About the Book

London, 1838. Queen Victoria is crowned; she receives the orb, the sceptre, and an arsenal of bloodstained weaponry. If Britain is about to become the greatest power of the age, there’s the small matter of the undead to take care of first. Demons stalk the crown, and political ambitions have unleashed ravening hordes of zombies even within the nobility itself.

But rather than dreams of demon hunting, Queen Victoria’s thoughts are occupied by Prince Albert. Can she dedicate her life to saving her country when her heart belongs elsewhere? With lashings of glistening entrails, decapitations, zombies, and foul demons, this masterly new portrait will give a fresh understanding of a remarkable woman, a legendary monarch, and quite possibly the best demon hunter the world has ever seen.

The Long Story

The first thing I would like to make clear is that this is the first ever mash-up book I have read, and it is the first ever zombie fiction book I have read as well. Now that’s settled…

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter is a book that uses interesting characters, action and humour to suck you in right from the start. With a beginning that had me smiling, I couldn’t help but become interested.

While the book doesn’t start with her, Queen Victoria is a character with whom I sympathized with straight away. Young, granted great responsibility and with moments of humanity despite herself, Victoria is a solid character with passion. The story switches between the viewpoints of a few characters, but I found myself being drawn time and again to Victoria’s sections. I didn’t feel she received enough time in the book, but that could be my bias for a character I like.

Things became a little sticky for me when I realised I was a good amount into the story and hadn’t truly felt swept up by the action. Yes, it’s an interesting story and I enjoyed it, but it was a book that was easy to put down. Never did I read and have the rest of the world fall away. That is much to ask of every book I read, but I was expecting more from a book with zombies and queens who hunt demons (which she did surprisingly little of for what the title implied).

I found some details to be quite unnecessary, and I wondered if AE Moorat put gruesome things in for the sake of being gruesome. For example, the descriptions of some of the insane people in Bedlam goes on for too long. I found myself wanting to skip ahead, thinking, ‘Yes, yes. Shocking behaviour by the inmates. Get on with it already.’

But, there are only two sections I felt dragged for those reasons, and overall the book flowed quite nicely.

The Short Story

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter doesn’t exactly want to make me rush out and read more mash ups or even more zombie fiction. However, it is entertaining and worth a read if you come across a copy.

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Rating: 3 stars

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Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter
By A. E. Moorat
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3127624.A_E_Moorat
ISBN: 978-0061976018
Length: 384 Pages