This story catches the reader at the first page and does not release until the last. The writing is essential, sometimes lyric, drawing the reader into the lives of two character. Rurik is a former circus strongman, reassigned to security when his face was horribly scarred after he was struck by lightning. Sylvie is a Bloodwalker, born into a heritage dating back centuries, of women attending to the bodies of the dead. The story, told from two viewpoints, flows seamlessly, transporting the reader into a rural Slavic culture, where the cellphone is an anomaly. I felt that I was in a bygone time throughout the story, somewhat surprised when briefly brought into current times.

When the circus leaves a town, a child goes missing. Rurik has seen a figure in the garb of a circus performer, attempt to take a child. He acts upon his suspicions that it’s a member of the circus who has been taking the children, one at a time, as the circus moved from town to rural town.

Sophie is a young Bloodwalker, at the circus grounds for her wedding arranged by her mother in the Bloodwalker tradition. She has doubts of her abilities and calling as a Bloodwalker, but the tradition passed down through her mother's lineage must be maintained, and she will embrace its expression while she seeks its essence within herself.

The wedding ceremony is disrupted, Rurik and Sophie inadvertently encounter each other, and their stories, their doubts about their abilities, their loyalty to culture, family, friends are revealed in chapters related in their unique voices.

The terror builds, relentless and mesmerizing. When members of the circus are attacked, killed, and a child of the circus is taken, Rurik’s suspicions turn another way. When Sophie’s two fellow brides are killed, stabbed through the back, she finds herself drawn into a facet of her heritage few living members know.

The stories converge as each realizes the horrific reality that lay barely hidden in the facade of apparent normalcy. Secrets are revealed, fantasy becomes real, and horrors of the past come face up in the present.

The intensity of this story is relentless and immanent. Horror blends horror with fantasy and mystery, the essence of family conflict and loyalty, whether by blood kin or kindred community, doubt and fear and self-realization. Make time to read this in large bites, as you will not want to put it down, as you seek, with Rurik and Sylvie, a way to first solve, then end the horror that is escalating throughout the story. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading more of the author’s work.

Readers of horror, fantasy and mystery, action-adventure; circus/carny life; unique and little known cultures.

the depth of character, storytelling that kept me in the moment throughout; the culture of the Bloodwalkers, steeped in history, circus life and relationships, all real and immanent; amidst relentless terror of the unknown.

Read more by the author.

The author is a good storyteller; point made.

The terror is relentless, while fear and doubt morph into courage and strength of will, with a climax that's unexpected but once revealed, fits the story.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Bloodwalker   from Amazon.Com!

Created Nov 15, 2018 at 12:32am • Submit your own review...