The Dracula Chronicles: Bound by Blood by Shane KP O'Neill

   Three words: scary as hell.  And there is literally a Hell element to it all since Dracula has become some kind of demon or other.  I had trouble reading because it was scary and downright brutal.  There's a lot of death and now that he has morphed into what we would kind of think of as Dracula, there is a huge body count piling up and he could care less.  When it seems he may have been doing a lot for what he felt was the right thing to do, now it's because he wants to do it.  Murder is now in his blood because Lucifer himself is in his blood.  There is no way to keep from hurting those around him unless they are like him.  He has the ability to turn them into what he is, too.
   I personally had a hard time stomaching this one. There's is a certain level of murder and brutality that I just can't take.  Say for instance, on The Walking Dead where Bob was sitting there watching people eat his leg they had just hacked off.  That is too much for me.  And this book has come dangerously close to me putting it down because of too much violence.  It isn't for everyone, that's for sure.  But there is also no denying how well it is written.  It is very well written and holds a certain magnetism to it.  Perhaps it's because of the subject or because the writer was well versed on the subject.  Who knows, but it's there.
 The good news is that after you get about 35% through the book, the violence dies down a bit and you see a lot more of the story line unfolding.  It becomes apparent that even some things still bother the now-immortal Dracula.  Loneliness becomes a big issue as well as revenge.  And toying with Lucifer to get what you want is never a good idea.  He makes this clear throughout the book, not just with Dracula but with various other Catholic Church officials who have signed their souls over to him for one reason or another.  It makes it seem like a very corrupt institution.  While it seems like evil is gaining the upperhand, there is still hope yet that rests in Dracula's half brother, Andrei, and his sons.  They have the power to help bring down the evil Lucifer has brought upon the Earth with the turning of Dracula (and a few others who were turned by Dracula instead of Lucifer).
   All in all it was a very good book, regardless of the violence in it.  But this is not a book for anyone to read who is under the age of 18.  The content is too graphic and violent for younger ages.  Death is Dracula's business now that he walks in the shadows of the night.  He is the spawn of evil itself and O'Neill weaves that evil into a well-told, gruesome tale.

5 out of 5 stars!