Customer Reviews

Blood Memories (Vampire Memories, No. 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For Eleisha life as a vampire has always been perplexing. She was made by a British lordling to care for William, who was turned in advanced senility and is now condemned to an eternity as a vampire with Alzheimer's. She and William are bundled of to America with little or no explanation, and only the good fortune of coming under the wing of Edward, another vampire enables them to survive. And then time passes...

Blood Memories opens 100 years later, when Edward, worn down by countless years of darkness, commits suicide. Suddenly Eleisha and William are cut loose again, and the spectacular death of Edward has drawn unwelcome attention. They are being hunted by humans, and wherever they flee, death follows. And in England, Julian, Eleisha's fearsome sire, becomes aware that all is not as it should be.

What makes this story is Eleisha's progress. Starting out as a vampire whose greatest power is the ability to appear helpless, she gradually comes into her own. In many ways, Barb Hendee cuts Eleisha free from the many ties that bind her, as she confronts each problem and learns from it. Blood Memories isn't a horror story; it is a vampire coming-of-age tale, if you can imagine such a thing. As such, there is as much focus on the personalities of the characters as there is on the action of the story.

As she does in the story itself, Eleisha at first attracts only sympathy from the reader. But gradually, as she develops, one becomes aware of her charm. Hendee, is the co-author of several other, more mainstream, vampire tales, starring a young dhampir. She has a knack for quickly building a character's presence, and so each of the cast stay in mind more than one would expect from a 'vampire tale.'

In the end I was caught up in the Eleisha's tragedies, mishaps, and mysteries, and elated by her victories. Coming from a small, independent publisher, and cursed with a rather lurid cover, this book exceeded my expectations in every way. If you are looking for a vampire story with more than one unusual twist, try this one out.

I started with 'Dhampir' and then had to get anything else Barb Hendee wrote. Im only sorry that there are only two books so far. A bit different then your average vampire tale. These are neither the good vampires, nor the naughty vampires. Perhaps the lost vampire might become a new genre. In Dhampire we play the human side, mostly. Or at least, mostly human. But a glimpse of the undead there reveals a great variation in vampires and the sides are drawn not between good and evil but simply for survival. In this book we go full scale on the vampire side, through the eyes of vampires who are yet ignorant of themselves and what they are. While in some books one becomes somewhat emeshed with the characters, Barb Hendee has the ability to bring you totally codenpendent on them. As with some authors, BH can use detail and description to bring the characters and their emotions alive without distracting the reader. In this case I was not just disapointed when the book ended, but actually rather annoyed. It's only in the hope of more books that I can recommend these

Barb Hendee said that this was her 'first novel and it shows' and well... it shows.

While this book handled some great, and scarcely used, things like vampire suicide and senile vampires it didnt work in other areas.

The main villain, Julian, was never really talked about throughout the novel and then in the last 20 pages we are given the reason why he is evil. It seemed overly rushed and i never got the feeling of 'wow, he is one mean guy.' Plus the name Julian? Come on, i have read 6 different vampire authors use that name. Find some other names for bad vampires!
Also, i didnt quite care for the telepathic and psychometry (huh?) humans. Vampires make it fantasy enough but all the 'special' humans made it seem sci-fi too.

There are also some pretty obvious and bad grammatical errors for a book of this size. And the cover and back make this book look like a comic graphic novel when it is surprisingly mature with some minor sexual scenes and graphic violence. Dont let the comic book cover and back fool you into thinking this is a childrens romp...

But in the end i read this book in one day and enjoyed it pretty well. It has a decent storyline and keeps you interested. And i loved that comment on vampires not using elevators, in case it gets stuck and theyre trapped until the sun rises. Very witty!

I also recommend Dhampir by the Hendee's as it is a wonderful read. But i must admit that Barb plucked many names and instances from Blood Memories for use in that book...

I was highly impressed with this story. I began reading this book with not much expectations. Any one who reads every week knows a good book is hard to come by and a good Vampire book even harder. Yet, one chapter in I knew this author had the chops to write a good story. The authors character development was a amazing! Case in point: for this first time in 15 years the author even managed to make me cry over the death of a character. Wow! Great book. There are two more coming out and I can't wait to read them.

