Terence Taylor

Christopher Jude Miller returns to New York City after 20 years of growing up with an adoptive family. Back in 1987, something happened that destroyed his family, and now he’s determined to find out just what that was. The only people standing in his way: Perenelle de Marivaux, a vampire whose attempts to maintain the peace between humans and vampires shattered on that fateful night; Stephen Johnson and Lori Martin – the two who found Christopher and know much more than they are willing to tell him; their daughter Joie, who seems to have a strange connection to Christopher that neither can explain.

On the opposite side, thanks to those same events, a new government agency, known as Clean Slate Global, arises from the aftermath of those events in 1987 with one goal: eradicate all vampires. In order to infiltrate the vampire hub, they make a deal with Claire St. Claire, a vampire who had been imprisoned for 50 years. She, however, has plans of her own, using Clean Slate to wreak vengeance of the Vampire who imprisoned her, Perenelle de Marivaux.

In "Blood Pressure", author Terence Taylor creates a sequel that can stand on its own. He strikes a balance between giving too much information and not giving enough, whetting the appetite with just enough information to keep the story moving along while making the reader want to find a copy of "Bite Marks" (the first novel) and read it just to see what happened. But it isn’t necessary in order to enjoy the second story.

Having read the first book, I enjoyed seeing how the characters familiar to me deal with the changing times: Stephen and Lori’s relationship issues, Perenelle having to once again go through the process of making her older self die so her human neighbors don’t become suspicious, and Adam Caine – Perenelle’s vampiric “offspring” – re-inventing himself as a doctor to gain access to fresh victims. But more focus is paid on the new characters, including Christopher and Joie, whose mysterious connection plays a major role in the storyline; the back story of Claire St. Claire and her “father” Tom O’Bedlam; Richmond and Lopez from clean Slate Global; and my favorite, the inclusion of zora Neale Hurston into the mix.

Her back story involving the fictitious Turner Creed, as love interest and inspiration for "Their Eyes Were Watching God" added a nice touch and tied the novel to history. Taylor used this story to introduce the Harlem Renaissance and it's influence on many of the characters within "Blood Pressure". And for me, it reminded me of her story collection "Mules and Men", when she traveled the Southern States, recording the folk tales and stories of African-Americans and dabbling in their mysticism and mythologies.

Of course, what would any horror story be without monster -- this time in the form of Tom O'Bedlam, a vampire not quite right in the head, but with a devious plan to use Christopher to take over the world. Talk about evil incarnate....

From beginning to end, "Blood Pressure" does a fine job of building tension, leaving you on the edge of your seat, your mouth watering in anticipation of what happens next.… (mais)

Adam Caine, a vampire less than a hundred years old, enjoys his sadistic streak when it comes to victims, especially building up hopes and dreams then tearing them to shreds and savoring the aftermath. Take Nina, for instance. He forces her into prostitution, gets her addicted to heroin, and then turns her into a vampire to watch her destroy her own five-month-old child. Things, however, do not go as he planned; once transformed to a vampire, she does feed on her child, but brings him back before Adam can destroy her. Now, an infant vampire crawls loose somewhere in New York City, and Adam must seek help from the woman who changed him into a vampire before the Triumvirate finds out and the secret world of vampires becomes known to the humans.

Meanwhile, estranged lovers Steve Johnson and Lori Martin try to piece together their latest book focusing on vampires. The ad they placed in the Village Voice brings in only one serious response, but they haven't heard from her -- a young woman named Nina who claims to have firsthand knowledge -- and are about to give up on her, until her brother Jim shows up on Steve's doorstep. When they learn of her violent death, Jim convinces them to help him find her killer, not realizing until too late the monsters they must battle to avenge Nina are real.

With his first novel, Terence Taylor offers a great addition to the vampire genre. He keeps with the traditional mythos, coming out only at night, feeding on human blood, controlling human minds, but also draws from other vampire tales. His Autochthones -- a race of vampires living in the tunnels beneath New York's subway system -- worship a creature similar to Bram Stoker's White Worm. He adds new twists to vampire history, as well, turning such events as the crash of the Hindenburg into a cover up for vampires trying to cross from Europe to the States, and creating a system of government to maintain order between their world and the human world.

Taylor tackles something I've always wondered: what would happen if a vampire becomes infected with HIV. THe HIV begins to slowly destroy an infected vampire,which is what happens to the nest created by Baby, but Taylor's creativity comes into play when describing what happens when an infected vampire bites a victim. They die, only to rise sometime later as a vampire zombie, of sorts, with the infected blood itself using the new body as a vessel to infect more people and other vampires. The scenes in which the blood passes are quite astonishing and imaginative, complete with exploding eyeballs and other goriness.

"Bite Marks" contains well-developed characters, too. Adam Caine (born Ferderic Hartwell) is evil personified: cruel, merciless, willing to do anything to get what he wants no matter who it harms -- as long as he remains untouched. HIs vampire mother, Perenelle de Marivaux, struggles to maintain a balance between her human identity and her vampire one, at times acting as peacemaker for Adam while secretly wishing him dead but switching at the drop of a hat to remorseless thoughts of death when Steve and Lori possibly threaten to reveal the vampires' existence. Steve and Lori act as I would expect any normal couple with relationship issues, trying to understand what happened between them while being thrust into something way over their heads and seemingly impossible.

My only detraction is the character of Claire St. Claire, a young female vampire, who was an accomplice to such a heinous crime -- even by vampiric standards -- that she was entombed for 50 years without food or contact. A great deal is made of her release from imprisonment early on in the story, but she disappears after that. As I made my way further and further into the story, I wondered when she would pop up, but she never did. Perhaps she'll appear in another story....

"Bite Marks" tells a fast-paced, fantastic tale, creating a new history for vampires in the New York while keeping the gore and horror many readers have come to expect from a vampire story. Fans of horror and of vampires will definitely enjoy this book as much as I did.… (mais)