Will is a vampire in danger. Heir to the Earl of Mercia, he was brutally attacked and buried in the thirteenth century before he was able to assume his title. Perpetually sixteen, Will’s life has been lonely. He leaves his tomb every so often, adapts to the present day, feeds his bloodlust, and never gets close to anyone.
Until now.
Waking from a twenty-year slumber, hungry for the blood that sustains his undeath, he meets Eloise—but can’t bear to make her his next victim. Drawn to a girl he can never have, but whose fate seems bound with his own, he feels the need to protect her. But Will has an enemy who will stop at nothing to find him . . . and he’s closing in. . . .
*SLJ Starred Review, Gr 8 Up –In 13th-century England, 16-year-old Will, heir to the Earl of Mercia, was attacked and bitten. In more than seven centuries as a vampire, he has spent years at a time in oblivious sleep and years awake, discovering piecemeal that the attack was not just a horrific accident, and that the repercussions are far from over. When he awakens in the 21st century, he is drawn instinctively to Eloise, a teen runaway, and he is certain she can help him. As other characters are introduced, suspense builds. Why does Jex, a vagrant, have Will’s name scribbled among the mysterious writings in his notebook? Why does Will’s long-healed bite wound flair and burn in the presence of café owners Chris and Rachel? The story ebbs and flows from the third person to Will’s own riveting narrative detailing his tragic few encounters with people over the years and his evolving philosophy about his situation and God. Moments of levity keep the story from abjectness and serve to highlight the realistic, modern-day setting. A recurring joke is Will’s ignorance of current parlance: “making out,” “vegan,” “ice hockey,” “born-again Christian.” Encounters with a shape-shifting villain, skeletal hands grasping from graves, whispering shadows reflected in mirrors, and a deadly chase through an Escher-esque cathedral library keep the elements of fantasy and drama high. Throughout this fast-paced and unique story, Wignall maintains a suspenseful, spooky mood with elegant, evocative prose. Enough loose ends are tied up to make for a satisfying conclusion, but a few tantalizing threads remain.–Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Library, NC
Blood (Mercian Trilogy)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Nadia
Format:Paperback
Vampire fiction is a genre that has gained in popularity in the last few years. With so many offerings, I've unfortunately come across more than my fare share of disappointments, but I've also discovered a few really amazing stories and this is one of them. Blood is the first of a trilogy, told from the point of view of it's vampire protagonist, Will, the sun of a Brittish Earl and with a destiny he's never understood. One thing I loved about this book is that the Author doesn't romantasize. As nice as Will is and as much as he hates it, he's a vampire who must kill to survive. With the help of various clues and a modern day human girl, Will begins a quest to discover why he was attacked all those centuries ago. Beautifully written and told mainly in the third person but with some fascinating glimpses into Will's past narrated by Will himself, this story draws you in from the start. For fans of gothic mystery, this really is a dream. The Author has captured the speech and writing style of a sixteenth century boy perfectly, yet still managed to keep the story engaging and readable. Highly recommended.
By Aishah
Format:Paperback
Blood is another adaptation of the vampire genre but with a bit of a twist and differentiation. Me, personally I have read Twilight and the Morganville Vampires series and I have enjoyed these so I was quite excited when I got started reading this book.
The thing that stuck me at first about Blood was that it had a male protagonist and it was form his point of view. I have said before in one of my reviews about rarely reading books with these features but I decided to overcome and try to enjoy the book. As with a female protagonist I feel more connected and feel as if I can relate more and understand the story more but if the books good then whatever point of view it is shouldn't matter. William, Earl of Mercia is a destined heir to the throne however one night changes his life forever and that destiny is far long gone as well as his family and everyone he knew. He wakes up to a new century and the book explores his thoughts, feeling, problems and questions about what he has become and who made him like this. William goes through many hardships, century after century still learning about this world after dying just sixteen and everything seems normal until one day he wakes up form a hibernation and everything around him has changed and he is more determined and close to getting the answers to the questions that have bothered him for centuries.
William is a decent boy, but I didn't feel attached to him or have any likeness towards him I just felt I was reading a book rather than other books where I feel more included and enjoy them as if I'm there in the protagonist's place. His character did have certain aspects that you liked but I think more development of his character as a person rather than in problems would've made a huge difference.... Read more ›
The thing that stuck me at first about Blood was that it had a male protagonist and it was form his point of view. I have said before in one of my reviews about rarely reading books with these features but I decided to overcome and try to enjoy the book. As with a female protagonist I feel more connected and feel as if I can relate more and understand the story more but if the books good then whatever point of view it is shouldn't matter. William, Earl of Mercia is a destined heir to the throne however one night changes his life forever and that destiny is far long gone as well as his family and everyone he knew. He wakes up to a new century and the book explores his thoughts, feeling, problems and questions about what he has become and who made him like this. William goes through many hardships, century after century still learning about this world after dying just sixteen and everything seems normal until one day he wakes up form a hibernation and everything around him has changed and he is more determined and close to getting the answers to the questions that have bothered him for centuries.
William is a decent boy, but I didn't feel attached to him or have any likeness towards him I just felt I was reading a book rather than other books where I feel more included and enjoy them as if I'm there in the protagonist's place. His character did have certain aspects that you liked but I think more development of his character as a person rather than in problems would've made a huge difference.... Read more ›
Format:Paperback
Lesley: [...]
