Skinners Book 1: BLOOD BLADE by Marcus Pelegrimas

Publisher EOS
Date published January 2009
ISBN 978-0-06-146305-1
Horror
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Tammy



The first book in Marcus Pelegrimas’ Skinner series of horror books, BLOOD BLADE, has the human race hanging in the balance as Skinners attempt to fight back the overwhelming number of monsters determined to obliterate humankind.

Video game designer Cole Warnecki finds himself in a creative slump and decides to go on an extreme vacation to find his muse. What he finds are monsters beyond the imagination that tear apart and feed upon just about everyone involved in Cole’s vacation expedition. Luckily for him, he also makes the acquaintance of the Skinners, the humans that fight the good fight against the monsters. Unfortunately, there are very few Skinners left alive and two have just died in front of Cole’s eyes.

Marcus Pelegrimas’ BLOOD BLADE reminded this reader of Christopher Golden’s Howler books. The book is very dark, there is nothing light or romantic about the story. The hero is an everyday guy thrust into a battle to save mankind from monsters. And as with the Howlers books, the monsters are frightening and most people have no idea they truly exist.

Though being marketed as urban romantic fantasy, this reader feels a more appropriate placing would be in the horror genre. There is really nothing romantic about this book. Though a romance is hinted at a few times between Cole and the female Skinner who teaches him about the monsters, there really is no spark between these characters.

The beginning of the book places a lot of emphasis on Cole’s job as a video game designer and his relationship with his boss. Yet, once the monsters attack, that relationship and his job seem to become somewhat irrelevant. Perhaps in the next book, their importance will come in to play.

Though there were a few problems with Pelegrimas’ BLOOD BLADE, all in all it somehow manages to intrigue readers enough to want to give the next book in the series a try. The foundation has been laid, now we will just have to wait and see where Pelegrimas takes the series next.