Customer Reviews

Blood Oath

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let's see....
Strong silent hero- check
Grizzled older agent- check
Young hotshot new agent- check
Muslim bad guy- check
mad Nazi doctor- check
hint of romance- check
sex scene- check
foul language- check
car chase- check
explosion- check....

Blood Oath is an enjoyable book about the vampire Nathaniel Cade, who is sworn by a voodoo curse to serve the president of the US and his appointed agents. It is a mystery with no complex plot twists to confuse us and has plenty of action.

Cade has pretty much lost all his humanity, which unfortunately gives us a rather cold protagonist. Thankfully, there are a few moments when Cade comes alive, so to speak, and we see glimpses of his complexity. Hopefully, the author will bring more to light in the sequels. The new liaison between Cade and the president is Zach, a political whiz-kid who got caught between the sheets with the First Daughter. He is taking over from ailing Griff, who's seen just about everything. Despite being stereotypical characters, they work well in the story and each are well-developed. The author does a great job of showing Zach's development and how he changes. Tania, Cade's sort-of romance interest, has great promise for upcoming sequels. She is a minor character, but one of the best. There's bad guys too, of course. But, if you are tired of Muslims as antagonists, as well as crazy Nazis, you'll find no relief here in Blood Oath- disappointingly, both are present.

Farnworth's style is rather spare. By that I mean he doesn't go in for much description of the scenery or the surrounding situation, but focuses mainly on the action. For me, this style gave it somewhat of a late draft flavor- the story is there but not yet completely fleshed out. Perhaps this is because Farnsworth is a scriptwriter- and this would make a great action movie. At any rate, and other readers might not mind his style at all, the premise is a novel one and easily held my attention. I look forward to a sequel, but hope the author comes up with something more original next time.

The book is nearly 400 pages long, has 69 chapters plus epilogue, and plenty of white space so it is a fast read. As noted, for those who prefer to avoid such, there's foul language and sex. Not worth $25, in my opinion, but with a big discount it would be a fun book to take to the beach.

"Blood Oath" is a nearly perfect suspense novel that neatly combines two different genres. The first (as is probably obvious by the title) is the vampire-as-superhero genre that you've probably seen in movies like "Underworld" or "Blade." The second is the historical political thriller, the likes of which we've seen quite often from John Clancy among others. The combination of the two is quite clever, and author Christopher Farnsworth writes well enough to make this a literal page-turner. "Blood Oath" is billed as the first in a potential series and if this is so, I'm looking forward to future adventures in the world that Farnsworth has created.

At the center of the novel is the vampire Nathaniel Cale, pardoned for vampirism by President Andrew Johnson, and subsequently required to loyally serve each subsequent president of the United States. Cale is an interesting character. Most vampires in recent fiction seem to me to be either decadent aristocrats (thanks to Anne Rice), or misunderstood romantics ala Barnabas Collins of "Dark Shadows." Cale seems closer to James Bond than any vampire prototype I'm familiar with. He's a character whose found an acceptable outlet for his ruthless tendencies and takes pride in his unique set of skills and professionalism. Cale makes the novel work, although virtually every lead character is well-fleshed out. We have Konrad, a sinister German scientist who is described as the model for Dr. Frankenstein, Tania, a female vampire enthralled with Cale, and Zach Barrows, an arrogant young Washington insider assigned to work with Cale. (Zach, among all the characters, is allowed a tremendous degree of character growth for a suspense novel.) But make no mistake, these characters exist primarily in relation to Cale.

The plot concerns an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States (written here as a thinly disguised Obama) through occult means. I would write more about this, but I'm afraid I would spoil the plot and I don't want to do that. Suffice to say, despite what seems at first to be an exceptionally derivative idea ends up being a truly thrilling suspense novel. Farnsworth also ends up making such supernatural creatures such as zombies, werewolves, vampires, and Frankenstein monsters seem original again. This is no mean feat as we've been innundated with these monsters for the better part of a century! (However, as this is a suspense novel, chills come in second. This isn't as scary as a Stephen King novel, and isn't supposed to be).

I strongly recommend this novel for anyone who loves both horror and thriller genres.

All most people remember about President Andrew Johnson was that he became President only because Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated and he missed being impeached by one vote. Apparently he also gave a secret Presidential pardon to a young vampire and got a Voodoo priestess to bind the vampire to whoever was currently President. It seems that there is a whole legion of other worldly threats to humanity, other vampires, zombies and of course mad scientists that the public is kept blissfully unaware of.

