Customer Reviews

Blood Groove (Library Binding)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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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.

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.

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.

Blood Groove was such a blast! This was my first Alex Bledsoe book, and it's definitely made me a fan. Blood Groove takes place in 1975 Memphis, amidst racial tension, groovy tunes, and hot, sticky, southern grit. Baron Rudolfo Zginski finds himself in a Memphis morgue after the (very unlucky) pathologist yanks the cross out that's been stuck in his heart for 60 years. After a nice meal, he heads out into the Memphis night. Meanwhile, we get to know a group of rather ill kempt "young" vamps that are living in a rundown warehouse in the sticks. The standout in the group is Fauvette, perpetually 14, turned when she was a virgin, what seems like a lifetime ago. The details of her death and subsequent turning are heartwrenching, to say the least, and Fauvette longs for true death, even if she can't bring herself to meet the sun. She hates what she's become and the habits of her housemates horrify her more and more every day. I'll be honest, they're a rather gross bunch, and if you have a sensitive stomach, you may find yourself covering your eyes (you'll be peeking though, I promise). Weaned on movies like Blacula, and vamp lore, these young vamps live in ignorance of their true natures, and what they can become. That's where Baron Zginski comes in. He discovers Fauvette in an alley after she's forced herself to feed, and is inexplicably drawn to her, and you will be too, because the real star of this novel is Fauvette. She gets a rough start, but as Zginski brings her out of her shell, and shows her the truth of her kind, her inner beauty begins to shine through, and acceptance with what she is, and who she is, is inevitable and wonderful to witness. Fauvette begins to rub off on the arrogant Zginski, and he begins to realize that he's lost some of his humanity and empathy. The Baron is not charming, he doesn't sparkle, and he's horrified at the fact that woman and non-whites have the same rights as everyone else does. He's most definitely an anti-hero, and frankly, at times I wanted to smack him, but then again, he came to maturity at a time when things were very, very different, so you can see how he might be puzzled at the new state of things, even if you don't condone it.
Blood Groove is not for the faint of heart. The focus is on Fauvette's group, but it also follows the coroner as she tries to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of one of the vamp gang. Zginski is hot on the trail of this new drug too, since it could threaten his kind's very existence. There are some truly horrifying and tragic moments, as well as plenty of sex, blood, and violence. This is horror at its best, and it's unflinching, but never gratuitous. If you enjoy quality horror, with writing that crackles off the page and doesn't let up, you're gonna love Blood Groove.

A doctor leans over a desiccated, ancient body. It has a curious crucifix-shaped dagger protruding from its ribcage. She removes the knife. The corpse comes to life.

How many horror movies contain this scene?

That's the opening of Blood Groove but from that point on, there are very few cliches and quite a few surprises. Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski, the only man ever to be tried and found guilty of being a vampire, and executed for it, is brought back to life in the mid-70's in Memphis, Tennessee. He doesn't know how he got there and really doesn't care. All he's concerned about is surviving. He stumbles across Fauvette, a perpetual 14-year-old vampire, and learns from her of a band of very young nosferatu living in the city. He's appalled to discover all they know about vampirism is what they've seen in the movies or read in books, and some of it is a total fallacy. When a sinister gray powder robs them of the desire to drink blood, even the will to survive, Zginski determines to find the source of the powder and eliminate it.

The vampires are--dare I say it?--likeable people, indeed more likeable than the humans, with their personalities described in a few well-chosen words. In the beginning, Zginski is portrayed as the Old World vampire par excellence--handsome, exuding sexual power, aristocratic, cruel, and totally self-absorbed. When he meets the beautiful, tragic Fauvette, he begins to change though he himself doesn't realize it at first. More protagonist than hero (after all, he's killed hundreds with impunity) one can't help but hope he isn't rushing to his doom as he searches for the maker of the mysterious powder. When he reluctantly admits he feels something other than lust for Fauvette, one wants to cheer him on. By the end of the story, he makes a commitment to stay in Memphis though there's a hint of a demi menage-a-trois since Mark, one of the youngsters, likes Fauvette and though she clings to Zginski, she has feelings for Mark, also.

The story is an easy read, well-written, descriptive, not too bloody or violent. In fact, the only complaint I have is that it's a little too spare. There isn't enough of it! More detail, more description. Please! Zginski had plans to transplant the purchased inhabitants of a Russian village into a deserted Irish town, yet when we first meet him as a living entity, he's in Wales. Did he go to Ireland? What happened to the peasants he brought with him? There should have been more background on him, and the young vampires are too sketchily described. How was each turned? How did they find each other?

