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Voice of Blood #4
A Drop of Scarlet
When a beautiful vampire scientist, specializing in blood diseases, develops a drug to cure her lover's mental instability due to his transformation into the undead, word hits the streets and vampires come from all over the world to get their hands on this miraculous cure. The saga of Ariane Dempsey and John Thurbis - and many, many figures from their pasts - continues in spectacular fashion in the environment of Portland, Oregon at the precise turn of the century. Original.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2007
6 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Jemiah Jefferson
21 books97 followersAfrican American horror author and Dark Horse comics editor. Her Voice of Blood series introduces the smart, beautiful, sexy and vicious vampires of Portland.
Jemiah Jefferson was born in Denver, Colorado. Her childhood consisted of a steady diet of AM radio, New Wave and disco, music videos, Star Wars, and resenting the strictures of school. At an age too early to remember, she began making up stories populated by vivid characters. Combined with a compulsive urge to write commentary and reactions in the margins of books she read and re-read, she found that these increasingly-complex stories demanded to be written down.
Her first printed work, St*rf*ck*ng, a group of short erotic stories with a touch of celebrity obsession, was published by local small-press rockstar Kevin Sampsell for Future Tense Books.
The first draft of the novel that would become Voice of the Blood was written in 24 hours in 1990 in a fit of inspiration. After another six years of thinking about it (and writing a few more novels and short stories in the meantime) she finally began to apply herself to this work, taking her experiences of living in San Francisco and of her contacts with the young, amoral, and beautiful that she had there and applying them to a situation and a set of characters already in existence in her imagination.
She works in the editorial department at Dark Horse Comics, Inc., working on titles including Emily the Strange, Creepy Archives, The Complete K Chronicles, and the Eisner Award-winning Herbie Archives.
Jemiah Jefferson was born in Denver, Colorado. Her childhood consisted of a steady diet of AM radio, New Wave and disco, music videos, Star Wars, and resenting the strictures of school. At an age too early to remember, she began making up stories populated by vivid characters. Combined with a compulsive urge to write commentary and reactions in the margins of books she read and re-read, she found that these increasingly-complex stories demanded to be written down.
Her first printed work, St*rf*ck*ng, a group of short erotic stories with a touch of celebrity obsession, was published by local small-press rockstar Kevin Sampsell for Future Tense Books.
The first draft of the novel that would become Voice of the Blood was written in 24 hours in 1990 in a fit of inspiration. After another six years of thinking about it (and writing a few more novels and short stories in the meantime) she finally began to apply herself to this work, taking her experiences of living in San Francisco and of her contacts with the young, amoral, and beautiful that she had there and applying them to a situation and a set of characters already in existence in her imagination.
She works in the editorial department at Dark Horse Comics, Inc., working on titles including Emily the Strange, Creepy Archives, The Complete K Chronicles, and the Eisner Award-winning Herbie Archives.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 4, 2018
I liked this almost as much as Voice of the Blood. I just really enjoy reading about the aimless yet urgent lives of these vampires. They're superior in many ways to humans, yet ultimately just as fallible; they leap off the page with their own flaws and weaknesses. I liked having Ariane back in the story, but I wanted more of her, and more of John as well. As far as the POVs of the other vampires, I liked them sometimes and other times didn't. Jefferson doesn't shy away from blood and death, which made me realize how often modern vampire stories actually do. She writes vampires the way I prefer them written: amoral and sexy and frightening.
February 18, 2025
Adrianne invents a psychoactive drug that can treat John; it also draws other vampires to congregate in search of the first drug that can work directly on their biology. This is an ensemble capstone to the series, rotating between various characters who were passing mentions or supporting characters in other books. It's concerned primarily with the future of the protagonist & of vampire kind, living within an increasingly monitored world--vampires can control human minds, but not security cameras. What are they capable of at their worst, especially when under the influence, and what are they obligated and able to control for everyone's safety?
Interesting enough; but, in practice, the ensemble approach makes for wider and less developed/intense interpersonal dynamics, and drug use overshadows everything, a lot of jonesing for & and use of drugs that doesn't do much to develop the characters except establish vampires are a) hurting and b) capable of great hurt, which other books and Daniel in particular had already established. I'm glad this series exists, so indulgent, so willing to be weird. But, having finished it, the first book remains the only one that really got me; the rest are an opportunity to hang out with the cast, and the repetitive, nihilistic tone is often intentional, sometimes effective, but still, well, just that.
