Ram V can’t create memorable characters or establish even slightly coherent motivations so it’s impossible to follow or shiv a git about anything going on. There’s fighting between some factions for reasons and the beheaded vampire’s family is after the Indian monster for revenge. There’s an Indian kid who wants to be sultan or something, and an older man who also wants to be a sultan, maybe, and the Indian monster is buds with the kid somehow. A vampire is banished from England to India where he’s beheaded by an Indian monster. So it’s the 18th century and vampires, monsters, etc. I took my time reading this and I still didn’t get what was happening or why. Ram V is just so awful at communicating simply the basics of a story. I won’t say it’s his worst book because they’re all this level of crappiness but it’s definitely not good. But apparently These Savage Shores at Vault is supposed to be his best book, and it’s the one that got him those other titles, so maybe I’ll be all turned around on him if I give this one a shot? Uh, no.

I’m not a Ram V fan and can’t fathom his popularity - I’ve read his Catwoman and Swamp Thing books at DC, his Laila Starr book at Boom, and they’re all terrible.

I can't really say enough about These Savage Shores. It's a horror story, a love story, and a war story. The alliances that were made, the trusts that were broken, and the way war changes everyone it touches. But the main storyline is about the battles fought on the shores of India between the British Empire and the rulers of Indian provinces. This sets off trouble with England's vampires and it culminates in a very well-done conclusion at the end of the book. Unfortunately for him, there are worse things than vampires in those jungles. So he hits the ground running, immediately spying a woman by herself in the foliage and deciding she'd make quite a snack. So an asshole-y vampire screws up and gets sent away from England to some compatriots in India. A very cool spin on vampires and old gods set against the backdrop of India.

These Savage Shores by Ram V.