Bloodfellow, Book One

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Vampire Lovers
Review: Here is a novel by the new (as far as I can tell) author Abraham Nox that is an exciting new entry in the field and should be on every vampire lover's short reading list.

The book contains rich writing, fully developed characters, and a storyline that is less of a "plot" and more of a "tale" that keeps you wanting to hear all of its unfolding instead of leaving you with this Hollywood script feeling of knowing the outcome after the first five minutes.

If you think Anne Rice's characters were fleshed out and not just your blood-sucking ghouls of old, look again. Nox's vampire protagonists come to life (pun intended) as beings that are actually of superior development than mere mortals -- intellectually, culturally, and, yes, eroticly. However, this kind of existence has its price, especially on the main character, the vampire king Wolf O'Bellod. One of the central philosophical questions that has been haunting him for centuries, which is woven throughout the storyline, is what life is if there is no death to make it a finite journey. But he is not just haunted by memories and philosophical quandaries, but hunted by plenty of more real beings: Pack O'Brien, one of the rare half-breed Dhampire, born to kill vampire, is closing in on him; and his brother Abaddon is hunting him for a seemingly very different, urgent reason, a need that Wolf has rejected to fulfill for close to a millenium... although, in the end (revealed in the second volume, "Transformation"), the outcome of granting Abaddon's ardent wish would amount to an annihilation of sorts, too... But I don't want to give away to much.

And then, to top of his problems, Wolf falls in love with a mortal woman, something that he had sworn to himself to never do again. The stage is set for a complex tale with twists and turns and sidelines, with sex and car chases (yes) but also tender scenes, and plenty of humor. No moldy crypt atmosphere here!

I just wish there were a continuation of the story. I'd love to know what happens to Wolf and Carol after her vampyric conversion, whether Abaddon gets another chance at re-unification, and what the vampire king's spawn, the Dhampire Niccolo, will do when he grows up after having been raised by Pack O'Brien.

In short, this is a must for the vampire aficionado!

Rating:
Summary: A witty, intelligent page-turner
Review: One of this book's many strengths is that the author skillfully portrays his main character, the vampire Wolf O'bellod, as both charming and appalling. As soon as we start sympathizing with his loneliness or admiring his prodigious intellect, the author deftly reminds us that Wolf survives by preying on humans--though the author's vivid writing compels us to identify even with that. If you've ever had an attack of hypoglycemia or suffered withdrawal from any drug (including coffee and cigarettes), you understand what impels Wolf to drink blood. The contradictions in Wolf's personality make him all the more believable. He wants to kill himself but argues to a human friend that vampires have as much right to exist as any other species. He flees the suffocating hold of his vampire family but longs for connection. The author's sly humor shines through in witty dialogue, rollicking sex scenes, and situations that veer into the absurd. In one scene, Wolf delivers a brilliant harangue about the banality of middle-class suburbia, only to hear a perfect retort from Cott, the woebegone street child: "You ain't got no right to talk.... you KILL people, don'tcha?"

I highly recommend this book. You'll be treated to finely crafted prose, exquisite attention to sensory detail, and access to the inner workings of a feverish, brilliant mind. Even if you don't care to ponder the larger philosophical issues woven into the background (the nature of hunger; the ethics of being at the top of the food chain), just sit back and enjoy a well-written, gripping tale.

I can't wait to read Book Two...