Golden Blood

A Vampire Story

by

Tim Vee

Enthralling and tragic tale of two vampires.

Golden Blood: A Vampire Story by Tim Vee is an enthralling tale of two vampires, both inadvertently created under tragic circumstances, as they maintain their existences down through the centuries. In 1540, Balthazar Jiménez de Quesada is a conquistador searching for the golden city of El Dorado in the wilds of South America when the mythical vampire being, La Patasola, attacks him. Almost 300 years pass, and on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, he attacks and kills the family of simple farmwife Yvette Janssens, leaving her for dead and unwittingly causing her to transition into a vampire like himself. Fast forward to present-day Los Angeles, where the transient lifestyle of many of the population offers the vampires easy picking of anonymous, off-the-grid victims who are less likely to be missed by someone. But while one is the accidental product of the other, they go about their processes of getting victims in very different ways, and they are about to cross paths one more time. 

The plot is fast-paced, and the story is riveting as centuries quickly pass. In this author’s world, vampires are neither romantic figures nor sparkly creatures but horrific feeding machines lacking all human sensibilities. The only exception comes when they have imbibed a rare blood type, which briefly allows their human memories and senses to return. Their stories are engrossing as Balthazar strives to maintain a steady stream of victims he drains to their death with the help of an army of blood slaves, and Yvette devises a clever plan that has blood donors coming to her. Vee’s story is creative and imaginative and one I had a hard time setting aside. While the book could benefit from another editorial sweep for typos and continuity issues, the story is so compelling that while I noticed these, I had to keep reading. 

I recommend GOLDEN BLOOD to readers of vampire horror stories.

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