The President's Vampire

I've been trying to get my brain organized all week and it's not working out for me. I just walked into the kitchen for some reason and completely forgot why. So I'm back in my office. Still no clue what prompted the trip to the kitchen.

Anywho, while I try to figure that out, I figured I'd do a review for you guys. And it's a heads-up review because if you're in the Denver area, this author will be signing at the Tattered Cover Monday, May 24. I'll be there!

It was a little known entry in out history that prompted Christopher Farnsworth to write his debut, Blood Oath. A sailor accused of killing his fellow shipmates and drinking their blood was pardoned by Andrew Johnson in the 1800s and lived out the rest of his life in a mental institution. Farnsworth says history is filled with what he calls "Deep Weirdness" and as a history major in college, teasing out these stories is fun for him (and fun for us all to read!).

So the idea for Blood Oath was born and Nathaniel Cade came to be. Cade, a vampire from the 1800s who not only is pardoned by Johnson but is sworn to follow orders from and protect subsequent presidents has been working behind the scenes all this time. His partner of many years is dying and a new one, Zach Barrows, has been assigned. Now Zach has to quickly learn the ropes, learn Cade, and learn that all the creepy crawlies he thought were fiction are true. And he must learn it fast, because a terrorist plot is about to explode and Zach and Cade are on the case. Someone has been shipping body parts back from the Middle East and Cade has an idea why.

This book is cool. I mean uber cool. It reminds me of Hellboy in a lot of ways - secret government agents who investigate the paranormal. Thankfully, Farnsworth is reported to be working on a second title in the series as we speak. The flashbacks and the "factiods" that begin many of the chapters leave me definitely wanting more of this pair and more of Farnsworth's "Deep Weirdness."

As I said, Farnsworth will be signing at the Colfax Tattered Cover on Monday, May 24 at 7:30.