As the novel (the first of a proposed series) begins an ambitious young aide has been sent to begin his newest assignment. one that he is certain will not be a promotion since he had been caught in bed with the First Daughter. Little did Zach realize that he had been selected to replace Special Agent Griffin to work with the President's Vampire. The good news is that it is a lifetime assignment, the bad news is that it just might not be as long term as it sounds.

The action is quite fast paced, the outrageous plot elements are presented in such a way as to sound plausible and the characters are written well enough to come to life. As with most first novels of a series lots of time is spent establishing the premise and back stories which does slow down the first half to a certain extent. Once the groundwork is laid the action takes off leading to an exciting, if foreseeable ending. What distinguishes BLOOD OATH from large pack of thrillers-with-supernatural-aspects is the author's dry sense of humor. There are numerous little jokes sprinkled throughout, particularly in the excerpts of briefing book that open many chapters.

This is a fun read. It is unusual and complex enough to keep the reader's interest but not so demanding that it requires prolonged focus, which makes this a great book to take along while traveling or waiting for the kid's soccer practice to end. This reader is looking forward to more adventures of Cade and Zach.

I am pretty vampired out, and the only bloodsucking series nowadays that I really look forward to reading are P.N. Elrod's VAMPIRE FILES and Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN. But along comes BLOOD OATH by Christopher Farnsworth, and damn if I don't want to see more of its indomitable central character. His weasely sidekick, though, I can take or leave.

BLOOD OATH is yet one more novel striving to rake in from the recent fan love outpouring generated from TWILIGHT and TRUE BLOOD, but don't let that put you off. BLOOD OATH, it turns out - and never mind the uninspired title - is promising enough that I wouldn't say nah to future installments. Farnsworth takes an old tidbit from a writer named Charles Hoy Fort and runs away with it. Fort, who did a life's work researching the grotesque and the inexplicable, dug up the story of a man accused of vampirism and sentenced to hang until President Andrew Johnson intervened and commuted the sentence to lifetime imprisonment (WILD TALENTS). This true account can also be found in Robert Schneck's THE PRESIDENT'S VAMPIRE.

Nathaniel Cade won't charm anyone with his sparkling personality or, for that matter, with any vampiric mesmerizing powers. Cade is one of the bloodsucking undead, has been since 1867, but he doesn't have the ability to hypnotize. Nathaniel is a monster, but he's on our side. There's nothing that complicated about Cade. He's a blunt instrument sworn to serve and protect the office of the American Presidency and the welfare of this nation, and there's enough humanity left in him that he's not conflicted about this. Although perhaps the mystical blood oath has something to do with it. For the past fourteen decades, Nathaniel Cade had been battling the strange and the supernatural that prey from the Other Side, preventing the reality of the occult from becoming common knowledge to the public. Ignorance is bliss.

Cade is oddly likable, despite his impassive persona, and it's because the writer gives us enough backstory on him. There are several distasteful characters here, but one guy I couldn't warm up to - but whom Farnsworth probably wants the reader to like - is Cade's young new handler, Zack Barrows. Barrows is one of those cocky, conniving politicos with his eyes firmly on the prize. His career takes an unexpected turn when he's assigned to Cade, and maybe his dangerous posting can be credited to Zack's having gotten caught sleeping with the President's daughter. Or maybe Barrows really is the best man for the job. But Cade doesn't take fools lightly, and Zack tends to be the jokey sort. It's an uneasy alliance.

"More action, less angst" is my new credo when it comes to vampire tales, and BLOOD OATH fits the bill nicely. Cade is a savage, bottom-line type of anti-hero, kinda like how I want my vampire lead to be nowadays (excepting Elrod's Jack Fleming, of course). I got the feeling that if existentialism were to ever sniff around Cade, he'll take that sucker and twist its paltry neck. The action is brutal, and Cade unleashed is awesome to behold.

