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Power of the Blood #2
Near Death
.POWER OF THE BLOOD WORLD Revised and Updated!
Near Death is book 2 of a 4 vampire-novel series that throbs with danger, treachery, betrayal, cruelty and dark, sultry romance. In a world where the undead are wary of and competitive and view humans as only prey, amazingly, three Blooddrinkers from different eras and cultures are able to form relationships. But change breeds more change as their individual stories unfold, blending and escalating, adding pieces until the horrifying picture becomes clear: both species are in danger of extinction!
Book 2 – NEAR DEATH
David is sensitive, a poet; he refuses to kill for blood. But when a mortal calling herself Zero arrives at his ancestral home to stake him, a treacherous cat-and-mouse game ensues, and nothing is as it seems. David, the gentlest of the undead, becomes hell-bent on revenge, and no one will get in his way!
Near Death is book 2 of a 4 vampire-novel series that throbs with danger, treachery, betrayal, cruelty and dark, sultry romance. In a world where the undead are wary of and competitive and view humans as only prey, amazingly, three Blooddrinkers from different eras and cultures are able to form relationships. But change breeds more change as their individual stories unfold, blending and escalating, adding pieces until the horrifying picture becomes clear: both species are in danger of extinction!
Book 2 – NEAR DEATH
David is sensitive, a poet; he refuses to kill for blood. But when a mortal calling herself Zero arrives at his ancestral home to stake him, a treacherous cat-and-mouse game ensues, and nothing is as it seems. David, the gentlest of the undead, becomes hell-bent on revenge, and no one will get in his way!
288 pages, ebook
First published October 1, 1994
5 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Kilpatrick
159 books255 followersNancy Kilpatrick was a Canadian author who wrote stories in the genres of dark fantasy, horror, mystery, erotic horror, and gothic subculture.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 3, 2011
Come il precendente capitolo di questa saga ci troviamo di fronte ad una scrittrice che rivolge la sua attenzione unicamente ad un target di lettori adulti ed amanti di un genere di fantasy dai torni forti. Finalmente un libro che mi mostra realmente la complessità di questi esseri che, supper fantastici, vengono spesso erroniamente descritti unicamente dal un punto di vita 'umano' dimenticando che, in realtà, questi sono degli esseri non più umani, degli assassini in fondo che poco possono comprendere la sfera sentimentale degli uomini. Nel primo questo elemento è stato esaltato in modo brutale, in questo libro ritroviamo una nota più 'dolce' rispetto al solito tono aspro e duro della Kilpatrick ma non per questo meno bello e coinvolgente. Spero di poter leggere presto il terzo volume e che questo sia ai livelli dei primi due.<br />Consigliato ad un lettore adulto.
February 16, 2017
3.5 stelline
July 26, 2018
I really liked Zero, and David was all right. I just didn't find the book that interesting. For a while it seemed like there was no real plot, and then in the last quarter everything starts happening all at once, and a bunch of new characters are randomly introduced. I wasn't sure if they were characters I should have remembered from the first book. Anyway, it just felt uneven. I also would have liked for it to be darker and/or sexier.
EDIT:
I just went back and read my review for Child of the Night, and remembered that two of the random characters in NEAR DEATH (Carol and André) were the stars of that one. And André was a total abusive ass, but apparently Carol is super happy with him now. Zero and David are a much more normal couple, despite her heroin addiction and him tying her up so she can't escape. Anyway, I also mentioned that at the end there are a bunch of random characters showing up. Apparently that's one of Kilpatrick's things? *shrug*
EDIT:
I just went back and read my review for Child of the Night, and remembered that two of the random characters in NEAR DEATH (Carol and André) were the stars of that one. And André was a total abusive ass, but apparently Carol is super happy with him now. Zero and David are a much more normal couple, despite her heroin addiction and him tying her up so she can't escape. Anyway, I also mentioned that at the end there are a bunch of random characters showing up. Apparently that's one of Kilpatrick's things? *shrug*
May 10, 2008
This was a really good book. It's a vampiric tale that involves drug abuse, incest, bondage, and vampires all into one book. I look forward to read more of this authors books down the future.
