What do you think?
Rate this book
Rudolfo Zginski #1
Blood Groove
When centuries-old vampire Baron Rudolfo Zginski was staked in Wales in 1915, the last thing he expected was to reawaken in Memphis, Tennessee, sixty years later. Reborn into a new world of simmering racial tensions, the cunning nosferatu realizes he must adapt quickly if he is to survive.
Finding willing victims is easy, as Zginski possesses all the powers of the undead, including the ability to sexually enslave anyone he chooses. Hoping to learn how his kind copes with this bizarre new era, Zginski tracks down a nest of teenage vampires. But these young vampires have little knowledge of their true nature, having learned most of what they know from movies like Blacula.
Forming an uneasy alliance with the young vampires, Zginski begins to teach them the truth about their powers. They must learn quickly, for there’s a new drug on the street—a drug created to specifically target and destroy vampires. As Zginski and his allies track the drug to its source, they may unwittingly be stepping into a fifty-year-old trap that can destroy them all . . .
Finding willing victims is easy, as Zginski possesses all the powers of the undead, including the ability to sexually enslave anyone he chooses. Hoping to learn how his kind copes with this bizarre new era, Zginski tracks down a nest of teenage vampires. But these young vampires have little knowledge of their true nature, having learned most of what they know from movies like Blacula.
Forming an uneasy alliance with the young vampires, Zginski begins to teach them the truth about their powers. They must learn quickly, for there’s a new drug on the street—a drug created to specifically target and destroy vampires. As Zginski and his allies track the drug to its source, they may unwittingly be stepping into a fifty-year-old trap that can destroy them all . . .
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
14 people are currently reading
369 people want to read
About the author
Alex Bledsoe
67 books794 followersI grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland (home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (home of Tina Turner). I've been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. I now live in a big yellow house in Wisconsin, write before six in the morning and try to teach my two kids to act like they've been to town before.
I write the Tufa novels (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl and Chapel of Ease), as well as the Eddie LaCrosse series (The Sword-Edged Blonde, Burn Me Deadly, Dark Jenny, Wake of the Bloody Angel and He Drank, and Saw the Spider). the Firefly Witch ebook chapbooks, and two "vampsloitation" novels set in 1975 Memphis (Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood).
I write the Tufa novels (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl and Chapel of Ease), as well as the Eddie LaCrosse series (The Sword-Edged Blonde, Burn Me Deadly, Dark Jenny, Wake of the Bloody Angel and He Drank, and Saw the Spider). the Firefly Witch ebook chapbooks, and two "vampsloitation" novels set in 1975 Memphis (Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
February 28, 2022
Notes:
Yay for libraries!
A few years ago, I happened upon Alex Bledsoe on Audible & read two of his series. They're great! I was excited to see more of his books available to read via elibrary. =)
If you're looking for a horror story about vampires, this is it. It is a disturbing story that will make you uncomfortable and put you at ease. Once you figure out that you're comfortable, it'll go back to the fidgets. There's a mild romantic touch on the plot, but it's not about romance as much as the longing and realization about living. Even if your life is that of a vampire.
Yay for libraries!
A few years ago, I happened upon Alex Bledsoe on Audible & read two of his series. They're great! I was excited to see more of his books available to read via elibrary. =)
If you're looking for a horror story about vampires, this is it. It is a disturbing story that will make you uncomfortable and put you at ease. Once you figure out that you're comfortable, it'll go back to the fidgets. There's a mild romantic touch on the plot, but it's not about romance as much as the longing and realization about living. Even if your life is that of a vampire.
May 17, 2017
As a dark vampire novel--these vampires are not nice and not terribly moral--the book is excellent. As a historical novel looking at racial tensions and the mindset of 1975 Memphis, it's also good. However...
SPOILER, VERY DETAILED AND TRIGGERY SPOILER
One of the vampiric powers is to cause intense arousal/desire in their victims, because otherwise no one would be drawn to an undead body. One of the vampire POV characters uses this power constantly, essentially keeping a human woman as a pet/food, and the book goes into detail about how she's forced to obey him and lives in a state of constant desire combined with fear and shame. In another scene, a human woman is compelled by two vampires to stand passively while they bite her, and is also compelled to sexually enjoy it. And, when this human woman finds herself with some lingering traces of this ability after swallowing a bit of vampire blood, she deliberately uses it on two of her friends, compelling them to have sex with her and with each other. While she's asleep after all the sex, her female friend (a black woman who has explicitly stated that she wouldn't want to live if she were raped), kills the male friend and then kills herself.
The oversexualization, rape, and icky racial overtones that permeate this book turned it from an interesting take on vampires in this time period to something resembling creepy period porn. I finished the book, but am now going to go read something happy and fun, and am undecided on whether to look for the second book.
