DNF 55%

This is the worst book by Dana Simmons, even worse than "Abomination"! The irritating hematologist, the poor descriptions - generally it's just dull and naïve. Maybe the fantasy part was written by Graham Masterton! The improbable plot twists, as sensational as in B-movies - that's his style. However, the part about the real events in Romania during and after the Ceausescu regimes is much more in Simmons' writing style, although it's not even at the level of "The Song of Kali".

I feel so disappointed...

This book started off with some promise, but quickly descended into a mess of clichés and uninteresting characters. The story seemed to jump around without any real direction, and the attempts at creating suspense were laughable. I found myself skimming through large sections just to get to the end.

The only redeeming feature was the bit about Romania, which was quite interesting and well-researched. But even that wasn't enough to save the book from being a total flop.

I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless you're a die-hard fan of Dana Simmons or really into bad horror novels.

For me, this one from Simmons is such a disappointment. There are barely any vampire scenes, which is really a letdown. Instead, it mostly just follows a couple of characters that I simply wasn't invested in at all. It's quite frustrating as I was really looking forward to more exciting vampire-related action and storylines. But unfortunately, what we get is a narrative that seems to focus on these uninteresting characters, making it difficult for me to engage with the movie or book (whichever it is). I had high hopes for this, especially considering the vampire theme, but it just didn't deliver in the way I expected.

5 Stars

This book was an absolute whirlwind of horror, sacrifice, science, and vampires (Strigoi). It was like nothing I had ever seen or read about before. I have a particular love for when an alternate vampire existence is created for our consumption.

Immunologist Kate Neuman adopts a Romanian infant who has a rare "genetic disorder". Her intention is to cure him and, in the process, find a cure for AIDS. However, it turns out that others also have an interest in the child. These others are vampires who don't die easily and just keep coming after them.

The cat and mouse game that unfolds from the moment of adoption until the end of the book is both exciting and frustrating. It's exciting because you never know who to trust, where to go, and even with the background information provided, you still can't quite figure out why things are happening the way they do. You just want the chaos to stop. But it's also frustrating for the exact same reasons. This book really wore me out.

And the ending.... damn. LOL. It was unexpected and left me with a mix of emotions. Overall, it was a thrilling read that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good vampire story with a twist.

As per usual, the author put meticulous research into this book.

I purchased it years ago after reading Summer of Night, and I deeply regret leaving it untouched for so long.

If you are a vampire enthusiast yet tired of the overused tropes, this book is tailor-made for you.

Hell, even the account of actual Romania during that time and the situation of “Romanian Orphans” is a real-life horror story.

And, of course, anything regarding the alleged horrors that Vlad the Impaler wrought is, well, excellent horror.

The protagonist is female, and refreshingly, there are no descriptions of her firm yet supple breasts or her womanly figure, nor any mentions of how she’s hot but doesn’t know it. I love it. She’s just a smart woman ready to sacrifice her life for her baby. (Although he does write that she got hit in the breasts when saying she got hit in the chest would have made more sense. After all, she’s a woman - the breasts are implied if you say chest.)

There are some plot holes that I’m attempting to figure out, especially concerning the characters Lucien and the old rich dude whose name I forget.

There’s also a sex scene that is extremely steamy, especially for women. And the protagonist is a bit of a horny one, which is awesome because a lot of women do love sex! Yes indeed, she’s checking out all the sexy men.

Not a bad read for an old school horror novel. An American doctor adopts a sick baby boy from an appalling Romanian orphanage. To his surprise, he discovers two things. Firstly, the baby has an odd medical condition that might potentially contribute to a cure for AIDS and cancer. Secondly, there are evil forces in Romania that want the baby back.

I really liked the protagonists. The doctor teams up with a resourceful priest and they embark on a journey that takes them around Europe. Surprisingly, this traveling aspect was quite interesting. However, I was a bit disappointed by the vampire bad guys. They seemed to be mostly just evil for the sake of being evil. There were some gory flashbacks to Vlad Tepes’s glory days, and Simmons did put some effort into the historical background. The scientific explanation for vampirism was fairly good. But the action-movie ending was highly improbable.

I chose this novel because I like Dan Simmons. However, horror isn’t one of my favorite genres. I think this book would probably work better for fans of the horror genre. It’s not one of Simmons’s better novels, but his writing is always above the average. It has its flaws, but it also has some interesting elements that make it worth a read.

4.5 stars.

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This rating serves as a powerful endorsement and recommendation for others to consider. It gives potential customers or users the confidence that they will be getting something truly outstanding.

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Whether it's a product review, a service evaluation, or a customer feedback, a 4.5-star rating is something to be proud of and something that can attract more business and success.

So, if you see a 4.5-star rating, you can be sure that you're dealing with something special. It's worth taking a closer look and experiencing it for yourself.

**Original Article**: This is a short article. It needs to be rewritten and expanded.

**Expanded Article**:

This is a rather concise article.

It is in need of being rewritten and significantly expanded.

To achieve this, more details, examples, and explanations can be added.

Perhaps we could explore different aspects related to the topic, provide more in-depth analysis, or offer additional perspectives.

By doing so, the article will become more comprehensive and engaging for the readers.

More to come as we continue to work on enhancing this piece of writing.

Be forewarned that Children of the Night commences with a brutally realistic portrayal of post-Communist Romania. The inhumane treatment of thousands of babies described within is truly disturbing. It is a harsh and unflinching look at a dark period.

Once past that initial section, one must beware of the segments interspersed throughout the book written with the voice of "Vlad the Impaler" (the original Dracula). These parts are gruesome, gory, and scary as hell. The vivid and macabre descriptions can send shivers down the spine.

