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Something of the Night
By Paul Cave

- - Newspaper & Website Reviews
SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT by Paul Cave Review by Patricia Snodgrass Something of the Night by Paul Cave creates an interesting new twist on an old story. Set during a post apocalyptic era, the Earth is shrouded in perpetual darkness after being struck by an asteroid. During this time, Man discovers that he is not alone. Creatures once relegated to myth and legend leave their dark and dank hiding places and conquer the Earth. Paul Cave poses the question, how do you feed a planet full of vampires when there are so very few humans left? Cave’s vampires answer this question by creating human breeding stations. Since it takes nine months to wait for dinner, however, the vampires cross breed with humans, hoping to add to the larder sooner, but with disastrous results. The only other option is to go after the few pockets of humans living in underground complexes and bunkers. There are lots of interesting possibilities in this book. The use of the Ray of Hope, for example, is an ultraviolet gun used to fight off vampires. This is an intriguing way to wipe out vampire hordes. It also does something really cool at the end of the novel which I won’t tell you about. Further, there are vampires who are nothing like any kind of vampire you’ll ever meet. Ironically, this small faction becomes humankind’s greatest ally against their vicious cousins. The book starts off slowly and somewhat awkwardly. After the intense interrogation tracker Cain and his fellows receive upon returning to their underground bunker, you can’t help but wonder how the mechanic named Squirrel and his friend Alice and Mr. Fleas, the Jack Russell Terrier mix (who seems to be the brightest member of the trio) is able to take a truck out to test on the proving track, only to take a joy ride into an abandoned town. There they get waylaid by a particularly nasty pack of wolves. In an attempt to find refuge, they encounter an insane vampire hiding out in the jail who captures them and uses Squirrel as bait to lure wolves. During the encounter between Squirrel and the mad vampire, I couldn’t help wonder why, when Squirrel got the rifle away from him that he just didn’t shoot him right there and then? But it was a good thing he didn’t because that particular vampire has an interesting destiny to fulfill. The story really takes off in mid book, when Cain meets Tate and her companions, and the Huey that they’ve stowed away. There you find out about their mission, to obtain the Ray of Hope and use it in the last Great War between the humans and the vampires. I was afraid the ending would be predictable, but it was far from that. Whatever slack the first of the book has is made up for in the end. The ending was great. Something of the Night is another book that, with further polishing and rewrites would go from an average vampire novel to a book worthy of a Stoker award.
www.horrorworld.org
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VAMPIRE TALE A SCARY READ
The Sheilds Gazette


