Monday 22 August 2011

Review ~ Blood ~ K.J.Wignall


Author: K J Wignall

Published: 27th September 2011

By: Egmont USA

Source: netgalley

First line: We burned the witches in 1256.

Last line: The forces of good had to triumph, and above all, he would not rest until he had destroyed the devil child himself, that thing of darkness, seat of evil, William of Mercia.

Fave line: I say “my age” because for all the passing of nearly eight hundred years, I am still sixteen in my person, just as I will be sixteen when you who read this are old, then dead, then forgotten.

Blood is the first book in the Mercian trilogy. It is the story of William of Mercia, an 800 year old vampire who was changed in the year 1256. Point to note: He prefers to be called undead as opposed to vampire! After he wakes from a 20 year sleep his first mission is to find someone to feed off. He comes across Jex, a homeless guy who it transpires already knows about him and who has possession of a notebook which contains pictures of a girl who, Jex claims, needs him as much as he needs her. It isn’t long before he meets the girl in the pictures, a homeless girl called Eloise who before long is taken into his confidence as they both set out to find out who ‘changed’ him. They enlist the help of Chris and Rachel who run a vegan restaurant and who have a love for the paranormal and before long they find that they are trying to solve a mystery surrounding William that goes back centuries becoming increasingly darker as they get closer to the truth.

It’s clear from the outset that you are reading part of a trilogy in as much as the characters are given plenty of room to develop and the plot flows at a comfortable pace rather than being squeezed into the first fifty pages. There are, naturally I think going to be comparisons with books where vampires are the primary characters, especially when you are looking at a budding relationship between a vampire and a mortal (and I guess I’m primarily thinking about Edward and Bella here). There are some similarities that would be near impossible to avoid, after all, he’s a vampire, she’s human, his bloodlust is bound to prevent the path to true love from running smoothly! That said I didn’t find myself comparing the characters that are written about here to any other. Their backgrounds and personalities are so disparate that it was never an issue for me. Something else that stood out for me was that there was nothing overly sentimental about this book which I liked, although there is enough emotion surrounding the characters that it’s very easy to like them, particularly William who is such a tortured old soul!

I also like the way that the book reads. The language that K.J Wignall uses has a more classic, gothic feel to it than most YA vampire fiction which made a refreshing change. I also liked reading about the way in which William encounters things for the first time (born again Christians and the Big Issue to name a couple). It’s these tiny details that set it ever so slightly apart from other books of this genre. In short I found this a fun book to read and would absolutely recommend it to YA readers of all ages.

3.5/5 I look forward to seeing what happens to the lovely William in book 2!




4 comments:

Raimy from Readaraptor Hatchling said...

ooo I havent heard of this one! I may have to check it out!

Alison Can Read said...

I need to look this one up. I love all things vampire! The Gothic style of this one sounds refreshing.

Erin W. said...

I should definitely check this out! Sounds great! Love anything with gothic-likeness . . .

Anonymous said...

I would absolutely recommend this - the more series the better as far as I'm concerned! I have everything crossed for William - he's an endearing character!

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