As I read the novel, questions kept popping up. Zginski is discovered to be a vampire because he doesn't breathe. How many of us can tell when a person is breathing and when he isn't--unless he's under exertion? Breathing is automatic and very subtle. Zginski accosts a young man and steals his clothing. Later, he finds the young man's sister and enthralls her. Several days afterward, the young man accidentally meets her, takes back his car which she had appropriate for Zginski's benefit, then abandons her. What was Chris doing between the time Zginski robbed him and he found Lee Ann? Even if he was stoned at the time, didn't he wonder where his clothes were when he woke up naked in a toilet stall? If his sister had his car and had disappeared, why didn't he try to find her? Brothers and sisters may not get along but this story is set in the South and no matter how self-absorbed and disassociated they are, Southern brothers generally look out for their sisters, and are very possessive of their rides. Where did the villain get the material from which he made the mysterious powder with which he plans to annihilate the vampires? How did he discover it had lethal qualities for the Undead? Why doesn't Zginski ever make good on his promises to correct the youngsters' false knowledge?

Looking back, I think it's a credit to Mr. Bledsoe's writing skill that I want to know these questions, that I want to have more knowledge about these characters outside of what is told to me in this novel.

Perhaps these, and other questions will be answered in the sequel, and I hope there is one, because I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes vampire tales. As one writer of vampires novels to another, Alec Bledsoe, I salute you!

I have only a few words to say about this book. Its not the sterotypical Urban Fantasy of recent years. If you want something different this is it.

A comment on the Professional Review of this book, WHAT a load of garbage! Reminds me of the critism of the movie Hounddog with Dakato Fanning. Racial Sterotype, women slurs? Well folks I lived in the 1970 as an adult. That was the norm of the time. Reminds me also of the critism of Huckfinn by Mark Twain. They reflect the times they were written about and the times they were written in. I am honestly surprise that Alex was able to do this so well.

A Baron from the early 1900 would no more consider a black person human then he would his dog. So how could a person reading this expect a vampire baron to be any different.

He did not live through the changing mores of mid to late 1900

This book did a great job of reflecting the attitude of the people in their times and places.

A great entertaining story.

Oh, in my opinion every black american should read Huckfinn and Uncle Tom Cabin. I understand why some black considered the term Uncle Tom to be an insult. But read the book to see the realistic situation of the mid 1800's in America, don;t bury your head in the sand.

After loving Bledsoe's "The Sword-Edged Blonde," I excitedly started "Blood Groove." Unfortunately, I found very little of the witty humor of his other book, and instead had to wade through gratuitous sex scenes (not that I mind sex scenes, but these didn't seem to further the plot OR character development at all), repetitive racist thoughts (and yes, I know that was the mindset of the time, but again, it just seemed boring and overplayed. No real need for it as often as it came up), and a loose and uninteresting plot (it could've been interesting, but it just seemed like the plot was forgotten at times and the way it ended in almost a "deus ex machina" was just unsatisfying). As another reviewer mentioned, I was really rooting for these vampires to die by the end. Since I loved The Sword-Edged Blonde sooooooo much (the style in that book reminded me more of Jasper Fforde than the dark un-funniness of "Blood Groove"), I will definitely give Bledsoe another try, just not any more of his vampire works.

In 1915 in Passelwaithe Wales, Judge Sir Francis Colby agreed with the villagers' claim that Baron Rudolfo Zginski was a vampire since the accused did not breathe or have a pulse. Although some of the myths re vampires proved false, a crucifix was thrust into the heart of Rudolfo. The Judge buried the corpse where he felt no one would find it in his home state of Tennessee.

Six decades later, Tennessee pathologist Dr. Rosberry performs an autopsy on a man with a crucifix sticking out of his remains. When she removes the stake, Zginski awakens but is crazed with a need for blood; he drains the doctor. To survive in this modern world, Zginski must learn the common technological advances; when he finds a vampire nest living in the shadows, he knows who will teach him. He selects Fauvette turned at fourteen years old as his guide to 1975 America. Soon Zginski is shocked with what the young vamps believe is deadly as the Lugosi-Lee legends (after his first time) has become the fact. He offers to train them in remedial and advanced vampirism, but they must become his loyal subjects. Most refuse as products of the social unrest of the times make "slavery" unacceptable. However, Zginski will soon be tested when Fauvette is snatched.

The time and place are keys to this unique vampire thriller as Zginski who was an egomaniac for centuries in his previous existence has to adapt to the radical changes WWI and WWII brought and more so to the strong civil rights movement (just a few years after the assassination of Dr. King). Thus Zginski instead of being a king of the local vampires as he expects becomes more of a fatherly mentor to the ignorant brood. Alex Bledsoe has written a terrific unique urban historical fantasy as the aristocratic displaced lead character finds life in 1975 Tennessee is not simple or anything like his past and has a major impact on how the newbies think especially the innocent the charmer Fauvette.

Harrier Klausner