What do you think?
Rate this book
Underworld #2
Underworld: Blood Enemy
BEFORE "UNDERWORLD, " THE WAR RAGED ON.... For untold centuries, a secret conflict has been waged between two immortal rivals:
The vampires -- ageless aristocrats with a sensual appetite for blood and luxury. Among their ranks are the Death Dealers, an elite corps of the undead sworn to the destruction of their ancestral enemies....
The werewolves -- feral warriors capable of transforming into hellish beasts of unearthly power and ferocity. Once the faithful servants of the vampires, the savage lycans now fight toothand claw against their former masters.
Throughout history, the clandestine war has been fought in the shadows of the mortal world. And the seeds of this destructive conflict were sown long ago, when a courageous lycan daredto lose his heart to a beautiful vampire princess.
The vampires -- ageless aristocrats with a sensual appetite for blood and luxury. Among their ranks are the Death Dealers, an elite corps of the undead sworn to the destruction of their ancestral enemies....
The werewolves -- feral warriors capable of transforming into hellish beasts of unearthly power and ferocity. Once the faithful servants of the vampires, the savage lycans now fight toothand claw against their former masters.
Throughout history, the clandestine war has been fought in the shadows of the mortal world. And the seeds of this destructive conflict were sown long ago, when a courageous lycan daredto lose his heart to a beautiful vampire princess.
310 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
28 people are currently reading
1,460 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 26, 2020
This impressed me. As others have stated, I think this novel had a better story than the movie. This is basically an in-depth retelling of the backstory presented in the first Underworld movie of werewolf Lucian falling in love with vampire Sonja and how this lead to the war between the vamps and lycans. There's a modern story presented as well, tying into the prequel, but the majority is set in 1201 A.D. Because of the setting, the story reminded me of the Ravenloft novel series which I read several years ago.
Overall this was very good, and I would recommend it to any fans of the movie series.
Overall this was very good, and I would recommend it to any fans of the movie series.
April 10, 2010
Different than the movie, better story than the movie.
July 28, 2020
There were moments that were interesting, and moments that were sorta meh... overall it’s an interesting look at what could have happened with Lucian and Sonja and the start of the war (pre the movie release of Rise of the Lycans). However, it’s just not as good as Rise of the Lycans. It’s more accurate to the first movie, than RotL is, however Sonja and Lucian’s stories in RotL is so much better.
The slavery shown in RotL is more heart wrenching, as well as more realistic. They are carefully enslaved so that freedom is almost impossible. In Blood Enemies, they are more like servants, and have more comforts and freedoms. All of the Lycans could easily escape into freedom, but they don’t for some barely explained reason. The transitions in freedom to slavery Victor makes in regards to the Lycans just don’t make much sense in this book.
Sonja is a badass in RotL, whereas in Blood Enemies she’s sort of a helpless damsel, which I didn’t love. I didn’t connect with her character so much in this one, and her motivation and reasons for falling in love with Lucian is not very well explained. There are a couple of sweet moments between them though that were nice to read.
Lucian is a lot weaker in this book as well. In Rise of the Lycans he actually battles Victor. He also immediately frees and leads a lot of the Lycans in victory... but in Blood Enemies he doesn’t have any experience so he fails as a leader in the first battle, as well as flees from Victor. It just wasn’t as satisfying. One of my favorite things about RotL is that Lucian and Sonja are both fierce and battle ready warriors, and that was completely lost in this version of events.
I honestly just wanted more of Selene the whole time I was reading this book, but we only got a couple of chapters, and the things we did see from her didn’t give any more depth or insight into her character.
Overall, it was bad, entirely boring, or hate-able, it just wasn’t great either. Especially when compared to Rise of the Lycans.
The slavery shown in RotL is more heart wrenching, as well as more realistic. They are carefully enslaved so that freedom is almost impossible. In Blood Enemies, they are more like servants, and have more comforts and freedoms. All of the Lycans could easily escape into freedom, but they don’t for some barely explained reason. The transitions in freedom to slavery Victor makes in regards to the Lycans just don’t make much sense in this book.