To the shock and horror of many, I've never actually read a 'Vampire' book before and was therefore unable to contribute to our recent 'around the table' discussions regarding Twilight - now on my 'to read' pile! So this was my first experience and I didn't know if it would be my cup of tea or not. However I was drawn in by the beautiful black, silver and red cover and I'm pleased that the story inside didn't disappoint.
Blood, which is book one of the Mercian Trilogy introduces our protagonist Will. Will was born back in 1256 and only made it to sixteen years old having been struck down by a 'strange illness'. We learn that he was bitten by a creature and although buried by his family, he never dies. Set in London, he has a crypt under the city walls and every few years or so after a good long sleep he awakes again not knowing which century he will be in and how life will have changed in the real world. He has witnessed much over the years and is longing to find the creature that bit him and to find answers about what happened to him all those years ago.
I felt sorry for him. He has never met another like him, and has not known anyone who can help him or explain how he came to be in this situation. To him death would be preferable to the existence he has had for the last 750 plus years. The first chapter sets the scene well and I enjoyed the author's descriptive narrative throughout the book. We follow Will on his journey as he first off sets out to satisfy his need for blood - which wasn't gruesome at all - quite clean and methodical in fact! Will rarely needs to have blood - he does it when necessary and he feeds off of drifters and those who wouldn't be missed. It's all quite different to the 'Vampires' that I had imagined.... Read more ›
To the shock and horror of many, I've never actually read a 'Vampire' book before and was therefore unable to contribute to our recent 'around the table' discussions regarding Twilight - now on my 'to read' pile! So this was my first experience and I didn't know if it would be my cup of tea or not. However I was drawn in by the beautiful black, silver and red cover and I'm pleased that the story inside didn't disappoint.
Blood, which is book one of the Mercian Trilogy introduces our protagonist Will. Will was born back in 1256 and only made it to sixteen years old having been struck down by a 'strange illness'. We learn that he was bitten by a creature and although buried by his family, he never dies. Set in London, he has a crypt under the city walls and every few years or so after a good long sleep he awakes again not knowing which century he will be in and how life will have changed in the real world. He has witnessed much over the years and is longing to find the creature that bit him and to find answers about what happened to him all those years ago.
I felt sorry for him. He has never met another like him, and has not known anyone who can help him or explain how he came to be in this situation. To him death would be preferable to the existence he has had for the last 750 plus years. The first chapter sets the scene well and I enjoyed the author's descriptive narrative throughout the book. We follow Will on his journey as he first off sets out to satisfy his need for blood - which wasn't gruesome at all - quite clean and methodical in fact! Will rarely needs to have blood - he does it when necessary and he feeds off of drifters and those who wouldn't be missed. It's all quite different to the 'Vampires' that I had imagined.... Read more ›
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way the story moved from the past to the present. If you like twilight, this is worth reading. I couldn't put it down, and My dad moaned at me because I read it late at night when I should have gone to sleep.
Get moving Mr Wignall, I want the second part .
Get moving Mr Wignall, I want the second part .
Format:Paperback
Will has been a vampire for over 750 years, he has no idea who gave him this curse and he has never met another of his kind. He should have become the Earl of Mercia but was changed before he inherited his title. Will has just woken up from a long period of hibernation and is once again searching for answers, this time, after finding a prophecy it appears he might finally be close to discovering his destiny.
What I really liked about this book is that we're getting back to the more traditional kind of vampires, Will isn't completely evil but he makes no appologies for having to kill people to survive. He isn't constantly murdering people and can in fact go for long periods without blood but when he wakes from hibernation he must drain a victim. It makes a nice change from the vampires we've been seeing a lot of in YA fiction recently - the ones that drink animal blood or only drink small amounts from willing victims.
Will is a lonely character and it becomes easy to feel for him, he never asked for his curse and having never met the person who changed him he has struggled to learn about his condition. He has known a lot of loss throughout the years and is wary of getting close to anyone because he knows they will eventually die and leave him alone again. I loved the chapters where you find out more about his past and felt the diary entry feel to them worked really well.
I have to admit I wasn't so keen on Eloise though, we didn't really find out enough about her for me to be able to relate to her in any way but I'm hoping that changes as the series continues. The main story focuses on the mystery of why Will was changed and who changed him which is something I'm really enjoying and looking forward to finding out more about.... Read more ›
What I really liked about this book is that we're getting back to the more traditional kind of vampires, Will isn't completely evil but he makes no appologies for having to kill people to survive. He isn't constantly murdering people and can in fact go for long periods without blood but when he wakes from hibernation he must drain a victim. It makes a nice change from the vampires we've been seeing a lot of in YA fiction recently - the ones that drink animal blood or only drink small amounts from willing victims.
Will is a lonely character and it becomes easy to feel for him, he never asked for his curse and having never met the person who changed him he has struggled to learn about his condition. He has known a lot of loss throughout the years and is wary of getting close to anyone because he knows they will eventually die and leave him alone again. I loved the chapters where you find out more about his past and felt the diary entry feel to them worked really well.
I have to admit I wasn't so keen on Eloise though, we didn't really find out enough about her for me to be able to relate to her in any way but I'm hoping that changes as the series continues. The main story focuses on the mystery of why Will was changed and who changed him which is something I'm really enjoying and looking forward to finding out more about.... Read more ›
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