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A review by mafiabadgers
Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
First read 10/2024
Ultimately I wasn't as drawn into this as I might have hoped, but I certainly feel I've been left with plenty to mull over.
A number of reviewers have complained about this being labelled a vampire book: some because they feel it's too big a spoiler, others because they think it's not really a vampire book at all, but social science fiction, or a crime novel, or something. Well, a tenth of the way into this very short book it's explicitly stated that 'George Smith' is consuming blood, so I'm not sold on the first point, and as for the second, I think it can be viewed as a deconstruction of vampirism and certainly a valuable contribution to the subgenre.
Besides, it certainly situates itself as vampire fiction. Although he's mostly referred to as George Smith, the man's name is revealed to be Bela, his parents hailing from "the old country"—presumably Hungary, in a nod to Bela Lugosi. Tanith Lee's Sabella has a protagonist called Bella, as does, of course, Twilight. I'm kicking myself for not making the connection sooner.
The whole thing is very well structured, though I do think George's autobiography goes on a bit too long, at almost forty percent of the book. As the layers are peeled back, the horror grows, but then wanes a bit before picking up again at the end. The framing device, however, is very intriguing.
The ending has taken on a new dimension as psychiatric techniques have developed;even the happy ending it invites us to imagine involves electroshock therapy and narcosynthesis (notorious for its role in interrogations, and no longer used, as much due to the ethical factors as its poor results). To imagine that 'George' could be cured, or that the psychiatric institution would ever release him (and what a promising source of research papers he is!), would seem to be a delusion all of its own. But don't worry, the book reassures us. "[T]his is and must be fiction[...] But you’d better put the folder back and clear out. If Dr Outerbridge suddenly returns you’ll have to admit he’s real, and then all of this is. And that wouldn’t do, would it?"
Ultimately I wasn't as drawn into this as I might have hoped, but I certainly feel I've been left with plenty to mull over.
A number of reviewers have complained about this being labelled a vampire book: some because they feel it's too big a spoiler, others because they think it's not really a vampire book at all, but social science fiction, or a crime novel, or something. Well, a tenth of the way into this very short book it's explicitly stated that 'George Smith' is consuming blood, so I'm not sold on the first point, and as for the second, I think it can be viewed as a deconstruction of vampirism and certainly a valuable contribution to the subgenre.
Besides, it certainly situates itself as vampire fiction. Although he's mostly referred to as George Smith, the man's name is revealed to be Bela, his parents hailing from "the old country"—presumably Hungary, in a nod to Bela Lugosi. Tanith Lee's Sabella has a protagonist called Bella, as does, of course, Twilight. I'm kicking myself for not making the connection sooner.
The whole thing is very well structured, though I do think George's autobiography goes on a bit too long, at almost forty percent of the book. As the layers are peeled back, the horror grows, but then wanes a bit before picking up again at the end. The framing device, however, is very intriguing.
The ending has taken on a new dimension as psychiatric techniques have developed;