Customer Reviews

Bloodline

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Is your life lacking suspense and thrill? If so, Bloodline is the book for you! This thrilling story begins when Lt. John Shaw is given a journal from his sister before he is shipped out to the wet, dirty trenches of World War I. In this red journal, Lt. Shaw records his life in the trenches, and the horrible nightmare that follows.
His head officer, Capt. Quincey Harker is a fearless leader, but to Shaw, there is also something sinister about him. Capt. Harker goes off on night raids alone to the enemy trenches. Sometimes, shrieks of terror can be heard from across no-mans' land. One night while Harker is out on his raids, Shaw picks up a disturbing German radio signal. "Evil walks...The men are dead...Slaughtered like animals...No one left." This starts the twisting, turning plot that gives you the thrill and suspense you get when you see a scary horror movie. When the Germans invade the trench, Harker sets about trying to stop the Germans like every other man, but when he kills one with his saber, he drags him into a dark recess in the walls of the trench. This makes you wonder what exactly is happening. When Shaw picks up the radio call, he scrambles across no-man's land to have a look at the German trench. There is no one alive, and the trench floor is covered with blood. In the distance, Shaw sees a black shape holding a German soldier's neck in its mouth. Cary describes the scene so well that you can feel John's fear. Also, in Transylvania, near Castle Dracula, the shepherds' staffs have big crosses on the top to ward off vampires. Furthermore, every structure in the village is dressed in garlic for the same purpose as the staffs. In addition the suspense and thrill, Bloodline is well written in a creative way. The story is told through the journals of four completely different characters. Lt. John Shaw, the victim of a complicated, evil plan, Mary Steward, Shaw's soon to be wife, Lily Shaw, another victim and John's brother, and finally Capt. Quincey Harker, the vampire and executer of the sinister plan. The varied settings like the muddy trenches of WWI, the sanatorium, Carfax Hall, Transylvania, and Castle Dracula never get boring. Each is so different that you wonder how they are all related. Cary described the trenches as "a dark world of narrow alleyways...the earth walls rose eight feet on either side of me as I climbed down into the huge trough. For a moment, I wondered if this must be what it is like descending into one's own grave." I felt like I was there; it sounded so real. I could not put the book down; the story kept drawing me in. Every page is filled with such excitement that you can't stop for fear of losing it.

I found this book in the public library; what caught my eye was the name of the book; the name Bloodline seems so Mysterious it draws you in and you cant help but find out why exactly is the book called like that!
Personally I am searching 4 my own family Bloodline * my past * So this book has come just in time; In the sense that I can relate 2 the characters desperate 2 know the family's past; if they really have a important bloodline that they carry in their veins... then again not many people know the secret...
Anyway only a few pages into this book & I knew I was into something really good. This Book has it all!! Its Amazing = Better than the old boring version of Dracula > who some say is a Eternal Classic { yeah whatever if you're into that version; But Bloodline delivers what you want in a book;
Romance,Horror,Gore,mysterious unpredictable characters that when you think you have someone so figured out they turn around with a shocking twist! The cleverness of Kate Cary is Outstanding that she should be the next J.K. Rowling * Yeah alright I dared 2 make that statement, But I fully support this book* Its everything I wanted and more...
and I cant wait 2 read the sequel Bloodline Book two..
If this book get's turned into a movie I wouldnt be surprised : )
*A diamond in the rough*

I was gripped, couldn't wait for the story to unfold and had to keep reading. There are love stories entwined with the vivid darker happenings, so there are messages of hope and goodness along with the dark and gory side. The plot develops with some really neat twists, some of which you anticipate, some you don't...

Bloodline, like the original Dracula, follows a format of a collection of journals, diaries, and letters told from different characters' point of view. The thing that really made this book incredible is how the story unfolds. In the beginning we have really no ideas of what Harker's real motives are. Later in the story, everything is explain and put together. Once John reaches the castle, many horrific truths are revealed that will astound the reader. As the story progresses, romances between John and Mary occur. Bloodline is a must-read for fans of horror and sci-fi. The plot develops with unexpected twists, and a love story is intertwined with a much darker and horrific side of Bloodline. Bloodline is a new generation of vampire stories and would appeal to middle-school student up to high school, depending on maturity.

I bought the book thinking it would be a very good follow-up to the original Dracula. Even the information on the jacket sounded like it would be good. But then I got to the story itself and got to when they reintroduced Mina. Utterly disappointed me. Mina was redeemed at the end of the original book and to see her back as a bride of Dracula really disappointed me. Was not happy with that twist.

And John's personality shift was almost out of left field after he became a vampire. Was disappointed there as well. I had liked the character up until the point he let his step-mother (if you could call her that) seduce him into being a vampire.

