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johnmarlowe's review against another edition
3.0
This was a 2 ½ for me, although I must not have been in the mood for it because I like Glen Duncan’s style and the subject matter.
This is the third book in Glen Duncan’s werewolf/vampire series. I’ve just not liked the second and this third book as much as I did the first. It’s probably me. But, we werewolf readers found out who Remshi is in this book and what happened to Tallula and her werewolf children.
This is the third book in Glen Duncan’s werewolf/vampire series. I’ve just not liked the second and this third book as much as I did the first. It’s probably me. But, we werewolf readers found out who Remshi is in this book and what happened to Tallula and her werewolf children.
knowledgelost's review against another edition
4.0
It’s a sad day for me; Glen Duncan’s Bloodlines trilogy has finally come to an end. This series has been a favourite of mine and I have been desperate to get my hands on By Blood We Live. If you don’t know, this trilogy started off as a bit of a joke for Glen Duncan. One New Year’s Eve party he jokingly claimed that he would write a page-turner with werewolves, and “none of my usual philosophical angst or moral inquiry.” Having recently been dumped from a publisher (he had no best sellers and had won no awards) the move towards literary genre fiction was a recipe for success for Duncan.
In the early planning stages, Glen Duncan had planned to write a “clever narrative with a memorable antihero at its feral, furry heart”. Being disappointed by the recent wave of popular paranormal novels (Twilight, etc) Duncan drew from the horror novels he loved (Frankenstein and Dracula) as well as his favourite werewolf movie (An American Werewolf in London); the end result was The Last Werewolf. It was Duncan’s take on the werewolf novel; remaining true to the mythology, unlike other paranormal novel The Last Werewolf was gritty, violent and over sexed. Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf alive, with the pending extinction of his new race, will he give up? The novel was nothing like other horror novels I read, this was dark and literary.
Then came Talulla Rising, which continued the story, this time from the point of view of Talulla Demetriou; a strong female protagonist that both kick-assed and was full of inner torment (my catnip). Where The Last Werewolf looked at life and loneliness, Talulla Rising forced more on love and family. It has been a two year wait but finally By Blood We Live was finally released to conclude this fantastic trilogy.
In By Blood We Live we follow both Remshi, 20,000-year-old vampire that has been haunted by Talulla in his dreams. Having half the novel from a vampires perspective is an interesting change for fans of the series. This novel focuses on survival and humanity, which are both common elements in a paranormal novel but a nice way to tie this trilogy together. Talulla is been pursued by a Vatican-based Militi Christian group of monster hunters who have taking the place of the now defunct WOCOP (World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena). Remshi tries to uncover why Talulla haunts him as well as trying to stop the recklessness of a newly turned vampire.
While I wasn’t disappointed by By Blood We Live, I felt like this book wasn’t as great as its predecessors. It did conclude the trilogy and there were some great moments within the novel, I just felt like it had less to say than the first two. The literary wasn’t as prominent, almost like Glen Duncan is moving into the realm of best-selling author. While he does deserve the success, I would hate to see Duncan throw away any sign of the literary in his future novels. Rest assured that the dark and gritty feel to this series is still there. Something I must have looked in the first two novels was the amount of literary and pop culture references have been made; I know they were always in this series but I noticed them so much more in this novel.
I loved this series and I plan to reread them sometime in the near future; I know I’ll need to return to these witty and dark novels. I also have to try some of his other books, I know he said he wasn’t going to add his “usual philosophical angst or moral inquiry”, but I’m so glad he did, it really works for him. I hope Glen Duncan continues on his literary genre fiction journey and I’m eagerly awaiting what he does next. Has anyone else read this series? Or does anyone want to try to predict what genres his next book will cover?
