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The World On Blood de Jonathon Nasaw
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The World On Blood (edição: 1997)

de Jonathon Nasaw

Séries: James Whistler (1)

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1856146,044 (3.35)8
In this original novel, the author introduces us to a group of vampires. When they decide to wean themselves off their addiction, with a 12-step programme, Whistler - one of their leaders - cooks up a plan to lure them back once and for all.
Membro:Clio12
Título:The World On Blood
Autores:Jonathon Nasaw
Informação:Dutton (1997), Hardcover, 352 pages
Coleções:Para ler, Sua biblioteca
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Etiquetas:Nenhum(a)

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The World on Blood de Jonathan Nasaw

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Mostrando 1-5 de 6 (seguinte | mostrar todas)
I bought this book for two reasons: 1) It was only $4 on a bargain shelf in a bookstore, 2) the premise intrigued me. I, like other reviewers of this book, was ready for a fresh take on vampirism. And I got it.

Unfortunately, I had to weed through pages and pages of cliche, nonsense, and over-romantic, unnecessary description to get that fresh take. The book started out boring, just a guy in his bedroom drinking a "mysterious" liquid from a Clamato jar. (Incidentally, I don't know why all the mystery about the blood in the first chapter. Anybody who buys this book knows it's about vampires.) Then, after countless monotonous pages of character development--including characters who are already dead when the novel begins and only appear in flashback!--the story finally begins to evolve in the LAST QUARTER OF THE BOOK. Why Nasaw makes the reader wait until that late in the novel to unveil the plot--not just the conflict, but the PLOT--is beyond me. And frankly, the conclusion was unsatisfactory. I thought the protagonist and the antagonist (I never could quite tell them apart) got along far too well throughout the book to make their conflict seem very believable, and the surprise at the end is neither surprising nor much of an end.

The devices were too obvious, the writing too sloppy and unrevised, and the concept too good to allow such mistakes. My only consolation in reading this book is that, with the proper connections, I actually have a shot at publishing myself. I mean, if Nasaw can do it, anybody can. I only hope that if I end up on the $4-bargain shelf, my readers will think they actually got a bargain. I didn't. ( )
  Snoek-Brown | Feb 7, 2016 |
This book is wonderful, raunchy and kinda gross...I would not let my 17 year old read it, but I loved it when I read it when I was 22. ( )
  AngelaGustafson | Jan 25, 2016 |
Oh, what can I say about this one? Well, it's okay. That's really it, in terms of the thumbnail recommendation. It's okay. It's not bad, it's not great. Just okay. I suppose a little more explanation as to the whys and hows is probably in order, so here we go:

First off, the good points. There's actually quite a few. The language and structure is well done, quick and easy to read (despite the author's love of the occasional rarely-used term or word, which I'll address in a bit.) The concepts are intriguing; painting vampires as just another type of addicts - and planting all the main characters into a support group called "VA" - is a great idea that works well, especially when the vampires gain no supernatural benefit from their feeding. Here, they're just folks with "odd" genetic markers. Like any other high, blood throws their hormones out of whack and allows them to perform seemingly superhuman feats - getting back up after having their skull caved in(with a can of creamed corn, no less!), being stronger than their build suggests, heightened senses, increased sexual prowess and drive (12 hour orgies), enhanced agility and speed - that are still plausible. Witness anyone on PCP or bath salts, for example. And, of course, there are quite a few downsides. The crash when one comes off the high, the Elephant (the term several characters use to describe how dull and lifeless existence is when not high or when fresh off of the high), the paranoia, frenzied state and lack of coherent rational thought. All detailed wonderfully.

If you just read that paragraph, you're probably wondering why the book only gets a 3 and is "okay." Well, I'll tell you.

