"Terrific fantasy"

In 1815 Ireland Donovan Bramwell is a mixed breed part vampire and part mortal. His grandfather heads the Protectorate, an organization consisting of vampires and humans at war with the malevolent Upyran Vampires sect that sees mortals as the lowest rung of the food chain. Donovan hates both sides. When the Upyran Vampires Prince Vestos bit him and killed his father, the Protectorate did nothing.

Now his grandfather has become a total vampire so he expects his heir Donovan to lead The Protectorate or he will be left penniless and homeless. At the same time Donovan deliberates his future, Ceni Princess Iceni needs help regaining her lost amulet stolen by Vastos when the vampires and their Roman allies eradicated her people. She chooses Donovan as her best bet and starts to seduce him into being her loyal slave, but her effort fails when he reads her mind. Still he finds a desire to help Ceni and wonders if she already completed her seduction of what is left of his soul that he fears will make him enslaved to Vastos. However Vastos has his own dilemma as he knows his soul is rotting. To save himself he either must kill Donovan or Iceni for he is a Dead Walker too.

DEAD WALKERS: THE PROTECTORATE is a terrific fantasy that provides the audience a powerful tale in which the three prime species, vampires, mortals, and the quasi seem genuine especially in their varying interrelationships. The action-packed story line provides insight into the diverse vampiric clans and how the quasi live in human and vampiric camps. The triangle of life and death between the lead trio makes for a compelling one sitting supernatural thriller, but it's the world they live in that fascinates readers.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 11, 2005

Summary

A Quasi Vampire...
An evil entity older than time...

In Regency Ireland, a dark legacy re-emerges from the depths of the Vampire realm, leaving three souls trapped between two worlds...

Donovan Bramwell is heir to an ancient Celtic vampire kingdom and its earthly branch known as the Night Watch, a secret organization made up of vampires and humans protecting the mortal realm. But when the time comes for him to ascend to the throne, Donovan refuses. He's been harboring a deadly secret, a bite inflicted by an evil entity. And only Donovan knows he's the one soul capable of destroying the very world he was born to protect. Now his enemy has returned and Donovan is determined to save the Night Watch, even if it mean's sacrificing his own soul. But as Donovan prepares to carry out his secret plot, a female quasi vampire thwarts his plans and forces him to relive issues he's spent centuries trying to forget...

Born a royal Celt with Vampyric blood, Iceni lost her family and her tribe to the Romans and the deadly vampires who befriended the Empire. After spending centuries trying to fight the dark souls who took away her world, Iceni now has the chance to finally avenge her parents' deaths and take back the sacred relic housing her father's ancient powers. But to do so, she needs Donovan Bramwell to join her cause. And considering she didn't exactly use conventional means to get the man's attention, she must first convince the Night Watch heir she's not the enemy...

Suffering from a bite gone wrong, Vastos, a Vampyric prince older than time, returns to man's world determined to cure the ailment inflicting his soul. But to do so, he must fight his greatest antagonist—Donovan Bramwell—the one soul keeping him alive, yet causing his demise. Vastos has two choices, conquer the Night Watch and take the throne away from Donovan, or destroy Iceni and take full control of her father's powers. And to a dieing vampire, choosing one option over the other really doesn't matter...