Louise Cooper - Blood Summer

[nightreader]

Blood Summer - Louise Cooper (NEL 1976)

Marion and Roland, two students on a camping holiday in Cornwall, meet the mysterious Keith Sharwood while looking for a spot to set up camp. Sharwood is a strange man, looking like "a half-finished painting by an artist with an obsession about death". Marion soon falls under his spell and when the couple are invited to Sharwood's house party her attraction to him intensifies. Sharwood shows Marion a unique gold statue, in the image of a hermaphrodite with the head of a bird of prey and two giant serpents entwined around it - it is a four thousand year old statue from the ancient city of Ninevah.

It isn't long before Sharwood beds Marion and poor unsuspecting Roland gets the heave-ho. Soon after her decision to be with Sharwood she discovers his secret - that he is a vampire who has just killed Roland, she finds Sharwood still covered in his blood.

Sharwood has a lot of explaining to do, and Marion is surprisingly easy to convince. He admits to being a vampire, except he doesn't sleep in a coffin during the daylight hours and is not repelled by the crucifix. The light of the sun merely weakens and tires him and he can be killed by any conventional method. Sharwood says: "I'm a human being who can only survive by drinking blood. Human or animal, it doesn't matter... Sometimes I am completely taken over by the compelling force within me; I know I must eat, and I kill. I can't control it until my hunger is completely satiated".

Marion resolves to help Sharwood cure his 'vampirism', for actually it's a four thousand year old curse put on his ancestor in Ninevah and passed down through reincarnation.

There are strong gothic romance elements in this story - the plucky, determined damsel who falls in love with the charismatic, yet cursed, hero. The atmospheric Cornish setting, lots of impending menace, and the triumph of love over all.

For me the enjoyment factor was quite low, I'm not a huge fan of this kind of story (although I can occasionally appreciate a Dark Shadows/Barnabas Collins story). The cover held so much promise, and to be fair this isn't bad, just not my cup of coffee. I see also that Keith Sharwood turns up in Cooper's 'In Memory Of Sarah Bailey' which appears to be a direct sequel. It's on the shelf waiting, might be a while before I get to that one though...

[dem bones]

To date, Blood Summer hasn't exactly come in for rave reviews on here so was hoping to buck the trend: any novel which opens with a Cornish fellow being uncooperative and "get-orf-my-land!" to a pair of camping students must have something going for it. It has, but the stumbling block for this reader is the anti-hero, Keith Sharwood.

After his initial "I don't like tourists" outburst, Sharwood apologises to Marion and invites she and her drippy travelling companion Roland to a party at his huge Victorian mansion. It seems Sharwood gets on well with the Pendollen community bar one man, Reverend John Oliver, a recent arrival to the tiny hamlet. Marion finds herself attracted to Sharwood's corpse-like pallor and general doomed demeanour and, when he gives her a telepathic invite back to his home at party's end, she finds it impossible to resist. One blink-and-you'll-miss-it sex scene later (a complete culture shock: have just come to this off the back of The Naked Light!), and she's back to her tent to dump Roland. He calls her nasty names and storms off in the van, leaving her to it ....

On the evening following this tempestuous bust-up, Marion surprises Sharwood sucking blood from the gored shoulder of guess who's corpse? She flees from the mansion and heads for Reverend Oliver's place. The Evangelist takes little convincing that what she tells him is true - Keith Sharwood is Undead and must be dealt with in the traditional manner! Off they set on their do-or-die mission, but the Rev. fatally overestimates the power of the crucifix against this particular vampire. More death, blood and destruction, but now Keith turns to Marion and pleads for her help!

This is where the novel takes a turn for the disappointing with the revelation that Sharwood is a vampire through no choice of his own, he'd be a nice guy if it wasn't for this blasted demonic possession, etc. To make matters worse, there is Harry Brewer of The Compass Hotel. As if Keith wasn't bad enough - a sympathetic Pub landlord? !! Admittedly we've still fifty pages to go, but other than an ogle down the top of the heroine's low-cut blouse (and you suspect that's only for forms sake), Harry's been a Saint on earth, even getting all upset when his dog is mangled in the novel's first mysterious death. These flaws are potentially fatal in my book, but then what the fuck do I know and besides, there is plenty of space for the author to paint herself back out of this corner.

Despite all these moans, have enjoyed it so far!

[dem bones]

Having disposed of the bodies, Sharwood and Marion make tracks for his St. Ives bolt-hole, there to concentrate on exorcising his demon. It won't be easy - the curse was placed upon him by a rival alchemist four thousand years ago, and Keith must still satisfy his blood lust until they get the ritual spot on. But even before they can get into the serious hocus pocus mumbo jumbo stuff, Keith, fresh from seriously abusing a seagull, is cornered in a shop doorway by the local townsfolk and Chips the Labrador!

For all the grouching in previous post, this is actually a neat Gothic Romance, probably better suited to Five Star or Paperback Library than New English Library, and, should the opportunity arise, will certainly give In Memory Of Sarah Bailey a go. Another plus in its favour, it has one of those tasty back covers advertising recent Nel titles

Louise Cooper, who was only in her mid-twenties when Blood Summer was published, has gone to have a very successful career writing "magical fiction for children and adults" and you can find out all about her at: www.louisecooper.com/

[killercrab]

I've seen alot of her magical fiction for sale recently - so if any interests you - let me know. I think in fairness to Blood Summer - I was expecting something altogether more trashier . I'd certainly pick up the sequel with the Count Yorga vampire on the cover. Nice cover to Blood Summer.

cheers

KC