December 18, 2023
I have never said what the fuck out loud so many times while reading a book
More terrifying than most currently published horror
More terrifying than most currently published horror
July 24, 2020
Near Death is book 2 in the Power of the Blood series and continues the tale of Kilpatrick's present day vampires.
This one opens with Zero heading towards a Manor House in England to carry out instructions given to her in New York. She's to wait till after dark then search the building. We also have David in the building, he's starting to wake up as the sun sets, he's a vampire after all. Again Kilpatrick gives us 2 characters, 1 of each species and goes into detail in the relationship between them. Zero, real name Kathy, is a drug addict and David feels the need to clean her up and makes her go cold turkey. This doesn't make Zero happy.
In these books there's a group of vampires who are the nearest thing to family vampires have, some and centuries old and some new ones, the newest being Carol who we met in the previous book Child of the Night. Like humans, the vampires all have differing personalities, and the interplay between them is great.
I never like to talk of the plot in my reviews but what I will say is that Kilpatrick writes a damn fine story.
This one opens with Zero heading towards a Manor House in England to carry out instructions given to her in New York. She's to wait till after dark then search the building. We also have David in the building, he's starting to wake up as the sun sets, he's a vampire after all. Again Kilpatrick gives us 2 characters, 1 of each species and goes into detail in the relationship between them. Zero, real name Kathy, is a drug addict and David feels the need to clean her up and makes her go cold turkey. This doesn't make Zero happy.
In these books there's a group of vampires who are the nearest thing to family vampires have, some and centuries old and some new ones, the newest being Carol who we met in the previous book Child of the Night. Like humans, the vampires all have differing personalities, and the interplay between them is great.
I never like to talk of the plot in my reviews but what I will say is that Kilpatrick writes a damn fine story.
August 25, 2020
Questo secondo volume è un pò meno piacevole ed intrigante per alcuni toni presenti in esso stesso... un pò cupi ma nonostante questo non vedo l'ora che facciano uscire il terzo.
Certo cambiano il protagonista, senza pero' lasciare abbandonati a loro stessi i cari vecchi personaggi, la cosa poteva risultare anche plausibile.
Alla fine sono arrivata alla conclusione che tutto ciò sia perché l'autrice ha voluto dare ad ogni suo libro il sentimento principale che il protagonista incarna in se emotivamente e quindi lasciando trasparire al lettore tale stato d'animo.
Andrè sta cambiando davvero tanto e troppo...quasi quasi lo incitavo ma nulla mentre Carol ha dato grande forza di se come sempre!
Questo è il libro di David e come tale resta anche poeticamente ma il mio ma interiore rimane.
Certo cambiano il protagonista, senza pero' lasciare abbandonati a loro stessi i cari vecchi personaggi, la cosa poteva risultare anche plausibile.
Alla fine sono arrivata alla conclusione che tutto ciò sia perché l'autrice ha voluto dare ad ogni suo libro il sentimento principale che il protagonista incarna in se emotivamente e quindi lasciando trasparire al lettore tale stato d'animo.
Andrè sta cambiando davvero tanto e troppo...quasi quasi lo incitavo ma nulla mentre Carol ha dato grande forza di se come sempre!
Questo è il libro di David e come tale resta anche poeticamente ma il mio ma interiore rimane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2020
Second book in the series keeps up the action!
This second book in the series takes place in Manchester and features David, a romantic, poetry-quoting vampire lost in depression. Then along comes Zero, a hardened and half-crazy New York City hooker/drug addict who drags him out of his world and into hers. It's fast paced tale of heart-stopping action, crammed with twists and turns that will take your breath away!
This second book in the series takes place in Manchester and features David, a romantic, poetry-quoting vampire lost in depression. Then along comes Zero, a hardened and half-crazy New York City hooker/drug addict who drags him out of his world and into hers. It's fast paced tale of heart-stopping action, crammed with twists and turns that will take your breath away!
