4 Stars!

Glenn Rolfe first brought his brand of horror to vampires in Until Summer Comes Around four years ago, and he once again returns to that world with a sequel in When the Night Falls. I enjoyed the first novel and was eagerly anticipating what the sequel held in store.

Rocky had done his best to move on with his life since that horrific summer ten years earlier. He had tried to move from the small town of Old Orchard Beach but found himself drawn back. The vampires had left, however, and the tourists had returned. Life was good, or at least peaceful, until the documentary about that fateful summer airs. This draws the media and curiosity seekers back to the town and Rocky finds his peace shattered. Even worse, though, it draws back the vampires who seem hellbent on making the town their own.

Rocky once more finds himself pitted against the vampires in a fight to save the town that he loves. This is no ordinary vampire invasion, though. This time it is personal. The vampires have come to town with only blood and destruction on their minds. They are more prepared this time, though, for they have tasted the human's resistance. The war will not only be waged in blood but in emotion as well. Rivers of blood will flow as Rocky is forced to face not only the new threat but also his greatest fear that he thought he had left a decade in the past.

The first thing that leaps out at the reader is that the vampires in When the Night Falls are not typical vampires. Rolfe has a unique vision of the vampires. They are not limited to moving at night, although they do need to take precautions to come out during the day, and they are not immortal. They are aware of their condition and its limitations and benefits so that they are almost a perfect balance between the vampires of Anne Rice and Bram Stoker. They are also beholden to their need to feed even if they want to control it. These vampires are not pure evil, but they can be evil enough when they want to be. Violence is part of their nature, but there is a kind of intelligence to their violence as giving in to their bestial side has its drawbacks as well and can even kill them. This serves to make them even more monstrous. They are vicious creatures but are also cunning in their actions and when stalking their prey.

When the Night Falls seemed like a bit of a departure for Rolfe as it was a much slower read than I have come to expect from him. That is not to say it is bad. Just different. Rolfe takes a lot more time developing the story and there is a lot more subtext working behind the action. This is probably in part because the expectation is the read already knows the characters and thus Rolfe has more to work with, but I also think that is just the nature of this story and Rolfe tells it to near perfection. There is plenty of violence in the novel to satisfy his fans, but there is also a emotional depth to this story that is not present in many of his works. I found a little bit of foreshadowing of this early on in the novel when the characters talk about 'Salems Lot by Stephen King. That novel is one of King's early works and was visceral and wildly entertaining but did not have the depth of his later novels. With his own vampire novel, I am left wondering if this is a development of a different stage of Rolfe's writing or if the novel just felt different from his other works because the story demanded it. I also realize, though, that I do not really care too much one way or another because I have liked all of his works and I know that as long as Rolfe is writing it, I will be reading it. When the Night Falls is highly recommended for fans of Rolfe as well as vampires and horror in general. It is another strong read from one of the best in the genre.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. When the Night Falls is available now.

Turns out, this is a sequel to Until Summer Comes Around – which I hadn’t read but decided to read now that I’m reading this one. And I’m glad I did, because it makes so much sense when you have read the first book too.

If you love horror, then this most definitely is a book duo that is worth looking at.

It is weird, it is gory, it is action-packed, and it is a fast-paced page-turner of blood everywhere.

Glenn Rolfe delivers a snappy, pulp-paperback inspired vampire story full of blood, sex and gore.
The story follows Rocky Zukas, one-time vampire slayer and the sole survivor of a series of killings years earlier, who finds his past cast back into the spotlight following the release of a new documentary.
Worse still, it coincides with a new trail of bodies after a trio of new vampires move into town and start the horror show afresh.
Much like a solid B-grade horror film, it's an enjoyable if disposable romp that seeks to entertain first and foremost.
The characters are fairly well drawn and the action zips along nicely. It's the type of novel that's easy to digest in a sitting or two - one you may forget most of when you are done but that's OK because the ride was fun.

A group of vampires descend upon a beach town after a documentary airs about the killings that took place there years ago. These vampires seem set on getting to Rocky, and leave a large body count in their wake. When the Night Falls is the sequel to the beach town vampire story Until Summer Comes Around. This time the story is a little bit darker and a little bit bloodier. It takes place in the 1990s with plenty of fun nods to the decade to set time and place. I would highly recommend this series to fans of vampire stories. These are fast fun reads for summer.

Rocky knows what happens when you love someone who is not what you expected. Now people are after Rocky. Will he be able to keep safe. The town is about to change again.

When the Night Falls is the best type of sequel. Similar to each new season of Dexter, reading this book reacquaints you with old friends, people that feel real and who you've longed to see again. This time, Rocky from Until Summer Comes Around is older but still haunted by his experiences with November, a vampire who he fell in love with.

