Book Review : The Blood of Cain by T.L. Gray

The Blood of Cain by T.L. Gray

Product Details

• Paperback: 193 pages
• Publisher: Fireside Publications; 1st edition (October 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935517015
• ISBN-13: 978-1935517016
• Available on Amazon
  

Synopsis

Teagan Dacre loves fast cars, loud music and beautiful women, however he carries a secret that keeps him isolated from the general population; he has strange silver eyes, heals really fast and hasn't aged in over a hundred years.

The darkest secret of all - he has a blood thirst that must be satisfied by each new moon.

Believing himself unique, Teagan's world gets turned upside down when he meets an unruly family of immortals seeking their father and maker, none other than the world's first murderer, Cain.

Everything Teagan thought he knew about himself is transformed when he learns how vampires came to be and for what purpose he was made.

For everything, there's a price to be paid, Teagan wonders if he'll be strong enough to pay it.

Review

Cain was the firstborn child of Adam and Eve, and also the First Murderer. Many interpreters suggested that Cain is the embodiment of evil for murdering his own brother, Abel. In this novel, the author views him from a different perspective. Through this book, we learn that Cain actually committed the crime out of jealousy because God favoured Abel over him and wouldn't accept his offering. He sinned and regretted his crime for thousands of years, not having to chance to rest in peace for God laid a curse on him that marked him as an immortal.

Cain lived for a long time in isolation, until he met his friend Abital. He accidentally turned Abital into an immortal like himself, and out of self-reprimand, he tried to end his friend's life because he couldn't bear to see him live with the same curse as he. But later on, he finally learned to think of it in a positive way.

Teagan has lived for more than a century. He wanted to know more about himself - what is he, who made him and what is his purpose of living. He finally found a clue to his answer on the night he met Tatiana, one of the first immortals created by Cain. He discovered more about his new family and the truth behind everything while staying with his new family, one that was composed by five vampires - Tatiana, Blythe, Carpus, Chloe and Bartemaeus.

The author uses alternating points of view in writing the story - Cain's and Teagan's, which supplies the story with a foundation on the vampiric myth. She weaves the story nicely with simple words which gives readers an exact idea of what is going on. But I've a few things to comment. First of all, I discovered some typos. On page 21, Cain is written as Cane and on page 25, Abel is written as Able. I think this may have something to do with the spelling check. Next, in chapter nineteen, Cain had a conversation with Tatiana. The date is 240 BCE, in Greece.

Tatiana: "You've been across the great western sea?"
Cain: "Yes and I've traversed it, too, only to come to another sea. I sailed across it only to find myself back in China and Indonesia."

At this time period, I think Indonesia was known as "Nusantara" or "Sumatra". The term "Indonesia" was first used in 1850 by the British anthropologist J. R. Logan to designate islands called the "Indian Archipelago" by other Western writers. As for China, I'm not so sure what was it called in the olden days, but 240 BCE was during the reign of Qin Shihuang from the Qin dynasty. It should be written as "the Qin dynasty". This is not a big deal, but I think it feels strange to hear an ancient man using modern-day terms.

This book is interesting and intriguing. The author writes in such a way that we can feel the loneliness and yearning for redemption in Cain's heart. He constantly ponders of a way to obtain God's forgiveness, not knowing that he is already forgiven (pg 166). With a mere 176 pages (excluding the excerpt of book 2), The Blood of Cain proves to be an enjoyable and enlightening read, because we get to learn about the God's never-ending love for us, which is full of grace and forgiveness.

Rating:

I'd like to thank T.L. Gray for sending me a signed paperback copy of The Blood of Cain for this review. Thank you!

About the Author

T.L. Gray lives in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains just west of Atlanta with her family, friends, four dogs and one cat. In childhood when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up she replied, "A Queen". Since that title isn't available within a democracy, she chose the next best thing...and author.