This is a remarkable and traditional vampire novel. Vlad is truly as traditional as one can imagine, isn't he? The story is told with a significant amount of political intrigue, along with suspense, medical, and thriller elements seamlessly incorporated.

Although it may not have aged as gracefully as many of his other "contemporary" novels, it still remains a fine and fang-filled source of entertainment for all.

Interestingly, it has a slight connection to three of his other books, which are loosely referred to as the Seasons of Horror series. However, it can be fully appreciated on its own merits.

Readers will find themselves drawn into the captivating world of Vlad and his vampire adventures, filled with mystery, danger, and a touch of the supernatural.

The combination of different genres makes this novel a unique and engaging read that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Whether you're a fan of vampire novels or simply looking for a thrilling and entertaining read, this book is definitely worth checking out.

I don't even know what rating to give this book.

On one hand, you have vampires who don't do much besides meet up and run the show behind the scenes. At least they don't sparkle, which is a plus.

On the other hand, you have a doctor who is all over the map with her feelings and/or goals. She fails to see how the death of one person can be a necessary sacrifice when it comes to saving millions of others.

On top of this, you have a priest who is not much of a priest but more of an informational character. He is always there when it comes to talking to the right people and getting the important details out of them to progress the plot forward.

Overall, the book did not wow me in any way. All the talk of numerous streets, towns, roads, and the struggles of Europe did not interest me too much. (Ironically, since I am from Eastern Europe.) There was also a crapload of scientific talk which sometimes went on for pages and did not reveal much. At one point, I said, "I get it, he is a _____. Let's move on."

Simmons is a great author, but this book did not impress me much. It did not offer anything too surprising concerning the vampire lore. And if you have a story concerning one woman taking on a large group of vampires and still coming out on top, my attention span for these types of stories will severely decrease.

I'll give Simmons one thing though. He will definitely not shy away from killing likable characters. Still, it does not come even close to George R.R. Martin and his unquenchable blood thirst.

This book leans more towards a spy adventure than a horror novel.

It centers around a woman who, being an American medical doctor working in Romania, adopts a rather sickly child and takes him back to the states.

However, it turns out that this baby has ties to powerful vampires, and the woman is terrorized when the infant is kidnapped.

What ensues is a globetrotting adventure back to the wilds of Romania with a handsome priest. Interestingly, this priest is one of the kids from the first book all grown up, which is the only connection to the other story.

The setting is especially captivating as the nation is depicted in a period of rebuilding after the fall of a fascist dictator, with extensive details about the often-misunderstood Eastern European nation.

Nonetheless, there isn't a great deal of action, and it can be a bit confusing as an exciting sequence at the beginning leads the reader to expect more. In reality, it's mostly about driving, priestly romance, and a Romanian travelogue.

For the most part, it is well-written and offers an interesting blend of adventure, detailed medical science, and vampire lore.

But it feels as if the author overlooked the crucial element of excitement that would otherwise have made this a perfect action-packed story.

My name is Simmons.

A doctor departs for Romania to voluntarily assist with the problem refugees right after the fall of the regime there. She discovers a child with a rarely encountered blood disease and decides to save his life. However, the child turns out not to be what she thought and is soon taken away. She will do everything to get him back.

It's a very powerful book, but I didn't understand why it's part of the Seasons.

The descriptions of Romania after the fall of Ceausescu make Calcutta in "The Song of Kali" seem like a children's camp, and the chapters with the mentions of Vlad the Impaler, drawn from reliable historical sources, make you shiver. The full medical justification of vampirism also sounded quite real, although I had problems with the terminology in some places.

It's a thoroughly engrossing novel where every page builds up tension towards the final conflict. Every time there are more explanations, the story pulls me back into the book. The typical huge stream of information from the author once again makes me read a lot of page details, and some of them are quite hard to find.

Simmons has an undeniable talent for writing.

The early chapters of this book are remarkable. They are understated, yet they manage to send shivers down your spine. The pacing is excellent, and the atmosphere is rich and immersive.

