High Bloods

There's no other way to put it. A bestseller in the making. Farris has consistently produced some of the finest (and sadly overlooked) horror-suspense novels of the decade...High Bloods is no exception and I happen to think it's his finest work. Heavily influenced by the Gold Star line and Raymond Chandler, High Bloods has all the workings of a classic detective novel, yet Farris is able to weave a remarkable and fantastic sci-fi tale, a unique premise involving a future society living rather tenuously with werewolves. There's plenty of hints dropped at the apocalyptic scope of the werewolf plague that impacts the world of High Bloods...but the book is never about that. Farris deftly works in enough back story to let the reader's imagination run wild. It's effective, at least for me. The same principle is at work in some of our finest horror films...it's what you don't see that scares you the most. In High Bloods, the back story that most amateur writers would try and crowbar into a momentum-driven plot would simply suffocate the story. Not here. High Bloods drips with atmosphere, sharp dialogue and intrigue, with prose that keeps the story moving at a steady clip. Not to mention a world (in this case Los Angeles) totally unique unto itself (there's even a glossary included for Farris' totally hip slang)...and that's a testament to his genius. True Blood, Twilight, Underworld, and all the other weak nu-vampire tales have absolutely nothing on this stunning novel from a true master. If this doesn't get picked up for a potential series or big-budget feature...well frankly I'd be shocked. It's simply a goddamn classic, a truly original novel. And I can only hope there will be more to come.