“Blood Prophecy,” by Stefan Petrucha, is a fast-paced supernatural and historical thriller that is highly entertaining, frequently scary and often provocative.
When I realized I was about to review a vampire tale, I will admit the release of a weary sigh. Frankly, I am a little sick of the genre. However, the undead creature that attacks this novel’s protagonist, Jeremiah Fall, is a more complex and interesting than your average garden variety vampire and while it turns Fall into a similar monster, the book does not bother much with traditional vampire lore. Instead, it creates a fresh mythology based on both Native American and Biblical influences.
Fall is transformed into an extremely powerful creature but he clings to his humanity by refusing to feed on humans and is constantly battling the beast within who desires merciless carnage. Transformed into an immortal beast in 1644, Fall becomes a mercenary in both King Phillip’s War and the American Revolution. Without giving too much away, Fall’s quest for a cure to his condition takes him all around the globe, including Egypt and France during the era of Napoleon. Much of the action takes place in 1799 and involves the discovery of a second Rosetta Stone and all the various humans that want to claim it as their own.
The novel is a definite page-turner and rich in historical and geological detail. The reader always feels propelled directly into the time and place at hand. The only parts that dragged a bit for me were some of the journeys (especially a long one by sea) that really only serve as bridges between two planes of more major action.
There are plenty of thrills and scenes of horror and lots of psychological detail in the complex nature of Fall’s struggle to reconcile his beast within.
Highly recommended for readers of horror and historical thrillers–there is enough balance between genres to please both.
– George Wilhite
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