SPOILER, VERY DETAILED AND TRIGGERY SPOILER
One of the vampiric powers is to cause intense arousal/desire in their victims, because otherwise no one would be drawn to an undead body. One of the vampire POV characters uses this power constantly, essentially keeping a human woman as a pet/food, and the book goes into detail about how she's forced to obey him and lives in a state of constant desire combined with fear and shame. In another scene, a human woman is compelled by two vampires to stand passively while they bite her, and is also compelled to sexually enjoy it. And, when this human woman finds herself with some lingering traces of this ability after swallowing a bit of vampire blood, she deliberately uses it on two of her friends, compelling them to have sex with her and with each other. While she's asleep after all the sex, her female friend (a black woman who has explicitly stated that she wouldn't want to live if she were raped), kills the male friend and then kills herself.
The oversexualization, rape, and icky racial overtones that permeate this book turned it from an interesting take on vampires in this time period to something resembling creepy period porn. I finished the book, but am now going to go read something happy and fun, and am undecided on whether to look for the second book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2022
One word: Hot.
More words: slightly wanting, but a fun, refreshing take on a genre that's been getting a bit too much (undeserved) attention nowadays.
Bledsoe's vampires can go out in daylight.
Thankfully they don't sparkle.
A vampiric fish-out-of-water and displaced-in-time tale; Blood Groove is about Baron Rudolfo Zginski, who was staked in Wales then through a series of events awakens to find himself in Memphis 60 years later. As he tries to understand the new world he is now in, he also reaches out to fellow vampires -- newbies who have pretty much no idea of the powers they posses -- and they all become embroiled in what looks like an insidious plot to wipe vampires out.
I like some little details of the vampire mythos: all wounds and injuries heal during the vampire's rest, restoring the vampire to the same condition he/she had been in when he/she had been 'made'. There's a little twist to this that comes at the end. Clever. Dissatisfying, but clever.
Another dissatisfying part was the all-too-convenient bit of story that 'explains' the origin of the 'powder' ...
Oh, and as I mentioned before, I must be in prude mode nowadays, because ugh, I didn't really see the necessity for all that R-or-worse rated sex stuff in there.
Bottomline: a recommended read. Just be aware that it's gritty, sexual, and a slight letdown at the end. But I'll still pick up a Book 2, if Mr Bledsoe intends to continue with the characters here.
More words: slightly wanting, but a fun, refreshing take on a genre that's been getting a bit too much (undeserved) attention nowadays.
Bledsoe's vampires can go out in daylight.
Thankfully they don't sparkle.
A vampiric fish-out-of-water and displaced-in-time tale; Blood Groove is about Baron Rudolfo Zginski, who was staked in Wales then through a series of events awakens to find himself in Memphis 60 years later. As he tries to understand the new world he is now in, he also reaches out to fellow vampires -- newbies who have pretty much no idea of the powers they posses -- and they all become embroiled in what looks like an insidious plot to wipe vampires out.
I like some little details of the vampire mythos: all wounds and injuries heal during the vampire's rest, restoring the vampire to the same condition he/she had been in when he/she had been 'made'. There's a little twist to this that comes at the end. Clever. Dissatisfying, but clever.
Another dissatisfying part was the all-too-convenient bit of story that 'explains' the origin of the 'powder' ...
Oh, and as I mentioned before, I must be in prude mode nowadays, because ugh, I didn't really see the necessity for all that R-or-worse rated sex stuff in there.
Bottomline: a recommended read. Just be aware that it's gritty, sexual, and a slight letdown at the end. But I'll still pick up a Book 2, if Mr Bledsoe intends to continue with the characters here.
December 1, 2017
2.25 stars
The only reason it got that high of a rating was because of the ending. Honestly didn't see that coming.
We meet Rudy - a centuries old vampire awoken from his "death" in the 70's. He meets up with a group of younger vampires.
Characters in this book were quite crap really. The dialogue and terminology was atrocious. This book seemed to throw in racial sterotypes for shock value. The storyline was a bit flimsy. The main reason for "detective" work didn't take much detecting.
One vampire in particular was reminiscent of an Emo. Most characters were racist towards white or black people.
Did you know their was extreme racism in the 70's? Did you know there weren't any redeeming people in this town? Everyone seemed racist to a degree. This book has that in spades.
Did you know sex is a thing? Foreplay? Orgasms? If not, this book will ram it down your throat. No pun intended.
Was hoping for a new take on a vampire tale. Instead I got a new take on a pile of shit.
The only reason it got that high of a rating was because of the ending. Honestly didn't see that coming.
