What do you think?
Rate this book
Bloodliner
Jonah Ivory has a family tree crawling with vampires. Guided by the sexy paranormal genealogist Stanza, he must dig up his family's twisted roots to crack an ancient conspiracy and beat the forces of darkness to a lost paradise. Even with a vampiric Shakespeare and King Arthur as allies, can they defeat the evil vampire lords? Only forbidden love holds the power to keep the darkness at bay.
ebook
First published October 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Robert T. Jeschonek
172 books53 followersRobert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. His young adult fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, won the Forward National Literature Award and was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten First Novels for Youth. His cross-genre science fiction thriller, Day 9, is an International Book Award winner. He also won the Scribe Award for Best Original Novel from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers for his alternate history, Tannhäuser: Rising Sun, Falling Shadows. Simon & Schuster, DAW/Penguin Books, and DC Comics have published his work. He won the grand prize in Pocket Books' nationwide Strange New Worlds contest and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. Visit him online at www.thefictioneer.com. You can also find him on Facebook and follow him as @TheFictioneer on Twitter. Sign up for the Robert T. Jeschonek newsletter right here: http://eepurl.com/tpKhr
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 23, 2019
Robert Jeschonek’s Bloodliner: A Young Adult Horror Novel is, like the other books I’ve read of his, very outside of the box. However, also like those other books, this doesn’t always entirely work. First of all, I found this book in a bundle of thrillers. What you need to know is that it is, first and foremost, humor/horror, not a thriller. If that isn’t what you’re expecting, you might not enjoy it so much.
This book could have used a good continuity edit. Mavis lost her father a month ago and is thus taking over his church for him… except that she lost her parents years ago, which is why she’s angry at Jonah’s family for not taking her in when she was little. (I’m guessing the father she lost a month ago was a foster father, but this should have been specified.) She’s 19 years old when we meet her, but later she’s described as having bottled up her anger for 30 years. I also don’t understand why, on multiple occasions, certain characters who really should have recognized each other don’t do so. At one point a horse reacts badly to a vampire, but later on vampires are riding horses… which, also, they’re capable of flying, so why bother? I also believe at least one of the vampires was born too early for the timeline of who the supposed progenitor of the vampires was.
Content note that this book does get a little bit bloody in places, but you know, vampires. There are plenty of brutal fights to be read and they’re done well enough that they’re pretty much the highlight of the book.
There are a couple of love plots in here, and the humorous tone doesn’t jibe well with them. They feel like Jonah and Mavis are just having massive crushes rather than actual “love”. There’s very little chemistry between them and the people they fall in love with, and the massive age discrepancy is kind of icky. (At least, given that Jonah and Mavis are as young as they are. They come across as children compared to their crushes.) Also, at one point when Mavis and her love interest are having difficulties, she slaps him and says she wasn’t asking him, “I was telling you.” And just, if the genders were swapped it would be plain as day that this was abusive and controlling behavior, so frankly, this is abusive and controlling behavior and it should not be romanticized.
This book is highly original, but it just didn’t really work for me.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/08/r...
This book could have used a good continuity edit. Mavis lost her father a month ago and is thus taking over his church for him… except that she lost her parents years ago, which is why she’s angry at Jonah’s family for not taking her in when she was little. (I’m guessing the father she lost a month ago was a foster father, but this should have been specified.) She’s 19 years old when we meet her, but later she’s described as having bottled up her anger for 30 years. I also don’t understand why, on multiple occasions, certain characters who really should have recognized each other don’t do so. At one point a horse reacts badly to a vampire, but later on vampires are riding horses… which, also, they’re capable of flying, so why bother? I also believe at least one of the vampires was born too early for the timeline of who the supposed progenitor of the vampires was.
Content note that this book does get a little bit bloody in places, but you know, vampires. There are plenty of brutal fights to be read and they’re done well enough that they’re pretty much the highlight of the book.
There are a couple of love plots in here, and the humorous tone doesn’t jibe well with them. They feel like Jonah and Mavis are just having massive crushes rather than actual “love”. There’s very little chemistry between them and the people they fall in love with, and the massive age discrepancy is kind of icky. (At least, given that Jonah and Mavis are as young as they are. They come across as children compared to their crushes.) Also, at one point when Mavis and her love interest are having difficulties, she slaps him and says she wasn’t asking him, “I was telling you.” And just, if the genders were swapped it would be plain as day that this was abusive and controlling behavior, so frankly, this is abusive and controlling behavior and it should not be romanticized.
This book is highly original, but it just didn’t really work for me.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/08/r...
October 13, 2021
Bloodliner combines fantastically creative world-building and storylines with essentially human characters. As we get whisked away to bloody vampire battles, we're also given the chance to ground in a beautifully earnest love story and a flawed, troubled main character. This novel is at its best when it melds mind-blowing science fiction storylines with relatable human ones. I would definitely mention that this novel is not for the faint of heart; there are a lot of battle sequences and some get rather gory. That being said, a seasoned science-fiction reader should have no trouble in this department. If you're looking for a fast-paced, battle-heavy, science fiction read to blow your mind while it makes you smile, definitely check out Bloodliner.
March 19, 2022
Bloodliner is an interesting and gripping horror story, with a twist of humor that helps to lighten the atmosphere and personifies its characters. Like Jeschonek's other books, Bloodliner's universe is complex and detailed. The main character, Jonah, is an angsty teenaged boy with a tragic past. He must track his genealogy to uncover his family's dark roots, setting up an interesting narrative structure that is not only fun, but also lends itself to Jonah's development. His thoughts are darkly comical and only help to enrich his storyline. Jeschonek's modernized vampires are a blend of classic lore and fun additions, like Stanza's wood-tipped bullets that act like mini stakes that stab vampires through the heart. Overall, this is a great horror story for a young reader!
August 27, 2021
This novel is full of adventure and has many twists and turns. There's many famous historical/mythological figures in the book, some of which are entertaining and mesh well in the story, and others who struggle to fit into the story. I found the romance in the book to be a little forced, but it did add some drama to the plot. Overall, the story was entertaining and ended well.
March 23, 2022
I loved the book!! It's a very unique concept, and the magical historical figures kind of reminded me of The Alchymst by Michael Scott. It is gory at times, but that's to be expected with vampires. Anyways, if you like fantasy and enjoy a good original story you will enjoy this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews