Made in Blood (The Vampire Communion) by Alex Redford; Vampires Approach The End of the World

 Made in Blood (The Vampire Communion) by Alex Redford; Vampires Approach The End of the World 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Here's a question that I thought that I would never be asking. What do vampires do when the world is coming to an end? This unlikely brain teaser is the raison d'etre of the Horror novel Made in Blood The Vampire Communion by Alex Redford.

In the book, an asteroid will destroy the Earth in 55 days. Despite the government’s assurance that everything will be fine, it's on its way and nothing can stop it. This is a problem for everyone but especially Oliver and his fellow vampires. They need sustenance and more vampires so they try to transform as many humans as they possibly can. Oliver engages in a romance with Emily, a mortal woman. As if that's not bad enough, a newly created vampire is going on a senseless killing rampage.

This book is a strange combination of Horror and Science Fiction that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It makes the book unique in the glut of vampire horror and end of the world Apocalyptic science fiction to combine the two. However the blend has a tendency to muddle the two halves to the point where they are explored too much or not enough.

The vampire aspects are rather interesting if typical for the genre. Oliver is the usual brooding, Byronic, wealthy vampire despairing about immortality while thinking about that one human love. His relationships with his fellow vampires are insightful as he treats them as family with some that he considers siblings and parents. 

Then there are others who are sworn enemies and rivals. It's kind of odd that despite this upcoming destruction, the vampires still retain their centuries of rivalry. I suppose even when the natural elements are all depleted, they will still have years of scores to settle. 

There is another monstrous vampire character that frightens even the long term vampires. They operate on rules, codes, and logic. They are part of clans and protect one another. Sometimes, they even broker alliances with humans which are on the increase now since they need meals and some humans want to survive the end by any means necessary.

The Vampire Monster has no rules or standards. They are the vampire equivalent of a psychopathic serial killer. They kill without remorse, feeling, and out of a deranged kill or be killed mentality. The other vampires despair about a monster that they created but now can't handle and technically don't have time to do so.

With one exception, the human characters are a bit more wanting. Emily is not much of a presence. She is the typical naive innocent who loves her strange brooding boyfriend but doesn't know his real secrets until it's too late. But there isn't a whole lot of depth to her character. It doesn't help that she disappears through much of the book before we really get to know her.

Other human characters either try to go on with their lives or know the asteroid is coming and panic and find any means to survive. Actually most of the strong human characterization comes from Emily’s father Bruce who stands out in the entire cast.

He is among the first to see and calculate the trajectory of the asteroid so he knows that it's coming long before anyone else does. He is desperate to hold onto his daughter because he fears that he might literally never see her again. 

His anguish about Emily’s situation and the upcoming asteroid push him into some dark places. He was once a rational scientific man who was fond of his daughter. He regresses into alcoholism, depression, and violence. At the end of time, Bruce is on the cusp of reaching the end of his mind and life.

Speaking of the end, the asteroid seems to be a story arc that continues throughout the series. That means that it doesn't occur in this book. This volume instead focuses on what happens during the initial announcement.

Many are in denial. Some characters are going on with their lives. Government officials downplay the severity. With the exception of a few characters like Bruce, Emily, and the vampires it's business as usual. 

Halfway through the book, we see more characters that live in fear and looking for ways to survive. But still the end is in the background in favor of the vampires. At this point, the asteroid could almost be removed from the book. Not to mention that if humans die, vampires will eventually starve to death.

The asteroid collision and impact will more than likely turn The Vampire Communion into a different series entirely. It will be interesting to see what happens during the end and most importantly what happens afterwards.