The synopsis in a quick run down is below:

Eliesha was 17 when she was turned into a Vampire, from Wales originally, and the savant/nurse of a old and senile Lord. Flash forward to present day she is living in Portland and using a unique gift to seduce men in order to feed, the gift is vulnerability. She gets a phone call from a fellow vampire who she's know since the beginning, and considers a mentor. When she arrives at his house she realizes he has gone a bit off the deep end and is talking crazy. Right in front of her he leaps to his death off his own balcony as the sun comes up. Shocked, horrified, and devastated she crawls in his hidden chamber under the house right before the cops show up to investigate the scene. When she awakes the following evening she knows that the crime scene could very well lead the cops to her front door and get her in a lot of trouble.

She is caring for an older vampire, who seems like he has a few nuts loose himself, so out of desperation she does something she should never do. She contacts a another female vamp outside of her circle in Seattle for help. Maggie.

Maggie is a gorgeous vampire who has been using her gift of beauty to seduce men in her own right. When Eliesha arrives in Seattle at Maggie's door its against Maggie's best interest that she let her in, but she does.

A pact has been made between one the strongest Vampires, Julian, and his small flock -- no communication, and no living together. Eliesha has been alowed to take care of William, the older sickly vampire, but she is not alowed to seek out the help or companionship of any others.

Regardless, Eliesha and Maggie become fast friends and begin to form a bond, each learning from the other. Sadly this all comes to abrupt end when the cops narrow in on Eliasha's location. They are not ordinary cops either, one has the ability to touch an object and see the history of the item, and the other can read minds. This poses a very difficult situation for Eliesha and her new little family; it also brings some unwanted attention from two of the strongest Vampires still alive, Julian, and his French brother Phillip. Once they get involved things go from bad to worse and the story only gets better.

I don't want to give too much away, there is so much more to this story, and the writer plays it all out perfectly. Buy it, read it, and enjoy!!!

Originally published in 1998, Blood Memories is an odd book. In some ways, it's more in line with the gothic vampire-fiction trends begun by Anne Rice, while in other ways it's more reflective of the newer urban-fantasy trends influenced by Joss Whedon and early Laurell Hamilton.

On the Rice side of the scales: Barb Hendee's vampires kill, but are presented as sympathetic characters who don't enjoy killing. (In current urban fantasy, it's more common to find vamps who rarely kill, or else vamps who are wholly evil and like to kill.) There's a focus on the angst and loneliness of eternal life. The present-day narrative is broken up by expository chapters in which the main characters' life histories are revealed. Characters fall in love and/or become intimate friends just after meeting.

On the Buffy side: The present-day plot is fast-paced with plenty of guns and chase scenes. The prose is simple and straightforward, not languidly descriptive as it is in Rice's novels. Most importantly, there's a streak of female empowerment running through Blood Memories. The heroine, Eleisha, starts out dependent on others, and in the end takes control of...well, of a lot of things.

The result is a novel that sometimes feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be. The juxtaposition of action scenes and "memory" scenes threw me at first. I eventually got used to the frequent changes in pace, but it was an issue at the beginning.

The villain is a little anticlimactic when he finally appears. I realize that he has the power to make others fear him. It's good for him that he has that power, though. When he doesn't have it "switched on," he's not all that and a bag of chips. I kept wondering why no one had stood up to him earlier, especially when he first went "rogue" in the 1800s. The minor villain, a mortal, was scarier by far.

However, I enjoyed the development of Eleisha as a character. I didn't like her much in the beginning. By the end, I was cheering for her. She's not the gun-toting, uber-tough type of heroine we're used to, but she grows to be strong in her own way. Blood Memories was written at a turning point in the vampire genre, and I can almost see Eleisha's path as a metaphor for what was going on in the genre at the time. Out with brooding, in with strong heroines.

Barb Hendee is the well known New York Times author of the Nobel Dead Saga, which she co-writes with her husband J.C. I have never read that series, but when I was given Blood Memories, I decided to give it a try because I am always looking for new books dedicated to may favorite type of paranormal character- the vampire.

I was surprised to find out that Blood Memories was originally written by Barb twelve years ago. Even though it was an early manuscript, her publisher, Roc, was still interested in purchasing the title and publishing it. Barb realized it was a bit outdated and did some revisions.

