Awash in the Blood

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Gothic Masterpiece
Review: Horror-meister Stephen King tells readers in his autobiographical segment of On Writing that his novels seem to sprout from two unrelated ideas that kind of collide and bang! Pow! Form a new idea. The plot of Tulsa author John Wooley's new novel, Awash in the Blood, seems much like King's signature bricolage, only here it's Vampires and T.V. Preachers. Pow! Bang! With this strange combination, Wooley manages to craft a tale of utmost Gothic realism, a real spine-tingling trip into the macabre and a worthy addition to the vampire genre.

On a vacation-cum-missionary trip to Transylvania, the Reverend Mo Johnston, a second-rate T.V. preacher, saves a lot of souls for his show's "Hallelujah, Not Halloween" series. Unfortunately, on his last night in the Old World, some kind of creature breaks into his room and bites Johnston - yup - on the neck. Sporting some new wounds, Johnston heads home and convinces himself - and his television audience - that he's done battle with the Devil himself and won. Except, he's not so sure that he's won. His sexual attraction to Alicia, his female assistant, and other women, begins to override the more Godly parts of his mind, and Johnston becomes convinced that perhaps his vampirism isn't a Satanic curse, but instead a gift from God.

Wooley's done his research here, both into the glam-and-sham world of T.V. preaching in the evangelical, conservative, Protestant tradition and into vampire myths and other Gothic novels. Unlike what passes as Gothic horror these days, Blood is devoid of stupid kids wearing black makeup, combat boots, and listening to Marilyn Manson and KMFDM. It takes the Gothic horror novel back to its roots, weaving a story of love, passion, religion, and the supernatural that's plausible enough to believe but scary enough to make you turn the lights on. It's a subtle kind of horror, one that comes out in the wee hours of the morning and taps you on the shoulder and, when you turn around, there's nothing there. Creepy stuff indeed.

Blood also draws some interesting parallels between the emotions and passions aroused in Pentecostal-style worship services (or ceremonies in any religion that involve mystic actions, for those who are keeping score), and that's part of what makes Blood such a poignant read: it's a world not so far removed from our own experiences, and if it happens to Mo Johnston, it could happen to us. Sure, he's no Lestat, but Johnston could be his younger brother. Awash in the Blood belongs on the horror connoisseur's shelf right next to literature by Anne Rice and H.P. Lovecraft, and as far away from the repulsive dung that passes as "Gothic" horror these days as it can get.

Rating:
Summary: Sleeping will be harder now....
Review: I've just finished John Wooley's AWASH IN THE BLOOD, and I'm still feeling tingly and a little numb from the power of this work.

Televangelist Mo Johnson is a bit more interested in being the center of attention than in spreading the Word. Newly divorced, he can't get his mind off his attractive producer as his television ministry travels across Romania into the area known as Transylvania. While he sleeps in an ancient hotel, he is suddenly attacked by a man-like creature that leaves him with a severe bite on the neck. Johnston, knowing a great opportunity for a "show" when he sees one, immediately orders his producer to start taping. He believes he has fought Satan and won!

But, he hasn't won. As the infection from the bite slowly turns Johnston into a vampire, his little true faith is perverted into a belief in himself as the savior of the world. HE can now give the gift of eternal life. All it takes is a little bite on the neck.

Johnson journeys from minister to brutal vampire then ultimately to a struggle toward salvation for those he has hurt and perhaps for himself. Wooley's tale of the fight between good and evil takes mankind's nightmares and makes them terrifyingly believable. I wonder if I can get a cross made out of garlic to hang around my neck when I sleep...

Gary Campbell, author of THE FOUR CONDITIONS

Rating:
Summary: Vampire, Meet Your Maker
Review: In olden days, when the genre was young, a vampire could be repelled with the trappings of Christianity?a crucifix, a Bible, holy water?and this was taken as a given. In AWASH, Wooley expands the genre by following through on the implications of the Christian element. What if vampirism was truly a manifestation of the devil? What if it put him in opposition to God. And to give the tale a particularly sharp edge, Wooley makes his vampire a televangelist who gets in the neck while taking a little preaching junket through Transylvania. The resulting internal struggle between his longstanding faith and his new, savage appetite proves dangerous, and even deadly, to the innocents who orbit his ministry. How will the struggle resolve itself? How can it? How long can he continue the double-game, masquerading as the preacher he was when in fact he?s turned into a blood predator who lives by night? Will he be destroyed . . . or will the American lust for cult heroes propel him to new heights of success?

And make no mistake about it, this is horror, not theology. The suspense is palpable and the ?horror moments? are among the most effective in this polished novel. Wooley shows he can take a timeworn genre, re-imagine it, and concoct a story that?s fresh, entertaining, and all his own. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: What If?
Review: What if? In a world filled with an abundance of diverse religions there is one thread of commonality that binds them together: The search for eternal life. To be sure there are differing views on how to achieve this goal but eternal life remains the ultimate goal. What if I was to tell you that a man of the cloth had discovered a way to deliver eternal life and that it involved a triumph of dark over light? What if I told you this road to salvation led to Satan disguised as vampires and that which appears to be a satanic curse is really a gift from God? Unbelievable you say? Meet the Reverend Mo Johnston.
Mo Johnston is a televangelist that experiences a rather unusual encounter on his final night in Eastern Europe, Transylvania to be specific, where he has gone to collect materials for his TV ministry. He is attacked by a creature that the local authorities believe to be a vampire. Johnston determines it was Satan and returns home to exhibit the puncture marks in his neck and to convince his followers that he has encountered, and successfully defeated, the Devil. His popularity soars and success is within reach. However, there are some small problems that develop which causes Johnston to question his faith. Problems like his increasing sexual attraction to his young female assistant; like his attraction to a local sex-club and a stripper named Denise; like picking up a famale hithchiker; and the incident with the janitor; and what at first seems to be cold-blooded murder; and his increasing inablility to function in the light and requiring darkness to pursue other urges such as attacking female victims and leaving puncture wounds in their neck. When his victims survive and seem to be immune to death Johnston becomes convinced that his vampire traits are not really a Satanic curse but, given his and his victims seemingly eternal life status, are really a gift from God. To be sure his methods are a little, shall we say, unorthodox, but God does sometimes work in mysterious ways. After all, who can argue with the gift of eternal life, no matter how acquired?
This is a religious horror story that is an absolute must-have for fans of this genre. It is well written and contains all of the elements of a best seller: Love, the supernatural, religion, sex, and a subtle, disquieting thought that keeps running through my mind, What if?
If you are looking for a ringside seat at the internal fight between light and dark and the possibility of another kind of eternal life, this is the book for you. Wooley just keeps getting better and better. Highly recommended.