"The Smell of Death & A Taste of Blood" by Marie Krepps

BOOK TITLE: The Smell of Death & A Taste of Blood

AUTHOR: Marie Krepps

YEAR: 2016

GENRE: Fictional Short Stories

SUBGENRE: Vampire Fantasy

GRADE: Extra Credit

The origins of Lord Gerard and his vampire coven are covered in blood, tears, and shattered bones. Life is rarely easy to journey through and any hardships we survive will make us stronger. In the case of the coven, these vampire warriors are strong enough to wage war against their bigoted human brethren. All it takes is an animalistic bite and the sweet and lustful taste of vengeful blood. War has never been so heavenly or so delicious for these sadistic characters.

My favorite short story within this entire collection is the one that made me give this book a full five stars: “Trophy Wife”. All Morgan wanted to do was have a modeling career and a happy life. Instead she did what most women were goaded into doing in the 50’s and 60’s and married a handsome gentleman while doing household chores. The way the husband beat the crap out of Morgan and insulted her was heart-wrenching to me. Even though this part of the book is historical fiction, such mistreatment of women continues to happen in today’s world and the extent of how brutal male supremacy can be is disgusting. The female author of this story has no doubt experienced some kind of sexism in her life and now she’s the teacher of the lesson we all must learn. That lesson is to be kind to our women and show them respect. They won’t all turn out to be vampires like Morgan, but there are consequences for misogyny no matter who the victim is.

Another favorite story of mine that ripped my heart into a million pieces was “Fire Hair”. In this one, a redheaded village girl comes home from a hard day of field work and gets bullied and beaten by a group of other children. The worst part about the beatings is that they happen over and over again for the longest time. We are now in a generation where bullying has to be taken seriously due to the suicides and school shootings we keep hearing about in the news. This particular story highlights just how brutal it can be even though it’s historical fiction. It’s not just the physical beatings that wear children down; it’s the psychological torture and the building anxiety because of it. While going on a blood-splattering rampage is an illegal and dangerous way to solve the bullying crisis, I do commend Ms. Krepps for holding a mirror up to society and showing all of its ugliest features.

Every single one of these short stories deserves praise from even the toughest of critics. She has showing instead of telling down to a science and that is an admirable trait to have in an author. As a reader, you want to feel how badly those punches hurt, how tasty those kisses are, and how relaxing the sounds of nature are. Marie Krepps will take you to her most beautiful and deadliest places in her mind and won’t let you leave. The minute you read the first page, you’re her literary prisoner and your sentence will last until the final page. Your figurative prison sentence will be grueling. It will be heartbreaking. But most importantly, it will be a hell of a lot of fun!

If you want a book that mixes genres into a bundle of nerd heaven and leaves you wanting more, buy a copy of this short story collection. And after you’re done with this, buy another Marie Krepps book. And another. And another. Hell, it’s a lot like taking drugs: the more you have, the more you need. You will become a Marie Krepps book junkie after one read. I promise you that! Five stars for an awesome collection!