The Book of Common Dread by Brent Monahan

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

December 8, 2014

The early 1990s were a lovely era for vampire fiction. Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles were going strong, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series was just starting out, and L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries was rocking the teen scene.

Considering how great those years were, I wasn’t surprised to see The Book of Common Dread ranked up there with them.

Here’s part of its synopsis:

When Vincent DeVilbiss draws beautiful Frederika Vanderveen into the erotic and brutal world of the undead, he makes an enemy of Simon Penn, a young rare-books curator who loves the troubled girl from afar. As Simon confronts a seemingly unstoppable foe, he finds the stakes are much higher than one woman’s soul. For DeVilbiss has been sent to destroy an ancient document, before its powers can be turned against him and all the evil he has planned for the world.

So here we have vampires intersecting with the intellectual world of Princeton University, which is where this novel takes place. The Book of Common Dread offers far more than vampire sex, vampire bites, love triangles, and all the other typical stuff found in most vampire novels. Historians, bibliophiles, and intellectuals in general may enjoy this one.

I love when books offer more than just a great, entertaining story. The depth of Monahan’s research is truly impressive and offers a glimpse into a world I hadn’t known existed. I’m referring mainly to language translators who are so smart they can translate and study the patterns of ancient languages nobody speaks or reads anymore.

I also love how this novel flows easily given we learn nothing about Vincent DeVilbiss’ background until the middle of the book. Monahan pulls in readers without revealing too much up front.

The Book of Common Dread moves along quite swimmingly from start to finish. Our hero, Simon Penn, is unbelievably sexy and too smart for his own good in the most charming, unexpected way possible. I’m in love. We learn about the ancient texts DeVilbiss is seeking, and empathize with Simon over his unrequited love for Frederika. We feel Simon’s uncontrollable ire when he learns DeVilbiss is manipulating Frederika to gain access to his beloved ancient books.

The only part I didn’t like was the drawn-out elevator action scene between DeVilbiss and Simon at the end. Every sentence (“he jumped from the elevator cables, then he jumped from the elevator onto the platform,” blah blah blah) sounded exactly the same.

The sequel to this book is called The Blood of the Covenant. Don’t confuse it with Covenant with the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis, which is what I almost did!

Other books by Brent Monahan include:

What did you think about this book?

Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Sarah Ann

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