Tomes of Shadowstalking

Welcome to the land of shadows, where evil is the greatest power, where nightfall marks the birth of terror, where your very soul is at risk. Join me as I investigate worlds filled with black magic and dark souls and encounter the monsters rule these wicked places.

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Someone...or something...is going around Houston, leaving behind bodies drained of blood and, in several instances, apparently torn apart from the inside by some violent or sadistic rapist. But who could be doing it, and why? Without any major leads, the chief of detectives has called in experts who may, or may not, be able to shed some light on things. Among them is Matthew Carter, an ER physician and university hospital instructor who happened to be the one who tried to save the first victim they encountered. But what no one realizes is that there's more at stake than simply finding the killer. Because the killer himself has a purpose to fulfill, one that becomes more and more important as a disease spreads in his blood, a disease that kills ordinary humans and those of the killer's breed alike. Who will win in this desperate battle of wits and research: Matt and his team, the killer, or the disease?

Night Blood is, as you've no doubt guessed, another vampire novel. What sets this book apart from others in its genre is that it is the vampire himself who is searching for a cure, not just to the disease that's killing him, but also to the medical condition that has made him what he is. Usually it is the other way around, with someone else working to cure the vampire's vampirism.

Believe it or not, the diseases the author mentions in the book are real. The author, a medical doctor, clearly states in his endnote that the two diseases, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (a,k,a, Subacute Spongiform Encephalopathy) and Erythropoietic Uroporphyria, are existent in modern society, with the first having a fairly well-known (now) variant called "Mad Cow" disease make the news in recent years. And surely any vampire fan has heard of porphyria, which leaves a sufferer pale, highly sensitive to light, and in need of blood to survive (as in whole transfusions). Scary? I think so!

As graphic as this novel is, I hesitate to recommend it to a general reading audience. On the other hand, if you're reading this review it means you have a taste for horror and won't be easily upset by reading about blood and gore. Just to warn you: there's a whole lot of it in this novel! You have been warned!

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