REVIEW: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
Publishing Information: Hardback; 400 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; 18 May 2010
ISBN 10: 0399156356
ISBN 13: 978-0399156359
Series: Book 1 of The President's Vampire series
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Inside the Book "Zach Barrows is an ambitious young White House staffer whose career takes an unexpected turn when he's partnered with Nathaniel Cade, a secret agent sworn to protect the President. But Cade is no ordinary civil servant. Bound by a special blood oath, he is a vampire. Cade battles nightmares before they can break into the daylight world of the American dream, enemies far stranger-and far more dangerous-than civilians have ever imagined."

Blood Oath is the first in a series of action vampire novels that feature a vampire named Nathaniel Cade who works directly for the president of the United States. The book has a Hellboy like feel to it as the book opens up with the secret organization hiring a new young man who is going to take over as Cade's handler as his current handler is reaching retirement.

Nathaniel Cade is a true vampire, he does not glitter in sunlight, he has trouble containing his thirst, and he knows he is damned. With nearly every new chapter we learn more and more about the vampire in the universe as we get excepts of scientific research conducted on Cade that explores his abilities. Farnsworth did a great job of keeping with the origins of the literary vampire. They are not cuddly, they are an apex predator that unnerves people when they are in proximity to them. Vampires are suppose to be a scary creature and the author uses this to great effect. His new Handler, Zach, is also well written as he was fairly high in the president's inner circle for a young man and is now thrust into the deep end of a pool he had no idea existed and he was fairly believable as a character. As he goes from whinny know-it-all to a valuable asset in the black ops we see a lot of growth. The supporting characters are also well written, the enemies and co-conspirators all have a role to play and are used quite well.

While the characters are all great the best part of Blood Oath is that the action rarely lets up. The book reads really fast as you can't help but read just one more chapter, even though you really should be heading to bed. While the book does deal with vampires and other things that go bump in the night, it reads more like a Tom Clancy novel as there is plenty of intrigue and blood. There is not a lot of Lovecraftian mythos in this particular novel, but it would not surprise me if they appeared in future installments.

Blood Oath is a great escape from reality and a nice change of pace from the recent vampire novels that seem to be more popular. Farnsworth returns to what made vampires scary and added his own twist to the myth, as Cade has chosen to help America tackle terrorists and anything else that may threaten the land. It reads really fast and it is no wonder why it has been opted for a movie. Great escapism.

Plot 7
Characters 8
Style 8

Overall 8.5/10