Bloodlands (Bloodlands, #1)

Jul 18, 2011 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy

(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)

This weekend I actually started and abandoned a lot of books, but I did so in such rapid succession that I saw no point in even mentioning them. But after countless horrible Conan graphic novels and several lack-lustre Science Fiction books, I was hoping to move on to something that was more my sort of thing. Bloodlands was infinitely superior to my previous reading attempts, of course, but it still ended up being yet another book that I picked up only to put...more (Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)

This weekend I actually started and abandoned a lot of books, but I did so in such rapid succession that I saw no point in even mentioning them. But after countless horrible Conan graphic novels and several lack-lustre Science Fiction books, I was hoping to move on to something that was more my sort of thing. Bloodlands was infinitely superior to my previous reading attempts, of course, but it still ended up being yet another book that I picked up only to put it down again fairly quickly.

Ultimately, a vampire cowboy, an Intel Dog whose barks meant words or full sentences, a post-apocalyptic setting, and switching from first to third person point of views in various chapters, did nothing to distract me from the fact that the first 100 or so pages of this book were primarily about two people in a shelter having feelings for one another for no apparent reason so that they can be a couple a few books down the road. Had this book been just about the vampire and his canine sidekick, I would have continued, but I was not loving the female main character and I am not a fan of romantic tensions and lust based solely on proximity.

Truth be told, the odds were probably not in Bloodlands' favor anyway. I have a sizably large To Be Read pile with books about other supernatural cowboys, circuses, goblins, guys with guns, dysfunctional detectives, and precog soldiers to attend to. And an allergic reaction to women and girls behaving irrationally because a vampire, faery, demon or angel showed up. Matters were then made infinitely worse when a copy of A Dance with Dragons showed up on my doorstep this morning, but I digress. After making one last ditch effort this morning, skimming ahead, and also reading other reviews... Well, as a Magic 8 Ball would say, the outlook was not good so I gave up.

In conclusion, no mas. If you are a fan of paranormal romance or vampires in general, you might appreciate this book more than I did... However, I would strongly suggest reading some other reviews first.(less)

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Jul 03, 2011 Angela James added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, arc, dnf, urban-fantasy

This is one of those books that I read the first three chapter of, and then skipped to the last. I love a good majority of the urban fantasy books that come from the Ace imprint, but this one was not for me. The motivations of the male character were...weak for me. Basically, he developed an obsession for a woman who disappeared, and he's been searching for her in a dangerous, post-apocalyptic world for around over a year. His memories of her show her to have had seemingly little interest in or...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-releases, vampires, urban-fantasy

*Rating* 3.5
*Genre* Science Fiction/Dystopia

*Review*

Bloodlands is told in a post-apocalyptic landscape where a mosquito epidemic wiped out and separated much of the population. Terrorism, both outside and within the US, tore the rest of the country apart with bombs placed in key locations along earthquake faults. This in turn, left the survivors fighting for their lives.

People actually started to believe that their own government was worse than the bad guys themselves after they set up segregate...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic-post-apocalyptic, boring, demons, fantasy-paranormal-sci-fi, fiction-vixen-reviews, first-reads-arcs-won-a-copy, futuristic, read-2011, series, vampire, were-shifter

I finished this book last night and I’m still conflicted. I honestly don’t know whether I liked it or not. It’s one of those grey books that leaves you with murky feelings and makes you wonder if you should check out the next book before you make up your mind.

I found this book really hard to get into. The writing felt distancing, although it became apparent to me later that this was on purpose, and I didn’t warm up to the characters easily. The world itself was a little hard to figure out, but...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Cheri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wonderfull read, great world building and loved watching the characters learn and live with bigotry, hatred, forgivness and redemption in a future post-apocalyptic world. Bloodlands is the first in the trilogy of which the second comes out next month and the third in Sept. Christine Cody (aka) Chris Marie Green is a seasoned writer of the Vampire Babylon Paranormal Romance series.

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Aug 17, 2012 Dangerous Romance Book Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Publisher Description: It was called the New Badlands, home to the survivors of a cataclysm that altered the entire nation. Then the vampires arrived, and it was rechristened the Bloodlands. Not because of the vampire, but because of the gun-for- hire who'd decided to slay every monster in the country by any and every means necessary.

There are all kinds of mash-ups happening right now. Old West meets Steampunk. Zombies meet Corporate Thriller and now BLOODLANDS, a post apocalyptic Western with a...more Publisher Description: It was called the New Badlands, home to the survivors of a cataclysm that altered the entire nation. Then the vampires arrived, and it was rechristened the Bloodlands. Not because of the vampire, but because of the gun-for- hire who'd decided to slay every monster in the country by any and every means necessary.

There are all kinds of mash-ups happening right now. Old West meets Steampunk. Zombies meet Corporate Thriller and now BLOODLANDS, a post apocalyptic Western with a dash of Vampire and Were thrown in.

It is sometime in the future and something very bad happened to our world. We're never really told what it is, but we can guess. Bombs, killer viruses, nanotechnology run amuck, use your imagination. Whatever caused the cataclysm that changed the landscape and the culture and turned it into a survivalist's nightmare, in this book we're living in the aftermath.

The new Badlands are a desolate and wretched area in the West, where people who don't want to live in the violent city hubs have moved and built communities in the outer edges and tunneled underground, trying to get shelter from the brutal weather and the vicious violence that the landscape and society have turned to.