We meet Rudy - a centuries old vampire awoken from his "death" in the 70's. He meets up with a group of younger vampires.
Characters in this book were quite crap really. The dialogue and terminology was atrocious. This book seemed to throw in racial sterotypes for shock value. The storyline was a bit flimsy. The main reason for "detective" work didn't take much detecting.
One vampire in particular was reminiscent of an Emo. Most characters were racist towards white or black people.
Did you know their was extreme racism in the 70's? Did you know there weren't any redeeming people in this town? Everyone seemed racist to a degree. This book has that in spades.
Did you know sex is a thing? Foreplay? Orgasms? If not, this book will ram it down your throat. No pun intended.
Was hoping for a new take on a vampire tale. Instead I got a new take on a pile of shit.
August 6, 2021
An old almost dead vampire, improperly staked wakes up in the 70s to find that the world has changed since last he knew it. He encounters a group of more newly minted vampires who know little about the true nature of their own powers and limitations so they end up learning from each other. Along the way, humans are treated like disposable road-kill/food supply.
I almost bailed on this book, but hung in there and ultimately ended up liking it. None of the characters were likable and I was annoyed by the ending, but ultimately this was a well written and engaging vampire book. I will definitely read the next one in the series, starved as I am for decent vampire horror.
I almost bailed on this book, but hung in there and ultimately ended up liking it. None of the characters were likable and I was annoyed by the ending, but ultimately this was a well written and engaging vampire book. I will definitely read the next one in the series, starved as I am for decent vampire horror.
July 29, 2016
For the first time, I get to review a book that was written by someone I know! There’s something really cool about that, partly because I once entertained the idea of being a writer, and partly because I want Alex to be successful as a writer. Am I attempting to live vicariously through his success? Maybe. This might be as close as I get to living that dream myself.
Anyway, this book was a good one for me to start with, since it’s horror-related. It’s set in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1970s, and the story centers on a vampire who revives after having been killed near the turn of the 20th century. The theme that orbits the story involves the racial tensions of the times, and it’s illustrated well by contrasting the vampire, a nobleman with very old ways of thinking, with the modern, street-savvy vampires of the 1970s, some of whom are black. I can appreciate a genre novel that tries to give itself some gravity, so I was looking forward to reading the book for a number of different reasons.
I was easily hooked, and the story flowed well enough to allow me to finish the book in a day. I found a few spots that didn’t ring true with me, but overall it was a decent read, and the perfect sort of book for reading on vacation. I had some issues with the dialog right at the start, but the opening scene focused on Zginsky, the vampire from 1915, and I figured it was supposed to be a product of its time. Later, though, the jive-talking black vampires took me out of the story too often, just because it seemed so stereotypical. Is that really how folks like that talked in Memphis in the 1970s? And even if it was, is that how the readers expect them to talk?
I also found it hard to sympathize with any of the characters. At first, it seemed to be a case of rooting for the vampires. Then, the sympathies shifted and it seemed to be about rooting for the humans. Nope, that didn’t work, either, because the main human character goes and does something terribly vile, and the sympathies shift again. Whoops, hold on, now the vampires are the bad guys again … no, now the humans? After all the back-and-forth, it was hard to keep track of who I was supposed to be rooting for, and it caused confusion and, ultimately, frustration. I’m all for playing around with a reader’s expectations and catching them off guard, but this seemed to be a little too much.
Overall, though, the story was readable and compelling, enough so that I’m willing to forgive what I didn’t like about the book in the hopes that the author’s future books will get better; as near as I can tell, this was his first published novel, and those tend to be a little clunky. Plus, I doubt anyone picking up the book is looking for something akin to War and Peace, and the book is still a decent way to kill an afternoon in the sun.
Anyway, this book was a good one for me to start with, since it’s horror-related. It’s set in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1970s, and the story centers on a vampire who revives after having been killed near the turn of the 20th century. The theme that orbits the story involves the racial tensions of the times, and it’s illustrated well by contrasting the vampire, a nobleman with very old ways of thinking, with the modern, street-savvy vampires of the 1970s, some of whom are black. I can appreciate a genre novel that tries to give itself some gravity, so I was looking forward to reading the book for a number of different reasons.
I was easily hooked, and the story flowed well enough to allow me to finish the book in a day. I found a few spots that didn’t ring true with me, but overall it was a decent read, and the perfect sort of book for reading on vacation. I had some issues with the dialog right at the start, but the opening scene focused on Zginsky, the vampire from 1915, and I figured it was supposed to be a product of its time. Later, though, the jive-talking black vampires took me out of the story too often, just because it seemed so stereotypical. Is that really how folks like that talked in Memphis in the 1970s? And even if it was, is that how the readers expect them to talk?