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THE FUTURE IS DARKER THANK YOU COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED Not too far into the future, the earth is hit by a meteorite and plunges into blackness. Thousands of tons of dust have obscured the sun, making the earth a stark, cold, lifeless planet. The few humans who survive are forced underground, trying to find shelter from the plummeting temperatures, but they soon discover that there is more than the climate to fear. Up on the surface, one inhabitant of the planet is thriving, one that feeds on human blood, can handle the cold temperatures and prefers the darkness to the light. Jacob Cain is a man with a mission: he wants to rid the world of these vampiric creatures and will do anything to accomplish this. The reason? Revenge: they have taken his wife and child. Something of the Night is a rollercoaster ride filled with mighty battles, espionage, and a myriad of interesting characters to sink your teeth into. It also poses ethical dilemmas (you don’t get to say that about many vampire books!) Jacob Cain, as one of the main characters, tries to infiltrate the vampire ranks as often as he can, and by doing this, he gets to know some of them. Can he kill the men he has fought alongside? Can his hatred lead him to betray these creatures when he knows that some only want peace with humans? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Spinetinglers would state that this is the thinking person’s vampire book. Its plot is complicated and well thought out. It offers quite a bit of originality to a usually very unoriginal genre, and also has enough blood, violence, and scares to keep anyone intrigued. Paul Cave’s writing thrills, intrigues, and captivates its audience. Above all, it will make you want to read on to find out if this is the end of the world or if there is a Ray of Hope…
www.spinetinglers.co.uk
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Earth, the near future. The climate has been changed to one of permanent darkness following a meteor impact. The humans that are left are confined to underground complexes, mostly because the surface is now the territory of armies of vampires, led by warriors with Old Testament names. Some of the humans can, and do, manage to fight back – trackers to follow the vampire leaders and assassinate them, mechanics to repair what hardware can still be fuelled, and those human leaders who still have to think about fleeing, when the nasties bear down on the subterranean base in a pincer movement. I could further identify the characters in this book, and give pencil outlines as to who they are and what they do, but it wouldn’t be worth it. The characters are just types (feisty teenage warriors battling their own young love, vulnerable young girls), and their motivation is simply to win, tempered by the fact that with so few humans left, most are in some way related to the rest. It’s not that the characters are too shallow, or not thought out, but they are of the Hollywood basic template kind. What I will say is that this book is being wrongly marketed as a horror. With its cover – a vampiric skull, bewisped by ether leering at you from the dark, it surely looks like a horror. I see this as more of a fantasy adventure, however. While it does feature horror elements – the dark, vampires, packs of intelligent wolves, concentration camps (and when listed like that it sounds over-cooked, but it isn’t) – nothing ever makes you look over your shoulder. There are death, decay and body parts, but it becomes quite clear early on that no named characters will suffer an unheroic death (not even the annoying anthropomorphised dog) and the story has a wider, epic feel. The narrative in fact, is quite wide-ranging, what with some humans going off on some task or other, more on other duties, and yet more humans chasing one of the other groups to put them to rights. At times the inter-cutting is poorly done, with somewhat arbitrary breaks from one narrative to the other, and this makes the pace race early on, and flag in the middle third. There are a couple of other problems with the writing – tiny repetitions, and so on, but on the whole it’s competently handled. It is a minor point of interest that a debutante author from the North West has decided to set his story in North America (chasing the dollar above the pound, perhaps), but apart from the Empire State Building being a main location the scenery is really just Anywheresville. The characters are of a simplified type, the setting also, but there is enough in the story to show individual touches. I can see this being on the airport genre shelves, and doing quite well. It should be fifty pages shorter, it should be rebranded, but for those who like a meaty adventure story it should certainly be considered. Reviewer: John Lloyd
www.thebookbag.co.uk
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Writer Paul is proving to be horribly good by Lee Sykes A LOCAL author is enjoying success on both sides of the Atlantic courtesy of a blood-filled imagination, prolific work rate and natural way with words. Paul Cave, of Derker, has had two horror novels published over the last 12 months and a third is already said to be well on the way. ‘Cold Light of Day’ and ‘Something of the Night’ have both been selling well in Britain and America for the former Counthill Secondary School pupil. Paul said: "I started writing about six years ago and decided to quit a mathematics degree that I was studying to concentrate all my efforts on my books. "My second novel, ‘Cold Light of Day’, came runner-up in a book of the year competition and was in the top ten best sales in the US for a couple of weeks, which I was really pleased about." ‘Cold Light of Day’ follows student Josh Sawyer’s passionate encounter with Anna, a beautiful and mysterious young woman, that changes his life for ever and thrusts him into a horror nightmare of violence and bloodlust. ‘Something of the Night’ tells the story of Jacob Cain, one of the last surviving humans who finds himself pitched in battle with an enemy even darker than the shadows which surround him. As vampires push man towards extinction, two armies, both desperate to capture the human refugees, threaten to converge, and create an inescapable net. Thankfully, neither is based on personal experience, but simply a vivid imagination. The same may not be true for parts of the next tome by the former North West schoolboy boxing champion of two years running. "The third novel is a thriller, which centres on an African-American prize-fighter, who suffers a stroke in the ring, and then becomes the target of a ruthless killer whilst languishing in hospital," said Paul. "It is currently being edited by award-winning writer Greg L. Norris – who has worked on episodes of ‘Star TrekVoyager’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’." He added: "My first two books have been published through a small independent publisher based in Essex, but I’ve had quite a lot of interest by US publishers already for the third book, and hope it will be published later this year." If all goes well, the test engineer for a company that delivers telecom systems to the Ministry of Defence may be communicating through print full-time at some point in the future. For more information on Paul’s work log onto www.apexpublishing.co.uk. You can purchase copies of his books from www.amazon.co.uk
Oldham Advertiser

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Jacob Cain is a man who only knows of a world cloaked in darkness. Ever since the earth was damaged by a huge disastrous event (meteor impact to be exact) everything has been left to slowly die in the dark. Through this gloom lurk blood-thirsty vampires who are led by warriors. The humans live in fear but do sometimes try and fight back against these creatures. Jacob is determined to hatch a plan to somehow defeat them. There must be a way to end this doom. It takes a while for Jacob’s plan to be put into action but when he meets up with Tate and her companions you find out about their mission properly - which is to obtain the Ray of Hope and use it in the last Great War between the humans and the vampires. Thus in the end we are witness to an apocalyptic and thrilling final battle. Who will win? Will it be the evil vampires or victory for the humans? Something of the Night is a great, absorbing read with echoes of Stephen King throughout. Should appeal to most horror/vampire fans with its well-written plot and entertaining characters that are easy to relate to. Very creepy! 8 out of 10.
www.booklore.co.uk
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Horror warning: this dark Cave is very scary. Paul Cave is frightening . . . and that’s just how he likes it. The Derker-based horror writer has just had his first major novel published, and he is hoping to scare the wits out of his readers. “Something of the Night” is a post-apocalyptic vision, in which a new species of evil predators threaten to wipe out the few remaining survivors of mankind. “I’m inspired by John Carpenter’s movies of the Eighties, particularly ‘The Thing’ and ‘The Fog’, and Robert McCammon’s novels,” said Paul (35). “I like most of the horror genre really.” By day, Paul is a test technician, designing military communications systems, which are distributed worldwide to military customers. He has been writing for just over five years and has finished two novels. The second, “Cold Light of Day”, is due for release early next year. “By trade, I’m an engineer and at one point was sitting a mathematics degree, but I quit once I realised my passion was writing,” he said. “I’m currently working on a third novel, a thriller based around an ageing African American prize-fighter, who suffers a massive stroke and then becomes the target of a ruthless serial killer.” “Something of the Night” is available from Ottakers in Oldham.
Oldham Evening Chronicle