Mariah is living in near total isolation, even from her compatriots who share her underground area, her only companion Chaplin, a technology enhanced dog that speaks mentally and is her friend and advisor.

Until Gabrielle shows up, a handsome stranger who is in dire need of help. Mariah sees him on her Viz and realizes if she doesn't let him down into her living area, out of the tempest, he'll probably die. She isn't happy about his fate but she can live with it, which gives you alittle bit of an insight into how rough her life has been and how paranoid of strangers she has become.

However Chaplin talks her into bringing Gabrielle down into their area to save him, and Gabrielle repays them almost immediately by making a bad guy leave them alone, before tumbling back down into her area and nearly dying. He just needs his medicine from his canteen which she gives him, not before she notices the medicine is a bright red color and he heals up a little too fast for her comfort.

Mariah has her own reasons for hating monsters, a werewolf destroyed her family, leaving her to go it alone out in the wilderness. So knowing he is a Vampire isn't helping his case any, but he seems a decent guy, respects her privacy and helps her draw the water up from the cave below. She knows the others she shares her subterranean village with won't go for it if they learn the truth, so she decides to keep him to herself for awhile, especially when she learns why he's there. Unfortunately, Gabrielle doesn't know that and he goes to the common room to introduce himself and explain he's looking for the woman he loved who disappeared on him a while back, a woman he believes may have lived with them under a different name. Gabrielle doesn't know Mariah has her own reasons for keepin' to herself, even from her friends. So now Mariah is watching Gabrielle on the video intercom, spilling his history to her friends and she is sweating it out, hoping they don’t figure out what he is before she can get him back into her home and convince him to stay away from them.

Then Johnson Stamp shows up. Stamp is that bad guy from the westerns who cows all the citizens into giving him their property or he kills them and runs them off. And Stamp wants what they've got. Water, a valuable resource indeed.

In order to survive Stamp, and keep the world they've built, everybody is going to need to band together despite their pasts, despite their differences. But while they might survive Stamp, they may not survive the secrets Mariah has been keeping, or Gabrielle’s reaction once he learns them.

I really liked this book. It's dark, but it’s well written, it has a couple great twists at the end and I loved the take on a post apocalyptic with monsters Western.
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Sep 23, 2011 Kale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Imagine a world ravished by the dark side of humanity, creating the dystopian marriage between sci-fi technology and the wild west. A post apocalyptic landscape scorched by the sun making night the new day. Where creatures of lore are thought to be hunted to extinction. A future where the masses live in technology driven cities and speak the shorthanded speech of text messaging. And people on the fringes of society seek solace in the desolate wastelands outside of the metropolis hubs looking for...more Imagine a world ravished by the dark side of humanity, creating the dystopian marriage between sci-fi technology and the wild west. A post apocalyptic landscape scorched by the sun making night the new day. Where creatures of lore are thought to be hunted to extinction. A future where the masses live in technology driven cities and speak the shorthanded speech of text messaging. And people on the fringes of society seek solace in the desolate wastelands outside of the metropolis hubs looking for a fresh start, or to live under the radar.

Mariah is one of the drifters who came to the New Badlands to create a new life, live beyond the watchful eyes of the city, and find safety. After an attack on her family she knows all too well the horrors of letting a stranger into your home. So she's quite reluctant to help the beaten man who is seeking sanctuary within her walls.

Gabriel is looking for his lost love, Abby. The woman who carries with her his humanity. When he stumbles upon a small community in the badlands he knows he must protect his vampire nature from his new found friends not only for his sake but theirs as well.

But they have some secrets of their own, and Gabriel finds they need his help as much as he needs theirs. A bad man named Stamp is looking to take over their resources and eradicate the community. Making matters worse someone or something has been picking off Stamp's men, and with his blackouts Gabe pretty sure he's the cause for the fallen. It's up to him to rile up the locals find out what happened to Abby and maybe find someplace where he belongs as well. But don't count Stamp out, he like everyone who comes to the badlands has a sordid past and it could be the true death for them all.

Bloodlands was an interesting read. The mix of themes and world building made for an intriguing setting. The characters were well written and the storyline wasn't as straight forward as I thought it was going to be. The twist in the end was a nice surprise. Sometimes the story dragged, and the text message dialogue was strange as actual prose. Most of the evil element was referred to as "bad men" and I thought this was uncreative and because it was the only name used, it became redundant. I also didn't like how some parts of the relationship got a bit corny or campy especially the ending when the hero supposedly goes riding off into the sunset.

Other than a little corn and camp and maybe some excess filler here and there Bloodlands turn out to be a pretty good read.(less)

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Aug 12, 2011 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

This novel is a dystopian mixed with wild west mixed with vampire. The main characters, Mariah and Gabriel, meet under very unusual circumstances. Mariah is a drifter who comes to the New Badlands in an attempt to start over and live her life. Gabriel shows up at her door, wounded and dying; thanks to Mariah's mutant dog, who informs her she should let him in, he survives. Gabriel is one of those characters that the reader will have a hard time classifying-good or evil? humane or cold? He is des...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Tynga rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set in a future where technology and white-collar villains destroyed the planet as we know it now, Mariah and a bunch of secluded folks are hiding in tunnels underneath the New Badlands, trying to escape the madness… That is, until Stamp came along, wanting to claim their territory for his own. Gabriel, as vampire looking for his runaway girlfriend, will also interfere in his quest to find her… and redemption along the way.