I also found it hard to sympathize with any of the characters. At first, it seemed to be a case of rooting for the vampires. Then, the sympathies shifted and it seemed to be about rooting for the humans. Nope, that didn’t work, either, because the main human character goes and does something terribly vile, and the sympathies shift again. Whoops, hold on, now the vampires are the bad guys again … no, now the humans? After all the back-and-forth, it was hard to keep track of who I was supposed to be rooting for, and it caused confusion and, ultimately, frustration. I’m all for playing around with a reader’s expectations and catching them off guard, but this seemed to be a little too much.
Overall, though, the story was readable and compelling, enough so that I’m willing to forgive what I didn’t like about the book in the hopes that the author’s future books will get better; as near as I can tell, this was his first published novel, and those tend to be a little clunky. Plus, I doubt anyone picking up the book is looking for something akin to War and Peace, and the book is still a decent way to kill an afternoon in the sun.
April 5, 2019
I'm not a fan of vampires. I liked them when I was a kid, when they were the villains and not the heroes--and definitely when they weren't 100-year-old sparkly-skinned pedos hanging out in high schools.
However, I am a fan of great prose. Having read all of Alex Bledsoe's other series (the fun swordplay romps of Eddie LaCrosse, and the tremendous Tufa novels), it was either read about vampires, or suffer through a drought waiting for whatever he brings us next. I chose to go with reading about vampires.
And I'm glad I did.
Sent in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-70's, a European vampire, the charming and intelligent Rudolfo Zginski, finds himself in unfamiliar waters. Brought back to life after decades spent as a corpse after being staked, he finds himself falling in with a coven of young vampires who don't fully understand what they are and what they can do, and battling a new drug whose sole intent seems to be to destroy vampires.
Frankly, the plot grooves, the descriptions and prose feel like something best-suited for the big screen of a late-night, 1970's drive-in. Everything about this book is so delightfully 1970's that it made me feel like I needed bell-bottoms and a wide collar just to fit in while reading it. And, while I'm generally not a fan of vampires, I liked this book a lot. Bledsoe can flat-out write. His background in journalism gives him that strong, move-it-along prose that sings. He's not bogged down in thick metaphors or marveling at his own genius--the man has a story to tell, and by god he's gonna tell it.
This book grooves like some old fuzzy-bass funk. I'll get around to reading the second book in the series, The Girls with Games of Blood, before too long, I'm sure.
If you're up for some 70's nostalgia, some righteous prose, and a blood-sucking good time, check this one out.
However, I am a fan of great prose. Having read all of Alex Bledsoe's other series (the fun swordplay romps of Eddie LaCrosse, and the tremendous Tufa novels), it was either read about vampires, or suffer through a drought waiting for whatever he brings us next. I chose to go with reading about vampires.
And I'm glad I did.
Sent in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-70's, a European vampire, the charming and intelligent Rudolfo Zginski, finds himself in unfamiliar waters. Brought back to life after decades spent as a corpse after being staked, he finds himself falling in with a coven of young vampires who don't fully understand what they are and what they can do, and battling a new drug whose sole intent seems to be to destroy vampires.
Frankly, the plot grooves, the descriptions and prose feel like something best-suited for the big screen of a late-night, 1970's drive-in. Everything about this book is so delightfully 1970's that it made me feel like I needed bell-bottoms and a wide collar just to fit in while reading it. And, while I'm generally not a fan of vampires, I liked this book a lot. Bledsoe can flat-out write. His background in journalism gives him that strong, move-it-along prose that sings. He's not bogged down in thick metaphors or marveling at his own genius--the man has a story to tell, and by god he's gonna tell it.
This book grooves like some old fuzzy-bass funk. I'll get around to reading the second book in the series, The Girls with Games of Blood, before too long, I'm sure.
If you're up for some 70's nostalgia, some righteous prose, and a blood-sucking good time, check this one out.
October 6, 2024
Well written mostly, though there are some things that bugged me but to explain would give away massive spoilers. I couldn’t stand the main character. He was a narcissistic, racist prick. Extremely hateable just as he was meant to be. The ending was good and left me curious for more while at the same time the vibe felt too much like real world trash folks that I read to avoid.
February 9, 2011
Good start with the characters but too much
sex description and not enough character development
Why the Count is infatuated with Fauvette escapes me
sex description and not enough character development
Why the Count is infatuated with Fauvette escapes me
October 9, 2025
I usually keep 4 star books. I'm not adding this one to my library. Bledsoe does a terrific job of several things: showing it isn't always the monster that's the most monstrous; that vampires are simply animals with needs no different than any other meat-eaters; that beauty can be found anywhere, anytime. Ultimately there is no redeeming character here, and as I'm a character reader, that's my largest negative. Lots of blood, interesting time period and setting choice, solid mystery... actually 2, of who/what is threatening vampires and the true nature and powers of the Baron. Lots of vampire physiology explored creatively.
