Blood Brothers: A Novel [Paperback]

Michael Schiefelbein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

"I'd be damned if I would ever worship their God of unconditional forgiveness. Mine was the Old Testament's God of justice-the God who had exposed the lascivious elders of Babylon plotting the ruin of Susannah, the God who fortified yound David against a giant Philistine. . . . They were flesh and blood, they prized their own worth, and asserted it, even to the point of bloodshed. What God brought out of their revenge for Israel or anyone else was not their concern. Who knows the mind of God? Man's business is to know his own mind, and he sins when he ignores its commands."-from Chapter Four

In Madrid at the age of 7, Juan Ramon Fuertes witnesses the murder of his parents by two thugs supervised by his father's business partner, Martin Esteban. His identification of the murderers dismissed by the police, the boy vows to avenge his parents. Sustained by his lust for revenge, Juan Ramon endures years of abuse in a Spanish orphanage, where he follows the movements of Esteban in news reports, eventually noticing Esteban's beautiful and pious son, Bernardo. Later, when Bernardo begins training as a monk, Juan Ramon's plan crystallizes: Use the son to get the father. With cool calculation, Juan Ramon begins monastic training, finally entering Bernardo's monastery in Toledo as Father Juan Ramon. Sensing Bernardo's attraction to him, Juan Ramon seduces the young monk to gain access to Esteban. Gradually enthralling the devout, troubled Bernardo, Juan Ramon pursues the two thugs while planning Esteban's murder. But all his schemes for justice hit an unforeseen snag when the fierce avenger falls in love with his tortured protégé. Told from the points of view of both Juan Ramon and Bernardo, Blood Brothers explores the fascinating mixture of lust, love, spirituality, and revenge underlying the mutual seduction of a holy monk and his unholy brother.

Michael Schiefelbein has lived in Italy and Washington, D.C., and now resides in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is a professor of writing and literature. He is also the author of Vampire Vow.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the best-selling author of VAMPIRE VOW!

About the Author

Michael Schiefelbein is the author of the best-selling Lambda Literary Award finalist VAMPIRE VOW. He spent 10 years studying for the priesthood before earning a Ph.D. in English. He has lived in Italy and Washington, DC, and now lives in Tennessee, where he teaches writing and literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555837298
• ISBN-13: 978-1555837297
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theology, Eroticism, Violence, and Passion, July 5, 2003

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Brothers: A Novel (Paperback)

I read a review of this book, and thought it would be quite interesting to read a book that combines so many atypical characteristics and themes for gay literature. At seven years old, Juan Ramon Fuertes watches his mother be raped and killed, sees his father shot dead, and is cast aside by the murderer, a man he can name and remember, but who has enough power to pass by the police. This boy grows, and plots revenge from the cold horrible orphanages he endures through adolescence.

He sees that the man who killed his parents has a son, Bernardo. Bernardo is entering a monastary to become a monk, and the plan for revenge begins. Juan Ramon will find a way to use the son to get to the father, and is willing to first pass through all the steps of becoming an ordained monk himself to do it.

The story alternates between Juan Ramon and Bernardo, the son of the murderer, and is absolutely packed with sexual tension, erotic prose, and dark emotion. Juan Ramon can sense the attraction Bernardo has for him, and slowly realizes his own feelings for Bernardo are growing to be more than usery, but with so much blood on everyone's hands, is the innocent Bernardo doomed? Written with some deep theological internal debate in Bernardo's voice, and even darker violent anger in Juan Ramon's, the libidinous charge that saturates this novel is just nail-biting. Ultimately, where the end of the novel goes is a sharp shock, and the characters are definitely true to themselves, though not in a way you might think. Good for fans of thrillers of any sort, but definitely a solid choice for fans of the gay genre written at its most sensual.

'Nathan

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skillful Characterization in a Suspenseful Plot!, November 28, 2002

By 

"amensan" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Brothers: A Novel (Paperback)

What makes this suspense novel good? Schiefelbein has created, in a very readable style, two haunting and memorable characters: the hard-focused, reserved Juan Ramon, who has devoted his life to a plan for self-styled justice, and the vulnerable and sensitive Bernardo, whose need for love causes him to risk everything he holds sacred.
What makes this novel great? You'll see something of yourself in either Juan Ramon or Bernardo, which is an unexpected jolt. Outwardly these are simple men who lead simple lives. But beneath that facade they struggle with issues of love, faith, ambition, commitment, revenge and betrayal. As in life, none of these are resolved in nice, neat little packages. I look forward to a "Blood Brothers, II", because their saga begs for continuance.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What monks really think?, October 26, 2004

By 

Yuki Shinobu (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Brothers: A Novel (Paperback)

I have been trying to get this book forever, and finally I got it and read it in one day. It's only about 200 something pages, which is very short in comparison to other books I read.

Though short, this novel is very interesting and present us with, if not the secrets, the hidden thoughts of monks. How they think and struggle and what they have to sacrifice for faith. In the book we see the extremes of the two monk heroes: Bernardo, who is extremely pious and tries despretly to abstain from even touching himself at night, and when he does he prays and confesses like no other; and Juan Ramon, for whom any piece of ass would do just fine.

The two get tangled up together in lies and deceipt. Bernardo loves Juan Ramon, but uses him to get the monk's father back for kiling his family. Juan Ramon is delibretely rough during sex and hurts Bernardo in his frenzy, but Bernardo takes it without complaint. Poor Bernardo is still a saint, in the sense that he submmits like a quiet puppy all in the name for love.

When everything seems to fit his plan perfectly, Juan Ramon falls in love with Bernardo and has second thoughts about everything. Now things are not so clear anymore, but the ending got me wanting to read more. It was too short, I thought.
I really hope that Michael will write a sequal as he did for "Vampire Vow".