Book Review and Giveaway: Blood Prophecy by Stefan Petrucha

This is well written but a strange story.
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Blood Prophecy by Stefan Petrucha

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (November 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446555991
• ISBN-13: 978-0446555999

Price:   Paperback $6.99; Kindle $7.99
Genre:  Paranormal- Vampire
     My Rating:  3.75

Back Cover Description:
Man and monster are in his blood. . .
His name is Jeremiah Fall. A soldier of fortune, he has been fighting his own war for 150 years--ever since the beast in him was born.
Desperate to restore his lost humanity, Fall crosses the sands of Egypt, discovers a lost city off the coast of France, and finally arrives at the birthplace of all mankind. Shunning daylight and feeding only when he must, he battles the monster who transformed him forever. He can share his deepest secret with no one . . . not even the beautiful woman he starts to love, the only human who grasps the mysteries of an ebony stone as old as creation itself.
Across the world, across time, Fall seeks the stone's secret. But has he found a cure for himself or unleashed a final curse on all mankind?

Review: This is not a usual Vampire story and it is not a romance. I think the author is trying to make a philosophical point - my take on the point is that any life, even a Vampire's, has purpose.

I really liked the protagonist, Jeremiah Fall. He is turned into a vampire in the mid 1600s as a young man but with the help of his grandfather he learns to control the beast urges. I like his determination to not harm others even though he sees himself as a monster.  Over 150 years he continually struggles to maintain his “good” Puritan humanity as he searches out clues and riddles to discover what or who he is and to find a cure.  His search leads him ultimately to an obsidian stone in Egypt. 

When he finds the stone he also finds his enemy, the monster who created him, Skog.  There is also a beautiful young woman, Amala, who can translate the hieroglyphics on the stone and who seems enamored of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah tries to protect the stone by fighting off a group of suicidal fanatics, called Bandites, who worship the creature of the stone, Bandias. This group believe that there is nothing to live for and death is a great honor.  When Skog steals the stone and Amala, Jeremiah gets unexpected aid from one of the Bandites.  Along the journey Jeremiah learns that the legends say Bandias will lead to the destruction of the world with the help of Skog and by using a woman, Amala, as a breeder.   

Jeremiah has refused to feed on men and hasn’t learned all of the powers of his beast.  But now he must pit his super strength against the even stronger strength and wily powers of Skog and the stone.  Can Jeremiah withstand the stronger creatures or will he be convinced that life is an illusion not worth living?

The story started out well with good character development in Jeremiah and his family. I initially became engaged in Jeremiah’s history as he tells how he came to be where he is when the book starts.  There is some very interesting history of the American Puritans and Indians, Napoleonic campaigns and even Biblical Eden woven into the story.  But the tale got bogged in the middle for me as it was unclear where the author was taking it. I kept hoping that the purpose would get more clear. I did like the writing but I felt the entertainment value declined after the first half of the book. Although a hopeful message is revealed at the ending I was still left with a flat, rather than uplifted, feeling. But maybe I was too tired, or mentally not inclined, to ponder the message in the end. It might grow on me if I think about it over a few more days.

 xxx

Thank you to Hachette fiction division for the book to read and review.

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