September 1, 2013
Good but not great. I like vampire books and I like Bledsoe as an author, so I was excited about this one. However, I did not find any of the characters appealing (except for Leslie and Sketch, who are relatively minor and meet a horrible end), but then again, I guess we are not supposed to like them. Despite not liking Danielle, I did not feel she deserved what happened to her. I hated the ending for that reason. Also, I felt the author should have explored the vamp-killing drug more. I wanted to know how it was developed and why it worked. That would have been interesting. And if Danielle coated her body with the drug, then it would have been in her bloodstream and they would not have able to feed off her. So, the loses points for inconsistencies.
And another thing--the vampire can summon a thunderstorm? I know that every writer likes to remake the rules for what vampires can and cannot do, but come on! Controlling the weather is over the limit of what I, as an experienced vamp book reader, can accept.
The book held my interest, but it is not nearly as much as Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver.
And another thing--the vampire can summon a thunderstorm? I know that every writer likes to remake the rules for what vampires can and cannot do, but come on! Controlling the weather is over the limit of what I, as an experienced vamp book reader, can accept.
The book held my interest, but it is not nearly as much as Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver.
December 23, 2020
For the most part I enjoyed this. I read it because I'd enjoyed all of Bledsoe's other books and this is a darkly funny and often disgusting look at what would happen if an early Victorian Serbian vampire suddenly reawakened in 1975 Memphis. You'd naturally expect an adjustment period but Rudolpho is completely anachronistic - talking candidly about purchasing slaves, infuriated by women and the poor and black people having equal (for the 70s) rights with rich, powerful, white men. In this respect, it's intelligently done even if the subject matter is somewhat repugnant. It makes sense for an apex predator amongst apex predators, who has always enjoyed a position of privilege to have difficulty with the 'modern' world.
If you don't like or can't read past a lot of sex in your books - specifically dubious consent and borderline rape sexual content, as well as instances of sexual coercion and outright rape - then you're not going to love this. It's deliberately written in a very male gaze-y way, intended to titillate too. I say this as an observation not an accusation. Let's be honest about how the majority of vampire fiction these days is written with a female target audience in mind, normally featuring slavering hunks of alpha male vampire to tickle certain fancies (rolls eyes). There's nothing wrong in theory with using vampire mythos to explore the darker reaches of sexuality. The reason Dracula became a huge hit long after Stoker died - thus ensuring the enduring love of the vampire - was because film adaptations (especially early black and white, and silent ones) used the image of a foul (later a handsome and debonair) creature of the night penetrating the exposed neck and shoulder of a swooning and beautiful young woman as a stand in for being able to show actual sexual content. There's no original vampire canon that says bites are administered to the neck btw, that was just the least risqué area which could be shown that would link to sex in the audience's mind. occasionally with a hint of exposed décolletage. Folklore vampires were not especially interested in blood either - living off any human bodily secretions. And I do mean any. The excellent vampire PR following Dracula did a lot to clean up their image.
Why are you waffling, Jules? I hear you cry. Well, because there were things that troubled me about some of the sexual content and want to be clear that using the idea of a daemon lover to get over the hurdle of belief that was 'good girls don't want sex' is one I'm fully aware of. I think we can do better these days, and yes even 11 yrs ago when this was published we could have expected better. But I am not throwing shade merely because a male author decided to write about female sexuality in quite a graphic way, clearly intended to make the reader hot and bothered. Vampirism in books and films has been used to talk about rape without PIV or other sexual assault. Kind of an 'eat your cake and have it' scenario where the consequences of putting the topic on the table are ones that can be played off lightly or as fantasy.
So what's my big beef? Bledsoe uses the idea of female virginity as a way of classifying minor vampire powers. Be a female virgin and become a vampire, for instance, and you'll be functionally immune to physical desire whilst inspiring mindless lust in others. Faurvette, is a virgin when she dies and becomes a vampire, but before she rises, her corpse is gang raped. As a consequence she's very susceptible to the sexual compulsion of stronger vampires, but is forced to lose her virginity over and over. This is described as excruciating and bloody agony every time. The concept of virginity is an outmoded sexist idea designed to hem in women from having sexual agency. Or, to control people who would act perfectly naturally and responsibly in the Organise Religion de jour would just not give them massive sexual hang ups. So it's already a shaky starting place. Add to that, Faurvette being a 'sexy virgin' who wants it but suffers for it, is just compounding the problem. And then consider that making your sexual debut as a woman does not involve the old myth about tearing and pain and bloodloss. Seriously this is not how hymens work. It's not a freshness seal. Many women don't tear their hymens until childbirth. First time sex does not have to be painful at all - at least it shouldn't be if your partner is at all considerate and thinking about your needs. Frankly this bullshit needs to stop appearing everything from historical fiction to contemporary romance because IT'S NOT TRUE. And it just feeds into the same sexist model about female virginity being somehow a sacred thing. It's only sacred or important to the degree with which you imbue it with those things. So yeah. That was a huge turn off. Hopefully in the last eleven years, the author has learned a bit more about how female bodies actually work?!