His take on the Dracula myth is truly unique. You can't easily predict where he's going with it, and the plot is equally unpredictable.

However, halfway through, the book takes a bit of a turn. It starts to resemble a Robert Ludlum novel, and unfortunately, it careens into a rather huge and sloppy ending.

Despite this flaw, it's still better than Kostova's The Historian.

But the reason Simmons retains my loyalty is that when he wants to be, he can be truly outstanding.

And even when he's not at his absolute best, he still outshines almost all other pop fiction writers in terms of literacy.

His writing is always engaging and intelligent, and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

This book is really not that great. The pacing is bad, with a long section of uninteresting medical jargon. The plot twists seem rather contrived, and there are some really awkward and unnecessary passages.

For example, the sex scene between Kate and Mike or the rape scene that could have been easily omitted. The plot reversal is so obvious that you can see it coming from miles away, and the passages where Vlad goes on about being "evil" in the past are just tiresome.

Overall, this book fails to engage the reader and leaves a lot to be desired. It could have been a lot better if the author had focused more on developing the characters and the plot in a more natural and interesting way.

No. Just no.

The story simply didn't engage me, and neither did the characters.

I am awarding Dan Simmons just 1 Star for his unique take on vampires.

It's good that he tried something new, at least from my perspective.

However, it just wasn't sufficient to make me enjoy the book.

The concept of vampires has been explored in countless ways, and while Simmons' approach had its moments, it failed to truly grip me.

The story lacked depth and the characters felt one-dimensional.

Perhaps if he had delved deeper into their personalities and motivations, I might have been more invested.

Overall, it was a disappointment, and I can't recommend this book to others who are looking for a truly captivating vampire story.

Leave it to Dan Simmons to pen an intelligent vampire story. I wouldn't anticipate anything less from him. He's one of my favorite American authors. I also believe that he is severely underrated and often goes unnoticed. It's a pity that a hack like James Patterson and his kind are so widely known and beloved by the masses, while someone like Simmons, a truly talented writer, writes a thousand times better.

I haven't yet devoured everything Dan Simmons has written, but I have read "Song of Kali," "Summer of Night," "The Terror," "Drood: A Novel," "A Winter Haunting," and "Flashback" to date. All of them are exceptionally well-written and a joy to read. No matter what genre Simmons chooses to take on, his stories all sparkle with intelligent concepts, surprises, and well-crafted dialogue and description.

I relished this story of a doctor who specializes in blood diseases and such, who unknowingly adopts a Romanian baby, a vampire. In less capable hands, this could have been lackluster or cheesy, but a master like the author makes this captivating, believable, and quite the thriller. Highly recommended.

Regardless of the story of Vlad the Impaler himself, the novel is full of clichés. It seems that the author has relied too much on the common and overused elements that have become almost a standard in this genre. There are the typical descriptions of the dark and阴森的 castles, the mysterious and brooding characters, and the predictable plot twists. While the subject matter of Vlad the Impaler is indeed fascinating, the way it is presented in this novel fails to bring any fresh perspectives or excitement.

Rating: still only 2⭐. This score indicates that the novel has some basic elements that make it readable, but it lacks the depth and innovation that would make it a truly great work. It may be enjoyable for those who are simply looking for a quick and easy read within the vampire or horror genre, but for more discerning readers, it will likely fall short of expectations.

This is the first book I've read by Dan Simmons, and I'm completely hooked. I have every intention of delving deeper into his body of work.

The book is written with such elegance and beauty. As a Communications major, I have a keen eye for the artistry of a well-crafted paragraph. The word choices are truly phenomenal, allowing me to vividly picture myself in Romania, right beside Kate, experiencing everything she does with such meticulous detail.

I found myself staying up countless nights, unable to put the book down, eagerly anticipating what would happen next. The plot twists are sudden and completely unexpected, keeping me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. While I'm not a huge fan of the often overused vampire genre, I do have a soft spot for Dracula and less romance-oriented vampire stories. Despite the abundance of medical jargon, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read. It's clear that a great deal of research went into this book, and it was executed extremely well. In my opinion, it's truly impressive how Simmons was able to convey all the medical procedures and findings in such a captivating way.