Blood Memories is about vampire, Eleisha Clevon who has been around since the mid-nineteenth century ever since she was turned into a vampire by another, Julian, who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William Ashton for all eternity. Julian turned his father, thinking the change would make him sane again. That did not happen, and Julian was ashamed by what he did, so he banished both Eleisha and William to the states. They were able to survive and have been living in Portland, Oregon for almost a century. Since William cannot hunt, because he is still a feeble old man with dementia, Eleisha gives him rabbits to feed on. Eleisha is able to look young and vulnerable to those she targets. This allows her to overpower her prey and suck their blood, and most importantly, their life force out of the bodies. She has also has a very close vampire friend, Edward Claymore, who helped her when she first came to America. Edward decides he can no longer live as an undead predator. He kills himself while Eleisha watches. Eleisha is not the only one to witness Edward's suicide, as two police officers arrive on the scene and see a man come running towards them in flames.

Eleisha has no choice to run for safety. She and William find sanctuary with Maggie, another vampire from her past. Soon these two women are hunting together and for a short while Eleisha feels safe. Unfortunately, the two cops who saw Edward go up in flames, have been looking for Eleisha. These two men are empaths and one of them, Dominick, wants to kill Eleisha and all creatures like her. Dominic has a partner, Wade, who though Psychometry, the touching of objects, can know all about a person. Whereas Dominick feels the need to destroy, Wade wants to befriend Eleisha, because for the first time in his life, he feels in tune with another person. Eleisha and Wade are able to touch each other with their minds, and when Wade finds out about Eleisha's past and how she turned and why, he wants to protect her. As for Dominick, he has become delusional. And if that isn't bad enough, Julian has found out that Eleisha hasn't been staying under the radar and may be on his way to make things right, which makes Eleisha frightened to her very soul.

Even though Blood Memories has some interesting moments, there is something lacking within this story that could simply not hold my interest. The action comes on suddenly and things seem to jump around too much and a bit too fast in some passages, as if Hendee was trying to put as much information as she can out there without enough descriptions to back it up. I wish Hendee would have given more time with the flashbacks about Eleisha and Wade's past, rather than an overview.

I will say that Blood Memories should appeal to fans who have an interest in vampire lore along with a twist on the legend and myth. I did enjoy Eleisha, who was the most well rounded and most dimensional of all the characters. I could not stand Wade at all because he was very one-dimensional and not a worthy partner for Eleisha. I found him annoying and he really didn't bring any substance to the plot. I would have preferred if Eleisha was on her own because she would have come across as a better female heroine than to rely on a sap that I found Wade to be. Quiet honestly I found all of Hendee's male characters to be very lacking. It seems her strong suit was with Eleisha and Maggie.

With that in mind, would I want to read a sequel to Blood Memories? I would have to take a pass. This almost became a do not finish for me, and the only reason I stuck till the very end was because I wanted to see if Eleisha was able to come out on top. Perhaps the problem lies with Blood Memories not being refined enough and amateurish for my tastes.

Katiebabs

I just finished reading Blood Memories and I really liked it a lot. I read a lot of books in this genre, and I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable books I have come across in a long while. I was not a prior fan, not having read the Noble Dead series, but I certainly am now. Don't let the fact that this book is a re-issue deter you, Ms. Hendee did a great job of updating it and it seemed perfectly current to me.

This book tells the story of Eleisha, a modern day vampire who was "turned" in the 1800's, and who has existed in secrecy for almost 200 years. She has survived by doing what she must, using her unique "gift" to attract human victims whose blood she cannot live without. Her gift subtly alters how others perceive her, makes her seem to be helpless, utterly harmless and in need of protection. The use of her gift attracts both would-be good samaritan "protectors" and predators looking to take advantage of her. It is the latter who end up themselves as Eleisha's "prey". Though she has, over the years developed a sense of practicality and views humans as a commodity to some extent, she is not cruel and does not get any joy from taking lives.