Second big problem: Danielle briefly gains vampiric mind control, sexual compulsion powers and decides to work them out by forcing a man to have sex with her and then for him and her best friend to have sex with each other. I am 90% sure this was included as sexual titillation rather than a true representation of any more meaningful comment on the human psyche. And presumably Bledsoe doesn't want us to feel much sympathy for anyone in this book - almost everyone is on some level vile. But in terms of serious plot and character development it was unnecessary and repulsive. Yes Bledsoe's vampires are predators in every sense of the word and sex is a big part of it but that was just completely off the wall.
In conclusion, a mixed bag. I'm find with dark themes, graphic sex and vampires being disgusting rather than sexy. There were just times when Bledsoe jumped the tracks and I did not want to follow because the thrills were cheap and degrading - and not in a good way. Having said that, I will read the second one because I remain a fan of his writing. Make of that what you will.
If you don't like or can't read past a lot of sex in your books - specifically dubious consent and borderline rape sexual content, as well as instances of sexual coercion and outright rape - then you're not going to love this. It's deliberately written in a very male gaze-y way, intended to titillate too. I say this as an observation not an accusation. Let's be honest about how the majority of vampire fiction these days is written with a female target audience in mind, normally featuring slavering hunks of alpha male vampire to tickle certain fancies (rolls eyes). There's nothing wrong in theory with using vampire mythos to explore the darker reaches of sexuality. The reason Dracula became a huge hit long after Stoker died - thus ensuring the enduring love of the vampire - was because film adaptations (especially early black and white, and silent ones) used the image of a foul (later a handsome and debonair) creature of the night penetrating the exposed neck and shoulder of a swooning and beautiful young woman as a stand in for being able to show actual sexual content. There's no original vampire canon that says bites are administered to the neck btw, that was just the least risqué area which could be shown that would link to sex in the audience's mind. occasionally with a hint of exposed décolletage. Folklore vampires were not especially interested in blood either - living off any human bodily secretions. And I do mean any. The excellent vampire PR following Dracula did a lot to clean up their image.
Why are you waffling, Jules? I hear you cry. Well, because there were things that troubled me about some of the sexual content and want to be clear that using the idea of a daemon lover to get over the hurdle of belief that was 'good girls don't want sex' is one I'm fully aware of. I think we can do better these days, and yes even 11 yrs ago when this was published we could have expected better. But I am not throwing shade merely because a male author decided to write about female sexuality in quite a graphic way, clearly intended to make the reader hot and bothered. Vampirism in books and films has been used to talk about rape without PIV or other sexual assault. Kind of an 'eat your cake and have it' scenario where the consequences of putting the topic on the table are ones that can be played off lightly or as fantasy.
So what's my big beef? Bledsoe uses the idea of female virginity as a way of classifying minor vampire powers. Be a female virgin and become a vampire, for instance, and you'll be functionally immune to physical desire whilst inspiring mindless lust in others. Faurvette, is a virgin when she dies and becomes a vampire, but before she rises, her corpse is gang raped. As a consequence she's very susceptible to the sexual compulsion of stronger vampires, but is forced to lose her virginity over and over. This is described as excruciating and bloody agony every time. The concept of virginity is an outmoded sexist idea designed to hem in women from having sexual agency. Or, to control people who would act perfectly naturally and responsibly in the Organise Religion de jour would just not give them massive sexual hang ups. So it's already a shaky starting place. Add to that, Faurvette being a 'sexy virgin' who wants it but suffers for it, is just compounding the problem. And then consider that making your sexual debut as a woman does not involve the old myth about tearing and pain and bloodloss. Seriously this is not how hymens work. It's not a freshness seal. Many women don't tear their hymens until childbirth. First time sex does not have to be painful at all - at least it shouldn't be if your partner is at all considerate and thinking about your needs. Frankly this bullshit needs to stop appearing everything from historical fiction to contemporary romance because IT'S NOT TRUE. And it just feeds into the same sexist model about female virginity being somehow a sacred thing. It's only sacred or important to the degree with which you imbue it with those things. So yeah. That was a huge turn off. Hopefully in the last eleven years, the author has learned a bit more about how female bodies actually work?!
