Blood Rising - (Blood Saga) by Markus Redmond (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In a brilliantly terrifying blend of supernatural horror and alternate history for fans of Ryan Coogler's Sinners and readers of Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Stephen Graham Jones, a vengeful vampire tribe formed of formerly enslaved Africans wages war across the Southern colonies in the ultimate battle of blood and betrayal.

Kwadzo Okoro never believed the bloody legend of Ramanga was real. Now, he stands as the leader of a new Ramanga Tribe, one that sieged the Barrow plantation in a storm of righteous carnage, liberating its formerly enslaved Africans. Reclaimed as the Crimson Plantation, it is now also home to the wronged Natives who fearlessly aligned with the Ramangans.

But Kwadzo knows that freedom is not secure. Bartholomew and Constance Crabtree, the most influential slaveholders in the region since the demise of Big Jim Barrow, are galvanizing the Lakeside community to strike back--violently. The threat they pose, however, pales in comparison to the insidious menace of Penelope Knudsen. Her white-hot hatred, now fueled by Ramangan blood, and an ability to survive the sunlight--a power Kwadzo doesn't have--threatens to upend Kwadzo's advancement of Ramangan might throughout the colonies to free his people.

But the gravest threat comes from within: Rafazi. His blood fathered the rebellion, but he will not take orders from his own creation. And when Rafazi makes a deadly deal with the Crabtrees, Kwadzo is forced into a battle with his maker that he may not survive, while the everlasting freedom of every enslaved person in the colonies hangs in the balance.

In Carolina and beyond, a reckoning is coming that will change the colonies forever.

Review Quotes

Praise for Blood Slaves

"In Redmond's brutal and unflinching debut, it's humans, not vampires, who are the real monsters. Redmond's seething prose elevates what might otherwise feel like tired horror tropes and his heroes are both monumental and complicated. The result is searing, tense, and unforgettable." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

"Redmond contemplates the meaning of freedom in this unflinching and nuanced alternative history. The novel's strong worldbuilding comes at readers from every angle and through multiple points of view, keeping the pace compelling and intriguing. Filled with graphic violence employed in morally ambiguous ways, Remond's work will provoke intense discomfort in its audience and has the power to engender honest conversations about what could have been but also, more importantly, what should be now. For fans of revenge horror such as LaTanya McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes or Tananarive Due's classic "African Immortals" series, as well as alternative history such as The Power by Naomi Alderman." --Library Journal

"Markus Redmond has crafted a truly epic reimagining of the 19th century, in which an ancient vampire enslaved on a plantation becomes the catalyst for a widespread slave rebellion and violent reckoning with injustice. It's clear throughout the narrative that the true monsters are not the vampires, who need blood to survive, but the slave-owners, who require human suffering in the name of profit. Redmond's novel should be one of the most satisfying of the year, and perhaps of the decade." --CrimeReads

"Blood Slaves is a genre-bending thrill ride that sinks its teeth in and doesn't let go. Markus Redmond doesn't just rewrite vampire mythology, he sets it ablaze with righteous rage and rebellion." --Clay Cane, New York Times bestselling author of The Grift and Burn Down Master's House

"A horror novel with all the blood, gore, and mayhem one could expect from a vampire saga. Hard to put down, no matter how gruesome it gets. For a different vampire story, try Blood Slaves." --Chicago Book Review

"I haven't rooted this hard for characters since Black Panther! Redmond's delicious take on the vampire origin story will grab readers by the throat from page one." --Michelle McGill-Vargas, author of American Ghoul

"Immersive and haunting, Blood Slaves is a painful revisitation of the horrors of history through the lens of supernatural empowerment and a new spin on vampirism for freedom." --Tlotlo Tsamaase, Author of Womb City and The Silence of the Wilting Skin

"Redmond paints such a disturbingly real portrait of inhumanity in the early American South that you'll beg the vampires to rise and destroy every plantation and slave owner." --Nicholas Belardes, author of The Deading and Ten Sleep

"A stunning page-turner of a novel that has all the makings of a 'must see' television series: love, loss, romance, betrayal, tons of action, and a spectacular, timeless look at the eternal battle of good vs. evil. Blood Slaves is a wondrous new history of justice and revenge. It is the American Game of Thrones." --David Greenwalt, Executive Producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Co-Creator of Angel, and Grimm

"There's a really impressive balance in the book where the disturbing, genuinely upsetting stuff is the reality and the fun, bombastic genre flare is the fantasy. In lesser hands, the vampires could've been sadistic and the slave abuse could've been farcical, but Redmond walks the line with acumen: equal parts enraged and, simply, a fan of vampires." --Alex Gonzalez, author of REKT

"Markus Redmond is poised to take the horror world by storm with his chilling first novel. With his explosive debut novel, Redmond rewrites history with a blood-thirsty and relevant vampire battle for freedom and revenge." --This is Horror

About the Author

Markus Redmond is an actor, director, screenwriter, and author. Known for his roles on Doogie Howser, MD, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Mad About You, Angel, and Fight Club, he wrote and starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone in the indie film If I Had Known I Was a Genius. He wrote, directed, and starred in the Amazon Prime thriller The 6th Degree, and has multiple screenplays in development. He lives in Los Angeles.