Sonja is a badass in RotL, whereas in Blood Enemies she’s sort of a helpless damsel, which I didn’t love. I didn’t connect with her character so much in this one, and her motivation and reasons for falling in love with Lucian is not very well explained. There are a couple of sweet moments between them though that were nice to read.
Lucian is a lot weaker in this book as well. In Rise of the Lycans he actually battles Victor. He also immediately frees and leads a lot of the Lycans in victory... but in Blood Enemies he doesn’t have any experience so he fails as a leader in the first battle, as well as flees from Victor. It just wasn’t as satisfying. One of my favorite things about RotL is that Lucian and Sonja are both fierce and battle ready warriors, and that was completely lost in this version of events.
I honestly just wanted more of Selene the whole time I was reading this book, but we only got a couple of chapters, and the things we did see from her didn’t give any more depth or insight into her character.
Overall, it was bad, entirely boring, or hate-able, it just wasn’t great either. Especially when compared to Rise of the Lycans.
April 9, 2008
In Underworld Blood Enemy are the events before the first book. It tells you the reason why the Vampires fought the Werewolves. this is the story seen from the Vampire perspective. The film Underworld: Rise of the Lycans sees the event from their perspective. It is a very good story.
October 25, 2024
I understand that this book is not canon, which is fine. I love reading anything about Lucian. I would give this book a higher rating however, were it not for the fact that the main villain is a Romani lycan, made to exist in stereotypical racist views against Romani and she is constantly referred to via a slur.
Were it not for the racism, I would have loved this book.
Were it not for the racism, I would have loved this book.
March 9, 2019
A wonderful version of the old tale, with much additional information that shed light on many characters. I strongly recommend listening to the Underworld Official Score while reading this. It gives a more intense feeling in the reading experience.
August 2, 2020
Love this movie series. Really enjoyed being able to experience even more of the history behind the Vampires vs. Werewolves war!
August 1, 2021
Ironically, I think I'm in the minority with this book. Which I guess I didn't realize at the time I'd read this book.
So here's the thing. I read this as a freshman in college. I was 18. But I'd MEANT to read this book much sooner. I first got into the Underworld franchise when I was fourteen or so (a freshman in high school) and I was OBSESSED. I wanted to be Selene so fucking badly. She was a badass in every way. She acted like one, looked like one, talked like one... So you can imagine my excitement when I found out there were novelizations of the films. Only the first three, mind you (which were the only three out at the time: Underworld, Rise of the Lycans, and Evolution).
This was also before I started using Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, but I DID know about Blood Enemy. But since it wasn't a novelization of any of the films, it wasn't my priority. I simply had to have the other three, and once I got my hands on them, I devoured them. As any fourteen year old would who was obsessed with a badass female lead, and a vampire no less! I even remember how we had to order them because we couldn't find them at a bookstore. This was probably in 2012, so it's not like ordering things was unusual, but it definitely wasn't nearly as commonplace as it was by the time I was a freshman in college, about to read Blood Enemy.
Anyway, all of that to say, I knew about this book back then and had wanted to read it, but for some reason, I never got around to ordering it. It wasn't a priority, I guess. I'd largely forgotten about it too, and written it off as one of those books that I probably wouldn't actually read despite having it marked on my to-read shelf for ages. But then I went to my local used bookstore and, by some miracle, found it! Didn't even have to order it, and that's when I was ordering EVERYTHING online, not even bothering to check the stores half the time. So of course I had to have it. And I'm pretty sure I got around to it very quickly. That means I didn't let it sit in my TBR for five years before finally digging it out. But, unfortunately, I didn't love it.