Try and imagine a dystopian set-up with bad guys, mutant creatures and t...more Set in a future where technology and white-collar villains destroyed the planet as we know it now, Mariah and a bunch of secluded folks are hiding in tunnels underneath the New Badlands, trying to escape the madness… That is, until Stamp came along, wanting to claim their territory for his own. Gabriel, as vampire looking for his runaway girlfriend, will also interfere in his quest to find her… and redemption along the way.

Try and imagine a dystopian set-up with bad guys, mutant creatures and talking dogs and add to it a healthy dose of Western atmosphere and you’ll get a good idea of what to expect in Christine Cody’s Bloodlands. I really enjoyed this dry and hostile territory where water is the most valuable resource. Monsters are roaming the earth, and Vampires aren’t the only ones out for blood. Mystery is also a thick veil over this inhospitable land and the author really keeps us in the dark until the end.

Even though the whole set-up was the star for me in this first novel of the Bloodlands series, the characters were also quite amazing. Mariah is hiding in the tunnels, afraid to go out and trying to run from a terrible, yet very mysterious, past. She was convinced by her Intel Dog (a talking mutant dog) to help Gabriel, a man who showed up at her door, bloody and dying. She has no idea of the trouble she's letting in… Her attraction to him will prove hazardous and I enjoyed their struggle in this very unlikely relationship. Both are figuratively haunted and their personal bogeyman might just catch up to them.

The bad guys are bad, yet when you compare them to the good guys… the lines gets blurry. Not everyone are what they seem in this terrible landscape and your allegiance may deceive you.

The tempo is rather slow even though it’s spiked with bursts of violence and the end is the apogee of this marathon. It will surprise you and completely challenge the perspective you had of the whole plot. Christine tied-up the story very well, no deadly cliff-hanger to speak of, yet I’m very excited for the second installment, Blood Rules, to be released on August 30th.

I would definitely recommend this book to Dystopian and Urban Fantasy fans. It’s a very original tale, not to be missed!

Oh and that cover? Down right amazing.. just sayin’.
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Aug 08, 2011 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a crow-eating review. Or, considering the kind of carrion eater that lives in Christine Cody’s post-apocalyptic world, a giant-gargoyle-bird-eating review. I had a terrible time getting into Bloodlands, it took me several weeks to read it, and I fully expected this to be a negative review. Instead, I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s been a while since a book pulled the rug out from under me so satisfyingly.

Bloodlands is set in the American West of the near future, after a number of disasters...more This is a crow-eating review. Or, considering the kind of carrion eater that lives in Christine Cody’s post-apocalyptic world, a giant-gargoyle-bird-eating review. I had a terrible time getting into Bloodlands, it took me several weeks to read it, and I fully expected this to be a negative review. Instead, I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s been a while since a book pulled the rug out from under me so satisfyingly.

Bloodlands is set in the American West of the near future, after a number of disasters have devastated the climate and caused society to splinter. The heroine, Mariah, lives in an underground warren with a group of other misfits and her extremely bright Intel Dog, Chaplin. Her existence is shaken up by the arrival of Gabriel, a vampire on a quest that leads him to the enclave. Gabriel’s arrival coincides with an eruption of violence in the area; the henchmen of an intimidating neighbor, Stamp, are being picked off.

I had trouble getting into the world-building at first. Christine Cody, a.k.a. Chris Marie Green, has lots of interesting ideas, but employs a fair amount of infodumping to reveal them to the reader. And since technology is one of the things that’s gone badly wrong in this future, at times the book almost seems to lecture against technology. For example, only bad guys speak Text, a dialect whose speakers pronounce words the way they’d spell them in a text message.

I had trouble with the hero, Gabriel, who at first appeared to be a standard Vampire Stalker Guy. He comes to the New Badlands to search for an old girlfriend who has run from him, and then once he meets Mariah, his interest in her is a dangerous mixture of regular lust and bloodlust. I had trouble with Mariah, whose tragic past made her sympathetic but who was so prickly that she kept even the reader at arm’s length. Her fears were understandable but I wished she could push past them in certain situations, and she seemed to have a particular hangup that set my inner feminist’s teeth on edge. I had issues with the villain, too, who was more restrained in his villainy than I expected. It felt unrealistic that he wouldn’t aggress more decisively than he did.

For about the first half of Bloodlands, the focus is on the cautious development of a relationship between Mariah and Gabriel. Her chapters use first person narration, and his are in third person. The two characters slowly begin to let their guard down and reveal more layers of their character, to each other and to the reader. This connection is at first facilitated by the dog, Chaplin, who is a full character in his own right and has his own agendas and schemes. Meanwhile, the violence between the enclave settlers and Stamp’s posse is escalating, and becomes a more prominent plotline in the latter half of the book.

As the story unfolds, odd little moments and inconsistencies begin to appear. The reader begins to wonder whether all is as it seems, or if one of the protagonists is (view spoiler). Then we reach the big twist. It’s a doozy. It’s the kind of twist that casts new light on the entire book. Character traits that annoyed or confused me were explained and reinterpreted through this lens. Everything made utter and total sense. If you’re reading Bloodlands and finding it slow going — if things don’t quite add up or the characters are bugging you — don’t give up. I thought I was reading one book, and now I see that I was reading another book entirely, and I like this second book much better.

