This is an all-new original novel based on the suspenseful and terrifying world of the comic book mythos 30 Days of Night, one of the most acclaimed horror sagas in recent years – an innovative and nationally bestselling book expansion of a nightmarish narrative that explores the nature of ancient evil existing – and thriving – in an unsuspecting modern world.
Dark bleatings, my dearest goatlings! After enjoying Lebbon’s ’30 Days of Night’ novelisation, I couldn’t wait to get my hooves on the original sequel. Unlike the first book, this one is not a version of any pre-existing story, but it is of the same universe that those terrifying, black-eyed monsters inhabit.
It’s a sibling story (a particular interest of mine). Marty is a teenager whose older sister went missing a few years back, never to be seen again. Rose, his sister, is not actually gone. But she is…. different. She’s what they call a “humaine”, one of those toothy fiends who has not given into their true nature. In the interest of survival, and shockingly for this species, compassion, they live under the radar in a bid to co-exist with humans. They don’t just go around savagely munching down every neck they see. There’s an underground war brewing between the vampires and humaines, and unfortunately, Marty gets caught in the crossfire and a target is painted on his back.
Initially, I found the story somewhat jarring, but only because whenever I picture these vampires, I’m scared. They’re absolutely bloody terrifying, my favourite vampires ever created, in fact. Those savage, toothy, limber beasts from ’30 Days of Night’ are the stuff of nightmares. They’re the kind of antagonist that makes me not even bother trying to figure out how I’d survive the plot. They’re depicted as intelligent but animalistic, almost unable to control their frenzied feeding urges. The idea that a whole branch of these blood guzzlers are straddling the line between human empathy and vampiric abandon didn’t feel quite right for this universe. But the more I read about them, the more I changed my mind. The thing about the humaines is that unlike their more evil counterparts, they don’t all think in a unified way. They have their own motivations. Which means they’re unpredictable. The other thing about the humaines is that though they supress the urge to kill, it’s still their base urge, so one of them could have a slip at any time. Unpredictable and untrustworthy. Once I realised that these guys are possibly less predictable than the nasty vamps, and I pictured them with those coal-black eyes and razor mouths, I found them terrifying. At least with the outright evil vamps, you know where you stand.
As the big sister of the world’s most wonderful brother, the relationship dynamic in this novel did get under my skin. I understood Rose just as much as I understood Marty, and sort of imprinted on the former. I spent every page afraid that she was going to just… you know… vamp out on her brother. The characters are very likeable, which is kind of alarming considering that most of them could rip your head off in less than a second.
I also very much enjoyed the setting of London because of how that expanded the universe of the original story. The idea of a single ship of vampires turning up in Alaska is horrifying enough, but the idea that there are possibly thousands of them roaming every corner of the planet is way worse.
In short, Lebbon’s done it again. I find his full original works scary and compelling, and awesome, and I find his adapted works just as entertaining. We get the best of both worlds with this novel. It was bloody good, I tell you!
If you’d like to get a copy or check out the author, there are links below for you:
Happy Goat Horror 
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