Author: Alex Bledsoe
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publisher: Tor
Cover Design: Ellen Cipriano
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe, is a tasty treat for anyone who loves a creative vampire yarn as much as I do. The novel is set in 70′s Memphis where racial tension abounds, the counter culture is active and the blistering heat of the urban South makes a unique setting for a turn of the century vampire, Baron Zginski. The novel opens with a pair of pathologists examining Zginski in his coffin. Unaware of his true nature and saddled with that “curiosity that killed the cat” the golden crucifix like dagger that protrudes from his chest is too tantalizing to leave be. Thus our gothic vampire is set free to roam some sixty years after he was immobilized by Sir Francis Colby in the Welsh hills. Zginski makes his appearance on the scene and is the penultimate fish out of water. However, being a master of deception who has vast vampiric powers, not the least of which is his ability to mentally enslave his victims, he quickly adapts to the new technological society he has been thrust into. In fact, he becomes memorized by many of the unbelievable advances that almost make up for the classless equality he finds oppressive. Zginski needs to learn the rules of his new milieu if he intends to remain anonymous and so he seeks out the vampires who currently rule the streets of Memphis. In Zginski, Alex Bledsoe has created a classic vampire who has ties that stretch back to the time of Czar Nikolas I, while the young vampires he seeks out are purely products of social change and “that anything goes” street culture of the 70′s. Their confrontation and generally shaky alliance is refreshingly intoxicating.
The Memphis vampire clan is lead by Mark, a young white man, who began his existence during the poverty of the Dust Bowl era and has managed to keep his little group of misfits hidden in an old broken down warehouse on the outskirts of town. Mark has gained the trust and respect of the others who look upon him as somewhat of an authority figure. Olive and Leonardo, both African – Americans, have developed a sibling-like relationship, and are very protective of each other. Olive, who was turned while still a virgin has a uniquely child-like demeanor. Leonardo on the other hand is a savvy veteran of the streets with a quick temper and a wise-cracking bravado that add a dark humor throughout the story. Bledsoe uses humor as a textural element to overlay the story’s bloody violence and creates a truly poignant vehicle for his characters. The fourth and most central member of the group is Fauvette. A child goddess, whose ravishing beauty and burgeoning sexuality control her victims as easily as her vampire talents could ever accomplish. Fauvette began her descent into the fold of the undead at the age of fourteen, and is beginning to feel oppressed by the sorrow created through loneliness engendered in a vampire’s existence. She is toying with the desire for the “true death” which seems like the only escape from this unending torment.
It is at this point that Zginski makes his entrance, and the group’s undead relationships begin to morph into a different kind of structure. The novel steps up its pace and is impossible to put down until the reader has sucked every sticky, savory drop out of it. Zginski breathes new life into Fauvette and begins to develop skills that have laid dormant in her and corrects myths that have diminished her true powers. The greatest gift he imparts is that vampires can indeed walk in the light of the sun, which allows Fauvette to feel immeasurably less desolate. Zginski also teaches Fauvette that blood given freely by a vampire’s victim is the sweetest, most intoxicating form of substance available and should always be sought. Finally he instructs her with his ultimate axiom, never trust anyone, always care only for one self. Again Alex Bledsoe continues with his theme of loneliness portraying Zginski philosophy as the absolute road to a perfect personification of this goal. Fauvette returns the favor to Zginski by teaching him that his entire belief system is an anachronism. If he is to survive in these quickly advancing times he must realize that the peasants have gained equality and his egotistical behavior will be his undoing. A lesson he may not fully understand until it is too late.
Next Dr. Danielle Roseberry, assistant coroner, gets involved with the vampire clan when she autopsies the body of “Toddy” the fifth member of the group who has been found dead on a Memphis street. Toddy has died the “true death” when he comes in contact with a mysterious white powder. Danielle appears to be Bledsoe’s voice of reason; the character in vampire genre that accidently gets drawn in, and stumbles around, then heroically saves the day, in turn saving humanity from the evil vampires. Bledsoe cleverly avoids this typical scenario and leaves it up to the reader to decide which character is really heroic and who is worth caring about. I, for one, felt that this group of vampires had some extremely endearing qualities and found myself rooting for them to survive. This mysterious white powder which has been created to destroy vampires takes us all on a merry chase and leads to an unexpected ending, which had me applauding the outcome.
I loved this novel! Now, I’m not going to try and compare it to Bram Stoker’s masterpiece “Dracula” or even Ann Rice’s “Interview with A Vampire”, books that are classic vampire tales but I would say that if you enjoyed E.E. Knight’s “Vampire Earth” or Barb & J. C. Hendee’s “Noble Dead Series”, then you will enjoy Bledsoe’s tale. A story rife with 70′s flashbacks, Zeppelin, planetariums, marijuana and plenty of sex. However, don’t get too distracted by these superficial accoutrements that do enhance the novel because Bledsoe has far more to offer. This is more than a blood and sex novel. There is a deeper story here, a story about loyalty, love and loneliness, about prejudices and deception, learning to accept who you are and how to live with that. Ultimately, Alex Bledsoe is talking about trust, learning how to trust, whom to trust and more importantly – how to be trusted. I recommend sitting down with this novel, grab a glass of ice tea, then read and enjoy, as I did.
Absolutely looking forward to a sequel!
