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!
