VAMPIRATES: BLOOD CAPTAIN - Justin Somper, narr Daniel Philpott

From the back of the BOCD: Long-separated twins Connor and Grace struggle to earn their keep and avoid lashings aboard their respective pirate ships---Connor on the Diablo and Grace among the cursed crew of the Vampirate ship vessel.

Just when things are starting to get better for Connor, Captain Wrathe brings aboard his obnoxious nephew, Moonshine. The boorish lad proceeds to make Connor's life miserable, pushing him further down the plank of sanity each day. Grace, meanwhile, is overcome with guilt for causing the Vampirate Lorcan to go blind. She journeys with him to Sanctuary to seek the healing powers of the Mosh Zu Kamal--who, it turns out, is far more interested in Grace than Lorcan.

With the best of swashbuckling adventure and ghoulish horror on the high seas, Justin Somper's internationally acclaimed Vampirates series--begun with DEMONS OF THE OCEAN and TIDES OF TERROR--continues full-sail in BLOOD CAPTAIN. A salty reading by narrator Daniel Philpott sets a spine-tingling tone.

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Ahhhh....adventure on the high Vampirate seas...this is a superbly fun series. Plenty of action in both Vampirate and regular pirate varietal. What's great about this series is that piracy is an accepted form of occupation. There is a Pirate Academy for the non-Vampirate and Sanctuary for the vampires who wish to become Vampirates. Sanctuary helps the vampires become less addicted to the bloodlust and more of a mellower vampire.

The story trades back and forth between Grace's and then Connor's point of view. Each has their own trials and rewards, abilities and faults.

One constant that each has had to suffer is Sidorio, the Vampirate who is now Captain of his own small, but growing crew. Sidorio was a member of the Vampirate ship and left to form his own when he decided that he wanted to be a vampire of the old school and is evil incarnate. He woos vampires to his cause and becomes a force to be reckoned with.

A truly amazing series that I highly recommend. It's a YA series, but all who enjoy a good paranormal tale will dig each book.

Five bloody high seas adventure beans......

BLACK HEART: VAMPIRATES #4 - Justin Somper, narr Daniel Philpott

From the back of the BOCD: Twins Connor and Grace Tempest face an uncertain future. Not only have they been unable to find their vanished mother, but now rumors have surfaced about a new ship terrorizing the seas.

When a famous pirate captain is killed, no one can deny that this ship holds a band of deadly vampirates. But the Pirate Federation is ready to fight back, commissioning a ship of its own to hunt down the renegades. With the skilled Connor leading the search, his fellow assassins are eager for battle. Meanwhile, Grace is overjoyed to finally reunite with her mother--until she learns about a devastating secret that will forever change the twins' destinies.

International best-selling author Justin Somper's Vampirates novels are renowned for their swashbuckling adventure and imaginative plotting. The fourth book inthe series, BLACK HEARTS, is performed masterfully by narrator Daniel Philpott.

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This could be a difficult review to write as there are sooooo many plot OMG's abounding throughout the book. Suffice to say that it's really intriguing with plenty of eye-popping developments.

I felt a little behind the story curve since I had to skip book 3, BLOOD CAPTAIN, as I am waiting for it to make its way up my wishlist on RecordedBooks. I couldn't wait to listen to BLACK HEART...and I am running low on audiobooks....so I did my best. I still enjoyed the story as it's vampirates and a fab story and Daniel Philpott is a narrating phenom.

Plenty of action, adventure on the high seas, vampirates, regular pirates...

Connor and Grace just get back together and are now torn apart again, by choice this time. Each twin has to accomplish their own journey in their way. Each has chosen sides, Grace with the vampirate ship, the Nocturne, she started with and Connor with Captain Cheng Li's new ship, the Tiger.

There's a new vampirate threat and it's not who the rest of the pirating world thinks it is. Lady Lola is the 'new' ship on the block and she is biting first and not really hanging around to ask questions later.

And I think that's about all I can say without giving away plot points. And now I wait for EMPIRE OF NIGHT: VAMPIRATES #5 due out in Aug 2010. OH! I still have BLOOD CAPTAIN to look forward to. Well YaY!!

Five bloody adventure on the high seas beans....

TIDE OF TERROR: VAMPIRATES #2 - Justin Somper, narr Daniel Philpott

From the back of the BOCD: Internationally best-selling author of fiction for young adults Justin Somper returns with the exciting sequel to VAMPIRATES:DEMONS OF THE OCEAN. In their second adventure, our bold seafaring heroes continue their swashbuckling
journey across treacherous oceans where the notorious vampirates prowl.

Much to his delight, 14-year-old Connor Tempest is now a full-fledged pirate aboard the sailing ship Diablo. But Connor's twin sister Grace isn't so thrilled about the pirate life, or Connor's new companions. And she's certain that something is terribly wrong on the vampirate ship. Though the evil Sidorio was banned from the ship for his villainous acts, he is surely plotting his menacing return. What can Grace do to remove her brother from the ship and get him into Pirate Academy where he belongs?

This exciting ride through dangerous waters will captivate all listeners. Narrator Daniel Philpott provides a stunning performance.

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Who knew that in the future there would be an academy to train pirates? That's what we have in this second in the Vampirates series. Grace gets rescued from the vampirate ship at the end of DEMONS OF THE OCEAN and is now on the Diablo with her twin brother Connor. And they take a little visit to Pirate Academy to see if this might be the place for them.

The evil vampirate Sidorio is out there working on his new vampirate crew, so there's plenty of story to go around and tons of intrigue. Who can Grace and Connor trust?

This is such the perfect series to listen to. Whoever chose Daniel Philpott to narrate this wonderfully written tale oer the bounding main....chose wisely. He rivals Jim Dale (narrator of the Harry Potter series) in vocal dexterity.

Five arrrrrrrrrrgh beans!!!!

VAMPIRATES: DEMONS OF THE OCEAN - Justin Somper, narr Daniel Philpott

From the back of the BOCD: What could be worse than a vampirate? Half vampire, half pirate--shiver me timbers, how terrible they must be! Thankfully, most people will never have the misfortune of meeting a vampirate.

It's the year 2505 and the world's oceans have risen dramatically. In this new age, the vile practice of piracy is gaining ground, threatening seafarers of all types. During a mighty storm, twins Connor and Grace are separated when their boat is smashed . Each is rescued by a different ship. Connor is captured by a notorious band of pirates and forced to become one of them. Facing a different fate, Grace winds up on a ship of dark mysteries, imprisoned by its captain.

A well-known children's book publicist, Justin Somper makes a splash as an author with this exciting novel for young adults. A thrillin reading from narrator Daniel Philport heightens every moment of suspense.

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I have just found a new-to-me favorite series and author and likely the narrator, too. I had so much fun listening to this first in the VAMPIRATES series and cannot wait to listen to the next in the series, TIDE OF TERROR, I hope it's next up on Recorded Books wishlist.

This is the perfect book to listen to for anyone, even though it's supposed to be a YA paranormal.

The world-building is very cool and I like that it's a future that isn't overwhelmingly bleak like a lot of futuristic venues tend to lean on. It's vampires and pirates and all that that entails....blood and fighting on the high seas and the gritty pirate pubs with wenches. There are good-hearted pirates and bad.

And Daniel Philpott gives just as fab voice to the fab written characters. Nothing too over the top, just right over the top. I have the image of a vampire Captain Jack Sparrow in my cranium as I listened to some of the vampirates...and obviously this is not a bad thing if you know me at all. *grin*

If you'd like to see a super interview with Justin Somper, the author, here's the site over at BittenByBooks. He's just as nifty as the books he writes.

Five more please vampirates beans....