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David
Greske |
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Print book ISBN 13:
978-0-9820946-4-8 |
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Print book ISBN 10:
0-9820946-4-7 |
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Ebook ISBN 13:
978-0-9820946-5-5 |
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Ebook ISBN 10:
0-9820946-5-5 |
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Retail: $15.95 print /
$5.99 ebook |
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Release date: November
2009 |
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Genre: Horror /
Fantasy |
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SYNOPSIS
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| "When the rain of blood
begins, the reign of blood will
end." |
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| When Todd Remington and his
college friends encounter a mysterious hitchhiker who suddenly
appears in the middle of the road, they graciously offer her a
ride. They soon realize there is something strange about their
new passenger. |
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| Annabella is a perfect woman.
Her pale blue eyes, snowy hair, and milky skin arouse men and
woman alike. However, the air around her is cold. She knows
things she's never been told. She can manipulate the minds of
others and make them see and hear things that aren¡¦t
there. |
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| After Remington's vehicle
breaks down, she lures them to Blood River, a town not found
on any map, where the sidewalks roll up come sundown and
residents shudder tight their windows or cower in the local
tavern until daybreak. |
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| Annabella leads them to the
boarding house located on the fringes of the town¡¦s limits
and once there, resurrects a thing of pure evil with a taste
for human blood. |
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| Now, trapped in a house that
is more a living organism than a stone structure, Remington
and his gang must battle a creature born out of fear,
cowardice, and blood. |
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| What was to be a last hurrah
before graduation turns into so much more Kand so much
worse. |
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REVIEWS
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| With BLOOD RIVER, David Greske
does something that I didn’t think was possible; he actually
renders vampires fun and cool again. The story follows a group
of young adults on a road trip to Vegas. They don’t exactly
make it. After picking up the mysterious and sexy albino,
Annabelle, they are unwittingly lured into Blood River, a town
damned by a horrible and deadly secret. Trapped in the town,
the unwitting teens become the prey of an ancient evil.
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| The story itself mingles the
Gothicism of classic vampire fiction with a modern viciousness
more in line with contemporary depictions of the blood-loving
ghouls. Those fond of classic bloodsucker films of ‘60s cinema
will be hard-pressed not to envision the novel’s lead femme
fatale as Hammer Film sexpot Ingrid Pitt. Greske’s villains
ooze sexuality and proffer only violent death as they seduce
both male and female prey, and fans of such horror lit
headliners as Laymon, Keene, and Lee will feel right at home
with the bloody—often gory—results.
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| Greske pens a visceral and
sexy horror tale that turns many popular genre conventions on
their heads and keeps the reader turning the pages. David
jukes and dodges reader expectation at every turn, upping the
expectation anti by introducing new and inventive horrors.
Interesting, offbeat characters manage rise above typical
cardboard monster fodder, and I actually found myself rooting
for a couple to live. |
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| BLOOD RIVER is a
slickly-paced, incredibly fun romp that twists all the best
aspects of this popular subgenre, both cinematic and literary,
into a grisly slurry of horror goodness. Those looking for a
vampire tale with real bite should definitely check this out.
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| Date Added: 10/20/2009 by Book
Reviews |
Blood River by David
Greske
Reviewed by Geoff Nelder
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Publisher: Charles River Press
(November 2, 2009) |
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ISBN-13: 978-0982094648
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| A group of teenagers are generous
enough to pick up a drop-dead gorgeous female hitchhiker. Sadly,
that was an error and the blisteringly hot weather becomes locally
freezing as they discover the chills of a vampire sub-culture.
This is no standard vampire story; you are taken on a
veritable smorgasbord of erotic sensual blood-letting. A must read
for aficionados of the genre. It seems that every vampire cliché
lurks around the next page but Greske works those around
formula-breaking scenarios. For example, we have become used to
vampires sizzling up in daylight, but that has only been the case
since early film versions of Dracula. In the Bram Stoker
original novel, the vampire didn't avoid sunshine though his powers
were reduced. Hence the luscious Annabella in Blood River can be in
the sun (she is said to be a minion) so we have a little though
welcome departure from the stereotype.
There are some
neat writerly phrases using sensory Show. For example many writers
forget to use sound other than in speech but this is a nice example
where your brain is obliged to trigger other memories: `Agnes
dropped the trio of stakes next to the font ... sounded like dried
bones when they slapped against each other.'
There are a few
old jokes (you rent beer) and some corny sub-plot clichés but it is
a fun read - made quicker by the surprise of a large typeface, and
the contemporary fashion of short chapters. Of the characters,
Godfrey is the one I most empathised with, and not just because it
is my real first name! He carries his thoughtfulness and reading
experience into the mystery to the benefit of his friends though
some die before they are convinced.
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| Blood River would make a fine
extra birthday or seasonal present for anyone you know who
would hug you for an erotic bloodfest.
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Author Bio
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| Raised in rural Wisconsin,
David E. Greske grew up watching Saturday afternoon creature
features. He has been writing horror stories since the age of
seven and one of his first literary endeavors was a rip-off of
a Dark Shadows episode. He attended the University at River
Falls, Wisconsin and was involved with the campus newspaper
and a regular contributor to the university¡¦s literary
magazine. |
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| "Making Make-believe
Believable" an article that expressed his opinion about the
importance of creating realistic settings in an unrealistic
world, appeared in the on-line magazine, Wicked Karnival.
(www.wickedkarnival.com) His stories have
appeared in Black Ink Horror, Back Roads, and Thirteen. Blood
River is his fourth novel. |
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| The author lives in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. |
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