Review: WATCHERS: THE COMING OF THE KING

I came across WATCHERS: THE COMING OF THE KING as part of my increasing involvement in the author segment of the twitter-verse. I followed author William Meikle, and he followed me back. One of his tweets caught my eye, and as I am wont to do, I checked his profile. That lead me to his blog, and the rest as they say, is history. In this case, it is a slightly altered history of England and Scotland complete with vampires, magic, religious mysticism, and several satisfying twists to historical and even biblical stories.

THE COMING OF THE KING follows Martin, the son of the Thane of town called Milecastle, and his friend Sean as they go on divergent yet connected quests. Martin goes searching for evidence of an impending attack by the vampire hoards, and Sean must protect a young woman that plays an important part in events to come. Along the way they meet a world-wise Scottish traveler that may be critical to their survival, magical allies thought to be nothing more than myth, and of course, vampires.

Combining fantasy, horror, and history into a unique world all his own, Meikle spins a tale that draws you in quickly and doesn’t let go until the last page is turned.  The only downside is a few places in the story that feel as if the pacing is slightly off, usually during the lead up to a battle that draws out a bit too long. However, never to the point where you lose interest or come out of the story. In fact it wasn’t until I went back to look for this review that I even noticed it, so it was relatively minor.

Definitely a good read, and I will be purchasing the next book in the series, WATCHERS: THE BATTLE FOR THE THRONE very soon.