July 1, 2020
Really enjoyed this book. As the series progress we get to know the characters better, this book was more fast paced than the previous book in the series. I enjoyed how David changed from the softer person into a bit harder person who fights for what he wants. I love the older vampires and how they all band together when it is needed most.
Great reading.
Great reading.
July 17, 2020
Didn't enjoy this second book as much as the first,but liked that it was in Manchester.
This was a story was about Zero who was from New York a drug addict on her way to kill David.
This wasn't as dark as the first book but there was plenty of action along with drug abuse,bondage and incest with plenty of vampires, loved that we court up with the characters from book one. Enjoyable read.
This was a story was about Zero who was from New York a drug addict on her way to kill David.
This wasn't as dark as the first book but there was plenty of action along with drug abuse,bondage and incest with plenty of vampires, loved that we court up with the characters from book one. Enjoyable read.
October 18, 2025
Definitivamente tiene una mejor historia que el primer libro, David es muy centrado en muchos aspectos considerando que las personalidades son diferentes en los demás y que no cambian mucho después de la transformación. Este libro refleja un amor más prudente que el de André con Carol, de igual manera vienen situaciones muy crudas pero resueltas con más devoción y respeto al otro.
July 20, 2020
Book 2 of the series an excellent addition to the series. Nancy’s writing g continues to develop and describe characters and their attributes.
Set in Manchester so ‘local ish’ to me
Loved it!!!
Set in Manchester so ‘local ish’ to me
Loved it!!!
August 3, 2020
Near death by Nancy Kilpatrick.
This is book 2 in the power of the blood series.
I am loving this series. Brilliant read. Great story. Looking forward to the next book. 5*.
This is book 2 in the power of the blood series.
I am loving this series. Brilliant read. Great story. Looking forward to the next book. 5*.
August 24, 2024
Po kilku latach od przeczytania książki nadal ją dobrze wspominam. Ze wszystkich tytułów które przeczytałem wspominam tą książkę wspominam najlepiej
January 27, 2016
This novel isn’t straight horror. It almost reads like a paranormal romance would, except it classifies more under the horror label because of some of the horrid situations, the bizarre violence, and the ‘war against vampires.’ things you don’t see in paranormal romance. One of the more violent scenes involve the sexual house dungeon with the sadist that uses both his fists and ‘snakes.’
The plot itself looks light and easy on the top, but really has some jarring twists thrown in constantly. The main female lead, Zero, has a job to do: Stake the vampire David via a sloppily written note. Not knowing what she’s gotten herself into, she begins the job while high as a kite, obviously not succeeding. From there, her and vampire David return to the city, to lay low in her apartment and discover who has kidnapper her younger ‘brother’, and who wants to kill him presumably the same person. Throughout it all, more revelations are uncovered about Zero herself, David’s past life and enemies, the meaning of everything, and their evolving relationship. Many of the sex scenes were more detailed and harsh than one would see in a romance type, another reason it dons the horror tag.
Again, the surprises, when revealed, were biggies. This is what kept me glued to the book. Although there are faults, I kept reading to figure out what’s next after being stunned yet again by another thing I never thought would be true. That’s not to say everything unpredictable, though I saw the end villain coming from a mile away.
Where the novel did fail, though, was that it was a bit cliché in terms of the romance relationship. It also had some characters that grated on my nerves a bit, and there was a sense of predictability toward the end. This is the type of formula these novels go by, though, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If this type of novel is what you dig, and erotic horror is your love, I think you’ll enjoy it.
The main characters were easily latched on to. They seemed realistic and although they pity themselves a bit too much at times, their personalities are both amusing and deep. I especially enjoyed the POV through the vampire, David, who came across both strong and competent, while still retaining some of his old human side. The main female lead, Zero, is definitely not the classic protagonist. With a horrendous past of abuse, then drug addiction, living in the crums of the city and supporting herself through prostitution, she’s an interesting breed indeed. With a IQ that’s not that sharp and an education that disappeared a long while back, she lends to the story child-like insight, amazing courage, loyalty to those she loves, and honest to God realistic human traits and vulnerabilities.