For those who don't know, this is an original prequel to the Underworld series. That means it's of the author's own making, and was written before Rise of the Lycans was a thing, if I recall corrections. It's a good look at what could have been, if the story had been handled differently. And some people really liked the way this book handled Sonja and Lucian's relationship. I, however, didn't. Why? Because Rise of the Lycans was my favorite of the films and I ADORED the novelization, so reading this alternative just felt...inferior. I guess that's the main thing. Nothing could compare to Sonja's badass portrayal in the film and book. Hell, five years later and I prefer Sonja to Selene any day of the week. But there are other reasons why I think this book fell a bit flat for me.
For example, I was well out of my Underworld obsession by this time. I was eighteen, and while I still loved Underworld, I'd found new obsessions and didn't feel the same connection as before. I think I would have loved this if I'd read it when I was fourteen, but by then I don't think it was capable of achieving the same effect that it could have in the past. That affected my overall enjoyment of the book quite a bit, because I figured if I wanted to read a prequel, I'd just read (or watch) Rise of the Lycans instead.
I don't think there was anything in particular that I hated about the book. It just wasn't all that interesting and didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't remember it much and purged it from my bookshelves not long after (though I kept the novelizations of the films). I think it's an excellent story, but it didn't align with my tastes, and that's okay.
So here's the thing. I read this as a freshman in college. I was 18. But I'd MEANT to read this book much sooner. I first got into the Underworld franchise when I was fourteen or so (a freshman in high school) and I was OBSESSED. I wanted to be Selene so fucking badly. She was a badass in every way. She acted like one, looked like one, talked like one... So you can imagine my excitement when I found out there were novelizations of the films. Only the first three, mind you (which were the only three out at the time: Underworld, Rise of the Lycans, and Evolution).
This was also before I started using Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, but I DID know about Blood Enemy. But since it wasn't a novelization of any of the films, it wasn't my priority. I simply had to have the other three, and once I got my hands on them, I devoured them. As any fourteen year old would who was obsessed with a badass female lead, and a vampire no less! I even remember how we had to order them because we couldn't find them at a bookstore. This was probably in 2012, so it's not like ordering things was unusual, but it definitely wasn't nearly as commonplace as it was by the time I was a freshman in college, about to read Blood Enemy.
Anyway, all of that to say, I knew about this book back then and had wanted to read it, but for some reason, I never got around to ordering it. It wasn't a priority, I guess. I'd largely forgotten about it too, and written it off as one of those books that I probably wouldn't actually read despite having it marked on my to-read shelf for ages. But then I went to my local used bookstore and, by some miracle, found it! Didn't even have to order it, and that's when I was ordering EVERYTHING online, not even bothering to check the stores half the time. So of course I had to have it. And I'm pretty sure I got around to it very quickly. That means I didn't let it sit in my TBR for five years before finally digging it out. But, unfortunately, I didn't love it.
For those who don't know, this is an original prequel to the Underworld series. That means it's of the author's own making, and was written before Rise of the Lycans was a thing, if I recall corrections. It's a good look at what could have been, if the story had been handled differently. And some people really liked the way this book handled Sonja and Lucian's relationship. I, however, didn't. Why? Because Rise of the Lycans was my favorite of the films and I ADORED the novelization, so reading this alternative just felt...inferior. I guess that's the main thing. Nothing could compare to Sonja's badass portrayal in the film and book. Hell, five years later and I prefer Sonja to Selene any day of the week. But there are other reasons why I think this book fell a bit flat for me.
For example, I was well out of my Underworld obsession by this time. I was eighteen, and while I still loved Underworld, I'd found new obsessions and didn't feel the same connection as before. I think I would have loved this if I'd read it when I was fourteen, but by then I don't think it was capable of achieving the same effect that it could have in the past. That affected my overall enjoyment of the book quite a bit, because I figured if I wanted to read a prequel, I'd just read (or watch) Rise of the Lycans instead.
