Butchers

A Vampire Novella by Todd Sullivan

3/5 Star Review

After a botched raid in an attempt to apprehend Cheol Yu, high school student Sey-Mi is kidnapped and forced to join the Gwanlyo. The Gwanlyo Company acts as the governing body of vampires in South Korea. They create, monitor, discipline, and enforce all vampire activity in the country to maintain order and secrecy. Sey-Mi is Cheol Yu’s blood relative and will stop at nothing to get her back. He partners with Hyeri, a rogue agent, to track her down and free her. They end up finding an unexpected ally in Min Gun, a Gwanlyo agent, who develops feelings for Sey-Mi.

Butchers is a solid read and will scratch that itch if you’re looking for something a little fresh and a little different in a vampire story. Sullivan clearly draws from his experience living and teaching in Asia and paints a believable backdrop for the novella. While Butchers is touted as extreme horror, I would argue that it’s more straight horror with a few scenes of hyper violence and a sexual assault. If you’re not normally a reader of extreme horror, don’t let that description put you off because if you’re a horror reader, you can handle this. Then again, if SA is a trigger for you, you’ll want to avoid this read all together.

While I had a few nitpicks with this novella, I would recommend it to fans of the vampire genre who are looking for something a little more unique than your standard fare. Butchers ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, but there is a follow-up novella available, The Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows.

I received a free copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.