Characters and plotting. Most of the characters are just... lame. Whistler starts out okay - as the unrepentant blood addict trying to sabotage VA and ruin the life of his one-time best pal - but quickly degenerates into a helpless schmuck, twirling his mustache in faux villainy while simultaneously making proclamations of love and devotion to his blushing bride and their child. Our "hero," Nick Santos isn't much better as the self-righteous, self-appointed savior of vampirekind with his message of peace, harmony and "we can all be sober together." Admittedly, both types are probably present in more standard 12 step programs, but they just seem like caricatures to me. The Reverend Betty Shoemaker... ugh. She undergoes so many ridiculous personality shifts that it's almost impossible to try to decide what exactly she's supposed to be doing... though I think, given many of her actions, it's likely that she honestly doesn't know, either. January - the stereotypical "tough kid on her own, forced to make choices and perform deeds that others might consider horrible - is probably the best of the bunch, undergoing several shifts in personality but all of them actually explained and justified by her upbringing and the situations she's put into, but she still feels like a stereotype caricature under most circumstances. The other characters seem to have very little personality at all, often described solely by their sexual characteristics, in the scene only to do the whim of one of the main characters or shove the plot forward a half step before going back behind the scenes.

Plotwise, the book is a mess. Mainly due to the characters and their believability - or lack thereof. Almost every one of the characters feels like they were crammed into a situation and chose how to react because the author envisioned the plot a certain way and was forcing them to fulfill it, rather than how their own personalities might have dealt with the situation or because the author allowed the story to flow reasonably naturally. What plot there is gets frequently tossed aside or used to describe more sex - Whistler's "Creature" (and yes, it is described that way, given its own personality, and capitalized every single time) is described and used far too often; nearly every character in the cast has some form of sex with him at some point, and usually multiple times. Don't get me wrong, a little sex is never a bad thing, but when you can't turn 5 pages without tripping over the Creature, it's getting a little excessive. Then there's Nick. He's gay - as he tells us, repeatedly, nearly as often as the Creature is brought out - but over the course of the story he has sex with two women, repeatedly, while performing oral once on a man. No other mention of his supposed "gayness." (Note that almost all the other characters are at the very least bisexual. Nothing against that, but I'm very tired of vampires all being bi. If it was just about food - which is often equated with sex in vampire fiction - I could assume it as pragmatism. But as presented here - and in Anne Rice before it - it seems like "Just became a vampire? Here's your "Bone Anything That Moves" card!) The plot occasionally surfaces for brief moments - often in flashback scenes - but then vanishes beneath the waves of sex and blood once more. For it's grand finale, it ties everything up with a tidy bow and says "And they all lived happily ever after" in so many words.

Character dialogue feels odd; as noted above, there is a love of rare words. I don't necessarily object, but when 17 year old, street tough hooker addicts are tossing out terms like "anomie" it starts to stretch a little thin. It becomes further compounded when Whistler gives several "vis a vie" moments but it's spelled "viza vie." I think part of me died inside.

One final quibble. While I said earlier the language and style was decent, there is one little issue; the author apparently couldn't decide on a narrative voice. Nearly every chapter begins in third-person present-tense, then two or three paragraphs phases to become third-person past-tense. Once or twice it even devolves into third-person omniscient, mid-chapter, with no forewarning. All authors have their "oopsie" moments with shifting tense or perspective, and not all authors catch every instance of it; but this is happening every 15 pages or so. A trifle sloppy, methinks.

Anyway, as I said. It's okay. If you trip over it, it's worth a read; if for no other reason than to be reminded that there was a time when vampires actually killed people, hated sunlight due to personal pain instead of potentially giving them away, and found better things to do with their time than pass 12th grade Science for the umpteenth time. If you can set aside the cardboard cutout characters and embrace the "addict's eye view," there's things to like here. ( )
  KaineAndrews | Apr 15, 2013 |
This is perfectly written, and one of the most original looks at vampirism that I've seen. I'd say it's the best of Nasaw's work, and the world is frighteningly realistic in every way, with believable and sympathetic characters. If you're at all a fan of vampire books, curious, or simply enjoy a good book of horror (even if you avoid Vampires normally!), read this. It is well-written, and beyond that, it is nothing like your stereotypical vampire book. ( )
  whitewavedarling | Jan 21, 2008 |
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In this original novel, the author introduces us to a group of vampires. When they decide to wean themselves off their addiction, with a 12-step programme, Whistler - one of their leaders - cooks up a plan to lure them back once and for all.

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