I don't think there was anything in particular that I hated about the book. It just wasn't all that interesting and didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't remember it much and purged it from my bookshelves not long after (though I kept the novelizations of the films). I think it's an excellent story, but it didn't align with my tastes, and that's okay.
February 11, 2012
Stop Spoiler!!!
Alright. This book was entertaining. Umm.... I thought about giving this book a 4 but then I thought about it some more, I decided to give this book a 5 star.
The reason why I wanted to give this book a 4 star was because Selene and Michael weren't in the book. The only reason I wanted to read the book was because of those two characters. I saw the cover of the book and thought "oh this is great book 2 has Selene on the front cover, how fantastic". But the truth is that she is mentioned through out the book briefly which saddened me.
Enough said, I believe this book should have been Book 1, instead of book 2. Reason why, It was because this book took place back in A.D. 1201. The author talks more about Lucian and his beloved Sonja who he fell in love with and married.
This book is to understand the history between Vampires and Lycan's. The vampires back then were the strongest species that ever lived in this earth. The saw themselves above the humans and the Lycan's.
The vampires had control over the Lycan's. At that time, the Laycan’s were known as lesser than even humans, even if the humans were the weakest links. They knew that humans weren’t a threat to them. The vamps feared that one day the Lycan’s would rise up against the vampires. The only ones that had a chance to get rid of the vamp species was the Lycan’s being as strong as they were.
The vampires believed that the Lycan’s were horrible savage creatures, who think only like animals and couldn’t think for themselves. They believed that only way to control them was to enslave them and that is exactly what they did.
Lucian who was born into slavery believed that the vampires were doing a good thing in enslaving his kind. He believed that the Lycan’s were beast and were blood thirsty and couldn’t control them-selves. At one point Lucian wanted to be a vampire and was ashamed of who he was. He help the vampires capture the Lycan’s and at one point, even imprison them. Until he fell in-love with the daughter of the most powerful Vampire that ever lived. That caused the Vampire Elder to kill his own daughter because of his strong believes in the vampire coven. If a vampire were to break the rules and fall in love with a Lycan they’d pay the consequences, and that was death. His daughter was the example that the vampire race should be protected and no vampire should ever fall in love with a Lycan or a human. For centuries the vampires and Lycans heard that story between Lucian and Sonja and never dared to mix the species up again. That is, until Selene and Michael came along. And guess what people, the elder adopted Selene, he was more like a father to her and that made the entire story even better. If the Elder killed his own daughter who he loved they are more likely to meet a worse fate.
The book is good. This has love. It has none stop action all the way to the end. But if ur looking for Selene and Michael together you won’t find it in this book. This story was based upon Lycian and Sonja. The author does write about Selene but pieces about Selene took place long before she even met Michael. Michael is not in this book at all.
Alright. This book was entertaining. Umm.... I thought about giving this book a 4 but then I thought about it some more, I decided to give this book a 5 star.
The reason why I wanted to give this book a 4 star was because Selene and Michael weren't in the book. The only reason I wanted to read the book was because of those two characters. I saw the cover of the book and thought "oh this is great book 2 has Selene on the front cover, how fantastic". But the truth is that she is mentioned through out the book briefly which saddened me.
Enough said, I believe this book should have been Book 1, instead of book 2. Reason why, It was because this book took place back in A.D. 1201. The author talks more about Lucian and his beloved Sonja who he fell in love with and married.
This book is to understand the history between Vampires and Lycan's. The vampires back then were the strongest species that ever lived in this earth. The saw themselves above the humans and the Lycan's.
The vampires had control over the Lycan's. At that time, the Laycan’s were known as lesser than even humans, even if the humans were the weakest links. They knew that humans weren’t a threat to them. The vamps feared that one day the Lycan’s would rise up against the vampires. The only ones that had a chance to get rid of the vamp species was the Lycan’s being as strong as they were.
The vampires believed that the Lycan’s were horrible savage creatures, who think only like animals and couldn’t think for themselves. They believed that only way to control them was to enslave them and that is exactly what they did.
