“Halocline”
By John G. Rees
Publication Date: October, 2010
Publisher: Black Water Books
386 pages
ISBN: 978-0-578-05980-8
Vampires/Horror
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“Halocline” is a graphic vampire horror novel with a futuristic twist that has no equal. Oh, don’t get me wrong, vampires have been done to death (literally, figuratively and in every other way). Even so, author John G. Rees has given literary birth to a genre of vampires that combines the original evil with the charming (albeit fleeting) lure of redemption.
The book is billed as the second installment of a series begun by the earlier work “Anoxic Zone.” Not having read the first book, I can attest to the fact that it reads perfectly fine as a stand-alone work.
So what is “Halocline” all about? The heroes are deep-water salvage divers Jake and Johnny. They may look outwardly like ordinary men, but the blood of the original vampire Vlad Tepes has transformed them into vampires. Created by the international business conglomerate Megacorp as superhuman laborers and controlled with generous helpings of heroin and other drugs, they have been dubbed “reusable.”
Going rogue, Jake and Johnny seek to destroy Tepes and his “gift.” In so doing, they are also defying a world run by a corporation and its puppet governments. Yet Tepes is not idle. He, too, is setting events in motion to once again control his native Romania, and from there it is only a small step to challenge Megacorp.
As an avid horror reader and seasoned vampire lore aficionado, I must confess that I have not run across a premise similar to the one crafted by Rees in “Halocline” The idea is fascinating, the characters vibrant and the action just keeps moving. Literary minds are bound to notice the writing style employed by the author. It is neither lofty nor primitive; in fact, I would say that it has a visceral quality that makes it distinctive.
Underscoring the action beautifully, it also delivers frequent jolts to the reader who might have grown comfortable in a scene. You see, one of the reasons why this vampire novel is so appealing, is the constant flow of adrenaline that the reader experiences. Rees cleverly accomplishes this by pairing gorgeous narratives with suddenly abrupt sentences. Word pictures run the gambit from the flowery to the sexual (who would have ever thought to compare the first cup of morning Joe to masturbation?) and back.
While I highly recommend “Halocline” the use of sexual imagery and the copious depictions of drug use make this book somewhat unsuitable for younger teens or the minister’s wife. For the hardcore vampire lover, this book is a staple that must be on a well-stocked shelf.
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For the sake of full disclosure, let the kind reader please take notice that I received a copy of “Halocline” free of charge, from Mr. Clayton Bye.
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