It starts with an intended execution and ends in a giant supernatural war. The pace was strong, consistent, with no scenes where the two just sat there ‘twiddled their thumbs’ for the heck of it. All scenes meant something and kept the novel moving at a steady rate toward the intended resolution. Goals were consistently changed to keep up with the new discoveries, and all actions on the part of the characters were logical, rang true, and didn’t seem ‘forced’.
Kilpatrick writes with a light hand, using mucho comedy in her piece, while also getting the point across in as little words as possible. She doesn’t rely heavily on cliché romantic ‘feelings’, such as the ‘lightning bolt sensation when her hand brushes his.’ She also avoids making either of the protagonists life too nice and clean - I applaud her on those two techniques.
Overall, the thing that wins this novel over from stale to something- you - cant -put -down- to- save- your- life is that there are surprises along the way that jarred me to the floor. Things about one of the protagonists I would have never imagined. Some of it was predictable, sure, but for the most part: complete disbelief.
I’d recommend this novel for some entertaining reading, but nothing I’d pay much money on.
The plot itself looks light and easy on the top, but really has some jarring twists thrown in constantly. The main female lead, Zero, has a job to do: Stake the vampire David via a sloppily written note. Not knowing what she’s gotten herself into, she begins the job while high as a kite, obviously not succeeding. From there, her and vampire David return to the city, to lay low in her apartment and discover who has kidnapper her younger ‘brother’, and who wants to kill him presumably the same person. Throughout it all, more revelations are uncovered about Zero herself, David’s past life and enemies, the meaning of everything, and their evolving relationship. Many of the sex scenes were more detailed and harsh than one would see in a romance type, another reason it dons the horror tag.
Again, the surprises, when revealed, were biggies. This is what kept me glued to the book. Although there are faults, I kept reading to figure out what’s next after being stunned yet again by another thing I never thought would be true. That’s not to say everything unpredictable, though I saw the end villain coming from a mile away.
Where the novel did fail, though, was that it was a bit cliché in terms of the romance relationship. It also had some characters that grated on my nerves a bit, and there was a sense of predictability toward the end. This is the type of formula these novels go by, though, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If this type of novel is what you dig, and erotic horror is your love, I think you’ll enjoy it.
The main characters were easily latched on to. They seemed realistic and although they pity themselves a bit too much at times, their personalities are both amusing and deep. I especially enjoyed the POV through the vampire, David, who came across both strong and competent, while still retaining some of his old human side. The main female lead, Zero, is definitely not the classic protagonist. With a horrendous past of abuse, then drug addiction, living in the crums of the city and supporting herself through prostitution, she’s an interesting breed indeed. With a IQ that’s not that sharp and an education that disappeared a long while back, she lends to the story child-like insight, amazing courage, loyalty to those she loves, and honest to God realistic human traits and vulnerabilities.
It starts with an intended execution and ends in a giant supernatural war. The pace was strong, consistent, with no scenes where the two just sat there ‘twiddled their thumbs’ for the heck of it. All scenes meant something and kept the novel moving at a steady rate toward the intended resolution. Goals were consistently changed to keep up with the new discoveries, and all actions on the part of the characters were logical, rang true, and didn’t seem ‘forced’.
Kilpatrick writes with a light hand, using mucho comedy in her piece, while also getting the point across in as little words as possible. She doesn’t rely heavily on cliché romantic ‘feelings’, such as the ‘lightning bolt sensation when her hand brushes his.’ She also avoids making either of the protagonists life too nice and clean - I applaud her on those two techniques.
Overall, the thing that wins this novel over from stale to something- you - cant -put -down- to- save- your- life is that there are surprises along the way that jarred me to the floor. Things about one of the protagonists I would have never imagined. Some of it was predictable, sure, but for the most part: complete disbelief.
I’d recommend this novel for some entertaining reading, but nothing I’d pay much money on.
