This excellent series continues. We get two stories: one for Skinner Sweet, which is the main story in the book, and one for Pearl Jones. Skinner has now moved to Las Vegas just as it is booming with the construction of Hoover Dam. One of the strengths of the series is the historical detail, which enriches the series, and it is very apparent in this volume. We learn not only more of the vampires, but now a new secret group of vampire hunters emerges as well to complicate things. Overall, we get a good fast paced story. The Pearl piece is a bit slower, but it is still good and worth reading. It does leave a bit of a cliffhanger, which is fine as I will definitely be looking up the third volume when it is out; it's to be set in World War II, so it should get even more interesting. I wish Pearl's story would have had a bit more depth, the reason I only give this four stars. Otherwise, this is a great series. The series continues to get better and maintain its good story lines and new take on the vampire genre.

If you are sick and tired of wussy vampires, and about to give up on the whole genre, do yourself a favor and pick this series up. It will restore your faith in the genre. Plus, if you like your stories with historical settings, the series does very well in depicting good Americana and history of the times the characters live in. ( )

Loving this series and the fresh take on vampires. Can't wait for the next volume. ( )

Skinner Sweet has moved to a booming Las Vegas to make his fortune, and we get introduced to a new character, the police chief of Las Vegas, Cash McCogan. Sweet fits in perfectly in Sin City, and the contrast of character between the do-good police chief and the outlaw vampire providers a great story. We also get a new villain and learn more about the various types of vampires, of which there are many species (who knew?).

The second volume of American Vampire picks up about 10 years after the events in volume one. Overall, this one has a much slower pace than volume one, and there's a lot of dialogue explaining some background before the action really starts about 60% into the story. Boy, does it really take off from there, though!

The other part of the story finds Pearl Jones and her husband trying to lead a normal life together, at least as normal as it can be. This part of the story feels more like a set up for future volumes, and it was not as interesting as the Las Vegas section. It did what was intended, though, and provided some backstory as well.

The two plots mix together nicely, playing off each other in a few areas and advancing the overall plot. Fans of the first volume might be a little upset that Skinner is not a point of view character in this volume, but he is worked into the story in a fashion that we have come to expect from the outlaw. Skinner is still Skinner, and I was glad that the author did not try to change him.

This volume advances the world of American Vampire, introducing us to things previously hinted at, and also does a good job setting us up for the next addition.

This is what Vampires are suppose to be! You won't find sparkling heartthrobs in these pages, so if you think vampire should be sweet, you will be gravely disappointed. These vampires are killers, and they remind us that real vampires don't sparkle!

American Vampire is a fun, fast read, and the art work is great. If you haven't given this awesome series a try, it's highly recommended! ( )

Didn't realize it, but somewhat fitting that I finished this on the Fourth of July :-) Enjoyed it, but thought the story in the first volume was more...compelling, I guess. ( )

It's been about ten years since Pearl and Skinner last met. Las Vegas used to be a sleepy little town but with the building of the Boulder Dam (Read: Hoover), Las Vegas has seen an influx of people. With drinking and prostitution now legal in order to amuse the workers in their off hours, police chief Cash McCogan wonders if Las Vegas well ever return to the town he was raised in. When members of the consortium responsible for the building up the damn show up dead through exsanguination, McCogan doesn't have time to engage in a stroll down memory lane. The monsters have crawled out from under the bed and he is ill equipped to deal with them.

Once again American Vampire splits the story between Skinner and Pearl but in the section that deals with Skinner, the story is largely told from the point of view of Cash McCogan. There's a part of me which is highly cognizant of the fact that Cash's story is predictable. Good guy finds out vampires exist and it doesn't end well has been done before but I found myself drawn in. I felt for Cash when he learned that his adopted father was a vampire all along and how it nearly shattered his world view. For all of Cash's life he has been lied to. I sincerely hope that we aren't done with this character. I want to know what he does with his vampire baby and if he seeks revenge against Skinner.

At this point, I believe Skinner to be just straight up evil which is actually a relief. We've had an onslaught of anti-heroes recently, so it's weird to have a straight up evil protagonist who isn't troubled in some way or experiencing something which humanizes them to make people find the character empathetic. There's absolutely nothing redeemable about Skinner. He kills for the fun of it, betrays his allies and is generally unrepentant about anything he's done.

The thing`about Skinner is that he keeps making enemies. He seems to have more lives than a cat, making it that much more satisfying when the slightest thing goes wrong for him. Because he is so unrepentant, it's easy to want to see him get his and I cannot help but think that when this series finally comes to and end, it will be with Skinner getting everything he has coming to him. Pearl may not be actively chasing him, or ready to betray him because he is her creator but others have no such reason for loyalty.

Pearl's story is quite separate from Skinner. She's settled into a happy life with Henry, but worries about the darkness in her soul. She wonders if he's content with the life they are living given that she's pretty much immortal and he only has so many days in front of him. For his part, Henry thinks about the day he will ask Pearl to make him like her and is certain that when it's time to make that decision, he doesn't want to make it from a position of fear.

In this volume we also visit with Hattie. Yes, Hattie survived Pearl's beat down because to kill a vampire, one must destroy both the brain and the heart. Even though it is Hattie who originally betrayed Pearl, she's determined to get vengeance for the beating she received which lead to her imprisonment. Hattie heads to the place Pearl once said she would retire to when she got out of Hollywood, only to just miss Pearl and Henry. It's not enough to dissuade Pearl from her quest though.

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