Book Review: Bound in Blood

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Bound in Blood     Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada TPB
David Thomas Lord
Class/Genre:   Fantasy   Vampire   Gay / Lesbian
Kensington, May 2001, $14.00, 346 pp.

Over a century ago in Paris, Jean-Luc Courbet and his mother became vampires when his stepfather the Marquis de Charnac converted them. In the present, Jean-Luc, known as Jack, lives and stalks mortals in Greenwich Village, a place where the evening always has delightful morsels.

However, the active gay community notices Jack’s appetite. They raise the alarm through the gay media that a serial killer, dubbed as the "Horror of West Street", hunts his prey amidst their people. Besides the rage of the gay press, Jack’s mother demands he provide her with Charnac’s grimoires. As Jack deals with the gay community warnings and his mother, he thinks he may be in love as he finds model Claude Halloran a bit more appealing than just a late night snack.

David Thomas Lord shows he is a writer with tremendous abilities yet the first "erotic journey of a vampire" tale centers on the kill way too much as opposed to Jack’s seduction of his victim. The premise of a gay vampire is quite intriguing and works in a fresh manner while Jack is a fascinating character whose morals fit a creature hunting humans as food. However, the support cast, especially Jack’s targets, never feel developed enough so that the audience doesn’t empathize with their deaths but instead thinks of them as statistical counts of cannon fodder. Still, the potential for a great series is here if Mr. Lord allows the audience time to digest the nuances that make the victims human.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner