Book Reviews and More: Amber Fang Box Set

Amber Fang Box Set
Librarian. Assassin. Vampire. Books 1-3
Arthur Slade
ASIN B07HRWGS6W

A trilogy with serious bite! This is a wonderful trilogy and a whole new twist on the vampire trope. So give it a try and you will likely be left wanting more Fang in the future!

Amber Fang: The Hunted
Librarian. Assassin. Vampire. Book 1
Arthur Slade
Dava Enterprises
ISBN 9780988013933
ASIN B01LX3BQN7

I must be open an honest with you. I am a huge Arthur Slade fan, I just check and I have read almost all of his books and since 2002 have read or reread his books 30 times. That being said this book is something completely new for him. In many ways it reads like a cross between the TV series Dexter with Angel except the lead is a woman, and an aspiring librarian at that. Or a mash up of Tom Clancy, Anne Rice but with more than a little humour smattered in.

This book has a little something for every reader. You have a secret government organization, a beautiful young vampire with a conscience (she only haunts murders and only if they have no remorse), you have academia, high prices shoes, and travelling the globe.

Amber Fang just needs her next meal, as a vampire she needs to feed every 28 days or possible go crazy with a blood lust. And since her mother disappeared she had been moving around, taking courses, working towards becoming a librarian, and using those research skills to find her next meal. But it had to be someone who met her strict criteria, they had to be a murderer and they had to be unrepentant. But things go sideways when on a hunt she is ambushed, drugged and almost captured. So leaving Seattle and the northwest she heads to Montreal starts back at school. There she gets an offer to be all she can be, we at least to have her meals presented on a platter. And soon she is off on adventures to exotic places like Dubai and Iceland. Hop a flight, have a meal return home to studies for a month. But even for a vampire the unlife does not often go as planned.

Amber's mother had always told her to never fall in love with her food, and yet she seems to be falling for her handler. She also realizes that being a hired hitman might not be all it was cracked up to be. And big brother is never really on your side even when he wants or needs something from you. She soon finds out the head of her organization might make Amanda Waller seam pretty tame. What has she gotten herself into? And what should she do now?

This book was a fascinating read, the vampire with a conscience and deep love of books and knowledge. It is just a story about a girl trying to finish school and find her next meal. It is a very fun read.

Amber Fang: Betrayal
Librarian. Assassin. Vampire. Book 2
Arthur Slade
Dava Enterprises
ISBN 9780988013933
ASIN B077J2G5B4

There are few contemporary Canadian authors who are always on my must read list; Arthur Slade, Cecil Castellucci, and Kenneth Oppel. So when a new book by Slade comes out it immediately jumps to the top of my reading pile. Since I was captivated by Dust, back in 2002 I have read or reread one of his books over 30 times. And this series if fun, and whimsical, humorous and a lot of action all mixed up in one. In my review of book 1 I stated that this series "reads like a cross between the TV series Dexter with Angel except the lead is a woman, and an aspiring librarian at that. Or a mash up of Tom Clancy, Anne Rice but with more than a little humour smattered in." And after book two I would say even more so. Though maybe a dash of Spider Robinson thrown in this time just to mix it up.

This book, and this series, has a little something for every reader. You have a secret government organization, that has been nearly wiped out. The lead character is a young beautiful vampire, but her mother raised her with a conscience (she only hunts murders and only if they have no remorse), you have academia. There is also a billionaire trying to create super soldiers. And a secret society of librarians around the world who are aware of the government organization, Aware of Amber and her Library studies, and aware of the conflict currently going on. But they want to stay impartial and just document.

Amber Fang has been hunting, but not for her next meal. She is trying to find her mother. He mother has been missing for a while now, and has become Amber's first priority. But things do not always go as expected.

In a novel that starts in Antarctica. And journeys around the globe. Amber Fang has a revelation that will change her world forever. But Sometimes it is worse when you find something you were not even aware you were looking for, and then have it turn out to not be what you though.

But be warned this book ends with a huge cliff hanger! This book continues the wonderful Amber Fang series, vampire, assassin, librarian. Now amber has gone from being a girl just trying to finish grad school and find her next meal. To a woman of the world, seeking answers and battling bad guys from more than one side.

Amber Fang: Revenge
Librarian. Assassin. Vampire. Book 3
Arthur Slade
ISBN 978-0995288751
ASIN B0787JMVNL

Before we get to Amber Fang, let's discuss Arthur Slade for a moment. I first started reading his books back in 2002 when I was a bookseller and a mature student in university. I read two of his books that year, one as personal selection for a Children's lit course. I have been a big fan ever since reading that first book Dust, and have read all of the books he has published both as Arthur Slade and as Stephen Shea. But I am always hesitant to read the last book in a series, in part because some have gone downhill, and also because some stories you just do not want to end. But Arthur has hinted enough that thill will likely be other Amber Fang stories in some format, so that fear is alleviated. This story was so entertaining that the first fear was also extinguished.

In my review of book 1 I stated that this series "reads like a cross between the TV series Dexter with Angel except the lead is a woman, and an aspiring librarian at that. Or a mash up of Tom Clancy, Anne Rice but with more than a little humour smattered in." And after book two I would say even more so. Though maybe a dash of Spider Robinson thrown in this time just to mix it up. But first some back story. Amber is a vampire with ethics. Her mother raised her to only take victims that are responsible for terrible crimes and who feel no remorse for it. After her mother disappeared she continued to work on her Masters of library science, research her meals, and search for her mother. Then things changed when she was recruited by a government organization. She became an assassin on contract. That organization has nearly been wiped out. She has discovered a secret organization of librarians around the world who know about the vampires, about Amber and her mother. They try not to interfere but have run a catch and release program.

These books span the globe, and Amber has certainly travelled a lot since learning her studies in Montreal. In the beginning of this book Amber is in Belize, then she journeys to Sweden, climbs a mountain, storms a hidden fortress, battles an intelligent computer. And makes a promise we might all regret. Because of her code of ethics she must keep her promise even if it is to an AI.

Will amber rescue her mother? Does Dermot survive? Will the librarian guild break their rules and help her? There are a lot of questions before we begin this third book and a few new ones that arise.

What is there not to like about Amber, she is a librarian, she is beautiful, and she has a code of ethics. She keeps her promises, and she is devoted to those she cares about. She just happens to be an ex-assassin, and a vampire.

This book was a great wrap up to the first Amber Fang series. From the hints by the author will be producing more works with Amber as a character. As readers we can only hope so. In my reading list I have read books by Arthur Slade a total of 34 times. And the humour and action in this series is very different from anything else he has written. So pick up this book or the whole series the trilogy is worth sinking your teeth into!

Books by Arthur Slade:
The Dragonfly's Journey (1996)
John Diefenbaker: an Appointment with Destiny (2000)
Dust (2001)
Tribes (2002)
Monsterology (2005)
Villainology (2005)
Megiddo's Shadow (2006)
Jolted (2008)
Shades: 17 Startling Stories (2011)
Flickers (2016)
Crimson (2018)
Death by Airship (2019)
Mr. Universe (2021)