[Review] The Nosferatu Conspiracy, Book Two: The Sommelier by Brian James Gage

This instalment of Brian James Gage’s latest offering in his Award-Winning ‘Nosferatu’ series brings us readers to 1917 Eastern Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm and his duo of sinister masters of the dark arts, Paul Von Hindenberg and Friedrich Schmidt, are plotting to push forward with their war, Wilhelm hellbent on obtaining the mysterious bottle filled with the blood of Dracula to achieve immortality and the domination of Europe. While the Kaiser is preoccupied with notions of an Eternal Reich, demi-demon Elizabeth Bathory is imprisoned in a castle with her loyal subject Vago, working overtime to provide her with young witches in his coven whose forms she may take, as her own has been destroyed. Although mostly fruitless, only one young witch, Hanne, succeeds and becomes the proxy for Elizabeth’s bidding–snatching up children for Bathory to feast upon their souls and use their vessels for a diabolical future task. 

Deep in Romania, Felix Yusupov and his vampire hunter friend Rurik Koslov find themselves on a mission to stay ahead of the Kaiser and his armies trying to capture Felix. While escaping and destroying a potash mine and heading to what they believed to be a safe haven, they encounter Zazlov, a powerful warlock who helps Felix and Rurik out of their sticky situations. Zazlov not only brings the pair out of danger on their harrowing adventure through Romania, but he also gives Felix a shocking hidden truth that will either hinder or strengthen Felix as the war rages on. The war is just a smokescreen for what is really taking place underneath it all: an endless reign of terror with the undead fighting in battlefields and a power-hungry ruler at the top of it all if the Kaiser is to have his way.

This book, although thick and beefy, offers  a great deal of adventure, intrigue, blood, and–surprisingly–laughs. Filled with historical figures that many of us have heard of from WWI, the way that Gage is able to flip the actual reasons for this war is impressive. Book one in this series introduces us to the characters ripped from history and brings them to life as these heinous persons whose sole purpose for this war is to bleed the world dry. In book two, we get to see those persons’ true intentions come out even further with the Kaiser never being the wiser that he’s being double-crossed by Hindenberg and Schmidt. Bathory doesn’t get much play in this book as the center-stage  mostly belongs to Wilhelm and then Felix, who is an endearing character and gets a lot of character development. You find yourself starting to root for Felix and his band of merry men (and women) as they find themselves in tough spots but always able to figure out how to escape (sometimes nearly by the skin of their teeth). Another favorite happens to be Zazlov who helps Felix but is also a bit of a distraction at times because he’s helpful but only to a certain extent to the team. Having fallen asleep when he was supposed to be the one to wake the team up, instead getting  them caught by German soldiers but they fight their way through. He  also keeps forgetting to tell them that his powers’  usefulness hinges on him having enough rest and cannot  perform at his best at the most inconvenient of times.

Although the book contains many moments that will have you snickering or rallying behind certain characters (or feeling downright upset with other characters for decisions they make that you know are going to be a detriment to them), if you’re not used to books that are filled with many plots and numerous characters, you will get lost. Gage does his best to make sure the reader doesn’t hit any walls through his maze. However, you have to take your time to truly absorb the story, understand the characters, and keep up with who is looking for who and why. The only gripe is that in some parts of the story, you are whisked away quickly to another part of the world without much warning. Though once you are fully immersed, you will start to enjoy the ride. You really get a great look into the characters and how they are. You can identify who are the heroes and who are the villains quickly without any problems, but you’re just hoping that the heroes survive the great fight that’s taking place in this expansive universe. As we know, history has not been kind to a good number of the characters in this book, but in this world, they are far more devious, so you feel alright with wishing for their demise.

Gage’s second book blends history and fiction in a fantastic way, leaving the reader wanting to continue. With the historical figures in the book being ‌actual otherworldly creatures (here’s looking at you, Elizabeth Bathory and the Red Baron) or just magick wielders (Hindenberg, Rasputin to name a few), it gives a wonderful spin on the real-life events that took place during that time period. Despite the abrupt transitions in some parts of the story, you get back on track rather easily, never feeling like you missed a step. If you’re looking for a book that is going to transport you through time in a new way with characters you can grasp onto, Gage has that book for you.

The Nosferatu Conspiracy Book Two: The Sommelier is available on March 22nd.

Pick up a copy of The Nosferatu Conspiracy Book Two: The Sommelier from Amazon now! Visit Brian’s website to find out more.