13 Bullets (book review)
13 Bullets: A Vampire Tale by David Wellington

I hadn't read anything by David Wellington before this, except for the first couple of entries in his web-based novel Monster Island. But that was enough to convince me that I'd probably dig whatever else he wrote.

I wasn't wrong.

It's funny. The subtitle, "A Vampire Tale", gives the impression (to me at least) that it's going to be almost fairy tale-like. (Granted, it's obviously going to be one of the original, dark fairy tales and not a Disneyed fairy tale.) In any event, it's not. It's a very modern tale of vampires, vampire hunters, and everyone trapped in between.

The story revolves around Pennsylvania State Trooper Laura Caxton and her sudden forced partnership with Special Deputy Arkeley of the U.S. Marshalls. Caxton runs afoul of vampires (which are a recognized and accepted phenomenon in this world, though SPOILER ALERT: there's thought to be only one remaining, and she's in captivity). And she's recruited by Arkeley to assist him in his investigations. Arkeley is the sole survivor of a much earlier investigation into, and subsequent slaying of, another vampire. And he's recognized as the resident expert on the matter.

Without going further into the plot, here's what I like about the book: It managed to buck a lot of my expectations. Which isn't easy, given the basic familiarity of the subject matter. You've got the grizzled old vampire hunter, it's true. And the doe-eyed neophyte who gets taken under his sometimes harsh wing. Certainly, we've seen that before. John Carpenter's Vampires leaps to mind (which, I think, is based on another novel, but I'm not familiar with it). Like James Woods' character in the film, Arkeley isn't very likeable. But he certainly does know what he's doing. And I have to say that, even given these obvious comparisons, Arkeley's cold and calculating treatment of the situation and everyone involved took me by surprise. And I dug it.

Then there's Trooper Caxton. Strong female leads in horror are by now (and thankfully) commonplace nowadays. Even within the very specific vampire subgenre, you've got one very obvious example in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's pretty much where the similarity ends though. Caxton isn't played for laughs. Nor does she exactly throw the female horror character stereotype on its ear, the way Joss Whedon sought to do with Buffy. Caxton is still often a victim of the situation. She doesn't get many derisive one-liners. And she certainly doesn't get to spinning kick any vamps in the head. It's not that kind of story. But she is a compelling protagonist, largely because Wellington does a nice job of making her a real person. The kind of character you'd give a crap about if, for example, she were to be mauled to (un)death by a vampire.

Caxton is a lesbian. I mention this not solely as an example of her un-Buffy-ness. But the details of her personal life, primarily her relationship with her partner Deanna, form much of the context that make you give a rip about her in the first place. At least, it did for me. This part of Caxton's life clearly isn't the focus of the story, but it does lend weight to her character, giving her more to reflect than just either victim or victor. It also, somehow, removed her as a focal point for sexy. The horror genre often hinges on sexy people being in danger. But I never got the sense that Caxton fell into that category. (Though the ladies certainly seem to dig her.) She's certainly not written as the sort of lesbian that prompts normally rational men to say "cool! a lesbian." She's actually a normal person who just happens to love another woman.

Then there's the vampires themselves. Funnily enough, I would have thought that they would have been the hardest stereotype of all to break. But Wellington managed just the opposite. He reinvented the vampire in a way that's alien and genuinely scary again. We've seen so many variations on the theme by now: Heavily accented Eastern European noblemen (Bela Lugosi, for starters), vermin-like bald-headed ghouls (Nosferatu and Shadow of the Vampire), melancholic "behold my woe" goth types (thanks very much Ann Rice), and uber-hip runway models (Angel and Blade's Deacon Frost). What we get in 13 Bullets is [SPOILERS] unlike any of them, though it obviously shares some characteristics.

The two closest influences I can think of are the reapers from Benecio del Toro's turn at the Blade franchise and a treatment I saw years ago for another screen version of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I have no idea whether that treatment led to the Will Smith version due out later this year(?)

I've been sitting here trying to think of how best to describe Wellington's vampires. But you know what? Forget that. Learning about them was probably the most satisfying part of reading the book. So do that instead. I'll just say that the book has some great psychological, physiological, and historical characterizations of its vampires. Well worth the read.

The book cover says that this book is the first in a trilogy. So I'll be eagerly anticipating the next one. In the meantime, I'll be reading Monster Island. Or watching Buffy. Could go either way, really.