Cfrock
Keep it strong
The Bloodbaths by Steve Libby
Bit of a mixed bag, this one. I like plenty about it but there's an overall amateurish quality that holds it back. There are some parts that feel rushed or glossed over, and there are parts that could benefit from more description and mood setting. The climax in particular rushes past in a hurry, with some moments that feel contrived to the point of Libby ignoring the scenario he set up, which has the unfortunate effect of leaving me with a sour taste right at the end.
That said, it was a very interesting premise, and Libby does enough with it to keep my interest. It's about a water artisan named Crixus. He builds aqueducts and he's pretty good at his job, but he gambles his guild's money in a high stakes card game and loses. In a panic, he flees the country to the mysterious land overseas, where he decides to seek out the dreaded Lamiae. They are vampires and Crixus is going to fix their broken plumbing.
I'm serious about that. This is a book about a plumber making the baths work in a vampire castle.
Naturally, the baths use blood and not water, but water is needed to pump the blood through the system of pipes. It's actually quite interesting on that technical level, with Crixus having to account for the thickness of blood when calculating how much pressure will be needed, and how he can keep the blood fresh in the system for longer so that it needs to be replenished less often. See, the Lamiae are also brutal aristocrats who rule a peasant empire, taking blood from their citizens as a form of tax. Crixus does grapple somewhat with his desire to get paid so he can return home, and the knowledge that his work will lead to more suffering for the peasantry for generations.
If Libby were better at his job, this could actually be a pretty interesting story about class politics and revolution, but as it is the plumbing is the best part. Decent if you're into vampires, but I probably won't read the sequels.
Oh, and the e-book version is pretty poorly put together. Any time there are Italics it cuts off the rest of the paragraph. I don't know why. I don't like it.
Bit of a mixed bag, this one. I like plenty about it but there's an overall amateurish quality that holds it back. There are some parts that feel rushed or glossed over, and there are parts that could benefit from more description and mood setting. The climax in particular rushes past in a hurry, with some moments that feel contrived to the point of Libby ignoring the scenario he set up, which has the unfortunate effect of leaving me with a sour taste right at the end.
That said, it was a very interesting premise, and Libby does enough with it to keep my interest. It's about a water artisan named Crixus. He builds aqueducts and he's pretty good at his job, but he gambles his guild's money in a high stakes card game and loses. In a panic, he flees the country to the mysterious land overseas, where he decides to seek out the dreaded Lamiae. They are vampires and Crixus is going to fix their broken plumbing.
I'm serious about that. This is a book about a plumber making the baths work in a vampire castle.
Naturally, the baths use blood and not water, but water is needed to pump the blood through the system of pipes. It's actually quite interesting on that technical level, with Crixus having to account for the thickness of blood when calculating how much pressure will be needed, and how he can keep the blood fresh in the system for longer so that it needs to be replenished less often. See, the Lamiae are also brutal aristocrats who rule a peasant empire, taking blood from their citizens as a form of tax. Crixus does grapple somewhat with his desire to get paid so he can return home, and the knowledge that his work will lead to more suffering for the peasantry for generations.
If Libby were better at his job, this could actually be a pretty interesting story about class politics and revolution, but as it is the plumbing is the best part. Decent if you're into vampires, but I probably won't read the sequels.
Oh, and the e-book version is pretty poorly put together. Any time there are Italics it cuts off the rest of the paragraph. I don't know why. I don't like it.