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SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT
Christian Market Place Magazine

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No, this is not a biography of Michael Howard by Ann Widdecombe. It’s a science-fiction novel, and a cracker at that. Imagine that a huge lump of rock from God-knows-where in the galaxy is heading for earth. As it passes it spews billions of tons of muck and debris into the atmosphere, plunging the world into a catastrophe of nightmare proportions. Only a few colonies of humans survive, and for a while it looks like homo sapiens may just make it into another era. Er…but not quite. Something is out there, in the eternal winter darkness, and it wants to hunt. Humanity, unfortunately, is its prey. Cave imbues his novel with a delicious flavour of Biblical eschatology by giving many of the characters names straight out of the Old Testament, such as Cain, Daniel and Ezekiel. Like the Biblical flood, SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT washes over the reader unceasingly and warns us of dark things to come if we don’t get a grip. Oh, and then there’s the vampires… Don’t miss it!
Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette
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I had my doubts going in, but Something of the Night by Paul Cave won me over. In a nutshell, this is the story of mankind on the very brink of extinction at the hands of a Vampire Army that lords over a ravaged Earth. Hiding underground, humans rarely strike back for fear of giving away their nesting place, but when there’s an infiltrator discovered among them the story becomes an edge of your seat page turner. Paul Cave has managed to breath some new life into a tired old horror trope, conjuring up a sense of impending dread and urgency that is refreshing and commendable. From the terrific characterization of the major players (especially Vampire Slayer Jacob Cain) to the plot-driven roller coaster ride, Something of the Night is a meaty tome that will leave you wanting for more. This book is for fans of vampire fiction in general, as well as those who enjoy Apocalyptic and Men’s Adventure stories.
www.monsterlibrarian.com
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Something of the Night, Paul Cave Title: Something of the Night Author: Paul Cave Publisher: Apex PO Box 7086, Clacton on Sea, Essex, UK CO15 5WN http://www.apexpublishing.co.uk ISBN: 1-904444-72-5 “Something of the Night” by Paul Cave, tells the story of humans forced into small communities to survive after a meteorite crashes into the Earth and sending a cloud of dust into the upper atmosphere. With the world shrouded in darkness, the vampires take over, increasing their numbers to the point where a nice meal of human blood is a luxury worth fighting over. But humans haven’t been defeated yet. Not as long as the Ray of Hope existed. Trapped between two armies of vampires under Ezekial on one side and Raphael on the other side, hero Jacob Cain takes the battle straight to their heart. Jacob is a tough believable soldier who has lost something very precious, his wife. He wants her back, assuming she has survived. Jacob is aided by his two nephews, Elliot and Daniel. A side story features the incredibly talented Mr. Fleas, a terrier that keeps people out of trouble and is a cute replacement for Lassie. Mr. Fleas is owned by Squirrel, the pudgy but talented mechanic that keeps the human vehicles running and the woman he loves, the cute Alice Hammond who thinks of him as a friend and loves Elliot. The plot contains many good twists and subplots including several groups of human survivors brought into the human stronghold and a group that keeps attempting to rescue the Ray of Hope. Jacob finds his mission to penetrate the camp of Ezekial and find his wife sidetracked into downtown New York where he and new found friends must duke it out in the heights of skyscrapers against the unexpected. There’s never a dull moment in this book because the action is intense, the betrayals set up and executed, and the confrontations with some serious bad guys and some bad guys that have good intentions. The book ends with a tremendous battle but along the way, the horror of war is highlighted in many ways. Survival isn’t easy and is frequently cold, grim, and dirty. This isn’t a typical vampire book, very little time is spent on blood or gore or seduction. Instead it’s a fast paced action book where competition between two forces with opposing needs is highlighted. The positive ending doesn’t cure all the problems of the world, but some of the people in charge are shown that they have a clue that cooperation is a better policy than extermination.
www.sfharper.typepad.com
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SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT
Pick Me Up Magazine

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SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT
The Self Publishing Magazine

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