Futura - 1981 - 221 Pages
This must be super rare, since I couldn't find a cover scan of it anywhere (and also, it sells for less than a quid on some sites). Very rare indeed.
When writing about Guy N. Smith's "Cannibals" I gave a condensed version of the plot by saying "GNS's version of The Hills Have Eyes", or some such like. For those into horror films, as well as horror novels, the comparison helps fit the book into a sub-genre.
With New Blood I'm going to say: "New Blood is a variation on The Stepford Wives theme". The Stepford Wives was a good film made in 1975, that was butchered in 2004 with a remake starring the always beautiful, Nichol Kidman.
So on to New Blood.
Clay and Holly Ryan and the perfect couple. Clay is a successful architect, he designs bridges, apartment blocks, mega-office complexes. He has more awards that Al Pacino. Holly is an abstract painter, with galleries clambering for her work.
They're rich. They have lots of nice things. They're happy. Ish.
Coz you see, Holly has a yearning to live in the country, to get away from the city. This opulence is good and all, but why can't they relax on the porch with a cooler and some beer and simply watch the sun go down?
One dark alley, two ski masks, and a mysterious call later, and they're in West Virginia. Credence is nicely off the beaten track, almost too perfect to photograph, and the people - they're young, friendly, and unpretentious. If there's a heaven, it's not nearly as good as Credence.
Clay and Holly settle in, and they soon meet The Unwins, Willis and Karen. Willis, a muscle bound hunk who writes very successful novels and TV shows, and Karen who doesn't do anything but caress her mans pecs.
Willis and Karen had loved the city life too, but one living room, two ski masks, and a strange call later - they ended up in Credence.
GULP.
The first problem is buying mirrors. They only sell plastic mirrors in town. Then they go to the cafe to have scones and coffee (tea would have been better) the knives are so blunt they won't even cut through pastry. The speed limit everywhere is 20 MPH, and when Clay buys an axe, with its head sheafed in heavy cardboard and leather, the lady serving them nearly passes out in fear.
Hm, perhaps Credence isn't so perfect after all? A town full of 30 to 40 year olds, only 6 children in the entire place, policemen whose only weapon is a keyring, and a fear of anything remotely sharp. Perhaps this is some bizarre variation of heaven?
But of course, things aren't well at Credence. And this is the core of the story, following our two heroes, assisted by two others, they slowly but surely begin to realize what's going on. Where are the children? Why is everyone so healthy? Why are there no old people? And how come two men grow thick black beards almost instantly?
The mysteries work their way through, and New Blood lives up to its name.
In a nutshell - without giving away any more of the plot - that's what you get with Salem's book. The cover is terrific (alas, as mentioned, I couldn't find it anywhere), with a woman on the front bleeding what appears to be oil from her mouth and eyes. It would have been an even better cover if the person who owned the book prior to me hadn't decided to crease it terribly.
Reading this book wasn't completely straight forward. In fact, it's not exaggerating to say that once I'd reached page 18 I was ready to throw the thing in the garbage. The only thing that stopped me was that it was 2:00am in the morning, and my "to read" pile is in another room, and I couldn't be bothered to get out of bed and choose something else.
So what was the problem? Well, the trouble here is that while Richard Salem gets his tale going, and ultimately tells it well, he must have really struggled to start up the engine. The opening four page prologue is good, but the following 14 pages were not. The following 14 pages were essentially introducing us to the world of the Ryan's, and their opulence. And frankly, it had me gagging a bit. I mean, when Bret Easton Ellis name dropped and mentioned countless brands in his classic "American Psycho", there was a point to it - a smooth narcissism. Salem on the other hand just gets annoying. There is "rich", and there is "opulent", and one I can put up with, and one is just annoying.
The issue here is that our central characters, as they're introduced, just aren't very likable. You want to go smack them upside the head. I hated them, and didn't want to read about how well they were doing any more.
Still, 2:00am and a wave of laziness kept me plowing on. My only hope was that, in the end, this nastiness would actually have a point. It didn't.
However, once the couple reach Credence, which doesn't take too long (they're there by page 28) the book changes quite a bit, and things settle down. In fact, if the book had started on page 28 it might have been better all round. I had no complaints after that. Plus I learned a lesson, sometimes it's worth soldiering on through a bad opening, something decent might well come up eventually.
And New Blood could perhaps best be described as "decent". It's plot gets a bit silly at the end, but not too much. There is also a nice mystery which is unfurled at a good pace once things start to actually move. As a horror tale, it worked.
And so I say, this really isn't too bad. Perhaps it was just me that will be bothered by the opening 27 pages. Regardless, if you move through them you'll find some fun.
I give this a thumbs up (eventually), if this particular subject is something you enjoy. ;D
This review is now at an end.