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/03/26/by-blood-we-live-by-glen-duncan/
In the early planning stages, Glen Duncan had planned to write a “clever narrative with a memorable antihero at its feral, furry heart”. Being disappointed by the recent wave of popular paranormal novels (Twilight, etc) Duncan drew from the horror novels he loved (Frankenstein and Dracula) as well as his favourite werewolf movie (An American Werewolf in London); the end result was The Last Werewolf. It was Duncan’s take on the werewolf novel; remaining true to the mythology, unlike other paranormal novel The Last Werewolf was gritty, violent and over sexed. Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf alive, with the pending extinction of his new race, will he give up? The novel was nothing like other horror novels I read, this was dark and literary.
Then came Talulla Rising, which continued the story, this time from the point of view of Talulla Demetriou; a strong female protagonist that both kick-assed and was full of inner torment (my catnip). Where The Last Werewolf looked at life and loneliness, Talulla Rising forced more on love and family. It has been a two year wait but finally By Blood We Live was finally released to conclude this fantastic trilogy.
In By Blood We Live we follow both Remshi, 20,000-year-old vampire that has been haunted by Talulla in his dreams. Having half the novel from a vampires perspective is an interesting change for fans of the series. This novel focuses on survival and humanity, which are both common elements in a paranormal novel but a nice way to tie this trilogy together. Talulla is been pursued by a Vatican-based Militi Christian group of monster hunters who have taking the place of the now defunct WOCOP (World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena). Remshi tries to uncover why Talulla haunts him as well as trying to stop the recklessness of a newly turned vampire.
While I wasn’t disappointed by By Blood We Live, I felt like this book wasn’t as great as its predecessors. It did conclude the trilogy and there were some great moments within the novel, I just felt like it had less to say than the first two. The literary wasn’t as prominent, almost like Glen Duncan is moving into the realm of best-selling author. While he does deserve the success, I would hate to see Duncan throw away any sign of the literary in his future novels. Rest assured that the dark and gritty feel to this series is still there. Something I must have looked in the first two novels was the amount of literary and pop culture references have been made; I know they were always in this series but I noticed them so much more in this novel.
I loved this series and I plan to reread them sometime in the near future; I know I’ll need to return to these witty and dark novels. I also have to try some of his other books, I know he said he wasn’t going to add his “usual philosophical angst or moral inquiry”, but I’m so glad he did, it really works for him. I hope Glen Duncan continues on his literary genre fiction journey and I’m eagerly awaiting what he does next. Has anyone else read this series? Or does anyone want to try to predict what genres his next book will cover?
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/03/26/by-blood-we-live-by-glen-duncan/
row's review against another edition
2.0
2.5.
I feel mean because I love a lot of GD's other books and the trilogy started off very promisingly, but this book is repetitive and dull and jumpy and just not effective.
I feel mean because I love a lot of GD's other books and the trilogy started off very promisingly, but this book is repetitive and dull and jumpy and just not effective.
gotossmycausticsalad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ranaelizabeth's review against another edition
2.0
This is the third book in a trilogy and I just now realized that basically it's Twilight + 50 Shades of Grey. I would like to say that the writing is better than both of those books but yeah, it's pretty trashy. However, up until this one, it was actually decent writing. But this one got bogged down in stupid boring philosophical crap that I totally just skimmed over. If I'm reading trash, I want less philosophy, more werewolf sex.
angieinthemorning's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I'll ever know what was the point of this book, what was Duncan planning to do or get at with it. Which is fine, I guess, because I don't think he knows either.
okstaples's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely not Duncan's best - although he's taking the very subtle yet unmistakeable piss out of the urban fantasy genre, at times it becomes difficult to tell whether a section is a parody or simply poor prose. However. HOWEVER. If you've been following the trilogy, By Blood We Live is absolutely essential reading; plot-wise, I can barely fault it. I was entertained and intrigued the whole way through, and the ending had me practically screaming. Duncan's provided a more than satisfying coda to the series in the form of a hugely fun and gripping story that still manages to ponder some big questions. Although I wouldn't recommend BBWL on its own, I'd consider it vital to anyone who liked The Last Werewolf and Talulla Rising. And as a long-time fan of Duncan's work, I can't wait to see what he does next.
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