Author: Dan Klefstad
First Published: 2020
Contains spoilers
The Blurb: When a vampire seduces you, death is minutes away. When she hires you, you'll soon wish you were dead.
It’s a truth known to every guardian who worked for Fiona, including Daniel. Aside from managing the day-to-day chores and keeping her protected, he manages an investment portfolio to buy stolen blood from hospital workers. The 250-year-old Fiona needs 10 pints of human blood every night. As a result of this, Daniel and Fiona are always on the lookout for police, but fail to notice their gradual encirclement by Mors Strigae, an ancient order of monks dedicated to the extermination of vampires. Gone for a century, the monks start a new war when they destroy Fiona's sire. This time, her vampire family is pushed to the edge of extinction -- and the humans who serve them are hunted and executed.
After 35 years, what keeps him loyal? And will he ever be allowed to leave?
The review: Setting a vampire story from the viewpoint of the human helper can often help to keep the vampires themselves a little more mysterious for the reader and that is something that author Dan Klefstad achieves well in Fiona’s Guardians. Of course we do get some lore and this is a world where the vampires are very powerful – fast, strong, able to fly and constantly reading the minds of the mortals around them. They are, of course, vulnerable during the daylight hours and the guardians act as watchdogs as well as the provider of sustenance (these vampires drink a lot each night and I liked how the corruption of death came when they hadn’t drunk, starting with the smell of a corpse) and managers of their affairs. Of course, it is a job offer that can’t be refused – once a person knows about the vampires it is serve or die.
The book follows Daniel, long-serving guardian to the vampire Fiona and his replacement Wolf. However, Wolf is recruited right around the time when the Vatican has reinvigorated the martial order Mors Strigae and they have started hunting down the vampires, using modern tech to help with this (for instance reconnaissance with drones, equipped with thermal imagining as the vampires are cold, dead flesh). I said about using the point of view of the guardians and that is only partly true. The author does use multiple perspectives and jump through timeframes. I commend the author on the clarity with which he did this. Ofttimes, moving times and perspectives (especially within chapter) can disorientate the reader. Not so in this, with each shift done with clarity and skill. Negatively, you did have to suspend belief; obviously we walk into a vampire story doing that anyway but I felt that some of the loyalty shifts were taken at face value and, as the reader, I expected more suspicion. However, this is a minor quibble. The prose is fast paced and sprightly in timbre, which suits the story well. I really did devour this and 7.5 out of 10 feels right for this opening salvo into the world of Fiona.
On Kindle @ Amazon US
On Kindle @ Amazon UK
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