Customer Reviews

Revenant

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

 

 

Jack Hunter is an archeologist supervising a dig in Santorini, with little hope of finding anything of note. However, one day his crew finds a grave which is a mass of contradictions. The workers warn Jack that he should leave this skeleton untouched, but Jack's curiosity and sense of discovery won't let him leave well enough alone. When strange things begin happening Jack must confront the reality of the myth of the "vrykolakas" and the consequences of Jack's involvement with him.

Belas is a "vrykolakas" or revenant. In Greece few things are feared more than a revenant, because their whole reason for existence is revenge. Belas approaches Jack with a deal Jack couldn't refuse: a little blood, sweat and semen in exchange for the archeological find of a lifetime. The object of Belas' revenge is not within his reach, so he diverts himself avenging himself for lesser wrongs, but in the meantime his relationship with Jack evolves and becomes something neither one of them recognizes. How will they bridge the chasm of death between them?

Revenant is a tale of horror and suspense, which is rich in detail and intrigue. The characters are really well drawn, the plot is well developed and it touches on the themes of revenge, jealousy, ambition, love and friendship. However, I found the characters unappealing and unsympathetic. While reading the book I at times felt that I was watching a gruesome car accident but unable to look away. The most difficult thing for me about reading this book was that I couldn't see things working out to a happy ending for Jack or Belas and I'm still unsure how I feel about the actual ending. Revenant is not a light or short read, and I would only encourage you to get it if you really enjoy dark and anguished circumstances where the characters' endings are ambiguous.

Sabella
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Months after reading this as an e-book, I am still frustrated with this one. The setting in the Greek island of Santorini with its varied characters is charming. Jack Hunter, the brilliant archaelogist doomed from the day he discovered the skeletons of an ancient vampire, is very likable and well developed. Belas, the revenant vampire cursed to wander restlessly until he finds revenge, is an intriguing and haunted character. Unfortunately the writer does not make the effort to delve more into Belas. Jack meeting Belas and their mutual attraction take off well. But as the story progresses, the romance soon makes way for an education in archealogical histories and Greece geography. While I appreciate the knowledge, I am expecting hot romance and sex between the 2 guys, which is sadly lacking. The introduction of one sexy professor wishing to possess Jack does enliven the romance angle but again is not well explored. As for the ending I find it weak, abrupt and rather cold.
This is one story which leaves me irritated. The idea and the setting are refreshing, the characters interesting, the writing of good quality but the writer seems hesitant about the idea of M/M love.

The writing is overly bland. It appears intentional. Perhaps to suggest a dream-like state for the main character? That's the problem. You just don't know. The ending is a total cop-out and anti-climactic. Worse, the ending is in contradiction to the rules of the mythology created within the book. Take note 1)Others have tagged this as a vampire story. There is almost nothing in the book to justify that tag. This is really a story about a vengeful ghost. 2) Others have tagged this as gay romance. There is almost no romance. There is almost nothing gay. It most certainly does not explore the emotions or dynamics. There is almost no exploration of emotional conflict for the main character who has never experienced this type of attraction before. There is no explanaton of why the revenant is gay. According to the backstory he wasn't gay during life. There is no explanation of whether he is now actually gay, or if he is only attracted to the main character as a person, with gender not even being a factor. 3) The back cover of the book says "Warning, this title contains the following: m/m sex." However when I finished reading, I turned the back cover to close the book, saw the warning, the only thing that went through my head was "really? where?" I had to go back to see what I'd missed. There's only one scene I can find that could be technically considered sex. There are only three kisses that I could find. There is absolutely -nothing- that could even be considered descriptive in those instances, let alone anything that could be considered explicit. All-in-all I am disappointed that I had purchased this book and spent time reading it rather than a book that would have been entertaining and enjoyable.

At the beginning of the twenty century, Jack is a young Englishman in Santorini; he is following a dig near a church and he makes a stunning discovery: the tomb of a man; the burial seems to be prehistoric, but there are remains from all over the age, till the last, an eighteen century coin. The peasants are murmuring of evil, the tomb was not in a holy place, and the body was chained. But Jack is not a man who can be scared by superstition, and so he takes with him the skeleton, actually freeing it from its "eternal" rest.

Then Jack begins to receive strange letters from a man named Belas, a man who promises to Jack fame and fortune in exchange of very little from him: his blood.

The story now resembles a bit the myth of Eros and Psyche, with Eros pretending by his spouse that she never looks at him when he visits her at night. Belas asks to Jack to wait for him at night, blindfolded and naked, ready to satisfy Belas' desires. But probably Belas also satisfies Jack's desires, since the sexual attention of Belas are not unwelcomed by Jack. And even when Jack realizes that Belas is killing people in the village, he can't blame the man who is searching his vengeance; in the contrary, Jack offers himself as weapon for Belas' vengeance.

But then enters Gabriel, a young doctor. Gabriel fancies Jack, and he is convinced that Jack is suffering from madness... Belas is not real, it's a figment of Jack's mind, and what Jack imputes to Belas, in reality are Jack's actions... who is right? Is it possible that this is not a paranormal event, but only the oddity of an ill mind?

The story is very well written; it's a very good mix of paranormal and historical, letting the reader wondering till the end about the true nature of the tale. In the end Jack is only a man with a deep need of love, a need he brings with him since he was a child, a need that he tries to fulfill in everyway... Belas, Gabriel, are only tools for his trìhirst of love.

Belas could be real and if he is real, he is a man who has suffered for so long that his mind is cloudy with pain; if he isn't real, he is only the true nature of Jack, the passionate and outspoken man who Jack has never had the courage to be.

Gabriel is the man who bears the sin of his fathers. He is not a bad man, but he is too avid of fame; probably he, in a way, really loves Jack, but he is not the man who can save Jack, he is not enough strong.

At almost 300 pages, Revenant is an historical / paranormal / mystery romance... all genre are mixed together in a very good way.

I have not read very many vampire/gay books but the ones I have read are pretty much overtly sexual and I have no problem with that.This book however reads like an H.Rider Haggard piece with bits of the history of the vampire revealed in pieces. I found that the subtlety of the sexual encounters made them that much more erotic.
I agree the ending was a bit cold but inevitable. I'd like to read much more from this author. Why are vampires so erotically alluring?