Bloodborn - Nathan Long
Bloodborn – Nathan Long (Black Liberary)
I’m always a little bit dubious when picking up a vampire story these days as you never know what you are going to get, is it going to be a horror/fantasy book or a love story? Yes that’s right, Twilight has very nearly ruined vampires for me, someone really needs to stake Edward Cullen……but I digress. Ulrika Magdova, reluctant vampire, we start the story with Ulrika running naked through the forest after her prey, good start, then she is found by Countess Gabriella and taken home to continue her training on self control. You see Ulrika is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to her new life as a vampire, not just that but now she is being trained by a Countess in high society when Ulrika’s past is as a warrior so many big changes are afoot. The only problem is that they have a go to the city before her training is complete as something big and bad is tearing the other vampires apart and that is never good for business. This is where the story starts to differ from your normal run of the mill Black Library book as it now turns into a mystery! Now I won’t lie to you, there is an aspect of a love story here but it is actually really well done and adds considerably to the atmosphere. Having a vampire fall in love with a Witch Hunter was a nice little trick. What I found the most remarkable is how Nathan Long managed to create so many strong female characters who all add to the story in their own ways and would be missed if they were not there. There are some genuine “will they make it” parts of this book and I have to say I absolutely flew through this book in about a day, I was completely sucked in from start to finish. And the finish was surprising and I was actually gutted. However Mr Long has managed to avoid cliché. Can’t wait for the next one to come out and land on my desk and would recommend this to anyone who likes either fantasy or vampires. Will.
