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Field of Blood Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Eric Wilson / Thomas Nelson 
Reviewed by Susan SleemanIn Field of Blood author Eric Wilson proves he is willing to push the comfort envelope of Christian fiction.Before I start with my review I want to encourage you to look at Field of Blood with an open mind and not toss it aside because it's a vampire novel. Sure, it's about vampires, but it is so not a typical clichéd vampire novel. Though supernatural in nature the book is also filled with a valuable message that we all need to hear and embrace. Everyone is vulnerable without the power of Christ. We have free will and can choose God or walk away from Him and live in our own sin. The story holds two major storylines, seeming unrelated at first but brought together as the story unfolds. The first plot line opens with Judas Iscariot ending his life and his blood seeping into burial graves. Fast forward to 1989 where the site is excavated and the souls, The Collectors, are freed to wander among the living. But these Collectors are not the only immortals wandering the earth. They are accompanied by thirty eight individuals, the Nistarim, who were marked by God to protect the human race. The Nistarim hunt the Collectors and vice versa. The second storyline revolves around a Romania girl, Gina Lazarescu who at first is unaware she is being hunted by the undead. She is whisked to America by her mother to keep her safe as she grows up. As Gina becomes suspicious of her mysterious past, she shoots to center stage in the war between good and evil, transforming the book into a nonstop page turner. I have chosen Field of Blood as our book of the month for December for the originality of plot, the extensive research, the spiritual message, Wilson's fine prose, and Wilson's willingness to take on a topic that Christians will surely talk about for years to come. I am unabashedly an Eric Wilson fan and have loved all of his previous works. When he announced the upcoming Undead Trilogy, I blinked a few times, and sighed. Why Eric, why? Why mess with what I have enjoyed reading for years? I am not a huge supernatural/speculative fiction reader, and definitely not a gothic vampire novel lover, so when the book arrived, I began to read simply because Wilson had earned my respect as a writer and captured my joy of reading as a reader. With an open mind ?, I delved into the book and was pleasantly surprised that the story was not at all what I expected. It was so much more and it held Wilson's signature writing with flawed characters and a strong message without preaching. Sure, the book is dark, but it is written with enough realism to make the reader think it could really happen, and Wilson's humor helps to lighten the mood. So put aside your preconceived notions, put aside your distaste for supernatural books, and embrace Field of Blood. You will be glad you did and will eagerly await book two, Haunt of Jackals. |
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Romantic suspense author Susan Sleeman's books include High-Stakes Inheritance, a romantic suspense novel to be released in September by Love Inspired Suspense an imprint of Steeple Hill Publishers and Nipped in the Bud, a cozy mystery coming in October from Barbour Publishing. Read more about Susan Sleeman |
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Field of Blood Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Eric Wilson / Thomas Nelson Reviewed by Karri ComptonI can honestly say I've never read a novel anything like this one.It's taking a herculean effort for me to communicate everything Field of Blood is. Suffice it to say that it's a must read. The ancient site where a traitor's blood was spilt two millennia ago is a potential breeding ground for vile, unearthly spirits who wait to be freed from their vaporous wanderings. In 1989, their hopes are granted when excavators accidentally disturb tombs outside Jerusalem. The Collectors inhabit bodies of the dead, feed on the blood of the living, and often infest them with thorny brambles on which they feast. (Delicate constitutions aside, the "ick" factor is understated, really.) For Gina Lazarescu, life in Romania as an almost twelve-year-old is hard work. Her mother is overprotective, her father dead. After a handsome stranger holds a secretive conversation with her mother, she is whisked away with them away from the home she has always known to avoid impending revolution and other unnamable dangers. She will not forget the man's promise to watch after her and find her again one day. Gina is special, and she's in danger, but so are many others. Each person must make the choice as to which side they will be on, and take responsibility for those choices. I'll stop there with the plot so as not to reveal too much. True to form, Wilson digs deep into history and human nature to produce the mother lode of supernatural fiction. Blood sucking vampires aside, Field of Blood isn't overly weird or "out there." Everything that happens is connected and has a reason. Lots of things are hidden just enough to cause confusion (at least for me), but I've been promised by the author himself that those things will be explained in the next book. I give Wilson points for creativity galore, a satisfyingly complex plot line, adequate suspense, and the flowing style I've come to love in the course of his writings. He effectively portrays the sickening and the beautiful, exalting true life. Life is in the blood, after all…whose blood flows through your veins? |
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About Karri Compton View this review and more at: www.kcreviews.blogspot.com |
Susan Sleeman
is passionate about Christian Suspense as both a reader and a writer. She is the author of High-Stakes Inheritance, a romantic suspense novel to be released in September by Love Inspired Suspense an imprint of Steeple Hill Publishers and Nipped in the Bud, a cozy mystery in October from Barbour Publishing.
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Christian Suspense
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Susan Sleeman
Susan Sleeman