Bloodlands, in the final analysis, is a tale of forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption — of oneself and of others. It builds slowly, but the twist makes the journey well worth it. Bloodlands is the first in a trilogy, and the three books are being released in rapid succession, so readers won’t have to wait long to learn what happens next to these complex, damaged characters.(less)

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Jul 15, 2011 Bookaholics rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bloodlands (A Novel of the Bloodlands) by Christine Cody
Urban Fantasy-July 26th, 2011
4 stars

Mariah and her genetically engineered intel dog, Chaplin watch out for each other in the Badlands. It is the future and the world is just trying to exist. Water is scarce and so is humanity. Terrible mutations have occurred and monsters, such as shifters and vampires are taking over. People are just tying to stay alive and survive. Mariah and her father moved to this deserted land to find peace and get...more Bloodlands (A Novel of the Bloodlands) by Christine Cody
Urban Fantasy-July 26th, 2011
4 stars

Mariah and her genetically engineered intel dog, Chaplin watch out for each other in the Badlands. It is the future and the world is just trying to exist. Water is scarce and so is humanity. Terrible mutations have occurred and monsters, such as shifters and vampires are taking over. People are just tying to stay alive and survive. Mariah and her father moved to this deserted land to find peace and get away from the terror of the urban areas. But her father committed suicide and now it is only Mariah, Chaplin and the small underground community which keeps to itself. But Mariah’s life will be turned upside down when a mysterious stranger with a hero complex arrives. Mariah foolishly aids him and discovers he is actually a vampire…

Gabriel is on the hunt for the woman of his dreams. Her name is Abby and he suspects that she is hiding in this small desolate western community. A community that is in danger of being overrun by a powerful and ruthless man who wants their water resources. It is also a community that keeps its secrets and doesn’t like to share their lands. Can he ingratiate himself so that they will trust him and reveal Abby’s location? Or will his growing attraction to the prickly Mariah change his plans?

This novel has a fantastic atmosphere of a deserted wasteland filled with those desperate enough to carve out a space of their own. It did remind me of a futuristic western complete with the arrival of the mysterious stranger who comes to save the community. Bloodlands grows on the reader as the author delves into the tightly-knit and secretive underground community. While the people are being attacked much of the story is actually spent on the wary relationship between Gabriel and Mariah and the suspicious residents who want Gabriel to leave. I was surprised at how few characters the author included in the community and hope that there will be more in future books since I found them very interesting. I also found the story more slow moving than I expected since I thought it would be more of an urban-action fantasy. The novel alternates between Gabriel and Mariah’s point of views which really got this reader invested in both the characters. The ending was an unexpected and thrilling surprise that readers will definitely enjoy. They will certainly want to see how it ties in with the authors upcoming books in this series.

A slow moving but involving, realistic and imaginative fantasy. Bloodlands has deep characterization and focuses on the relationship of a secretive community and an unusual stranger who comes to aid them.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
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Jul 14, 2011 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vamps, thriller

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/07/...

Mariah Lyander, who’s family was slaughtered ,has come to live in the New Badlands with her Intel Dog (smarter than the average bear, er, dog), Chaplin, in an underground bunker. When a stranger, a man named Gabriel, is wounded and begs for her help, she lets him in, against her own better judgement. Gabriel is searching for Abby, the woman he loves, who left suddenly, and without explanation. Mariah has been alone for a w...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/07/...

Mariah Lyander, who’s family was slaughtered ,has come to live in the New Badlands with her Intel Dog (smarter than the average bear, er, dog), Chaplin, in an underground bunker. When a stranger, a man named Gabriel, is wounded and begs for her help, she lets him in, against her own better judgement. Gabriel is searching for Abby, the woman he loves, who left suddenly, and without explanation. Mariah has been alone for a while, and Gabriel awakens feelings in her that she thought were gone for good. Water is a precious commodity, and Mariah has done her best to make this underground dwelling safe for her and the rest of its inhabitants. When they are threatened by a man named Stamp and his vicious crew, Mariah may have to look to Gabriel for help, even though she suspects him of being a monster just like the one that’s been roaming the night aboveground, slaughtering humans.
With the New Badlands, Christine Cody creates a world that’s a cross between Mad Max, Firefly, and the Wild West. Gabriel is a vampire searching for redemption, and determined to hide his true nature. Mariah is tough and damaged, but her feelings for Gabriel are undeniable. There’s sufficient sexual tension throughout the story, and Gabriel has a White Knight streak a mile long. Stamp is a former Shredder, tasked with eliminating preternaturals and is determined to wipe them from this world, with impunity, and without mercy. I enjoyed the tense relationship between Gabriel and Mariah, but I wanted to read more about the New Badlands and the events that led up to such cataclysmic changes for humanity, so I’m hopeful we’ll get more in the next couple of books. Lots of character set up is done in this one, but be patient, it's worth the payoff! There’s also a really nice twist that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming, and the promise of an awesome (trust me on this one) final showdown will keep you turning the pages. Bloodlands is a fun start to a promising new series!(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unique New Dark Urban Fantasy

I've never read anything from this author under this name or her pseudo name Chris Marie Green, however I am so glad I took a chance on this book.

