catholic church calls them The Defiant Ones and believes they must be stopped...at all costs. Therefore, the church has an ultra secret group of sorcerers/mystics/wizards for lack of a better word. It is these people's jobs to control the dark forces in the universe. Peter, over the years, has become enlightened about the boundaries and lies placed on his race and chooses to step up to the plate and engage in an all or nothing battle for survival. This is a fantastic series. There is romance, conventional and not in Of Saints And Shadows. Meaghan Gallagher lost her best friend and lover in one night and become closely acquainted with Peter. Knowing the things she does, she must choose where she stands and how much of this altered reality she can stand. I was thrilled to see such ingenuity in a vampire series. This is definitely a different take on things. Strong characters, compassionate. Mr. Golden does a fantastic job of hooking the reader and sucking the reader into his world.

I found this book quite by accident and immediately fell in love. This is a completely different take on vampires and is actually my favorite novel - beating out Tanya Huff's series and even the Anita Blake series. If you like vampire or horror novels you will love this book. Our hero is Peter Octavian, a vampire called a "defiant one", and definitely one of the good guys. He is a private investigator investigating a missing persons case for a friend of his. What makes Peter so likeable is that he is a great guy, but he is also all alone. He left his fellow vampires because he did not believe in their beliefs, and struck out on his own. He knows secrets about vampires that could help his vampire family, but no one believes him. They think of him as an outcast. When you read about Peter, and realize what a good person he is, and how caring he is of humans, his fellow vampires and even the world in general, you really grow to like him. Also he is such a good strong guy, and you empathize with him because he is all alone without anyone to call family or friend. Peter gets pulled into a missing persons case that will lead him to a conspiracy involving his "family" of vampires, the church, other "evil" vampire clans and a variety of very interesting characters. This is an excellent excellent story. I highly recommend to all. You will not be disappointed. If you want to read the entire series, it is called the Shadow Saga and book 1 is Of Saints and Shadows (2) Angel Souls and Devil Hearts (3) Of Masques and Martyrs and (4) The Gathering Dark. I enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed the first four anita blake novels and more than the tanya huff series. I highly highly recommend.

I must admit, I have read Christopher Golden's works before, and this is most definetely one of the best. The descriptions and writing were grand. The characters had personality and feeling which one does not normally find in many writings. The gore and "sex" scenes were also great and descriptive > : ) Overall, this was an excellent book, and I cannot wait to go out and buy the other two! Great job Chris!

Golden offers a really good read and a unique brand of vampires that battle a secret sect of the Catholic Church bent on their destruction. Characters are vivid and real, and the storyline is exciting as it moves toward an impending, explosive climax.Peter Octavian is a bit of a loner in the vampire world. Having left his blood father and coven, he lives on his own working as a detective. We quickly find out that Octavian has made some realizations about vampire nature and the myths about them... crosses don't harm him, and he has even learned to walk in daylight!As grisly murders occur in his hometown, he is drawn into a mystery surrounding a powerful book stolen from a secret chamber of a Vatican library and an ominous secret society in the Church desperate to have it back. It may very well be the key to magic, sorcery, and the vampires themselves.So exciting... I just started the second book, Angel Souls and Devil Hearts. Loving it, too!

This is one of the best vampire books I've read. What makes it so great is that there is a very original twist to it. The relationship between church and the vampires in this book is very original. The writing style is very easy to follow and the story is very good. It really made me want to get the other books in the series.The characters in this book are very interesting as well. They are rather well developed and aren't your standard, cookie cutter characters that you find in a lot of novels.Briefly, this book is about a vampire who realizes that all of the restrictions that vampires face are only there because the church has brainwashed them into believing them. By focusing on believing, for example, that sunlight is not dangerous, the vampires can be in the sun with no ill effects. The church, on the other hand, wants the vampires destroyed and has squads of assassins to work towards this end. This has the potential to be an excellent series. I very strongly recommend this book to any lover of vampire lore.