Lucian who was born into slavery believed that the vampires were doing a good thing in enslaving his kind. He believed that the Lycan’s were beast and were blood thirsty and couldn’t control them-selves. At one point Lucian wanted to be a vampire and was ashamed of who he was. He help the vampires capture the Lycan’s and at one point, even imprison them. Until he fell in-love with the daughter of the most powerful Vampire that ever lived. That caused the Vampire Elder to kill his own daughter because of his strong believes in the vampire coven. If a vampire were to break the rules and fall in love with a Lycan they’d pay the consequences, and that was death. His daughter was the example that the vampire race should be protected and no vampire should ever fall in love with a Lycan or a human. For centuries the vampires and Lycans heard that story between Lucian and Sonja and never dared to mix the species up again. That is, until Selene and Michael came along. And guess what people, the elder adopted Selene, he was more like a father to her and that made the entire story even better. If the Elder killed his own daughter who he loved they are more likely to meet a worse fate.
The book is good. This has love. It has none stop action all the way to the end. But if ur looking for Selene and Michael together you won’t find it in this book. This story was based upon Lycian and Sonja. The author does write about Selene but pieces about Selene took place long before she even met Michael. Michael is not in this book at all.
September 19, 2016
As someone who has totally enjoyed the Underworld franchise of movies and a couple of the movie tie-in books as well this was a good chance to find out answers to some of the questions raised in my mind over the course of the 4 films.
Be aware this book starts out in 2002 then goes back in time to the 1200's where Lucien's tale is told and the war between Lycans and Vampires began. It skips back and forth but is still easy to follow as those skips are not close together at all.
As others have pointed out this could actually be called a different adaptation of however it is really a precursor to that story in many ways as it is billed as book 2, whether many other diehard fans agree with that title or not it holds true in my eyes.
As expected it was a brutally violent, gory, graphic read as befits the series but it was also haunting and had an eerie sense of poetic justice as the downtrodden Lycans became more of a worthy adversary for the Vampires than expected given their former relationship of master and slave.
Be aware this book starts out in 2002 then goes back in time to the 1200's where Lucien's tale is told and the war between Lycans and Vampires began. It skips back and forth but is still easy to follow as those skips are not close together at all.
As others have pointed out this could actually be called a different adaptation of however it is really a precursor to that story in many ways as it is billed as book 2, whether many other diehard fans agree with that title or not it holds true in my eyes.
As expected it was a brutally violent, gory, graphic read as befits the series but it was also haunting and had an eerie sense of poetic justice as the downtrodden Lycans became more of a worthy adversary for the Vampires than expected given their former relationship of master and slave.
July 30, 2013
For the most part the book follows the storyline set forth in the second movie, but the book also includes far more material than depicted in the film. The first 150 pages are dedicated to almost nonstop action. Battle after battle will have the story flying by at a good clip. When the action settles down the romance begins and the author lays out the story between Lucian and an Elders daughter. Of course in the end the love story ends poorly for the two, but no good deed goes unpunished.
The book is an easy read and well written. There are some parts I would have preferred to have been different like the over use of Old English in the begging of the book, it just felt odd and over done. But all together I liked the book and given that it is the only book that isn't a direct novelization of one of the films, it is the only literary installment to offer more to the larger franchise.
The book is an easy read and well written. There are some parts I would have preferred to have been different like the over use of Old English in the begging of the book, it just felt odd and over done. But all together I liked the book and given that it is the only book that isn't a direct novelization of one of the films, it is the only literary installment to offer more to the larger franchise.
July 1, 2017
I love the "Underworld" movies so I was interested quickly in this book as the movies gave just enough history for you to sink your teeth into while leaving things open.
Instead I found this book intolerably rough reading and I had to drag myself through it. The print was smaller than normal since the book was so big and as one of my co-workers said they had to do it since there is so much back-history to cover, which I can agree with. Another thing that made the book so long was that the book was bouncing back and forth between two stories - one that was giving the history of the battle then a modern story where the battle was continuing to rage but without Selene knowing that Lucian was still alive.