This story was simply brilliant! I loved how dark and almost desolate the story was. My attention was completely captivated through most of it.

The story was a melting pot of genres. It pretty much had a little bit of everything, from dark urban fantasy, horror, apocalyptic, mystery and a tinge of romance.

My only complaint,...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bloodlands is the first book in the Mariah Lyander/Bloodlands series by Christine Cody and an ACE Fantasy.

Book Blurb:

The New Badlands - a desolate area in the West forged by the terrible events that altered the entire country, where a few frightened citizens retreated underground to shelter from the brutal weather...and from a society gone deadly dangerous.

Then the vampire arrived - and they started calling it the Bloodlands.

Not because Gabriel, the so-called monster running from his true self,...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Kevin Bittner rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 21, 2011 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-horror, kindle

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/07/...

Mariah Lyander, who’s family slaughtered in cold blood, has come to live in the New Badlands with her Intel Dog (smarter than the average bear, er, dog), Chaplin, in an underground bunker. When a stranger, a man named Gabriel, is wounded and begs for her help, she lets him in, against her own better judgement. Gabriel is searching for Abby, the woman he loves, who left suddenly, and without explanation. Mariah has been alo...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/07/...

Mariah Lyander, who’s family slaughtered in cold blood, has come to live in the New Badlands with her Intel Dog (smarter than the average bear, er, dog), Chaplin, in an underground bunker. When a stranger, a man named Gabriel, is wounded and begs for her help, she lets him in, against her own better judgement. Gabriel is searching for Abby, the woman he loves, who left suddenly, and without explanation. Mariah has been alone for a while, and Gabriel awakens feelings in her that she thought were gone for good. Water is a precious commodity, and Mariah has done her best to make this underground dwelling safe for her and the rest of its inhabitants. When they are threatened by a man named Stamp and his vicious crew, Mariah may have to look to Gabriel for help, even though she suspects him of being a monster just like the one that’s been roaming the night aboveground, slaughtering humans.
With the New Badlands, Christine Cody creates a world that’s a cross between Mad Max, Firefly, and the Wild West. Gabriel is a vampire searching for redemption, and determined to hide his true nature. Mariah is tough and damaged, but her feelings for Gabriel are undeniable. There’s sufficient sexual tension throughout the story, and Gabriel has a White Knight streak a mile long. Stamp is a former Shredder, tasked with eliminating preternaturals and is determined to wipe them from this world, with impunity, and without mercy. I enjoyed the tense relationship between Gabriel and Mariah, but I wanted to read more about the New Badlands and the events that led up to such cataclysmic changes for humanity, so I’m hopeful we’ll get more in the next couple of books. Lots of character set up is done in this one, but be patient, it's worth the payoff! There’s also a really nice twist that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming, and the promise of an awesome (trust me on this one) final showdown will keep you turning the pages. Bloodlands is a fun start to a promising new series!(less)

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Aug 07, 2011 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Vampire fans who also like stories with a special "twist" at the end

Shelves: read-in-2011, pbs-book

I have long awaited getting each and every one of the Vampire Babylon series books by author Chris Marie Green in Mass Market Paperback to read back to back. Now however she has come out with her new AKA of Christine Cody and her new Bloodlands trilogy had me even more excited so when my copy of the first book made it in the mail I sat down and read it ASAP!

With the beginning of this 3 book look at a world that is both bleak and bitterly harsh we are immediately drawn in to the story as told b...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Alexia Chantel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 Stars

Just like the Wild West of old lawlessness reins, the weak suffer, and the bold make names for themselves.

Cody paints Mariah as the ultimate victim. All she has left is her constant companion Chaplin, an Intel dog. Where she gathered the courage to step out and rescue the injured Gabriel is a deep hidden place. For a book that takes place mostly in one relatively small underground hideaway it does an amazing job of bringing to life this Wild West dystopian world.

A deep complicated world...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Christine Cody's Bloodlands, kicks off a new series set in a desolate landscape that used to be the United States. Now things are different, and not necessarily for the better, far from it actually. This is definitely a dystopian novel and it wasn't all that bad given how I don't read too many.

It definitely has a unique style to it as well. The chapters are sporadically divided between Mariah and Gabriel, with a chapter here or there from a bad guy's p.o.v., while only Mariah's p.o.v. is in firs...more Christine Cody's Bloodlands, kicks off a new series set in a desolate landscape that used to be the United States. Now things are different, and not necessarily for the better, far from it actually. This is definitely a dystopian novel and it wasn't all that bad given how I don't read too many.

It definitely has a unique style to it as well. The chapters are sporadically divided between Mariah and Gabriel, with a chapter here or there from a bad guy's p.o.v., while only Mariah's p.o.v. is in first person, everyone else is in third. A little disorienting maybe, but the only times I got thrown off really was when we were in the mind of a bad guy, for the chapters are labeled Mariah or Gabriel, while the other limited chapters have no identifier. So hence the disorientation.

What was also a little off was that some of the bad guys spoke the language Text, which is exactly what you think it is. The "texting" language. Although I was warned of this ahead of time, and my worries weren't really necessary. There are only a small few amount of times the bad guys spoke this language and it wasn't at all hard. Nothing made up like that one commercial from a few years back with the kids and grandma saying stuff like "TGHM" The girl hates me, or whatever. That really annoyed me! No the text here is pretty simple and easy to follow since I am one of the people that practically texts in the English language with only a few abbreviations.

