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Ruthlessly Thrown Overboard
Vampire’s Day: Epicenter takes place in LA where bloodthirsty vampires are taking over the city and only a few people stand in their way. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
My inspiration was the best action movies of the eighties, such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. It just so happened that they were filmed in Los Angeles.
I really enjoyed the action in this novel. What scene did you have the most fun writing?
The whole line of Brown – a mercenary who turned the apocalypse into a successful business. And in contrast – the story of Gloria, a simple school bus driver who is forced to stand against vampires without weapons and any training. It’s interesting to watch a bunch of mighty warriors in battle, but how an ordinary person will survive and save others is much, much interesting.
What were some new ideas you wanted to introduce to the vampire genre in this book?
I’m ready to make a sincere confession: I don’t really like vampire’s books and movies too. In my opinion, the genre has become rather ossified, has ceased to develop. Therefore, my novel is an anti-vampire, creating which I set myself the task of getting rid of all the clichés and stamps of vampire literature. You want bloodthirsty vampires – OK, as many as you want, a whole army. But realty in Transylvania, coffins and aspen stakes, ancient prophecies, chosen ones and love triangles – forget it, for this, you need to turn to some another book. Clichés and stamps are ruthlessly thrown overboard, starting with the most important thing – all the action takes place during the day.
This is book one in the Vampire’s Day series. What can readers expect in book two?
They can wait for the continuation of the war, watching the conflict both from the human side and from the vampire’s point of view, when the same event can and will be seen and evaluated in completely different ways. Plus a prequel telling exactly where did vampires who aren’t afraid of the sun come from. It will be unexpected…
AuthAuthor Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Do you enjoy a good thriller but can’t seem to find the right book?
Are you a jaded fan of vampire fiction?
Then look no further, you are in for a treat, and it is bloody good!
This book will shatter all your previous vampire book experience into pieces.
If you think you know what kills a vampire, you are dead wrong. Discard all the romantic fairy tales about vampires and get ready for a horror trip. They are violent, thirsty, and they are coming after you.
What would you do?
This action-packed horror story takes place in urban Los Angeles and its suburbs. Officer Victoria Jimenez is compelled to take the fight against the unstoppable bloodthirsty power. Vampires are in advantage. Forces are unequal. Millions of people’s lives are at stake. Failure seems imminent, and the future is gloomy. What will it take to prevent the apocalypse?
This book is nothing like you’ve read before in any vampire horror books. It is a vivid, shocking and petrifying venture which won’t leave even the most cold-hearted reader untouched.
Its captivating and thrilling plot will keep you on your toes the entire time.
The author takes vampire status on a new level by showing their true nature in this gripping spin of events. They are advanced and fierce creatures, hungry for blood.
How long will it take to leave the whole city of Angels bloodless?
Test your courage by diving into this bloodbath of adventure.
VAMPIRE’S DAY: EPICENTER
![VAMPIRE’S DAY: EPICENTER: Epic horror full of vampire madness. Walking Dead meets Call of Duty. Vampire sun has risen (VAMPIRE'S DAY Book 1) by [YURI HAMAGANOV]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DolFJ6ZTL.jpg)
Book 1 of Yuri Hamaganov’s Vampire’s Day series is a tumultuous and chaotic exploration of a mass vampire attack on both the government and the military, but mostly on the city of Los Angeles. It is a violent, no-holds-barred thrill ride into all the different nuances of the attack, from all possible sides involved. The story begins on an otherwise typical morning in Los Angeles, where at the LAX airport Flight 263 lands, bringing with it violence, shootings, and what most believe to be an organized terrorist attack. The true horror that this attack unveils over the course of the narrative involves no terrorists, and instead the reader learns that this attack has been methodically planned for years as a way for the vampires to assert absolute control over the city.
The reader gets thrown into the action in this faced paced vampire thriller making this an intense read from start to finish. The reader gets to see different perspectives of the characters in the story making them more relatable. At times I wasn’t sure what new perspective I was reading from because there are a lot of characters in the story but this didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. In a post apocalyptic world fighting for survival you don’t have time to take a deep dive into someone’s life, but maybe book 2 will have more character development.
Hamaganov’s world building and descriptions are deep and detailed and serve to create an immersive atmosphere. The reader is able to clearly visualize what the character’s are doing and what their surroundings look like. I found the gun and armor talk to be interesting as I know nothing about weapons and Hamaganov’s extensive knowledge is impressive—at times it was almost as if I was reading a military artillery manual.
Vampire’s Day is a suspenseful horror with blood and action galore. Fans of fast paced and hard hitting action will have plenty to devour in this sensational apocalyptic adventure.
Pages: 311 | ASIN: B07X1G58PJ
GROND: The Raven High
In the year 2086, Earth is exhausted. The seas have been emptied, the bedrock and soil stripped of their resources, and the superheated atmosphere churns with terrible storms. Those who can afford to do so live in the limbo of virtual reality, and the billions who suffer in poverty have no work, no clean water, and no security from the chaos.
The only hope for those trapped on a dying Earth are the Changed—the seven bioengineered post-humans who work in their separate manufacturing facilities orbiting high above the planet. Raised from birth for their work and fully matured at ten years old, their genius provides the nanomaterials that have begun to cleanse Earth of the pollutants that have wiped out almost the entire ecosphere.
