MADreads

Old school vampire

August 25th, 2009 Dennis - Central

Tired of those attractive, yet angst-filled teenage vampires with whom your daughter seems obsessed?  In the mood for a vampire story you can (dare I say it?) sink your teeth into?  Get ready to thank me.  Blood Groove is the story, and it’s written by novelist Alex Bledsoe.

See, there was this vampire in an English village, Baron Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski.  Long story short, he was spiked with a gold cross (it had a sharpened tip) in 1915 and entombed for 60 years, then reanimated when a medical examiner in Memphis, Tennessee, removes the spike/cross during an autopsy requested by a local museum.  After feasting on the unfortunate medical examiner, the Baron must come to terms with life (existence is probably a better word) in a very different place and time.  The post-Victorian England he last inhabited has been replaced with the new American South, including a resurgent African-American community newly empowered by the civil rights and black power movements after centuries of racial oppression.  In addition, it turns out Memphis already has a few local vampires.  The Baron, having recognized the telltale signs of one who was photographed in a crowd scene that appeared in the local paper, decides to seek them out.  He feels that kindred spirits (of a sort) will be able to help him adjust more readily to the brave new world in which he has awakened.

That stranger in a strange land vibe was what appealed to me the most when I decided to dive into this story.  A vampire who’s been out of circulation (ha!) for that long had some potential to flip this particular genre on its head.  So I was interested.  And 1975 is a year with which I had some familiarity.  I”m not particularly proud of that fact, but there you go.  Anyway, the local vampires turn out to be a pretty raggedy bunch.  Five of them are living in an abandoned (and trashed) warehouse on the edge of town.  Held somewhat together by an adult male there are four younger appearing vampires– two male and two female, two of whom happen to be black (one male and one female).  But one of the younger vampires has come across a new drug, one that suppresses the need to feed on the blood of victims.  Which seems to have some appeal, until that vampire suddenly dies–from no discernible cause.  Turns out the drug he was using is poisonous.  So, our little group of vampires must become detectives, somewhat reluctantly following the overbearing and condescending Baron, in order to find out what it is that killed their friend, who concocted it, and why.

Fans of traditionalist vampire stories should know in advance that there are some twists on established vampire conventions.  Turns out they can go out in daylight, they can change into wolves, they can summon storms, they don’t really have to be invited into your home to come in, and they can even eat garlic.  Actually, only the Baron knows all this stuff.  He might teach it to the others.  Or not.  And that power vampires have to make people do their will?  It turns out to be an ability to create a strong sexual attraction.  Baron Rudy quickly finds an attractive young miss to serve as his minion.  (No fly-catching Renfield’s for this vampire!)

Unfortunately, the story isn’t exactly great.  That may be due to the main characters being blood-sucking killers.  And the Baron isn’t really a sympathetic lead.  A couple of the local (white) vampires had flashes of character background that could have been better developed.  No such similar effort was spent in giving the younger black vampires much back-story.  There’s a bit of an effort to paint the vampires into lonely individuals seeking acceptance in a familial group, after having been ostracized by a xenophobic larger society.  But they’re still inhuman blood-sucking killers so that effort is pretty much wasted in my opinion.  (Your mileage may vary.)

The racial undertones don’t amount to much either, although there are some racial epithets that some may find offensive.  There was a scene when the Baron dragged one of the Memphis vampires into a theater showing the movie Blacula, in an attempt to find out what modern society knew/suspected/feared about vampires.  But apart from some resistance to the Baron’s condescending orders to the rest of the vampires from the black male vampire, the racial issue didn’t seem to me to be that pronounced.  Maybe I’m colorblind though. 

Don’t let the flippant tone of this review lull you.  Be aware that that the story is pretty bloody in some spots. More blood-and-guts than belly-laughs. It’s pretty sexplicit in other spots too. And probably not like the supernatural romance/fantasy novels that seem to be popular these days. Consider this fair warning.

So, I was hoping for an inspired addition to the vampire genre, but instead got one that’s only fun in spots.  And yet, I read it cover to cover.  And I can’t shake the nagging suspicion that a sequel might be in the works.  Or that I might want to read such a sequel.  Nothing to suggest one on author Bledsoe’s website as of this writing though…

Entry Filed under: Recreational Fiction, Thriller