After centuries of leading his people as a messiah of sorts, spreading the creed of Pretenaturalism, Tynan Llywelyn was convinced to spearhead a battle against the demigod Vicinus and the conquering Tyst (who sought his favor) in Eternal Vigilance 2: The Death of Illusions. As ETERNAL VIGILANCE 3: BOUND IN BLOOD begins, the battle is over and he faces the aftermath of his actions including new personal responsibilities he has assumed. Although the battle dealt the Tyst and their cyber-network Chronous a severe, if not crippling, blow the war is far from over. The Vampires and Phuree are marshaling their forces and planning the next steps of their plans to destroy technology when one of Tynan's responsibilities draws him from the safety of headquarters, placing him and the goals of the alliance at risk.

When Gabrielle Faust had her character Tynan Llywelyn spend the first few pages of the book in internal soliloquy contemplating philosophical aspects of war, pain and humanity I almost gave up on writing this review. "Oh Gods" I thought "another Onanistic work that flails about using advanced vocabulary and angst-ridden world weariness to squeeze every trite bit of Emo-centered juice from a thought. Damn, if the next 200 pages are like this, it is going to be a long, weary read for me." Ok, to be honest, I literally thought "What a pile of Gothic hoohah. How am I gonna wade through this?" then I translated it into the ornate detail-burdened language used in the book. Writing with that level of intricacy has its pleasures, but can it be pleasurable to read? In the past I've learned if I can just wade through the first leaden chapter sometimes a work I thought I would hate becomes intriguing, so I persisted.

It wasn't until a few pages later, when the storyline wove in, that my hopes were raised. It was a little difficult to become accustomed to Faust's ornate Victorian style of ornamenting simple descriptive passages but as her characters began taking part in the story, the book became bearable. As she revealed more of the heart of Tynan and those he cared for, the book became engrossing. By the time I reached the very intense and powerful conclusion Gabrielle Faust's words brought tears to my eyes.

If you are someone interested in Gothic themes, post-apocalyptic stories, vampires or all of the above and don't mind quite a bit of graphic violence, you will likely enjoy the Eternal Vigilance series; and if you have an interest in the new roads being forged in the fantasy genres and an open mind you may become a new fan of Gabrielle Faust.