Review: The Nosferatu Chronicles: Origins by Susan Hamilton

Book 1 of the epic space opera reveals how the vampire legend is the result of a secret alien invasion/colonization that began with a crash landing in Transylvania in the 15th Century and a First Contact that went horribly wrong.

The Vambir discover human blood is a nutrient, but it is also highly addictive. Ingesting blood brings about a physical transformation that enables them to pass as humans. Impressed with their superior strength and vicious fighting skills, Prince Vlad Dracula welcomes them into his inner circle, where they attain power through him.

I knew that The Nosferatu Chronicles: Origins would be a really interesting read for me. I love historical fiction as well as science fiction and I’m always intrigued when a book features the historical Vlad Dracula. I was a little worried, though, that the whole mix of these different themes would be a little too much for me to handle because I like my books to be historically accurate. But I ended up not being able to put this book down. And it’s been ages since I read a book where I just had to stay up late to finish it.


The story starts with the Vampir, an alien race leaving their home planet after a natural disaster made it uninhabitable. Some of these aliens end up on Earth in 15th Century Romania, and this is where Vlad Dracula, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, comes in. 


So like I said before, I like the historical fiction that I read to be as accurate as possible and although this book some alternate history woven in, it is in fact partly historically accurate because some of the events involving Vlad the Impaler and Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror, did actually happen. Needless to say this is something that really made me happy and why I devoured this book so quickly.


I do have to admit that at one point some of the story got a little bit hard to follow because this book is written in quite a few different points of view, which I don’t mind actually but sometimes it all started to blend together a little bit so I feel like you really got to keep yourself focused on the story or you might get confused. I did really like the whole mix of aliens and vampire folklore. It was just such a different and original story. I was totally hooked!


Overall, The Nosferatu Chronicles: Origins was definitely a one-of-a-kind book. Susan Hamilton created a unique blend of science fiction and historical fiction with a story that I really liked. I’d recommend it to readers who love aliens, vampires and/or alternate history.