Second big problem: Danielle briefly gains vampiric mind control, sexual compulsion powers and decides to work them out by forcing a man to have sex with her and then for him and her best friend to have sex with each other. I am 90% sure this was included as sexual titillation rather than a true representation of any more meaningful comment on the human psyche. And presumably Bledsoe doesn't want us to feel much sympathy for anyone in this book - almost everyone is on some level vile. But in terms of serious plot and character development it was unnecessary and repulsive. Yes Bledsoe's vampires are predators in every sense of the word and sex is a big part of it but that was just completely off the wall.
In conclusion, a mixed bag. I'm find with dark themes, graphic sex and vampires being disgusting rather than sexy. There were just times when Bledsoe jumped the tracks and I did not want to follow because the thrills were cheap and degrading - and not in a good way. Having said that, I will read the second one because I remain a fan of his writing. Make of that what you will.
July 23, 2009
I couldn't finish. I picked this up while browsing in the bookstore. I even read the first chapter, unfortunately I should have read further. Chapter two was where the problems started. Baron Zginski a vampire from 1915 goes into forced hibernation until the 1970's. When he is revived he must adapt to his new world. The premise has potential. However, the blaxploitation dialogue was lame, characterizations were stereotypical, and the misogynistic treatment of women and minorities was over the top and so offensive I just put it down. It never became apparent why the writer set the novel in the 70's, which further distracted from it's readability.
March 19, 2012
Some surprising twists at the end, and just desserts. Overall, a very good book that left me on the edge of my seat. A great read!
I purchased this book at the local Dollar Tree Store along with some other sci-fi, vampire-like books. I bought my brother a copy as well, but he has yet to read it.
I'm a big fan of any Vampire fiction, "Twilight" included, and it was refreshing for me to see another author's take on vampires. I was kind of glad these vamps didn't sparkle either, but liked they could walk around in sunlight without dying like older vampire stories. The fact that the sunlight weakened their powers a little was a good explanation.
I purchased this book at the local Dollar Tree Store along with some other sci-fi, vampire-like books. I bought my brother a copy as well, but he has yet to read it.
I'm a big fan of any Vampire fiction, "Twilight" included, and it was refreshing for me to see another author's take on vampires. I was kind of glad these vamps didn't sparkle either, but liked they could walk around in sunlight without dying like older vampire stories. The fact that the sunlight weakened their powers a little was a good explanation.
June 30, 2009
This book takes some of the vampire genre's "given facts" and turns them up on end. More in a classic style, not a "sparkly" fashion. It also gives us vampires as the protagonist, much like the vampire chronicles from Anne Rice. It also produces a view of race and class relations in 1975 Memphis in comparison to similar views from turn of the century Wales.
It is a gritty, hard -- almost uncomfortable -- read at times, but one of the better books (and endings) I have read in a while.
It is a gritty, hard -- almost uncomfortable -- read at times, but one of the better books (and endings) I have read in a while.
August 24, 2012
Great premise, charismatic characters, terrific world building. But the fifty-year old mom in me couldn't get through the sex/violence and began to have nightmares, so I had to stop reading. That said, I still think Alex Bledsoe is a terrific writer and I encourage others to give this talented author's books a try!
September 9, 2009
I don't usually like books that don't have at least one character that I'd want to be friends with, but this book was surprisingly enjoyable. The Blacula-as-documentary concept was quite funny, but the Parliament/Funkadelic references became irritating (and I'm one who makes my funk the P-funk).
October 25, 2009
I usually try to be careful about which books I take home from the library . . so tired of getting lemons. This one looked promising, but it's got to be one of the very, very worst vamp book I've ever read (and I've read quite a few) Avoid at all costs!
February 5, 2011
I did not like this as much as the second, and if had read it first, I would have stopped. All the characters were unlikeable except Fauvette and she was pathetic.
August 4, 2012
This one got me hot and bothered. The bothered will be talking about the hot stuff, which is dark indeed. Yikes!
July 1, 2015
What do you get if you cross a vampire flick with a blaxsploitation film, and write it as a novel?
This abortion. Godawful.
This abortion. Godawful.
February 25, 2017
4 stars for the book, 3 stars for the audiobook narration.
March 2, 2019
I'm a fan of some of the author's other works, but this book felt jagged. It had some really interesting developments, but some underdeveloped characters and a sense of a somewhat incomplete world building.