The story itself was pretty interesting as well. I won't lie, a few times my mind did wander because I wasn't sure where it was going. Gabriel is obviously looking for the woman he loves who disappeared on him some time back, while Mariah and her group of people hiding out are doing just that, hiding out from the bad guys.

Since this is a dystopian novel, there is a whole new world to grow accustomed to and new terms and events to learn as well. It wasn't too hard to follow along, but describing it in detail would take too long. But basically it comes down to survival. The bad guys are after Mariah and her friends because they have something precious that they want, a valuable resource.

It was definitely an interesting read, there's a bit of a spark between Mariah and Gabriel that was nice. It wasn't super intense and lustful, but still they seemed to connect on a deeper level. But Mariah is harboring more than one secret from him. And both could threaten the fragile relationship budding between them.

The ending led to several shocking surprises that definitely changed my opinion of the book overall. I will definitely be needing to get the next book, Blood Rules, this coming week.

Overall rating 3.5/5 stars(less)

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Aug 16, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

PB/Fantasy, but really Paranormal Romance. The book is written in different points of view, 3rd person: someone being attacked, 3rd person of Gabriel's story, and 1st person in Mariah's voice. The problem is there is a mystery that Mariah is hiding; so at the end of the book when the mystery is revealed there is too, too much explanation. Basically, everything Mariah is narrating is denial veiled in lies that she is telling the reader. So when the mystery is revealed, it is way out there. Gabrie...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A post apocalyptic story, where the masses live in “Hubs” and use technology and speak in shortened “text,” and vampires and other supernatural beings are thought to have been eradicated by “shredders.” In the desolate, heat stricken outlands. Mariah and her “intel” dog are part of a small community of loners who have come to the New Badlands, or as it became after the blood predators arrived, the Bloodlands, to try to live under the radar of the rest of the country. A heavy from the Hub, Stamp...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: western, paranormal-romance

The premise for Bloodlands is that a variety of events have undermined human existence in the United States. Expansive internet use has driven people into their homes, and so community cohesion has been destroyed. The government has intruded so deeply into everyday life that the country has become a dystopian place, with individual interaction heavily monitored and controlled by government forces. Then a series of catastrophic natural disasters devastates the population, damage that is compounde...more The premise for Bloodlands is that a variety of events have undermined human existence in the United States. Expansive internet use has driven people into their homes, and so community cohesion has been destroyed. The government has intruded so deeply into everyday life that the country has become a dystopian place, with individual interaction heavily monitored and controlled by government forces. Then a series of catastrophic natural disasters devastates the population, damage that is compounded by terrorist attacks in which bombs are planted along fault lines to change the landscape of the country. This upheaval and drastic natural and societal change has driven the outcasts of society, those who can’t conform for one reason or another, to the frontier of what remains of the country. For these survivors the frontier may be harsh and unforgiving, but it is the only place where they have any control over their destinies.

Almost every chapter in the book is named after the main character that is the focus of the story, save the first chapter: This chapter details how an unnamed character stalks and murders a man in the wasteland. The character is depicted as not human and in the grips of an uncontrollable blood lust, but offers few clues that might shed light on who the character might be. In the next chapter the reader is introduced to Mariah Lysander, a young woman who has seen terrible tragedy, and she lives below ground in a home her father made before committing suicide. Mariah lives with her dog Chaplin, who was been bred and altered in a lab prior to the catastrophes. Chaplin is intelligent and capable of speech, and his obligation is to protect an extremely fragile Mariah. This is why Mariah is surprised when Chaplin brings home a badly injured stranger, Gabriel. Although she is desperately afraid of Gabriel, or the impact his presence will have the tiny community nearby that she depends on for survival, she is drawn to him and offers what help she can.

Shortly thereafter, Gabriel appears as the focus of a chapter for the first time, and the narrative voice reveals that he is a vampire who has come to the wastelands to seek his lost love. Like Mariah, his life has been shaped by tragedy, and his connection to the woman he’s looking for is his reason for a miserable existence. His search leads him into the wastelands where he is beaten by the employees of the local boss, Johnson Stamp. He remembers having been beaten, but he doesn’t know how he escaped or what type of damage he did to the human who hurt him. Despite this, he knows he has brought danger to the small human community in the desert, and his innate nobility won’t allow him to leave them without doing his best to protect them, especially because he is hiding his true nature and fears he is responsible for the death of the man who attacked him.

As the story progresses Gabriel learns that Chaplin is more than just an “intel dog,” and the canine had ulterior motives for bringing him to the group that involve Johnson Stamp and his strong-arm tactics. Although Stamp is a young man, he worked for the government as a “shredder,” a monster hunter responsible for destroying vampires, demons, and were-animals created by accelerated evolution brought on by natural disaster. The government has decided that there is no longer any need for shredders, and this is what has prompted Stamp to move to the frontier, where he can express his violent tendencies more freely. He will not allow the murder of his employee to go unpunished, and it seems that Gabriel is the only individual between Mariah’s group and Stamp’s wrath. But is Chaplin’s plan to use Gabriel to defend Mariah in her friends, or to provide a sacrifice to appease Stamp’s anger and aggressive tendencies?