I really enjoy Farnsworth's world-building. He crafts a history encompassing both the paranormal and real life historical events (there's a funny bit here about Nixon wanting to sic Cade on those two meddlesome reporters). Kicking off most of the chapters are excerpts from the eyes-only briefing book about Cade. These excerpts enlighten us not only to Cade's capabilities (scientifically broken down) but also to behind-the-scenes material concerning those fun old horror flicks such as I WAS A TEENAGED FRANKENSTEIN and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

And, if there weren't enough conspiracies simmering, Cade and Barrows must also contend with a sinister shadow agency within the fabric of the American government. But that's just a bite in the ankle compared to Cade's main adversary, the depraved immortal scientist on whom the Frankenstein legend was based. In this present day, Dr. Johann Konrad has recreated (and upgraded) his Unmenschsoldaten, and these walking corpses are frightening enough that even a monster like Cade may pause before wading in.

BLOOD OATH isn't the first series to feature monster slayers that are presidentially sanctioned. Teddy Roosevelt endorsed MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL, and, before that, Lincoln established BUREAU 13. If you enjoyed BLOOD OATH and would like more of the same, then check these books out. The caveat is that these two other series are laced with more humor, something sorely lacking in BLOOD OATH (except for the chapter-opening excerpts which demonstrate a sort of whimsy). And, no, Zack Barrows's snide remarks don't count.

Personally, I am getting sick of all the drippy romantic vampire drivel that's currently being churned out because of the "Twilight" craze.

So it's something of a relief to come across a book like "Blood Oath," which instead focuses on a really cool concept -- what if there were a vampire secret agent who had been serving the US president for the last century-and-a-half? "Blood Oath" at times feels like a paint-by-numbers thriller, but the fast pace, solid prose and inclusion of vampire intrigue make it a fun read.

Zach Burrows is an ambitious, fast-rising young political figure... until he's caught fooling around with the president's teenage daughter. So he's reassigned to a new post: the presidential liaison to Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who is blood-oathed to the president, and who does all sorts of secret missions to destroy supernatural threats to the United States.

Their first mission: jihadist terrorists are shipping dismembered American soldiers into the U.S., intending to create Unmenschsoldat -- undead killing machines, better known as Frankenstein monsters.

So Cade and the reluctant Zach are sent to find the one man who can create those monsters, but are unable to prove anything. Even worse, they have attracted hostile attention from several different areas -- the monstrous Dr. Konrad, a beautiful vampire, and a terrifying Shadow Company which knows no mercy. They're determined to bring down the United States, even the world as we know it... and Cade too.

It doesn't come as a surprise that Christopher Farnsworth is a screenwriter, because "Blood Oath" reads like the novelization of a fast-paced action thriller. It has some well-placed flashbacks, evil terrorists, flashy political conspiracies, and a sort of James Bond vampire (minus the girls) -- even the action-packed opener feels like the teaser to a movie, right before the opening credits.

The biggest flaw in the book is that sometimes it feels a little too by-the-numbers as an action thriller. However, it's also lots of fun -- Farnsworth blasts through a fast-moving plot, and fills the pages with plenty of action, horrific gore and snappy dialogue ("Someone has to protect the meek until they can inherit the Earth"). Compared to all that soppy "Twilight" drivel, Farnsworth's prose has a sleek masculine tang that's very refreshing.

He also inserts lots of pseudoscientific/pseudohistorical snippets from classified files, deftly fleshing out the whole idea of a presidential vampire. Plus, he inserts some clever nods to H.P. Lovecraft and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

And Cade is very chilly and introverted, but also very capable and intelligent. Despite believing that he's eternally damned, he's also a creature of strong morals and rock-solid beliefs. Farnsworth does an excellent job depicting a man of the mid-1800s who has grown and changed over the centuries, even if he has the quirky habit of using outdated slang. Zach is an annoying little twerp at first, but becomes more likable over time.

"Blood Oath" follows the mold for action thrillers, but adds in plenty of supernatural chills and vampiric problems. Here's hoping for more stories to come.

Blood Oath
Christopher Farnsworth
G.P. Putnam's Sons
2009

An Early Reviewer uncorrected proof.

Blood Oath is a fast paced, tightly written espionage novel that happens to star a vampire.

I was interested to see how this blending of Horror and espionage would turn out. I wasn't disappointed. The book is a great read and may actually lead male readers back to vampire novels.

Summary: Cade, a vampire, and Zach, his young, political hot-shot,handler, are sent to investigate and prevent a modern Frankenstein's Monster situation. They run into opposition from every side, including their own.

The characters are well thought out, the world recognizable as our own, and the situations believable.

A great adventure/espionage novel and a great horror novel.

I look forward to reading more of Farnsworth's work.

5 stars.