Overall, this book has left a lasting impression on me, and I can't wait to see what else Dan Simmons has in store.

I've avoided reviewing Dan Simmons' Children of the Night for a long time. When I finished the book, I was so done with it that I simply didn't want to think about it anymore.

However, I've committed to my "review every book I read" New Year's resolution, and I'm not going to let this one stop me.

Let's get started.

THE GOOD

1) Once you cut through the clutter, Children of the Night has a decent story. It attempts to tell the history of Vlad Tepes and vampires, but without the typical horror, magic, and allure found in most vampire books. This is a bit of a backhanded compliment, but I do give Simmons credit for his efforts. It's a unique vampire story.

The central plot involves an American doctor named Kate who is working in Romanian hospitals when she discovers an orphan baby with a strange blood disorder that might be the key to curing AIDS. Long story short: Kate adopts the baby, the baby is kidnapped, and Kate teams up with a hunky priest to get the baby back.

This book would make a great action/horror movie. The story was a fun ride. Wes Craven could have really made it shine!

2) The old vampire parts. A few times in the book, we switch perspectives to an old vampire king (either Tepes himself or a descendant, I can't remember). He's tired and spends his days napping and reminiscing until the right heir can be found so he can die peacefully after abdicating the throne.

I thought using the old vampire's thoughts to convey some heavy-handed exposition was a clever move. These parts also provided some of the real horror moments in the book. Since the central plot becomes less important, this sub-plot was my favorite part of the whole thing.

3) The end. I won't give it away, but the ending of this book is really good!

THE BAD

1) You can tell that Simmons did a lot of research for this book and worked hard to make everything historically accurate. And yes, that sounds like a good thing, but I can't praise him for it. The truth is that his dedication to authenticity actually hurts the novel rather than helps it.

Simmons focuses on uninteresting details like street names, locations, Romanian political history, and the medical explanation of how vampirism "works". One of my biggest complaints is that he seems to focus on all the wrong parts of the story.

If Simmons had just stuck to the vampire baby kidnapping plot, this review would be very different. I respect his attempt to shed light on the terrible state of Romanian orphanages at the time, but all the other extra stuff was boring and tedious.

2) Children of the Night is extremely cheesy and predictable. I'm amazed my eyes are still in their sockets after all the eye-rolling I did while reading this.

But here's the thing. I kind of like cheesy stuff. So about half of the cheesy, predictable elements still worked for me. However, the combination of schlock, tropes, and ridiculous contrivances, along with the insistence on a detailed and logical explanation for everything, just didn't work well together.

Someone should have told Simmons to either make this a historically accurate vampire legend or a fun, schlocky action/horror story, not a mix of both. I can't take it seriously when there's stuff like this: "Kate found herself admiring his small rear end in a way that was far from medical." (p.269)

3) The romance. As soon as we met Father Mike O'Rourke, I knew there would be a romance between him and Kate. And I hated it. It was cringy, inappropriate, and unnecessary.

4) The horror. The description of the Romanian orphanages is the most horrifying thing in this book. We got a bit of horror from the old vampire king, but that was it. This is more of an action/adventure than a horror novel.

So that's my take on this one. I gave Dan Simmons' Children of the Night 3 out of 5 stars. It's a very low 3, I admit. I enjoyed about half of the book and laughed a lot while reading it. I know that probably wasn't the reaction Simmons was hoping for, but there it is.

I don't recommend this book. There are much better vampire stories out there.

This was not at all what I expected.

It bore absolutely no similarities with Summer of Night, other than the character Mike O'Rourke. So, it could certainly be read as a stand-alone.

I wasn't entirely sure going in what I thought of this. I ended up liking it. I found Simmons' vampire tale to be a refreshing and unique take on a well-abused genre.

It was interesting to see how he developed the story and the characters. The setting was vividly described, making it easy to picture in my mind.

The plot had its twists and turns, keeping me engaged throughout.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of vampire stories or just looking for a good read. It offers a different perspective and is well worth the time.