However, a few parts of the book, including the ending, had a bit of a James Bondish feel to them. There were elements of excitement and adventure that added a different flavor to the story. Overall, it is a fast-moving and entertaining read that also has an important scientific twist.

As a new fan of Dan Simmons, The Terror is next on the reading list. I am eager to see what other thrills and chills Simmons has in store.

The image of vampires has been captivating the authorities of the thriller literature for almost 122 years now. Ever since Bram Stoker "set the stage, forged the coffin, and poured concrete into the foundations" with his canonical novel Dracula (first published on May 26, 1897). Well-known and unknown creators have been giving their own interpretations of the theme, and the genre has been blooming and acquiring terrifying dimensions for the joy of the loyal fans.

In my reading diary (the improvised classification is, of course, the fruit of personal opinion), there are titles that I didn't particularly like (Twilight, The Vampire's Chair), but I also wrote down some decent things (Interview with the Vampire, The Historian, Let the Right One In, The Strain, The Skin Trade), and there are also masterpieces (I Am Legend, Salem's Lot). Even I, the humble scribbler, have sharpened my pen to roam this boundless Universe with The Clinic in the Middle of the Night...

But let's return to "Children of the Night", a novel that ranks among the masterpieces not so much because of its breathtaking plot (which it indeed has, but so does every thriller), but rather because of its excellent scientifically grounded explanation of the vampire question and the interesting historical factology. Punctual, as we are used to seeing him, Dan Simmons creates a dark tale set in post-communist Romania, faithful to the principle that there is no more brutal horror author than life itself. And the Ceausescu regime was indeed inhumane. The satrap depopulates entire villages in an attempt at so-called systematization - concentrating people in urban panel ghettos, banning abortions and contraception for those same people, and at a certain point, hundreds of thousands of surplus children are thrown into the bright world. Children raised in syrupy institutions without any hygienic conditions, children injected with blood for enhancement and as a result, infected with hepatitis and the HIV virus... Reading all these horrifying details, I was convinced that the title of the novel was not referring only to the vampires...

The scientific-research basis of the book was also brilliantly laid. The profession of the main heroine - a hematologist - gave the encyclopedist Simmons the opportunity to go into raptures, although at a certain point (personal opinion) he gets drowned in the immunological details. The interludes with the mentions of Vlad the Impaler, Dreams of Blood and Iron, the fruit of, without a doubt, hundreds of hours of research, added a pinch of historical authenticity that I really liked. I can't help but mention the author's Preface - it was interesting for me to peek into the mind of Dan Simmons and understand that he is also a talented artist... A man-orchestra, as they say :) In conclusion, I must note that in this novel there were no such seemingly endless sentences as I found in Ilium and The Terror, and this made the reading even easier.

"Children of the Night" is by no means a flawless novel. Some plot solutions (even the very connection with the inoculation of a sick Romanian child by an American doctor, although Americans really were inoculating children at that time, but...) sounded a bit unconvincing to me, and I also found here and there some small logical flaws (one example - in a poor Romanian village, the heroes drink Scotch and eat chocolate biscuits), but which author doesn't allow such things, and who am I to judge one of the GREAT ONES?

George Ralph was the narrator.

His proficiency in using Eastern European accents like Romanian and Budapest was quite remarkable. However, during lengthy passages, he had a tendency to forget to maintain his accent, causing it to slip away and then return. Nevertheless, aside from this minor flaw, he was very good.

I'm not entirely certain how this novel fits into the three-book series Seasons of Horror. At the beginning of this novel, I was dreadfully confused as it had no connection to the third novel in the series, which I had inadvertently read first last month. But as the story progressed and delved into using science to describe vampirism and its effects on a baby named Joshua, it became truly fascinating, and I was soon captivated. Even with the highly scientific medical jargon that was far beyond my comprehension, this novel managed to hold my interest throughout.

Unfortunately, after finishing this novel, it appears that I have read the second novel (this one) instead of the first, as I had originally intended. So, I suppose I'm working my way backwards, and since there's nothing else I can do, I'll continue to do so. Moreover, since I'm enjoying all of them, I don't even mind.

4 stars, and recommended.

When I read the introduction to this book, I was truly excited.

It seemed to promise a captivating story that would draw me in and keep me on the edge of my seat.

And when I delved into the first handful of chapters, I was both horrified and intrigued.

The author had managed to create a sense of mystery and suspense that made me eager to find out what would happen next.

However, from that point on, things went downhill rather quickly.

The characterization in this book was simply awful.

It was so bad that I didn't have any emotional connection to any of the characters.

Kate, in particular, was written in such a way that I was cringing almost the entire time.

Mike wasn't much better.

Furthermore, the book was far too long.

So much of the middle portion was dull and dragged on, making it a chore to get through.

It's a real shame because the premise of the book was actually quite great.

The setting was incredibly interesting and had a lot of potential.

But despite these promising elements, I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy reading it.

It's a disappointment when a book starts off with so much potential but fails to deliver in the end.

Ok so here it is. This is a vampire book that has a unique twist. The twist is that they aren't really vampires in the traditional sense. Instead, they are just genetic freaks who have a craving for power.

The story began in an intriguing manner. However, it didn't take long for it to lose its appeal and start to feel rather拖沓. Kate, the main character, is generally an unlikable figure. She muddles through the story, often missing the obvious and getting herself into situations that she has no real control over. When the story returns to Romania, it just gets plain strange. Her relationship with the priest seems out of place. She constantly stumbles from one bad situation to another, and yet somehow manages to come out okay (ish).

The "Dracula" history flashbacks seem a bit disconnected from the events that are unfolding. While they do provide some backstory, personally, I found them rather jarring. The ending leaves things open for future stories, but I truly hope the author never decides to pursue them.