July 16, 2010
La mort tout près
David dort dans son manoir depuis 20 ans. Or, une nuit, une jeune toxicomane s’introduit dans le manoir pour le tuer. Zéro, Kathy de son prénom, n’a aucune chance d’atteindre David. C’est la nuit et il est en pleine possession de ses moyens. Il décide donc de tenter de savoir ce qu’on lui veut et pourquoi on cherche à le tuer. Il suit Zéro à New-York à la recherche des commanditaires de l’événement. Se mêleront plus tard à l’histoire Ariel, une vampire, ancienne amante de David, ainsi que ses anciens colocataires, André et Karl, dont nous avons fait la connaissance dans le tome 1. Nous suivons donc l’enquête de David, emmêlée de souvenirs, et nous retrouvons avec joie le groupe de vampires que nous connaissons déjà… jusqu’à la révélation au sujet de Michel, l’Enfant de la Nuit, et de ce qui se cache dans son sang…
La mort tout près est un roman qui se lit bien, car l’enquête avance à un bon rythme et est ponctuée de plusieurs rebondissements. Il nous révèle les talents de conteuse de Nancy Kilpatrick. Les fils de la trame sont bien emmêlés et les énigmes se résolvent à mesure que nous avançons dans le récit. Un roman meilleur que le premier, une histoire d’amour autant qu’une enquête « policière » et un roman gothique, qui nous mène de Manchester à Montréal, en passant par New-York et Vancouver. Une longue histoire d’amour et de haine à travers le temps, avec rebondissements inattendus. Mon tome préféré de la série.
David dort dans son manoir depuis 20 ans. Or, une nuit, une jeune toxicomane s’introduit dans le manoir pour le tuer. Zéro, Kathy de son prénom, n’a aucune chance d’atteindre David. C’est la nuit et il est en pleine possession de ses moyens. Il décide donc de tenter de savoir ce qu’on lui veut et pourquoi on cherche à le tuer. Il suit Zéro à New-York à la recherche des commanditaires de l’événement. Se mêleront plus tard à l’histoire Ariel, une vampire, ancienne amante de David, ainsi que ses anciens colocataires, André et Karl, dont nous avons fait la connaissance dans le tome 1. Nous suivons donc l’enquête de David, emmêlée de souvenirs, et nous retrouvons avec joie le groupe de vampires que nous connaissons déjà… jusqu’à la révélation au sujet de Michel, l’Enfant de la Nuit, et de ce qui se cache dans son sang…
La mort tout près est un roman qui se lit bien, car l’enquête avance à un bon rythme et est ponctuée de plusieurs rebondissements. Il nous révèle les talents de conteuse de Nancy Kilpatrick. Les fils de la trame sont bien emmêlés et les énigmes se résolvent à mesure que nous avançons dans le récit. Un roman meilleur que le premier, une histoire d’amour autant qu’une enquête « policière » et un roman gothique, qui nous mène de Manchester à Montréal, en passant par New-York et Vancouver. Une longue histoire d’amour et de haine à travers le temps, avec rebondissements inattendus. Mon tome préféré de la série.
November 2, 2022
Tuve que subir esta edición mexicana a goodreads porque no había
Buen libro de vampiros, no es mejor que el primer libro pero sigue siendo recomendable, y tiene mucho más matices románticos, me dio gusto saber de Carol y andré otra vez, hoy en la mañana continúe el libro que lo tenía en la mitad y me atrapó tanto que todo el día lo leí y hasta ahorita en la medianoche lo termine, recomendado
Buen libro de vampiros, no es mejor que el primer libro pero sigue siendo recomendable, y tiene mucho más matices románticos, me dio gusto saber de Carol y andré otra vez, hoy en la mañana continúe el libro que lo tenía en la mitad y me atrapó tanto que todo el día lo leí y hasta ahorita en la medianoche lo termine, recomendado
November 25, 2019
Come seguito è più interessante del primo libro, perché questo vampiro viene a contatto con una ragazza e la aiuta ad uscire dal tunnel della droga, dimostrando quasi un lato umano ma la trama poi ha un picco e c'è un vero e proprio delirio.
June 1, 2021
anche qui il sesso regna sovrano ma come storia della kilpatrick anche l'amore ne deve fare parte e in questo ce n'è in abbondanza
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews