The Living Blood by Tananarive Due

The Living Blood

by Tananarive Due
Genres: Fiction, Horror
Published on 2001
Pages: 515
Format: Hardcover Source: Library

Acclaimed for her riveting fiction, which tests the boundaries of supernatural suspense, Tananarive Due returns with a gloriously imagined tale of an ancient cult's undying powers -- now embodied by a child who can grow to become either monster or savior. The Living Blood Jessica Jacobs-Wolde worked hard to rebuild her life in Miami after the disappearance of her husband, David, and the death of her daughter Kira at his hand. Four years later, she is still coming to terms with a shocking truth: David, who is part of an ancient group of immortals -- a hidden African clan that has survived for more than a thousand years -- gave Jessica and their second daughter, Fana, the gift of his healing blood. Now Jessica is running an isolated clinic in Botswana -- one that has swiftly earned a reputation for its astounding success rate in curing desperately ill children -- and she hopes to find the tribe of souls with whom Fana truly belongs. Just three and a half years old, the girl is displaying signs of tremendous power -- conjuring storms, editing her mother's memories, and striking people down with a thought. Her growing abilities need to be tamed -- and soon. Already Fana's dreams are haunted by a shadowy entity, someone -- or something -- she can only call the Bee Lady. Unaware that they are being tracked by Lucas Shepard, a doctor from Florida who hopes to save his dying son, and by a group of fortune hunters who will stop at nothing to exploit the power coursing through her veins, Jessica journeys to Ethiopia in search of the Life Brothers. There, she will be reunited with her immortal beloved. There, the full force of Fana's powers will be revealed. And there, Jessica, David, Fana, and the good doctor Shepard, though himself a mere mortal, will engage in an epic and transcontinental battle over the ultimate fate of humanity. Blending the supernatural with a thrilling vision of our times, this is a powerful and sweeping tale of love, horror, immortality, and redemption from an astounding storyteller.
  • The cover made the husband do a double take and declare that he was going to have nightmares from watching me read it.
  • I learned about Lobelia Ethiopia. There are 11 churches in this town that were carved out of bedrock with their roofs at ground level. I never knew they existed.
  • I was most interested in the issue of trying to raise an all powerful child. Maybe it is because I’ve had to deal with a violent child so the story of trying to teach a three year old that she can’t kill people with her mind seemed relevant.
  • This is a rare time when I actually like the second book in a series more than the first. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series to see what they decide to do with the medical implications of the blood.
  • Here’s my review of the first book in the series – My Soul to Keep
  • I’m currently reading the third book – Blood Colony – and liking it even more than this one.  I put it aside yesterday though because it there was one sentence at the end of a chapter that quietly introduced a huge plot twist and was insanely creepy.  I needed to let my brain recover from that.
three-stars