Jerusalem, 33 A.D. The vampires of the era have long sought to gain a foothold into Israel, but the faith of the local Jewish population has held them in check for centuries. 

When one of their own betrays them to follow a young rabbi from Galilee, the elders of the vampire race send Theron, a nine hundred year old assassin, to kill them both. 

The rabbi’s name is Jesus. Killing him should be easy.

Back when I was younger, vampires were my thing. I loved the mysteriousness, the immortality, the knowledge that these creatures have been around for centuries and have lived through so many historical events. I reveled in the horror and the brutality of what they were and the plight of their victims in their deaths or possibly their introduction to the world of vampirism. And, yes, I even loved the occasional romanticism that comes with the vampire genre when done well and in a “believable” fashion.

But, alas, the vampire genre seems to have jumped from horror with a touch of romance into pure love story where young girls forget that these are creatures of evil and should ultimately be destroyed. There is no longer any fear as the blood sucking fiend as it makes its way to a young girl’s bedside to feed and leave her corpse to be found in the morning. That is until you read 33 A.D. by David McAfee. This book was fantastic! Set at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, we are introduced to a familiar story line and location, but with some plot twists and horrific violence that bring vampire back to the bloodthirsty creatures they are and should always be.

The story line of Jesus, his followers and ultimate betrayal that leads to his crucifixion are not unique. However,there are many gray areas during this part of Christ’s life where a story of a vampire conspiracy could easily be intertwined to make the events plausible and this is just what McAfee does. For me, this was highly original, very welcome and intriguing telling of the New Testament tale. The characters were well portrayed and the gore was bloody and brutal…the way a good vamp

While 33 A.D. is very much religious themed, it is not a religious book. It takes the story of Jesus’s crucifixion and adds in a new element, but the original story is still treated with respect. I would find it hard pressed for many whether religious or not to find the authors spin to be offensive.

33 A.D. is a definite recommend for anyone who wants a great story with vampires that bring the fear to your souls and wrench the heart from your chest.

Learn more about David McAfee and his work by following his blog McAfee Land and/or by stalking him on Twitter: @DavidLMcAfee

Pick up your copy of 33 A.D. in Amazon paperback or Kindle by clicking the cover image above. If you prefer Barnes & Noble for your paperback or you have a nook click (HERE) For those with other types of eReaders  or to read directly from your computer you can go to Smashwords (HERE) to get the file type you need.

Espresso rating: Quad