Vampire Winter

I almost passed up this book because I thought the cover was cheesey. I'm glad I didn't. This is a great story!

Blaine Kittredge woke up to find that mankind had finally done it. World War Three. Chicago was in ruins, survivors were fleeing the burning cities and the sun was blocked by the nuclear winter that had been created by the bombs. For a amoral vampire this SHOULD be a perfect time. But it isn't. Many of the humans have become contaminated, radiation sickness making their blood useless to him. And the heathly humans are in danger from roaming bands of looters and killers, as food and water becomes more and more scarce.Can he learn to feed without killing? Can he learn to protect the humans he needs to live or will he give into his hunger?I think Kittredge is one of the most realistic vampires I have ever read about. He never pretends to be a good guy, he starts out doing what he does purely for selfish reasons. He doesn't want to be a Rock Star or a God or discover the secrets of the Universe - he just wants to live.And we don't know what will happen when the sun returns after the winter ends.

First book I ever read about a vampire surviving world war 3 and having to protect humans so he has something to feed on. Outstanding!!!

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Part vampire story and part gritty survivalist story, the author creates a skewed universe in which the reader comes to feel equal amounts of sympathy and antipathy for the characters. The protagonist, Blaine Kittredge (the one grating note in this story is the romance novel name for the vampire), is a vampire who likes killing and fear and madness. He comes to realize that not only must he stop killing in order to be able to survive after a nuclear holocaust, but he must help his prey survive, as well. They fear him but reluctantly depend upon him, as the line between enemies and allies continually shifts and changes, post-apocalypse.An interesting take on the vampire mythos, and worth a read.

Blaine Kittredge is a vampire who survives the dropping of a nuclear bomb (actually the dropping of nuclear bombs perhaps all over the world -- we never learn the full extent of the devastation). The symbiotic relationship that develops between Kittredge and the human survivors is pretty much the story of this book. And what a great story it is! I can't help thinking what a great movie it would make, as long as the makers kept strictly to the storyline and didn't twist and warp it out of recognition, e.g., have Kittredge fall in love or endow him with utterly fantastic supernatural capabilities. It is simply a really, really good vampire story and I highly recommend it.