I found this book a somewhat difficult read, and it took me a while to figure out why it felt like the story was dragging. The first major issue I struggled with is genre. This story is a post-apocalyptic western paranormal romance, and all of these elements seem to be competing for primacy, rather than blending seamlessly. I’ve seen all these used together, and this novel lacks the grace and thematic harmony I’ve seen in other texts. There is the frontier, and the survival of the fittest in this space under the threat of Johnson Stamp, whose attempts to enforce peace is simply a thinly veiled excuse to be violent. Then there is the discussion of the dystopian world the characters have fled, a world complete with dialects, political structures, and a history which the reader is told in glimpses throughout the story. This interrupts the flow of the narrative and made me have to go back and reread passages to be sure I remembered details correctly. Finally, there is the romance, which feels predicated on Gabriel’s hero-complex and proximity to Mariah rather than their mutual attraction to appealing qualities or admiration. Since this book is part of a trilogy, and the remaining books will be released within months, there wasn’t such a great need to cover so much material. One of these elements could have been deferred until a later book in order to reduce confusion.

Likewise, the narrative structure of the book plays a large part in slowing down the way the story is told and how the reader interacts with the novel. Each chapter, with a couple of exceptions, is named after either Mariah or Gabriel, and the narrative styles are different, and it is this irregular fluctuation between first and third person narration that causes discomfort. Mariah’s chapters are all written in the first person, a style that is mean to remove the distance between the reader and the character and to encourage intimacy between the two. I can understand this choice; Mariah is not a very sympathetic character for most of the book, and this may have been a deliberate move by the author to encourage the reader to sympathize with her enough to figure out why she is borderline agoraphobic and emotionally fragile. By contrast, Gabriel’s chapters are all in third person, which has the effect of creating distance between the reader and the character by putting the narrative voice between them. This pull to Mariah and push from Gabriel is uncomfortable, and this may be a deliberate choice by the author to include the reader in the feelings of stress and disorientation the characters are experiencing.

Despite these issues, I found the story an interesting read, and I plan to buy the remaining books in the trilogy. It takes nearly the length of the book for the narrative to address Mariah’s nature and demeanor, but once these revelations take place her character is a little more sympathetic and the rest of the story falls into place. Gabriel remains the most compelling character in the novel for me, but the story is driven by Mariah’s internal conflict and need to overcome tragedy. I suspect the next novel will focus on Gabriel more, and this gives me additional incentive to keep reading. I am also looking forward to getting more details about the paranormal aspects of the vampires, demons, and were-creatures. There’s a magical aspect to how these beings are made and unmade (i.e., vampires revert to human if their makers are killed) that I don’t quite understand, especially since the supernatural beings are the product of evolution and not a magic-based source. There are some mysteries here, and I’m interested in seeing where the author takes these elements.
(less)

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Sep 25, 2011 Tori [Book Faery] rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, reviewed

See this review in it's entirety at:
http://www.book-faery.blogspot.com

I was waffling between rating this book a 2.5 or a 3, primarily because I wasn't too thrilled about the treatment of one of the characters at the end of the book. Now, whether that treatment is deserved is for another discussion, which is why I bumped it up half a star.

BLOODLANDS has both its good and bad moments. The good, and what instantly drew me in, was the attraction between Gabriel and Mariah. Those two had some sizzlin...more See this review in it's entirety at:
http://www.book-faery.blogspot.com

I was waffling between rating this book a 2.5 or a 3, primarily because I wasn't too thrilled about the treatment of one of the characters at the end of the book. Now, whether that treatment is deserved is for another discussion, which is why I bumped it up half a star.

BLOODLANDS has both its good and bad moments. The good, and what instantly drew me in, was the attraction between Gabriel and Mariah. Those two had some sizzling scenes early on--particularly the one where Mariah is administering some self loving--and the passion between them had me excited about this book. In that regard, this duo effortlessly outshines a lot of other hero/heroines.

There was an interesting twist by the end that I only semi-suspected about halfway to 3/4ths of the way in. Reflecting on prior scenes, a lot more makes sense after this big reveal, and I give kudos to the author for keeping me in the dark for so long. It was exciting not knowing what would happen next, and for the mystery aspect alone, BLOODLANDS is definitely a refreshing read. No love triangles, and certainly no pnrs where it's love at first sight in this book, folks.

Alas, the not-so-good in this novel seemed to stick with me more than the good, and is what ultimately has made me wary of future books in this series (coupled with a few less-than-stellar reviews by bloggers I trust). Instead of being a novel where there is at least some movement, we are generally restricted to Mariah's quaint home. After a while, it does get wearisome realizing that almost every single scene occurs here, and I wished that we could have at least heard about some descriptions of the outside surroundings in more detail. This is such a unique world that I feel it's almost like a crime not to focus on the worldbuilding more.

Interesting secondary characters don't get much attention for a good chunk of the book. While this is unfortunate, it is also a blessing since my interest in Gabriel/Mariah began to lessen as the novel continued, so the secondary characters were like a saving grace that kept me reading.

Mariah is... well, I want to say that she's infuriating, because she is, but there's just something about her character that rubbed off on me the wrong way. She is easily forgettable, and I think her fears are what made me tired of her. While Gabriel was easier to relate with, Mariah was not because readers are essentially told what happened to her in the past, instead of being shown. That, in my eyes, is the biggest downfall of this book because, while her situation sucks, I couldn't really make myself care. Had the author shown us the events from Mariah's past, like we're shown with Gabriel's past, I think I would have felt for our heroine a lot more.

