A Love Like Blood

A Love Like Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

'I've chased him for over twenty years, and across countless miles, and though often I was running, there have been many times when I could do nothing but sit and wait. Now I am only desperate for it to be finished.'

In 1944, just days after the liberation of Paris, Charles Jackson sees something horrific: a man, apparently drinking the blood of a murdered woman. Terrified, he does nothing, telling himself afterwards that worse things happen in wars.

Seven years later he returns to the city - and sees the same man dining in the company of a fascinating young woman. When they leave the restaurant, Charles decides to follow...

Every once in a while you come across a book that has a very catchy synopsis and readily invites you to pick it up and devour it I had just this feeling when I read the synopsis of A Love Like Blood. It in someway tells what the main idea of the story is but already promises so much more, especially the sense of the narration by I presumed the main protagonist. it really got me excited and I finished this book in a single setting! What really separates A Love Like Blood from the other horror/vampire stories is that this story is so much more than just vampire hunting. The way that the story is brought to you as a reader is just spot on and readily submerges the reader in an rich story. A Love Like Blood is written by Marcus Sedgwick who is better known for his books in the Young-Adult genre.  

I am always a big fan of books that follow a first person narration, in most of the cases it really helps out to let the intentions, actions and perhaps the most important one reactions of the protagonist resonate that much stronger. And what better narration could there be in the case of a story of personal love and grief? This is exactly how Marcus Sedgwick tells his story. When I looked back on the story as an whole I don't think the narration could have gotten any better. Marcus Sedgwick did an amazing job with showing the story in this way, and it's written in a clear and to the point kind of way, but with a very strong emotional under current in when it comes down to the main protagonist Charles Jackson and everything that he is going through.

The story of A Love Like Blood opens up with a scene in the present before taking you back to the past to show how it all got started. Again this is something I really like to read, as you get thrown in the depths of a present timeline, everything is new and there is hardly any explanation - yet - this also raises a lot of question and really got me stoked for the remainder of the story. After the introduction, Charles Jackson starts his story back in 1944 and how it all came to be. He serves as an soldier in Britain's Royal Army in the Army Medical Corps division. One day back in 1944 he is walking down the streets in Paris and stumbles upon something, a man struggling and drinking the blood of a women, but with all the stuff that he has seen in the war, Charles discards this as a war trauma and continues as normal. After the war Charles is given a new position on the department of Haematology in Cambridge. On a return visit to Paris, Charles sees the same man from back in 1944, in a cafe and leaving with another girl, and the horrific scene he witnessed is again back in his mind. Charles manages to collect enough courage and follows this strange man. Trying to find an explanation as to what this man was doing to that young girl back in 1944 and he is likely to strike again. This short explanation only covers the first few pages of the book and is only the initial setup of the story as Charles' quest soon turn into something of an obsession and personal vengeance. The whole story spans about 20 years from 1944 till 1968 and only continues to develop and pick up pace more and more as Charles start to unearth secrets that could have better stayed buried. The best thing in here is that the locations aren't only focused in the parts of Paris and Cambridge but the investigation that Charles leads takes him to some dark and historical places that add a lot of creepy atmosphere to the story.

The main protagonist of A Love Like Blood, Charles Jackson, is an incredible strong protagonist and from the start of the book it is impossible not to relate to him. The solidity of his character is really drawn from how Marcus Sedgwick used the narration and the setting of the whole book. Of course the events along the way influence Charles' character in terms of developing him on several emotional sides. Because what first started out as a horrific scene, one he would have much rather not experienced and even faster have truly forgotten, soon turns out into a deadly obsession. It's part by the obsession to catch the killer that a lot of other emotions come to show. I can safely say that Charles is determined to get to the bottom of it all and with even some amount of disregard for his own life. This on many fronts again adds a nice few layer to his character as there are some unexpected and unpredictable events taking place along the course of this story. As for secondary characters there aren't actually any that you really get to follow in A Love Like Blood, the focus is really on Charles and how he navigates through this turbulent world. You do however get to know many different friend or rivals of Charles but not as in that much depth as Charles himself. And frankly to be honest, this isn't required at all since the focus is on Charles and how he came to this obsession. One thing that I did enjoy reading about where the scenes with the Count Verovkin. These parts with the bad guy added a whole new and dangerous persepective. 

Like I said above the story in itself is very cleverly executed with the narration. But there are also other elements that help build a very tight and intense atmosphere. A Love Like Blood is a story about vampires, but this word is hardly used and a lot is kept in the dark, dark background of the story. One of the things that really works in the favor of this storyline is that it is written in our own history 1944-1968 and there aren't any elaborate scenes or flashy moves by the vampires that make it turn more into the mainstream ones. Instead by keeping close to our own world, for me the dark crime/thriller elements only became that much stronger. Marcus Sedgwick really knows how to build up a great sense surrounding his story. A definite plus!

With A Love Like Blood, Marcus Sedgwick has created a very solid entry in the horror genre. It has a very unique concept using the backdrop of vampirism to create an utterly engaging story. When you look on the whole of the story it is a true horror story, the horror elements that Marcus Sedgwick introduces are brought to life in the fullest by the very strong first person narration and the emotions that the main protagonist, Charles Jackson, has to face. These go from elated joy down to cold hearted revenge and perhaps an unhealthy obsession. You can clearly see that Marcus Sedgwick knows how to bring out the best of his idea's in A Love Like Blood. I don't think I have encountered such a book during my reading ventures yet. This might sound conflicting since it's a horror story but it's a true pleasure to read and get lost in the personal dealing of Charles. Marcus Sedgwick executes his story in A Love Like Blood with masterful strokes from start to finish. I am definitely in for more of his stories.