Book Blog Tour: Vampyre Blood: Eight Pints of Trouble by George Earl Parker

Hello, everyone!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!  As promised, we have a special guest with us today....courtesy of Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotions we are the featured tour stop of the day for our featured title!  It's a doozey, let me tell you....who knew how much trouble could be caused by eight pints of blood?  Today's featured book is....

Vampyre Blood:

Eight Pints of Trouble

by

George Earl Parker

Picture it...Sicily, 1938....(oh wait, that's more Sophia than novelish speak....let me try that again...)

Picture it...Transylvania....150 years ago (that's better)....Dracula having out lived many of his fellow comrades, comes upon his faithful servant Igor, trapped under a beam in a raging inferno that was previously his house.  It seems the classic villagers-seige-on-the-monster's-hideaway scene is playing out (as usual) and it's time for one of them to meet their maker.  (Any guess on who?)  Prior to his impending demise, a promise is extracted from the Dark Prince.  He is to seek out a wizard to lift his curse, travel to America to start a new life (hmm, a tad cliche there...), and seek out the assistance of....a lawyer.  (--pausing for you to reread that passage in case you thought you were seeing things--)  Yes, my friends, it would seem as though Igor had some inside information as to Dracula's need to fight the vicious rumors spread about how he came to be...but we are getting ahead of ourselves.  Let's take a step back to the wizard business.

Apparantly, once Dracula sees the error of his ways (or makes a death bed promise to a friend...ahem...), he is able to request his curse of blood-drinking, night wandering, and photo-sensitivity be removed.  It doesn't make him altogether human, but it does take away the nastier aspects of this existance.  For payment?  (What, you didn't expect him to do this for free, did you?)  150 years of time.  Which as we rejoin our now sun-loving vamp, would put him in our time...the present.  (How's that for a wake up call?)  Technological changes alone are enough to boggle the mind in that time frame, but he also has to deal with cultural changes.  Lucky for him, he happens upon a young lad that will show him the way and ultimately deliver him to his final destination.  The way is that of the Techno Zombies.  (--pausing again for you to gain your mental footing....good?  Alrighty....)

The Techno Zombies are the young lads band mates and they want Drac (which is the "cooler" name given to this timeless persona) to be a stand in for the group.  Wander the stage, play an instrument....whatever he wishes, so long as they can add his character to their show.  It seems those lingering hypnotic charms will be utilized to rocket this group to the top of the charts.  Eventually, their travels land them in the US of A and Dracula, excuse me...Drac...sets out to retain a lawyer to handle the various lawsuits he is planning against those that have plagurized and manipulated his life story.  Needless to say, every lawyer he speaks with things he's a few short of a dozen and laugh him out of their offices.  He needs to find someone that will understand his power, and believe his history....but how?  That's when it hits him.  He'll "create" the perfect lawyer.  Passing a blood bank on the way home, he decides to make a little deposit....eight pints to be exact....leaving it with the stipulation that it must be given to a lawyer when the time comes for its use.

Fast forward a few weeks in time and we meet Bradley Harrington Chester III lying in a hospital bed after a recent run in with a car.  It seems that his recent case assignment passed over the head of someone that felt they deserved it and it's glory much more than he.  Richard Bleddon has a score to settle and so seeks out the notorious darker side of the "law", ordering a hit on this newly minted lawyer.  Problem is, it doesn't quite take.  It seems Drac's blood has found it's new home and it's magical healing powers quickly turn this broken body into a new man.  Bradley awakens full of life with a vigor to do good in all places...which boggles both the doctors and his wife since moments before he was at death's door.  Amazing what a little mystical blood will do...but wait!  Hold on a second...who tried to off him?  Where exactly did this blood magically appear from?  Why does he suddenly have the overwhelming desire to wear clothes outdated by several odd years given to him by a strange little man at a store he's never been too?  (do DO do do...do DO do do....)  Yes, something is amiss in their town, but the extent of which it stems...no one would quite believe.

So, let's talk about this book....first, it has several elements which are quite appealing.  From the mystical aspect to the espionage, to hired hit men and back handed dealings, there is a little something for everyone genre wise in this book.  One word of caution I must pass on....there are a few more graphically detailed scenes the likes of which were not intended for young eyes.  You have been warned.  Said scenes apart, the multiple story lines that eventually connect in a final potentially explosive ending are rather intriguing in their own right.  You have the lawyer with a grudge delving into the mobster underworld for revenge.  The upstanding DA that discovers his schooling had rather questionable ties when looking at where the money came from.  The wild and free wife that feels she was tricked into what is shaping up to be a less than love filled marriage.  Oh and the old gypsy grandmother (part of the one mob group) that uses her knitting needles for more than hand made gifts.  Each one holds their own in the overall story.

Honestly though...this one left me wondering after I turned the last page.  I mean the initial concept of Dracula turning over a new leaf sounded interesting (could be just me, but doubtful).  The problem for me was that I think we learn more about the other character's stories than we did about Drac's new path or even that of his Igor-in-training.  Did I enjoy the book?  On some level.  Was I ensnared by the hypnotic powers that Drac is well known for?  Nope....not even a moment of fuzzy logic.  I must say however, that if you go into this book with an adjusted focus on what to expect, you may find that it is right up your alley!  (Strange how our pre-conceived notions whether for better or worse can interfere with our perception of what we read.)

Tomorrow's stop is at Broken Teepee, so be sure to check it out as the blog tour rolls on!  Review copy received courtesy of Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotions and author George Earl Parker. Special thanks to you both for allowing me to chance to participate in this event!

 

COMMENT CREATOR

If you were to carry on with the infamous story of Dracula...what would YOU have him do?  From the everyday to seomething completely out there, the comments are open for you to share....

Until next time....happy reading!