BLOODLANDS has both its strengths and weaknesses, so I really can't recommend whether to read or avoid this novel due to my ambivalence even a month after reading it. The premise is interesting, and I admit that I was excited to read this series prior to reading any reviews about it. If you tend to have similar tastes in books, then I think that this is one of those novels that you'll have to read without knowing much about it.(less)

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Sep 29, 2012 Rebecka rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Argh! I hate it when good books go bad at the end! This one was fumbling along merrily, when all of a sudden the heroine has a BIG THING that she reveals to our hero. Our hero, who's been doing okay up until this point now becomes a big WUSS and "poof" there goes the chemistry, the good feelings I've had about both of them and the plot and the author...sorry to go on a rant here, but this is one of my pet peeves (if you haven't already noticed?). Why oh why do authors think this is a clever use...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Mia Searles rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse-post-apocalypse, vampire

Bloodlands is the first in a trilogy by Christine Cody. I'm not going to lie-- at first I wasn't feeling the book. I didn't really care for the beginning and there were parts that bored me. About 50 to 60 pages in, I figured to just finish the book so that I could determine whether I wanted to purchase book 2 in the series which just came out last week. But somewhere Bloodlands turned into a very good read. What made no sense in the beginning came full circle by the end. The last several chapter...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Robin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: no-more

This is the first book in Christine Cody's Mariah Lyander Series. The world building isn't great, not terrible but it could use some work. The main characters are good enough that I cried through the end and that means the book made me care about them. The secondaries aren't bad but their somewhat like the world, they could use some fleshing out. The writing style is a little odd. It doesn't really flow but I wonder if that's on purpose because the characters are living in a post apocalyptic wor...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Marianna rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: could-not-finish, heroine-with-red-hair, skimmed

Hated the dog, wanted it dead (by my hands). I have read the author's other series by another pen name and I found the characters to be copy paste versions. "Where have I met you before? The author's other series? Nice to know." The story revolves around the building up towards the main character's intimate encounters (the dog likes to watch...jk). Nothing else, really. No one should convince you otherwise. I felt like besides the sex everything else was filler for Ms. Cody.

Harsh...but I was bei...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Bec McMaster rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very difficult review to write. I started this book over four months ago (yes, really). I picked it up, I put it down, I picked it up again, went and did some housework... I loved the idea of the world but I found it really hard to get into.
How do I rate this? Worldbuilding and idea - five stars. Without a doubt the world was a fascinating one. Its the only reason I pushed my way to halfway through the book. What's not to love? Intel dogs, a broken world with the author obviously taki...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Natasja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gabriel is a vampire and has been looking for his lost love Abby. The trail leads him to a small community in the Badlands. He knows that he has to keep his vampire nature hidden from them in order to keep himself save. He is hunted by a group, who hunts everything supernatural and he cannot endanger his newfound friends.

Mariah is the woman who takes him in after he’s attacked by Stamp, the local bad guy. She knows it will be bad to let this stranger into her home and their small community. Espe...more

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Jul 19, 2011 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-abigail

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Is BLOODLANDS, the first book in the Bloodlands Trilogy by Christine Cody (aka Chris Marie Green aka Crystal Green) a paranormal western? Post-apocalyptic fantasy? Dystopian romance? I don’t know what to call it except good. Very, very good.

The narrating voice of Mariah is immediately the kind that pulls you—even drags you when necessary—into her bleak but fascinating world. Set in a not too distant future, BLOODLANDS portrays a world that has been brou...more Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Is BLOODLANDS, the first book in the Bloodlands Trilogy by Christine Cody (aka Chris Marie Green aka Crystal Green) a paranormal western? Post-apocalyptic fantasy? Dystopian romance? I don’t know what to call it except good. Very, very good.

The narrating voice of Mariah is immediately the kind that pulls you—even drags you when necessary—into her bleak but fascinating world. Set in a not too distant future, BLOODLANDS portrays a world that has been brought to it’s knees and then kicked for good measure by environmental changes, corrupt governments, and power hungry ne'er-do-wells. Water is more valuable than gold, gangs rove the scorched earth, and monsters are real. Mariah, a deeply suspicious and independent woman, lives underground with a small community of others. Her only companion is a brilliant (literally) dog and a stockpile of weapons. Gabriel is the other protagonist, a broken man without hope, who falls on Mariah’s doorstep half dead.

The story moves swiftly, especially in the beginning when these two characters, both with secrets, circle each other and gradually learn to trust (perhaps not as gradually as I would have liked in Mariah’s case). There are so many nuggets of flat out cool world building that I’m already disappointing that there are only three books in this series. I also loved the succession of surprises that crept up towards the end that I never saw coming. They impacted the story enough that I already want to read it again to experience it in a totally new light.

Overall, BLOODLANDS is a surprisingly romantic story of survival set in a ruined world full of monsters, both human and otherwise, that will leave dust on your skin and a smile on your face after finishing. In an act of supreme kindness to fans who will soon be panting after more books, Ace is publishing all three books in the Bloodlands Trilogy back to back. BLOODLANDS on July 26th, BLOOD RULES on August 30th, and IN BLOOD WE TRUST on September 27th.

Sexual Content:
A scene of masturbation. A scene of graphic sensuality. A graphic sex scene.(less)

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