Vampire Rising by Alex Van Helsing

     -    4 Stars

After getting into a violent fight which ended up with his opponent being hospitalized, Alex tries to make a fresh start at Glenarvon Academy.  It wasn't long, though, before things began getting a little crazy.  Suffering from insomnia, Alex takes a walk around campus to settle his nerves. 

Then Alex hears a scream of terror.  Running quickly to help, he stumbles across a dead body - freshly killed in a brutal way.  Looking away in horror, Alex sees a young girl  running away.    Intending to help her, Alex pursues the girl in white - only to have himself brutally attacked, not by a young girl, but by a ferocious vampire.

Alex manages to injure her and escape.  Although he decides to keep his little adventure quiet and to forget what happened,  the vampire does not forget.

Soon Alex finds out that he is being hunted by a clan of deadly vampires - ones who are all too familiar with the family name "Van Helsing."  Alex also learns that his teacher is not just an instructor but Secret Agent Sangster who works for the Polidorium - a group founded in order to hunt and destroy evil vampires.  To Alex's shock, he learns the group of agents once included his own ancestors and counted among its members today Alex's own father and mother. 

 Alex's superior combat skills and his sixth sense in detecting the presence of evil are no mishaps.  Alex knows he is destined to join the fight.  His skills and determination are put to a test when Alex's friends from school are kidnapped by the vampire clan and Agent Sangster is injured and unable to help.  Alex knows what he's up against, but he can't sit back when his friends are taken as a sacrifice.  He has to find them and rescue them before it's too late...