I will admit that one of the few characters that moved me was Quincey Harker - but to change the origin of the character didn't seem to fit. I don't remember Mina being that intimate with Dracula in the original novel...

Would not recommend this book to any fan of the original novel.

Bloodline I will admit was a page turner, but Mina...just no you can't do that. If you read Dracula you might be a little dissapointed this book could never in a million years live up to Bram Stroker's Dracula. Just like all classic things they are better left WITHOUT! sequals like the ever famous classic romance vampire novel Dracula.

I loved this book--as well as its sequel "Bloodline Book 2: Reckoning"--but I just want people to know, it's a young adult book. If you're looking for a book that is a sequel to Dracula--the Bram Stoker original--look no further than the one written by Stoker's great-grandson, Dacre Stoker. That is titled "Dracula: the Un-dead" I believe--another great read. But back to "Bloodline"--absolutely entertaining, great price, and I gobbled it up eagerly. I'd recommend it for people who like books about vampires--if you don't, then don't bother reading the book. Also, I'd recommend it for people who have either read the Bram Stoker original or who have a thorough knowledge of it or else you'll be somewhat lost on how the characters are related and the back-story. It has a great plot, leaves you questioning until the very end, and there is an unexpected twist! Read the sequel, too, if you enjoyed this one! Just one thing: the one I ordered had stickers on the cover. Sure, it was used, I just am very finicky about stickers on my books, particularly ones that leave behind a residue. The stickers weren't even from the seller which was why I was annoyed. They should have been removed prior to selling it to me. Must look for some WD-40.

As a teacher I am interested in finding literature that young readers will enjoy and be engaged by. Bloodline is such a book. Kate Cary revisits the story of Dracula with familiar names (Seward and Harker) and settings(Whitby in England and of course a certain castle in the Carpathian Mountains.) The opening in the trenches of the First World War is quite realistic as terrified German soldiers describe a blood thirsty fiend they have seen on trench raids. The book is written in an epistolary style like the original Dracula. The ending has a twist and there is a sequel. Readers can enjoy this tale without being familiar with the original although being a fan of Dracula might bring readers to the book. This novel may inspire young readers to tackle the Stocker original and that is a bonus. This author never talks down to young readers and gives a new spin on an old classic. As the Count would say "I bid you welcome."

Bloodline
By Kate Cary
"Blood from last nights raid has hardly dried on my uniform, still the familiar craving builds in my belly, I long to wield my sword. I can feel the blade slicing through the air then skin then flesh then bone." - Captain Quincy Harker
Bloodline is a dramatic suspenseful horror filled novel like no other. One of love, loss, and inevitable death from the journals of Captain Harker, Lieutenant Shaw, Miss Shaw, and Mary Steward on there attempts to end Dracula's bloodline.
When John Shaw returns from the dark and cold trenches of WWI, he is haunted by bloody, gory, and realistic nightmares. Unfortunately there very real and he is soon he will find out how horrible things really are.
The Book has audience from Tweens to Young Adults, However the audience matures as the book goes on. The Plot has a very distinctive plot it's not what one would expect, actually it's the exact opposite. The climax, the middle of the book isn't the most exciting it's the driest and boring point and then it starts back up. The book is a romantic novel gone wrong.
The book has a great hook where it develops its characters by engulfing the reader in the action of the trenches of World War 1 she makes them so real and alive. Although the middle drags, all in all it's a great book.

This is truly a horrifying, yet intriguingly fantastic book.

John Shaw, a young man who was born in Romania and then moved to live in England not long before both parents died, joins the army. His new boss, Captain Harker, is known to be mysterious, but a great leader none the less. John notices something different about the captain. Something inhuman.

John winds up in a hospital bed, half crazy and half dead. A nurse named Mary takes him under her wing, and brings him back to sanity. It didn't take much for them to fall in love. Just as they're love starts to brew so does another. Captain Harker returned to see John in the hospital, and John continues to tell himself that his nightmarish memories of his time in the trenches with Quincey Harker was all just a dream. Little does he know at the time how utterly true these images that haunt him are.

This second love sparks between Lily, John's younger sister and Quincey. While John is away on a business trip (by now he has fully recovered and lives in his house again) Lily leaves him with quite a surprise. He comes back to find a note from her saying that Quincey has asked her to marry him. She said yes, and he brought her back to Romania, where they are both originally from. John asks Mary for advice and she asks her father. He said he knew that name, Harker, that it was the bloodline from Count Dracula and Tepes. His soon to be brother-in-law is a vampire. They must venture to Castle Dracul, where John discovers things about his family, about his life, and about himself that he would have never thought possible only a few days previously. What was his fate? Find out in Bloodline.
- Sam Waterstone