But for Olga Voronov, youngest of the Changed, the isolation and endless toil are not the greatest of her challenges. Down on Earth there are those who resent and fear her talents—and would prefer that humanity not be given the second chance that only she could make possible…
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Yuri Hamaganov Author Interview
GROND – The Raven High is a sci-fi book set in the future where pollution has caused giant storms across the planet. What was your inspiration for the setup to this thrilling novel?
I have a lot of inspiration sources, mostly the Golden Age Sci-Fi and the movie of the eighties, from the “Masking” of Henry Kuttner to Thing and Aliens. But most of all I was influenced by the old and almost forgotten Young Adult Sci-Fi – Earth Star Voyager. I saw it when I was at school, and loved much more than Star Wars. This should be a good sci-fi for teenagers – exciting, realistic, without superheroes, but with smart and courageous heroes. And it was Earth Star Voyager that I first saw the idea of a catastrophic climate change and the search for salvation in space. I was so pleased that I decided to create the same story. The same, but completely my own. No sooner said than done.
I recently reviewed Earth Star Voyager for the first time in twenty years. And he’s still good.
So, if you are looking for inspiration for a great space adventure – you are welcome.
Olga’s nanny is an android that I genuinely started to care for towards the end of the novel. What were the driving ideals behind the characters development throughout the story?
Creating Olga, I wanted to get rid of two obsessive stereotypes of teenage literature.
Firstly, the main character isn’t the despised loser or ordinary schoolgirl, who suddenly finds herself in the center of the universal conspiracy.
Secondly, Olga’s superhuman abilities don’t fall on her in one fine morning, free and without consequences. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch in her world.
The image of Arina combines the features of an ideal mother and ideal teacher. She really loves Olga, so, when necessary, she can be very strict and demanding of her ward, otherwise, Olga won’t stand the load of enormous responsibility.
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where the Earth is ravaged by pollution. What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
Morality is very simple – dreams and good intentions won’t change the world for the better. But the world can be changed for the better by persistent daily work. There are thousands of brave book heroes who save the world by simply believing in themselves and accomplishing a great feat in the battle against the system. Olga also saves the world, but in a completely different way – just goes on the next shift at her space plant. Day by day.
This story was written in Russian and translated to English. What were the challenges you faced when translating?
Most of the difficulties were caused by two things – compliance with the size of phrases and slang expressions, to which it is hard to make a direct translation.
The Raven High is book 1 in the GROND series. Where does book two take the story?
In fact, the GROND story begins with the second book, GROND: The Blitzkrieg. And at the beginning of this story, Olga will be forced to leave her orbital home, join the gang of space mercenaries and take part in the brutal war of the Martian colonists for independence. It’ll be cool!
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
In the year 2086, Earth is exhausted. The seas have been emptied, the bedrock and soil stripped of their resources, and the superheated atmosphere churns with terrible storms. Those who can afford to do so live in the limbo of virtual reality, and the billions who suffer in poverty have no work, no clean water, and no security from the chaos.
The only hope for those trapped on a dying Earth are the Changed—the seven bioengineered post-humans who work in their separate manufacturing facilities orbiting high above the planet. Raised from birth for their work and fully matured at ten years old, their genius provides the nanomaterials that have begun to cleanse Earth of the pollutants that have wiped out almost the entire ecosphere.
But for Olga Voronov, youngest of the Changed, the isolation and endless toil are not the greatest of her challenges. Down on Earth there are those who resent and fear her talents—and would prefer that humanity not be given the second chance that only she could make possible …
GROND: The Raven High
GROND – The Raven High by Yuri Hamaganov is a sci-fi book set around 70 years in the future. On a post-apocalyptic Earth, there are no resources or clean water left, and the pollution has caused giant storms across the planet. Our main character is Olga, a young girl who is one of seven biologically engineered post humans called ‘The Changed’. They work in ships above Earth using their abilities to create nanomaterials that help remove the pollution below. This book follows on from the events of the first, and starts with our main character Olga in training.
The start of the book, and for parts throughout, is very dialogue heavy, and occasionally it can almost feel like a script with fast speech between the characters. However, this is no way a hindrance as the dialogue is interesting and smooth – you feel as if you are reading a real conversation between two people. Dialogue for writers is often hard to perfect, it can feel as if people either have the knack or they don’t. If this is the case Hamaganov definitely has the knack.
What makes the writing even more impressive is that the author also translates these books himself from Russian to English. Portraying dialogue and actions sequences in two different languages is no small feat and Hamaganov has executed it well. However, occasionally there are a few incorrect sentences or words in the book but these in no way make the novel unreadable and are easily forgiven.
The action in this book is enjoyable, and while it is happening you realise you care for the characters involved. Olga’s ‘nanny’, an android there to train Olga for her purpose, is an excellent addition to the character line-up who acts as a parent figure and genuinely cares for Olga’s success and safety. As a reader, this is a character who adds a caring and nurturing theme to the book, and makes you empathise more with Olga and any danger she may face.
Overall, if you are looking for a fun sci-fi novel to read, this is a good one to pick up. It’s fun and not too long, and you can be sure that if you enjoy it enough there will be another 6 books as the author plans to make this an 8 book series.
Pages: 190 | ASIN: B06XCFT4D1
LITERARY TITAN 