This definitely answered some questions for the movie but it may have been better off as a movie instead of a book.
Instead I found this book intolerably rough reading and I had to drag myself through it. The print was smaller than normal since the book was so big and as one of my co-workers said they had to do it since there is so much back-history to cover, which I can agree with. Another thing that made the book so long was that the book was bouncing back and forth between two stories - one that was giving the history of the battle then a modern story where the battle was continuing to rage but without Selene knowing that Lucian was still alive.
This definitely answered some questions for the movie but it may have been better off as a movie instead of a book.
November 28, 2012
Although this book read quite well, I have no idea in my wildest dreams why it exists... It could go under the misnomer of a 'prequel' (and just why in hell do they even exist?), but as a #2 novel it was a meaningless piece of superfluous blathering.
All this book served to do was go into detail about something that had already happened. Work it out? I can't.
Maybe a money making exercise for those who can't read and have an imagination deficit?
All this book served to do was go into detail about something that had already happened. Work it out? I can't.
Maybe a money making exercise for those who can't read and have an imagination deficit?
February 3, 2011
This is a novel that Greg Cox wrote before "Rise of the Lycans" was commissioned, I believe. It tells the story of the vampire-lycan war prior to the Underworld series of books and films, and although this is a good book and a good read, it shouldn't be confused with Underworld the franchise. The book "Rise of the Lycans" is the official prequal to Underworld, "Blood Enemy" is not.
September 23, 2015
This book was better than I expected it to be. I always wondered how Lucian and Sonja's relationship got started and now we know. I wish that it didn't flip back to the present day because I thought it disrupted the flow of it.
Craven was an annoying lacky while Soren was ostracized because of what happened, so now we know why Soren gave his allegiance to Craven.
Craven was an annoying lacky while Soren was ostracized because of what happened, so now we know why Soren gave his allegiance to Craven.
June 14, 2012
Though I thoroughly enjoyed the first few novels, this last one changed what actually happened in the other books. I was excited to learn more about Viktor's family, the story line does not follow that of the others. It makes it very awkward to read since this is the prequel, but was released after the other novels.
March 28, 2019
I loved this book. I read it after having watched "Rise of the Lycans", but the book is NOTHING LIKE the movie. I definitely prefer the book version of events. It's a short book, so if you are looking for a good story you can get through quickly, this is definitely one I would recommend.
October 27, 2008
One notch below the other two Underworld books. I liked the way it bounced back and forth between time periods but I would have liked it much better if there was more focus on the present. The big finale was good but it would have been better with more build up and less meandering in the past.
January 28, 2009
This book was my favorite in the series. It goes back in time to when the Lycan were the bodyguards/slaves of the Vampires. It tells the story of Viktors daughter and the head Lycan, Lucian. It's been a long time since I read this book but they are making this into a movie, so I can't wait.
June 3, 2008
good book 2 but i don't think they have the movie for this one
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
May 19, 2009
all three/four books in these series were not related....the story was ok but i kept getting confused...
April 9, 2012
I never expected a novelization of a movie would be this good!
May 24, 2012
I loved it
August 26, 2012
This book is pretty much the same as Rise of the lycans,there is more to it but if you've read Rise of the lycans parts of this book will feel repetative. I expected more but enjoyed it anyway
May 6, 2020
Very "Romeo and Juliet"-esque. Adds a nice prequel story to the underworld movie. Good characters overall, though the female characters tend to be a bit weak.
April 4, 2015
3 Stars -
Underworld: Blood Enemy
is an urban fantasy by Greg Cox and a non-canon prequel to the Underworld series.
August 13, 2015
good book
April 18, 2007
Story goes at a good pace. You're reading but it's as though you can seee it all.
April 17, 2016
very very good!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.