The setting is simple: in late 1970s Memphis, a forensic pathologist is tasked with investigating the remains of a museum exhibit, the only man legally convicted in Europe of being a vampire. This turned out to be a mistake. The resurrected Baron Zginski now must discover life in an America with huge racial tension (and it turns out, a 19th century nobleman might have some old-fashioned beliefs about race), even as a new drug that has particular effects on vampires might be spreading.
Most of the characters in the book are thinly developed, as I said; those we spend any great time with are, for the most part, not likable. The 1970s setting provided the opportunity for some thematic parallels: black vs white, human vs vampire tensions; the eroticized abilities of a vampire (here, one of the first skills a vampire has) vs the sexual liberation of 1970s society. But the sexual liberation is new: there are still many taboos and lack of knowledge. The vampires, the youngest of which turned at least ten years prior, lack even that change. One somewhat common myth, that a female virgin's "first time" would always be painful, shows up in this; I remain uncertain whether the book is spreading the myth or trying to show something that even with decades to explore, vampires wouldn't experiment.
The unlikeable characters, the unpleasant circumstances, the drugs beginning to spread through society: this is a monster story in all the most disturbing senses of the word.
Some parts of the story felt gratuitously monstrous: the human character we spend the most time with, a coroner investigating a bloodless corpse, ends up performing a monstrous act after a brief exposure to the vampires, seemed to lack foundation.
The setting is simple: in late 1970s Memphis, a forensic pathologist is tasked with investigating the remains of a museum exhibit, the only man legally convicted in Europe of being a vampire. This turned out to be a mistake. The resurrected Baron Zginski now must discover life in an America with huge racial tension (and it turns out, a 19th century nobleman might have some old-fashioned beliefs about race), even as a new drug that has particular effects on vampires might be spreading.
Most of the characters in the book are thinly developed, as I said; those we spend any great time with are, for the most part, not likable. The 1970s setting provided the opportunity for some thematic parallels: black vs white, human vs vampire tensions; the eroticized abilities of a vampire (here, one of the first skills a vampire has) vs the sexual liberation of 1970s society. But the sexual liberation is new: there are still many taboos and lack of knowledge. The vampires, the youngest of which turned at least ten years prior, lack even that change. One somewhat common myth, that a female virgin's "first time" would always be painful, shows up in this; I remain uncertain whether the book is spreading the myth or trying to show something that even with decades to explore, vampires wouldn't experiment.
The unlikeable characters, the unpleasant circumstances, the drugs beginning to spread through society: this is a monster story in all the most disturbing senses of the word.
Some parts of the story felt gratuitously monstrous: the human character we spend the most time with, a coroner investigating a bloodless corpse, ends up performing a monstrous act after a brief exposure to the vampires, seemed to lack foundation.
July 14, 2020
This was an enjoyable read. Squarely in the horror genre with a smidgeon on mystery, the 1970s texture of this book does a lot for the vampire chharacters. It banks on the "creature out of time" motif to at once take readers into the past and a main character into his future. It's clear the author works hard to encapsulate the pop culture of the time, especially the racial tensions broadly and among characters. Reading it now in 2020, some of it is a little uncomfortable; I can't make any claims to the accuracy of those elements. Given the genre, it felt like reading Blaxploitation in many parts - perhaps intentional as the film Blakula makes a plot point. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and just when I thought I had handle on where it was going, something else happened.
December 13, 2020
Be prepared for the use of a lot of racist language. This is done so in contemporarily accurate ways to the setting of the novel, but it times felt a bit gross knowing the background of the author. At times, it was also reminiscent of Blacksploitation, which I think was intentional, but again get a bit clumsy and heavy handed. The story is compelling in many ways, but I have a lot of hang ups. Another is the focus on the concept of virginity, especially of an ~underage~ character. Still processing a good bit and I don’t regret reading it, but I certainly have some let downs as someone from Memphis who’s a vampire fanatic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2017
These vampires are actually monsters. They don't glitter. They don't beat themselves up over their monstrosity. And Bledsoe does a good job of writing them so that you have some understanding of that monstrosity even though you don't buy into it.
There are a couple that aren't as bad as the others. But, that doesn't make them nice people.
There are a couple that aren't as bad as the others. But, that doesn't make them nice people.
July 29, 2018
it was different not sure if I liked it or not as its verges on stuff I don't really care for
October 18, 2018
"We accept the rules as we're given them, because the fear of being wrong is so great."
Enjoyed this take on the "traditional" vampire, & the story was fast paced and intriguing.
Enjoyed this take on the "traditional" vampire, & the story was fast paced and intriguing.
February 18, 2019
Was well worth the read. Has a mix of humor, horror, and mystery. Oh and vampires of course. One ill be keeping in my collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews