No Blood Spilled

Don Sebastian Vampire Chronicles #5

by Les Daniels

Don Sebastian de Villanueva--the immortal and terrifying vampire hero created by Les Daniels--once again stalks the night after escaping Victorian England and the agonizing memories of how his inescapable vampire nature has once again brought ruin to the woman he truly loved, as recounted in Yellow Fog.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literature, Fantasy

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Les Daniels was one of the earliest historians of comic books and an author of horror novels.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having ruined the life of a previously wealthy Englishman, vampire Sebastian Newcastle makes his way to India, drawn by a mysterious urge. Here he seeks the Thuggee, believed to have been wiped out by the British only a short while ago, with plans to bring them to a new glory. Reginald Callender, the men whose life Sebastian ruined, comes looking for him, seeking to revenge himself on Sebastian. Both will soon find that India has more in store than either can expect.

No Blood's premise of vampire meets Thuggee is what attracted me to this novel, and it did not fail to live up to it. The vampire Sebastian is quite compelling; Daniels manages to make him both sinister and sympathetic. Calcutta becomes, as in Simmons' "Song of Kali," a location which evokes the old-time Gothic dread while incorporating an element of the exotic, and the encounters between the British and the Thuggee recall Masters' "The Deceivers," but Daniel's has less of a colonial mindset than Masters or Simmons. Overall, an enjoyable vampire novel with a unique twist.

[mon · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5⭐️)

[Megsie · Rating 1 out of 5]

No Blood Spilled is the fifth book Don Sebastian vampire series. The book begins with Reginald Callender's escape from Halliwell House, the asylum he's been incarcerated in since staking his fiance at the end of the 4th book (Yellow Fog). He then heads to India in search of Don Sebastian, who in order to reach India, has had to survive a shipwreck which left him coffin-bound, dying of thirst and floating in the Bay of Bengal. He's rescued by a little boy in a fishing boat, and heads to Calcutta to find the few devotees of Kali whom he intends to arm against the English. However, Callender is in India and has persuaded Lieutenant Hawke, his contemporary at Eton, to assist him in gaining vengeance on Sebastian.

I read the 5th book in the series first, not realising this was a series. If I read the first book I wouldn't have even bothered with reading the rest of the series. Extremely violent in some places, which was completely unnecessary this book was extremely hard to stomach. I found the main character one dimensional and not likable at all. His arch nemesis Callender was a bit of a ponce and I felt that this book had no redeeming features

[LucyBusterBooks Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best book of the series, but Don Sebastian is a true vamp. Overall would highly recommend all 5 books!