Blood Groove [Paperback]

Alex Bledsoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

When centuries-old vampire Baron Rudolfo Zginski was staked in Wales in 1915, the last thing he expected was to reawaken in Memphis, Tennessee, sixty years later. Reborn into a new world of simmering racial tensions, the cunning nosferatu realizes he must adapt quickly if he is to survive.

Finding willing victims is easy, as Zginski possesses all the powers of the undead, including the ability to sexually enslave anyone he chooses. Hoping to learn how his kind copes with this bizarre new era, Zginski tracks down a nest of teenage vampires. But these young vampires have little knowledge of their true nature, having learned most of what they know from movies like Blacula.

Forming an uneasy alliance with the young vampires, Zginski begins to teach them the truth about their powers. They must learn quickly, for there’s a new drug on the street—a drug created to specifically target and destroy vampires. As Zginski and his allies track the drug to its source, they may unwittingly be stepping into a fifty-year-old trap that can destroy them all . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published by Night Shade in 2006, this dark tale of vampires in 1970s Memphis is marred by racial stereotypes and grim perversions. Baron Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski, stabbed with a crucifix in 1915, reanimates 60 years later when pathologist Patricia Johnson withdraws the cross from his mummified corpse. The racist and self-absorbed Zginski kills his African-American resurrector and heads out into the world. He joins up with a gaggle of young vampires, including lecherous black teens Olive and Leonardo, who speak almost entirely in clichéd blaxploitation patois (Don't be a jive turkey, sweetheart) and use telepathy to seduce and kill unsuspecting humans. Coroner Danielle Roseberry almost becomes the pair's latest prey until Zginski realizes they all need her help to trace the origin of a mysterious vampire-killing dust. Bledsoe (The Sword-Edged Blonde) employs a suave, creepy style that suits the story but can't mitigate his appalling treatment of female and minority characters. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Bledsoe’s debut urban fantasy is an intoxicating brew of mystery, humor, and horror."--Library Journal on Blood Groove

“I love vampire stories, both reading them and writing them, and when one comes along that’s as new and fresh as Blood Groove, well, it’s just plain delicious. One very sweet read. ”—Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author

“Hot and sticky and tangy as a slab of Memphis ribs. A trippy vamp-noir seventies feed-fest, complete with the requisite sex, drugs, and vintage rock.”—E.E. Knight, bestselling author of Vampire Earth on Blood Groove

“An edgy, visceral page-turner that had me laughing one moment and shivering the next. Alex Bledsoe is a writer to watch!”—Jeri Smith-Ready, award-winning author of Wicked Game on Blood Groove

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765323087
• ISBN-13: 978-0765323088
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,149,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland (home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (birthplace of Tina Turner). I've been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. I now live in a Wisconsin town famous for trolls, write before six in the morning and try to teach my two sons to act like they've been to town before. I'm the author of the Eddie LaCrosse high fantasy/hardboiled mysteries ("The Sword-Edged Blonde," "Burn Me Deadly," "Dark Jenny"), two novels about vampires in 1975 Memphis ("Blood Groove" and "The Girls with Games of Blood") and the first Tufa novel, "The Hum and the Shiver."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Grisly, ghoulish horror story, with unsexy, unsympathetic vampires, June 24, 2009

By 

Mrs. Baumann - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blood Groove (Paperback)

Plot Summary: Baron Rudolfo Zginski was staked in the heart in 1915, and he rises again 60 years later when a medical pathologist removes the gold stake from his corpse. He's finds himself in Memphis, and sets about finding fellow vampires. The `locals' form a small tribe of heartless misfits who live in an abandoned warehouse littered with body parts and maggoty corpses. They're little more than animals, and Zginski soon takes control of the lot, along with a human girl who provides warm meals at his command. One of the vamps is killed by a mysterious powder, and Zginski tracks down the dealer with the unwilling help of an assistant coroner. It turns out an ancient nemesis is trying to kill Zginski, for good.

I think this is a first for me. I really wanted the vampires in this book to DIE, and usually I'm doing a "Sis Boom Rah! Gooooo Vampires!" chant. Not for these guys. I'd say this book is closer to a flat out horror story rather than my preferred flavor of urban fantasy with a dash of romance. Maybe some people want to call this one a `dark urban fantasy,' and that's fine, if you like your vampirism pitch black without a drop of cream to sweeten the story.

Even though I was disappointed by the completely unromantic take on the vampires, I have to say that I was vastly entertained, in a sort of ghoulish, can't wait to see what horrible, disgusting thing happens next. I felt like a rubbernecker at the scene of a fatal car accident, and my eyes kept scanning quickly for the bodies under the tarps. I don't recommend this book for squeamish fans who like to read vampire-lite, or for anyone who wants to read about sexy, sympathetic vampires, because they won't be found here. Bledsoe's story is laced with evil, sexual depravity, and hopelessness; the guys on white horses don't win here.

I found the mid-1970's setting novel and retro, but the constant barrage of racial comments felt irritating after a while. It doesn't help that Rudolfo looks down on blacks, women, and all humans as vermin, but strangely he fits right in with all the racial tension portrayed in the story. The best moments of the book came when Rudolfo was educated about the music, movies, and technology of the 70s. When Rudolfo started questioning the lyrics for the song "A Horse With No Name," I almost laughed. Some stuff from the 70s is baffling, and having some stuck-up European blue-blood question it all was quite clever.

In the end, I didn't feel one drop of empathy for anyone in the story, save the hapless human victims. While this wasn't my favorite kind of story, it gave a good fright.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but..., September 24, 2009

By 

Mike Hammer "mike hammer" (Dearborn Hts, MI United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Blood Groove (MP3 CD)

Blood Groove is book that captures your interest and keeps it, but sometimes just barely. It was fun to read a modern vampire novel set in the 70's (kind of like Life On Mars on BBC). It evokes forgotten memories in those of us old enough to have lived during this period. Bledsoe has created some intriguing characters and blurs the line between "good" and "evil". The vampires are not evil, but very self centered and and unsymapthetic. The humans are not good, just trying to survive.

All of the things mentioned so far made the book a fun read. However the constant racial and gender stereotyping got old quickly. It made it seem as though the sole reason for setting the book in the 70's was to take advantage of the shallow thinking of some people during that time and have an excuse to potray negative racial and gender roles and language. It was almost bad enough to make me stop reading a few times.

But I am glad I did finish the book. But it was like eating a brownie with nuts when you don't like the nuts. Overall I enjoyed the experience and it did end with me wanting to know what would happen next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read, November 9, 2010

By 

Stephanie Ryan - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Blood Groove (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the sequel to this first, and then I went and got this one. It's often hilarious and very sexy, and sometimes even insightful. Definitely worth reading if you are a fan of vampires, but not Twilight. Great new author.