I was lucky that a friend in the US sent me an advance copy, and I am both glad and grateful that she did.

Cocky young White House staffer is given a rather unusual job. The White House has the use of a vampire who is used to defend the US from non human threats. The vampire is tied to the President by oath and is used as a secret weapon and his existence is known to very few.

An unusual take on the many vampire books that are about, part vamp story, part thriller and it is a lot of fun. It has excellent pace and the perfect blend of humour, thrills and menace. Yes, there may be elements that are not original but the concept is a good one and it works rather well, it almost is a guilty pleasure - as you churn through the pages you know you shouldn't be enjoying it, but you are! Even when our heroes(?) come up against a bunch of rather stock in trade bad guys, you don't really mind because you are having so much fun reading this.

Given this was the author's first book, this was impressive and he can only get better! It also looks possible that there are more adventures in store for these guys and that is very good news indeed.

Once I started reading this book, I did not want to put it down - it is fabulous! It could be described as sort of a vampire meets James Bond meets Charles Stross' Laundry (On Her Majesty's Occult Service), but with a few twists all of its own - such as the fact that the author uses actual events from the history of the US as a base for the book! (See The President's Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America and Oval Office Occult: True Stories of White House Weirdness for just two of the books he references).

Zach Burrows has been working hard in the White House - he is ambitious and has plans to go places and be someone. Then, to his surprise and chagrin, he finds himself relegated to a top secret position as the partner to the president's secret weapon - a vampire named Nathaniel Cade, who was pardoned from a death sentence 140 years ago contingent on taking a blood oath to protect the President (then Andrew Jackson) and those under the President's orders. Cade and Burrows are there to tackle the sorts of problems that most people don't even know exist - and probably wouldn't believe exist if they were to find out.

Keeping in mind that what I was reading was a bound galley, I also have to comment that this is the cleanest text I have seen since ... I can't remember when. I didn't notice any typos, grammatical issues or continuity errors (that's not to say there weren't any, just that they weren't obvious enough to catch my eye), and this on only the galley - I'm impressed. If only more books were this clean when they were published in the FINAL form!

That said - this is the first book in a promised series, and I for one can NOT wait to see where it goes. I'm hooked already - write fast, Mr. Farnsworth - write like the wind. You have one die-hard fan here already!

This book is the most fun I've had reading so far this year. Really. As fantastic as a 140 year old Secret Service vampire who has been sworn to protect the President story can sound, nothing about this story was fantastic. Except it WAS fantastic! If you're looking for that "holy crap this book has everything book" book, then I can not recommend this book more. The action is in this book's DNA, the blood and gore are its red blood cells, but the oxygen that keeps it alive is the story. At the beginning of most of the chapters we are treated to small bits (sorry for the pun) of the `Presidents Vampire Manual'. Here we learn about the secrets, the history, the strengths, and the weaknesses of Cade. Utterly fascinating!

We first meet Cade in Kosovo battling terrorists for the US. I know, I know, you've heard it all before. But ooooooh my dear reader you couldn't be MORE wrong! We quickly learn that terrorists are BY FAR not even in the same breath of evil as some of the things Cade has had to fight. 99% of the time I shy away from books that deal in the supernatural because I just don't like it. But there is that 1% that makes me a believer. `Blood Oath' is in that 1%. And what would a Presidential Vampire be without a nemesis? And we get a good one y'all. Konrad. That name means nothing to you if you haven't read this book... but it will when you wake up screaming, begging the imps of hell to put you out your misery.

The author does a magnificent job of telling a stunning story that will drag you kicking and shrieking well past your bedtime. This is one of those "real" vampire novels here people. Nothing frilly or lacy here. Testosterone abounds a-plenty and wimpy can only be found in one of them red, blue and green books. As bad as I want to go on, I feel if I say anymore I'll just be gushing... and since I'm not a young girl on prom night... (ok, one more thing: I loved everything about this book. There. I'm done)!

I usually stick to my "go-to" authors like Crais, DeMille, Child, Hunter and Flynn when it comes to fiction. But i picked this book up at the airport and decided to give it a try. I'm happy i did - this is a solid book. I wasn't crazy about some aspects of the book - even though ithas vampires and monsters, i just didn't find some "human" elements and characters to be very believable. But the book really shines when it delves into the world of said Vampires and Monsters. There are 4 or 5 characters in this book that are really fun and develish. Overall, it's a nice ride. I'd read another from this author...