Valentine's Resolve
E.E. Knight
Roc, July 2007, $23.95, 336 pp.
ISBN 0451461460

It is the fifty second year since the Kurians divided up the earth into zones with a Kur as lord of his zone. They look upon humans as cattle because through their avatars the Reapers that they animate, they siphon off the life energy of a person leaving a dead host. The resistance has made some inroads, taking back land from the Kur by accepting the help of the Lightweavers. These beings are the same species as the Kurians but turned against their race and changed the physiology of certain people so they have much needed powers to help win the battles against the alien occupiers.

David Valentine, formerly of Southern Command, is brought in from the cold when the Lightweavers disappear. If they don't return, the southern command will collapse and all that was regained will be lost. Valentine is told that some Lightweavers are in Seattle held by a powerful Kurian lord but the resistance there led by Adler won't help Southern Command. David is told to infiltrate Adler's resistance, dodging quislings, Reapers and other alien species called grubs. During his travels David discovers something so horrific that he does something he never thought he would do and if his agenda does not go exactly to plan, he will be killed in a very ghastly manner.

E.E. Knight brings excitement and interest to his Vampire Earth series as readers get a close look at a Kur and know despite the media spin of being saviors they put on their occupation they are evil beyond imagination. David makes a good guerilla fighter who is at his best when he acts on his own as he doesn't trust orders that might contain a personal agenda. This makes him dangerous and there is a bounty on his head from aliens and humans. He also is raising a baby Reaper to see if scientists can find a way to use them against the Kur but he treats the alien child with love and kindness. He is an extraordinary character who turns the Vampire Earth war into a compelling tale.

Harriet Klausner