Who Would Like This Book:
If you love your vampire stories with a scientific edge and atmospheric real-world horror, this one delivers. Set in the grim landscape of post-Communist Romania, Dan Simmons brings both the creeps and an emotional punch by grounding his supernatural tale in actual history and medical mystery. Fans of medical thrillers, historical backdrops, and Dracula lore will get a kick out of how Simmons twists vampirism into a plausible genetic disease, weaving in orphaned children, haunted landscapes, and shadowy foes. If you want a book that makes Dracula feel real - and scary again - this is for you.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found themselves slogging through dense medical jargon and scientific explanations that slow the pace, while others felt the book could’ve used a tough editor’s hand to trim the fat. If you’re expecting nonstop horror or a plot in the style of Simmons’s other works like The Terror, you might find this more predictable or less ambitious. The ending didn’t wow everyone, and some readers were frustrated by dry stretches or clichéd character dynamics.
About:
'Children of the Night' by Dan Simmons is a modern vampire story set in post Ceausescu Romania and America, featuring a hematologist named Kate Neuman who discovers a unique immune system in an abandoned baby boy. The story delves into the potential of the child's immune system for medical breakthroughs, intertwining with the arrival of vampires, including Vlad Dracula himself. The narrative alternates between the quest to save the child and the memories of Vlad Dracula, creating a fast-paced and engaging plot that blends elements of horror and science fiction.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Includes themes of child abandonment, descriptions of abuse in orphanages, and references to violence.
From The Publisher:
"Simmons writes like a hot-rodding angel." -Stephen King
An evil legacy comes to life in this classic and ultimately human novel about believable vampires, featuring a brand-new introduction by Dan Simmons. Children of the Night will take you to a place that no one knows-yet all of us fear.
In a desolate orphanage in post-Communist Romania, a desperately ill infant is given the wrong blood transfusion-and flourishes rather than dies. For immunologist Kate Neuman, the infant's immune system may hold the key to cure cancer and AIDS. Kate adopts the baby and takes him home to the States. But baby Joshua holds a link to an ancient clan and their legendary leader-Vlad Tsepes, the original Dracula - whose agents kidnap the child. Against impossible odds and vicious enemies- both human and vampire - Kate and her ally, Father Mike O'Rourke, steal into Romania to get her baby back.
"A mesmerizing tour through the ghostly, gray tatters of Romania." -Publishers Weekly
"Simmons gives a chilling description of post-Ceausescu Romania and neatly ties the vampire legend into political history to create a new and clever twist to the idea of the vampire's craving for blood." -Library Journal
"His best novel ever… Toothsomely well written." -Kirkus
"Brilliant ideas… The most rigorous and interesting scientific rationale for vampirism I've ever seen… You keep turning the pages." -Locus
Ratings (6)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (3) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (17):
Read It (6) | |
Want To Read (7) | |
Not Interested (4) |
What can you read after
Children of the Night?
About the Author:
DAN SIMMONS is a recipient of numerous major international awards, including the Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. He is widely considered to be one of the premier multiple-genre fiction writers in the world. His most recent novels include the New York Times bestsellers The Terror and Drood. He lives along the Front Range in Colorado and has never grown tired of the views.
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