By Jessica Severs

Admit it. Vampires are cool. The tortured immortal confined to eternal night, the gothic-chic wardrobe, never having to look into a mirror ...

Vampires bump humans down a notch on the food chain, but what if there was something that preyed on vampires?

This "Trinity Blood" novel, based on the manga and anime, delves deep into a strange future Europe after the Armageddon of our modern civilization. The Vatican reclaims a power role, and vampires have established their own nation, oddly called The New Human Empire.

To keep blood-thirsty vampires in check, a covert Vatican agency called AX employs vampire slayers and an android that excels at slaughter.

The prose falls a little flat at times, but the characters are interesting, keeping you in the story. The chapters seem to lack cohesion, but because it's vol. 1, it's likely the storylines will start to align in vol. 2.

This book is perfect for "Trinity Blood" fans, enjoyable for vampire aficionados but probably lost on everyone else.