There are other vampires in town. I enjoyed the relationship between the three main vampires, Vincent, Fiona, and Kat. Unlike November, these vampires are scarier, less kind vampires. Yet even they get stories that make you care about the characters, even if they aren't people you'd like to meet in real life. Again, like Dexter.

This story is one of Rolfe's better works. It's highly recommended.

*Huge thanks to Netgalley & Flame Tree Press for the digital ARC!*

Ahhhhh… sequels.

The seemingly expected follow up to every novel.

At least it seems that way. That every author writes a novel and then must write a sequel, especially when readers love that first book to pieces. It’s a position every author who has written something finds themselves in and sometimes there’s more. Sometimes there’s not. And sometimes an idea isn’t there until it is.

Back in 2020, Glenn released his novel ‘Until Summer Comes Around,’ which was a fantastic riff on 80’s nostalgia and vampire fiction. We had Rocky, a teenaged main character who we instantly all clicked with and we had the emergence of bodies being found and sinister forces at work.

Glenn himself said that he thought that was going to be a singular release… until it wasn’t. And when the new idea clicked and things fell into place, voila, the sequel arrived.

Now, can Glenn follow up that fantastic story with a new entry?

I was excited to find out.

What I liked: Ten years after the events of book one, Rocky is just trying to live as normal as a life as he can. Gone is the back brace and now, he’s working as a firefighter. Until he isn’t. One day he’s there, the next gone, wanting to switch up his life and figure out where to go next. That is, until word comes that a TV station is planning on doing a ten-year anniversary special about the killings, even after Rocky refused to be involved and threatened them with a lawsuit if they went ahead with it.

The set up is great, and knowing the way Glenn crafts his stories, we see the weight of the events sitting heavy on Rocky. He still loves November, even if it is complicated, and he compares every new woman in his life to her. Is it a case of teenage love remembered through foggy glasses? Could be. But Rolfe does a great job of playing those emotions off each other well. November is still there, still lurking and still has feelings for Rocky.

The town is as vibrant as ever and its that familiarity that sets us readers at ease, even as Rolfe starts to spray the blood and sully the streets. Action comes fast and furious and we go from a coming-of-age remembrance piece to a full on Blade movie level of carnage quick.

One aspect that I think works really well, is that Glenn’s vampires can move about during the day and are not immortal. Those two aspects tend to fully shape and guide most vampire stories, but these adjustments work so very well to ramp up the tensions and not let anyone have a moment to relax.

The ending of this one is emotionally spot on. Don’t get me wrong, Glenn plays with our emotions throughout – perfectly I might add – but the ending works to close several chapters, answer questions and ultimately wrap things up. Does this mean there will be more? Never say never, but if this is where we end Rocky’s story, it’s a mighty find ending.

What I didn’t like: I think, personally, the 80’s nostalgia worked very well in book one, but the 90s aspects didn’t shine through as much as I thought they would in comparison. It could’ve been a way for Glenn to make this try to be timeless, or it could’ve been a case of me reading a bunch of books lately all set around that time period, but it didn’t highlight the story like the 80’s did in book one.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Glenn’s you’ll be all over this. If you loved book one, you’ll be all over this. If you love vampire fiction you’ll be all over this. Can this be read as a stand alone? Yes-ish, though reading book one and book two back to back would be a really great way to dive into this story. Overall, Glenn has once again created a vibrant place, with vibrant people and then ripped them to shreds. And really, that’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from Glenn.

When the Night Falls by Glenn Rolfe.
Glenn Rolfe's first book in this series, When Summer Comes Around, remains my favourite of his works. A real 1980's coming of age tale that wore it's Lost Boys influences on its sleeve, but was also packed with Rolfe's love of the decade and its music. Plus some pretty nasty vampires.
When The Night Falls picks up ten years later, Rocky, the hero of the last book, is left broken by the events of that summer. He drifts through his life, not really holding down a proper job or relationship, teetering on the brink of full-blown alcoholism.
When a TV documentary about the events of a decade ago airs on national television, it comes to the attention of three other vampires, living in LA. They travel across the country to dig into the stories that the killer in the documentary was a vampire, with Rocky fixed in their sites.
The only person who might be able to save him is November, the vampire girl who killed his uncle and the only person that Rocky has ever really loved. But he's not seen her for a decade.
Right from the start, you can tell that this book is going to be a much darker read than the first. Rocky's melancholy virtually seeps from the pages and you can see a similar journey with November's life as she struggles with the guilt of what she had to do in the previous book. All the way through, I hoped that they would find some sort of happy ending because they were so lost without each other.
The new vampires are a terrifying force. Their actions in this instalment are nothing short of atrocities. For a time, it feels like every character, whether they're part of Rocky's life or not, is merely a potential meal or a toy for the trio of West Coast vampires to torment and kill.
When Night Falls is a fast-paced, violent, gory and emotional read. It's a far darker, sadder book than the first, which makes it even better.
Guess I have a new favourite Glenn Rolfe book...