Blood (The Mercian Trilogy) [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.

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. Another main character is Eloise, a girl of a young age who after a decent start at childhood has now ended it up living on the streets. She's lonely, has no friends and is the last person to be expected to be sucked into William's world. After a rough start I did become to like her and she was really sweet girl with a great heart and personality and just an overall good person.

The storyline was okay however the events were dragged on quite a lot and certain scenes lasted too long and I easily lost interest which is why it took me longer to finish this book. The story does build up with romances blooming but nothing struck me right in the face, nothing out of the extraordinary that had me going WOW and I lacked any emotions or feeling whilst reading the book. There was a development of a dangerous journey that did arise my interest and I do think the book is good however how it has been put to paper needs improvement so readers can fully enjoy it. I will be looking forward to the next book in the trilogy `Alchemy' and hope that as you go along the books get better and maybe the story will pick up pace because the first one you are trying to familiarise the reader with the characters so it wasn't exactly easy.

Thank you to EgmontUK for providing me with a review copy.

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.

He finds Jex, who 'lives' in an abandoned warehouse and he becomes Will's unfortunate victim. He also meets Eloise, who is homeless, feisty and completely un-phased by Will's description of himself as 'undead'. She wants to help him in his quest and isn't remotely concerned or scared by anything that they encounter. Going back to Jex's place, they see that he has been writing and drawing pictures and Will realises his writings hold clues to help his quest. As they investigate they find themselves under attack from a supernatural entity. This leads to some fast paced battles which I thought were well written. Along the way, the truth slowly starts to reveal itself leading finally to a showdown in an old abandoned church where Will begins to get some answers at last.

There is romance, but nothing gushy or mushy. The story is unfinished as it's the first of a Trilogy but I shall read the rest. I found it all rather intriguing.

Verdict: An enjoyable and interesting read, and a great introduction to the Trilogy.