Vampire on the Orient Express by Shane Carrow
My Rating: ★★★★
When Lucas Avery and Sam Carter board the Orient Express, they expect all the bells and whistles that come with traveling to Constantinople in style. Instead, these two strangers become witnesses to a supernatural attack that leaves them scared and confused. Sam is perfectly fine with trying to pretend that he didn’t see the being that his mind is trying to block out. However, Lucas is compelled to get to the bottom of the mystery and convinces Sam to join him. After all, there’s an innocent life at stake.
I picked up this novella expecting a cheesy and fun story. What I didn’t expect was that this would be a great story that’d suck me in and leave me hoping that it’s the beginning of a new series. Shane Carrow had me so drawn in that I read the entire novella in one night. It’s such a fun and cheesy story with great characters and many hilarious moments that I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t like it.
The story takes place on a train traveling from France to Constantinople in 1914. We follow Lucas and Sam as they struggle to locate and defeat the vampires traveling with them. Lucas is a British diplomat and spy who vaguely remembers someone in his past mentioning their own supernatural adventures. Using this knowledge, he convinces Sam that he has to help him find and kill this supernatural being so they can save the girl who was attacked and has fallen into a mysterious coma. Sam, an American adventurer who has deserted the Foreign Legion, reluctantly joins the search.
I had so much fun following these two character’s adventures. Is it obvious who the vampires are? Yes. Is watching Lucas and Sam blindly fumble around during their investigation, unaware what or who they’re up against part of the story’s charm? Yes. It seems like these two guys are big dummies, but it feeds into the hilarious and fun charm that the novella has. I laughed so hard when these two characters just sat down with vampires and didn’t question a thing that I couldn’t wait to see how things would unfold.
Plus, the unlikely friendship that forms between Lucas and Sam is great. They bicker like an old married couple and form an unbreakable bond while fighting vampires and finding themselves in some deadly situations. I honestly thought there might be a budding romance at some point, but how their lack of romance unfolds makes sense for these two characters. The story is so short that I’m not sure that there’d be any room for romance unless the story turns into a series.
The ending was predictable, but it’s not bad. I just have a few questions that I’d like answered. I’m hoping that Carrow continues with these characters and turns this into a series. While I’d love to have some answers about how vampirism works in the universe he's created, I really just want to see these characters go on more hilarious adventures together.
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