Valley of Bones, by Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson holds nothing back in the heart-wrenching finale of his Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, as Gina Lazarescu and the rest of Those Who Resist continue in their struggle against the vampiric Collectors of the Akeldama Cluster.

Ever since news of this trilogy reached my ears in 2007, I have eagerly awaited Wilson's take on the vampire legend. Wilson was catapulted to the top of my favorite authors list as soon as I set down his first book, Dark to Mortal Eyes—my first foray into the works of Eric Wilson. And although I have never been a big vampire fan (especially not in this Twilight-saturated culture), I knew that Wilson would turn this new series into something special. Needless to say, when I received an advanced copy of the first book, Field of Blood, in 2008, I was captivated. And now, at last, the journey ends in this stunning conclusion, Valley of Bones.

I won't really say much about the plot, here, as Wilson does that far better in the novels themselves, and if you're reading this review, you need to go out and read this trilogy, anyway. Don't let the whole vampire thing scare you away, because that isn't the point of this series. Instead, Wilson uses it as a catalyst to explore deep issues of faith in a refreshing new way. In fact, I would say this is the most eye-opening, faith-reviving series I've read since Dekker's Martyr's Song or Blessed Child novels.

The author put a phenomenal amount of research and imagination into this series, and the connections he makes between these stories and his other novels are absolutely mind-blowing; and yet, he makes them in such a way that it isn't necessary to read the older books to understand this series. Instead, it acts as the icing on the cake, the “easter eggs” to his fans, the little—and sometimes big—details that make his books so much fun to read. But for those who have read his previous works, Valley of Bones acts as the finale for them all, bringing back old characters and drawing their storylines to a fitting conclusion, and I think that is one of my favorite parts about this book.

I will admit that it takes a little while to really “get into” these books. The storyline doesn't always go in chronological order, jumps around between the good and bad characters, and at first glance just seems so bizarre...but when you grasp what is really going on, you won't be able to put these down. The characters seem fully alive (even the undead ones...ha), the story is epic in scale, and the concept is just so darn cool—and cleverly written, to boot.

I really encourage you to give these books a try. If they're not your cup of tea, then try his other novels (2 supernatural suspense books, 2 general mystery books—all 4 excellent and very well written). Eric Wilson is an enormously talented storyteller, and it pains me to see that he doesn't have more readers. He certainly deserves them.