Field of Blood by Eric Wilson

Field of Blood (Book 1, Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy)
By Eric Wilson
Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008


Description

Judas hung himself in a place known as the Akeldama or Field of Blood.

But what if his death didn't end his betrayal?

What if his tainted blood seeped deep into the earth, into burial caves, causing a counterfeit resurrection of the dead?

Gina Lazarescu, a Romanian girl with a scarred past, has no idea she is being sought by the undead.

The Collectors, those released from the Akeldama, feed on souls and human blood. But there are also the Nistarim, those who rose from their graves in the shadow of the Nazarene's crucifixion—and they still walk among us, immortal, left to protect mankind.

Gina realizes her future will depend on her understanding of the past, yet how can she protect herself from Collectors who have already died once but still live?

The Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy takes readers on a riveting journey, as imaginative fiction melds with biblical and archaeological history.



Margie’s comments: I have to confess that Field of Blood is not a book I would normally read, mostly because of the vampires. In fact, it sat on my to be reviewed pile for several months before I finally read it. And the only reason I did was because I was asked to proofread the second book in this series, Haunt of Jackals. I was so drawn into the story and the characters, I found myself picking up Field of Blood just to get caught up with the backstory. So in essence I read both books at the same time.

The only other vampire book I’ve read is the classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. And Eric Wilson puts an entirely difference spin on his characterization of vampires, putting their lust and evil desires on a more spiritual plain. To me, Wilson’s depiction is more believable to me than Bram Stoker’s.

The premise of Field of Blood and the Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy is a mixture of truth and fiction. But Eric Wilson’s melding of the two makes even the fiction plausible, given a healthy dose of suspension of belief on the reader’s part. Eric’s characters are real, well-rounded individuals. Even the less savory characters are believable in the context of the story. Lots of research, in-depth and on-site, has gone into this trilogy, giving even more credibility to the story line.

The writing is strong and descriptive. Not only do the characters come alive, but the varied settings do, too. A combination of legend and biblical truth, this first book of the trilogy contains a strong message of spiritual warfare on a much higher level than many of us want to think about. It is a book that demands an open mind to possibilities that might exist beyond our understanding of the spiritual world. Haunt of Jackals releases in July; the final book in the trilogy, Valley of Bones, releases in 2010.