I Read What?!

So last time in Bloodlist, we met our main character, Jack Fleming, who has just discovered himself to be a vampire. He's also discovered he's missing a few days of memory. Oh, and he's been murdered. That's kind of important too.



We start this chapter with Jack waking up. He pushes the pillow away, which makes me wonder a little bit about how big the closet is. I mean, is he laying down on the floor? Is he leaning against the door? Am I thinking too hard about this, probably.

We do get a few oblique answers to some of our early questions when Jack asks himself why "she" hadn't told him about the dreams? "She" had told him what to do when "the death-time came" but had never mentioned them.

So that explains why Jack seemed distressed but unsurprised about being a vampire last chapter. Someone had explained it to him ahead of time. But who? And where is "she" now?

Apparently the vampires in Ms. Elrod's universe still grow hair, as Jack notes that it's "something of a trick" to shave without looking. He thinks it will be interesting when it comes time for a haircut since barbershops have mirrors. Good point.

Anyway, Jack's out to take care of some practical business: first he junks his bloodstained clothes in a nearby trashcans (but he removes the labels and laundry marks first, and ditches them in a storm drain farther away). And then he pays a street kid a nickel for directions to some pawn shops.

So Jack goes shopping. He ends up buying a solid looking three by five feet steamer trunk. As he's taking it back with him, someone tries to mug him. (Jack compares himself to a hick fresh off the farm for falling for it.) As it turns out though, mugging a vampire is a bad idea, as Jack discovers a new ability: vampires in this universe can turn into mist. Not too shabby.

This scares off the mugger, but has a downside, as Jack's senses don't work quite right in mist form, and he ends up drifting through the cracks between the bricks of a nearby building. He materializes in a ladies' clothing store. It takes a few attempts but he manages to get himself out the same way and reclaim his trunk.

Hunger is the next immediate need, and Jack gets a cab to take him to the Stockyards. He's careful to avoid the rear view mirror as he climbs in and it occurs to me how rarely 20th century vampire movies/shows actually address the way mirrors are EVERYWHERE. I mean, it comes up occasionally, but not as often as it should. Maybe that's why so many are brooding loners.

The cab crosses water twice, and we're told that Jack is pressed into his seat by the opposing natural force. It's uncomfortable, but bearable. Then Jack gets into the Stockyards. Only one person tries to stop him, and Jack discovers the other nifty vampire trick: hypnosis, and he Jedi Mind-Tricks the fellow away.

Jack starts getting a bit melodramatic about his hunger: "I told him to leave, and from my brief contact with him knew he thought his sudden retreat was his own idea. I wanted to think about this, to examine and test it to make sure it was not just imagination, but something stronger and much more insistent was in charge. All it wanted was to end the desperate, empty agony that was turning me inside out. Clear thought blurred and faded, the body was taking over in order to survive. It needed privacy from the interference of others; sought and found it among the more distant cattle pens. It wanted a quiescent victim and chose the least alarmed animal from the dozen that milled around the enclosure."

It's like one of those Snickers commercials. "You're not yourself when you're hungry". Just eat, drama queen.

And Jack does, chomping down on a nice cow. In less than a minute, he's got what he needs and the cow seems fine. Jack wipes his lips with a handkerchief which is something I find very amusing. Anyway, he's feeling much better now.

After that, there's another bit of practicality. He throws his stuff in his trunk, checks out of the hotel, and heads to the train station to deal with his last major need: earth.

I THINK this is a reference to the folklore idea of vampires needing to sleep with their home soil or something, and indeed, Jack is taking a train to Cincinnati. Or more precisely, he's booking his trunk to Cincinnati, with him inside. (The vanishing trick comes in handy here, since he doesn't have to actually open the lock.)

Traveling to Cincinnati in a steamer trunk does sound somewhat unpleasant, at least at night, but Jack manages. Day is a bit better, because sleep, but worse, because dreams. But on the next night, Jack can get out at his destination. Jack hides from any old time acquaintances and then takes a cab out into the country. He leaves a tip to the driver to wait (half of a dollar bill, the other half when Jack comes out) and he goes to his Grandfather's farm.

We get some nice background here. Jack's family lived on the farm for generations, though his own parents have a more modern house in the city. (Jack's mom likes her gas stove and indoor plumbing.) So no one lives there now. It's not in terrible condition though. Jack ransacks the barn for some bags, twine, and a rusty shovel, then heads out to the cemetery.

Jack finds the grave with his full name ("Jonathan Russell Fleming"), though it actually belongs to his namesake grandfather, and we segue into a memory of Jack, at eight years old, when his puppy died. His grandfather was the one who helped talk him through the grief and bury his dog. He gives a very nice speech about the seasons, and how Jack might love the summer but he also is glad for what comes with the change of the seasons: new friends and new activities. He compares dying to a change of the seasons, and at the end of the burial, he makes a comment about thinking that winter is coming soon. Then he died the next day. Jack was the only one who didn't cry at the funeral.

It's a nice, poignant anecdote, and Jack wonders what his grandfather would think of him now that he's gone through his own change. Which is an interesting way to look at it really. I would have compared vampiric immortality to unending summer, but Jack looks at it more as a season's change instead. I wonder which of us has the more optimistic view.

(Also random note: Jack is apparently the "runt" of seven siblings. Sadly, as I recall, none of his siblings actually show up in the books. That's a shame, because seeing a vampire dealing with his mortal older siblings sounds hilarious to me.)

Anyway, Jack gets himself two thirty pound sacks of earth from the grave and goes back to Chicago. Apparently the earth helps a lot when it comes to getting a good day's sleep.

Jack has a few other practical matters to take care of in this chapter. First, he finds a new hotel, this one within walking distance of the Stockyards. He is clearly planning a much more long term stay: paying ten dollars a week for a place with heavier curtains, a working fan, and a private bath. He attributes the value to the proximity to the Stockyards.

Sorry to keep talking about the costs of things. I just find that to be an entertaining side effect of period stories.

Anyway, Jack gets a bite to eat, buys some newspapers and then goes to Western Union and sends a telegram to his parents. The telegram is full of LIES about working at an ad agency, and he sends them twenty five dollars. Apparently, he sends them about five bucks every payday, because they've had trouble since the Crash and he's a good egg.

I love books about vampires that send money home to mother.

Finally, one more errand: when he gets back to the hotel, he gives the bellboy money to place a message in the newspapers he bought. Then he decides to take a bath.

And that's when we learn that when you wake up on a beach, with partial amnesia, and marks on you that look like they belong on a corpse, a bath might not be the best idea.

A nasty bit of flashing imagery later, Jack's on the floor, shaking. Jack decides to "push the incident from [his] mind" and also that maybe bathtub relaxation isn't for him.

...I am starting to become a little concerned about Jack's method of dealing with trauma. I feel like maybe repression isn't the best long term solution?

Finally, Jack decides to do some investigation. He goes to the warehouse offices of International Freshwater Transport, Inc. (which was the place where Fred Sanderson's car was registered). He breaks in, via the old mist trick, and snoops around. Finally he finds something: a notation on a calendar with the name "Mr. Paco." Sanderson's boss.

After some more snooping, Jack goes back to his room. He isn't tired or hungry, like he would normally be after this kind of outing. He angsts a bit about his lost humanity, and then goes into his room, where he finds his trunk unlocked, his earth missing, and a note asking for a meeting. Signed, "Hopefully, A Friend."

And so the chapter ends.

This is the kind of chapter that could be boring, but I find this stuff fascinating. It's a lot of logistics. How to Vampire, 101. Well, maybe 201. Jack gets to skip ahead of all of the annoying "WHAT AM I" drama, and get straight to work.

There isn't really any drama or excitement to this chapter. Even the mugging is just a trigger for Jack to discover his new ability. But I think that's okay. This is framework: we get to see how Jack approaches a problem. We get to learn quite a bit more about the rules of vampirism in this universe (since no fictional vampire is exactly the same), and we get all of the survival needs stuff out of the way so we can focus on the mystery and action coming up.

At least that's what I hope.

So the rules of vampirism in this universe so far are: vampires have to die before they become vampires, vampires cannot eat (in a part I didn't mention, Jack was nauseous at the thought of a steak), vampires can drink blood from animals and do not require their victims' death, vampire hair and stubble still grows, they can cross running water but not pleasantly, they need to avoid sunlight and sleep with their home earth.

Sadly, at this time, Jack is really the only major character we have. Fortunately he's likable, but it's a little lonely. Maybe that will change next chapter.