Eleisha has been living quietly in Portland, performing what she considers to be her "purpose" (caring for an aged senile vampire, whose life she has been entrusted with) for many many years. The story begins when her life is shattered without warning by the "suicide via sunlight" death, in her presence, of her only vampire "friend". Edward's explosive death is also witnessed by two human cops on the scene, one of whom has a powerful reaction to the event that only other vampires should have. He feels the pain and violent discharge of psychic energy that occurs when a vampires dies because he too has a "gift". Wade can see into the minds of and read the thoughts of others. He and his partner, Dominick, (who also has a hidden gift) do not discover Eleisha at the scene but she sees his obvious reaction and somehow connects with his mind in a psychic way and realizes that he is "different".

When Eleisha again encounters Wade she realizes that not only can she see into his mind, but that he can read her thoughts too. She is terrified because she can read in his mind that he is able to recognize that she is not human, that she is something "other". Her whole life as a vampire has been about keeping her secret and his very existence threatens her carefully maintained charade. She feels she has no choice but to take her aged charge (William) and flee to the Seattle home of Maggie, the only U.S. vampire contact she has.

The chase ensues when Wade and Dominick follow her trail, each for their own purposes, and the action and suspense really heat up during subsequent encounters. Dominick, it seems, has gained a limited amount of knowledge about the existence of vampires and it has driven him mad, overwhelmed with hatred, fear and the need to eradicate that which he does not understand. As Eleisha discovers when they meet, Wade's interest in her is totally different. He is fascinated with her and profoundly curious to find out who and "what" she is and has no desire to harm her. They discover they can communicate with each other in a psychic way, and share with each other some of their histories. Much to her surprise, Eleisha finds she enjoys the freedom and the ability to be able to communicate with and connect with another person without having to always keep her guard up and worry about keeping her secret safe. Wade also finds their connection intriguing because with other humans he can hear their thoughts, but only Eleisha has been able to hear his in return.

I won't give away anymore of the plot here but be assured that Eleisha's exciting story will have you wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next right to the end.

This is a fairly dark, action filled book with very "realistic" seeming characters, a real vampire story that didn't slide into the "paranormal romance" area that is so prevalent today. There is action and violence to make the story exciting, but it is the vividly drawn characters and the compelling story of Eleisha's development and journey to self discovery under the most difficult circumstances that make this book stand out. A sure bet for fans of vampire thrillers, urban fantasy or even horror novels.

Eleisha, the main character, is a vampire centuries old. She's not a thinker; she reacts badly in dangerous situations, tending towards flight rather than confrontations. Half the book is her story. While somewhat likable, the woman is a total wimp (as opposed to heroine), and even her vampiric 'power' is appearing so helpless that men want to coddle her.

The other half the book are the life stories of a genuine psychic telepath and partial histories of other vampires. Eleisha's early life and turning are also given their own long flashback sequence. The reader gets these interruptions as Eleisha and the psychic (Wade the Annoying) share histories mind to mind. The actual main story is small, and the reading experience jumps around between lifetime flasback/histories and main story.

The book felt like a first novel, and not a particularly good one. The standout element is the main character is a female vampire, which is fairly common in current fiction. Hendee had a checklist of vampire myths to go through and debunk and/or verify in Eleisha's mental voice, because I remember more about her version of vampires can look in mirrors and sleep wherever than about Eleisha's triumphs.

The psychic stuff made the novel too blah for me, leaning on the side of deus ex 'now we understand each other, let's hug~' and well, that vibe struck me as out of left field. Plus the other off-putting about the novel is the vampires (including Eleisha) hunt every two days, resulting in fatality... you'd think even the most boneheaded police would notice 200 deaths a year from one area, especially with modern techniques for identifying serial killers.

I have read all of Barb's D'Hampire novels, I loved every one. This book, while different in that it is set in the now, was well worth the read. I wasn't sure how she could work a vampire into the here and now, but Barb is an incredible writer and pulled it off very well. I can't wait for her next book in this series. From start to finish the book "Blood Memories" was very satisfying to read with an ending that left me anxious to read the next one. Good Job Barb...

I loved this book.

It grabbed me from the first line and held me to the end.

While the story moves quickly, I still felt as if I really got to know the characters. It's sort of a chain-of-events novel where what happens in the first chapter is like dropping a pebble in a pond, and the events just rush forward from that point.

But several moments in this book really pull at the heart strings. And while the vampires are emotionally accessible, they think and behave like someone who has been alive for over two hundred years.

I can't wait for the sequel.