Interesting enough; but, in practice, the ensemble approach makes for wider and less developed/intense interpersonal dynamics, and drug use overshadows everything, a lot of jonesing for & and use of drugs that doesn't do much to develop the characters except establish vampires are a) hurting and b) capable of great hurt, which other books and Daniel in particular had already established. I'm glad this series exists, so indulgent, so willing to be weird. But, having finished it, the first book remains the only one that really got me; the rest are an opportunity to hang out with the cast, and the repetitive, nihilistic tone is often intentional, sometimes effective, but still, well, just that.
March 19, 2017
Yet again another interesting and tragic adventure for our young vampire Ariane. She and John are just learning how to live their new existence together but alone. Ariane desperately calls out to Orfeo in hopes of some guidance, without knowing that she is also projecting to other vampires, some older and more anciently dangerous. Because of his quick turning, John has become stark raving mad. And they do say there is a thin line between genius and insanity. Ariane tries her best to fix him, and successfully synthesizes a drug to bring him back from the brink of insanity. Testing it on herself, she finds out that it can be taken as a unique psychoactive for vampires. Naturally it becomes in high demand and puts more stress on John and Ariane. And as Orfeo sends his newly reunited maker, Georgie, to asses the situation at hand. Such a good read, it was a menagerie of love, jealousy, friendship and loss. I love the complicated dynamic of John and Ariane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2018
This one has an interesting concept. Usually if vampires want to get high, they would have to feed off of someone who has just ingested drugs. Now, in an effort to cure her vampire husband's schizophrenia, the protagonist creates this drug that has euphoric effects. Now vampires want to get high on her drugs, and they quickly become addicted.
The thing that disappointed me was the absence of Daniel Blum. He was the one who really made this series interesting. I know that he died, but this book really suffers without him. His ghost haunts this read because he is mentioned so many times, but it's not enough. Ah well. Maybe others will enjoy this more than I did.
The thing that disappointed me was the absence of Daniel Blum. He was the one who really made this series interesting. I know that he died, but this book really suffers without him. His ghost haunts this read because he is mentioned so many times, but it's not enough. Ah well. Maybe others will enjoy this more than I did.
May 12, 2017
Ok so I slogged my way through all of the books and was hoping there was going to be some sort of culmination - I mean all the vampires were getting together -
SPOILERS
And then, nothing happened. Again. It could have been a great action book. But they all just sit around getting high.
I dont get it why that so and so committed suicide. Random acts.
SPOILERS
And then, nothing happened. Again. It could have been a great action book. But they all just sit around getting high.
I dont get it why that so and so committed suicide. Random acts.
February 4, 2024
Give me Anne Rice any day!
A Drop of Scarlet was nothing to brag about. The author created a cast of characters who were nothing but drug addicts. Highly disappointing.
A Drop of Scarlet was nothing to brag about. The author created a cast of characters who were nothing but drug addicts. Highly disappointing.
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February 1, 2013This series had a lot of promise, and unfortunately, the last book ends with a whimper. Characters are introduced and killed off seemingly to make the point that these vampires do kill people if there's the slightest inconvenience or danger to themselves. Ariane is portrayed as Doing It All for Love when she creates a drug that will keep her vampire partner, John, sane and stable, since he was shortchanged on the all important vampire blood exchange when he was made. During the first book, she basically swept her relationship under the rug when she fell violently in love with Orfeo and Daniel while she was under the influence of their bodily fluids. And now she's all about John, which is not given enough shrift to be believable. The volume on her character was so far turned down she barely seemed like the same Ariane from earlier books.
October 20, 2011
This book was an end (Unless Jemiah picks it back up later) to a great series that stole my heart years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, reading from each character's perspective with each new twist. I adored how each segment was completely different with each character, and that it slipped you into their shoe so to speak. I've read a few books that have used this technique and it left me disoriented, while this book made the path easy and exciting. I highly recommend it.
July 10, 2011
I'm not sure if this is the end of the series or not but I really enjoyed all four books. Jefferson brings back Vampires that are born to be despised. They are horrific beasts that have little concern for human lives -or any lives for that matter. It was really interesting to see where the entire four books has lead. I throughly enjoyed John.
February 5, 2009
greta read not meant for small children due to sexual content
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews