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Blood of the Revenant

by N.R. Allen (Goodreads Author)

3.23 of 5 stars 3.23 · rating details · 13 ratings · 9 reviews

Something strange is happening in Returning City, something dangerous.

Gabriel has never questioned things before. He knows that because he is a revenant like everyone else, he has to fight the not-family and hurt them to keep his own family safe. He has never questioned that the sky is always dark or that hungry things watch him from the forest.

But in Returning City, every...more

Kindle Edition, 204 pages

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Jun 27, 2012 Sharmin rated it 4 of 5 stars

N.R. Allen’s Blood of the Revenant is a mystifying, and distinct take on the world of vampires. Her world is organic and the air in the book electric with her descriptive writing. The authors masters the rule of “show, not tell”—something YA authors rarely practice. In the midst of the creative world-building, the slow pacing and often repetitive dialogue can very easily be overlooked.

Gabriel has been told all his life that his job was to protect his family until he is ready to go into the fore...more

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May 19, 2013 Red rated it 2 of 5 stars

Blood of the Revenant is an interesting take on vampires. I wish that the idea would have made up for the various issues I found within it. For starters, I was confused more than not as to what everything was. The world Allen creates is captivating but the lack of explanation for the parts of the world made it hard to really get into the story.

Sometimes I struggle to relate to male protagonists, usually because of the writing. In this case, I just couldn't relate to the character. Gabriel was in...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Blood of the Revenant by N.r. Allen

2.5-3 Stars (I’m undecided)
Product Details

BN ID: 2940033184330
Publisher: N.R. Allen, via Smashwords
Publication date: 4/24/2012
Sold by: SMASHWORDS – EBKS
Format: eBook
Sales rank: 648,188
File size: 672 KB

Summary: Gabriel is the fighter. His family is made up of 5 revenants. Each revenant is responsible for having one talent. Whenever Gabriel wins a fight, his family is rewarded. The problem is, Gabriel does not like fighting. He also likes the water and no...more Blood of the Revenant by N.r. Allen

2.5-3 Stars (I’m undecided)
Product Details

BN ID: 2940033184330
Publisher: N.R. Allen, via Smashwords
Publication date: 4/24/2012
Sold by: SMASHWORDS – EBKS
Format: eBook
Sales rank: 648,188
File size: 672 KB

Summary: Gabriel is the fighter. His family is made up of 5 revenants. Each revenant is responsible for having one talent. Whenever Gabriel wins a fight, his family is rewarded. The problem is, Gabriel does not like fighting. He also likes the water and no other revenant does. Things in the village begin to change. Gabriel ends up stuck in the middle of two Olders, revenants who have gone into Eden and gotten their darkness, in a fight to save/destroy the machine. I know this sounds confusing, but things unravel throughout the story that don’t necessarily make sense. The machine is what runs everything and influences the revenants to do its bidding. I’m not exactly certain why or how this happens. This ends up being very vampire related and Gabriel ends up being the only non-vampire creature. His destiny is to overcome the revenants and destroy the machine. You can read it to figure out if that happens or not.

My thoughts: I felt like the entire novel was told to me. I never became a part of the novel. This meant that I never cared about the characters. Several main characters go through huge changes in short amounts of time and there are several characters that are killed. I felt nothing. I never once cared about any of the characters, including Gabriel. There were a ton of spelling and grammar errors throughout the novel. This can be frustrating. There were several times that I found sentences that didn’t make sense because a word was added in or left out. These types of things take me out of the story and make it very hard for me to get back in. I really think that the initial plot line or storyboard of this was good, but the execution needs work. I’d prefer the author to spend some more time providing the audience with clear visions. Give me vivid details of the surroundings and pull me into the emotions of Gabriel. Stop telling me, show me!
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Jun 28, 2012 Jane rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2, to-review, kindle

Blood of the Revenant by N.R.Allen

2.5*

Gabriel the ‘fighter’ of the family wanted to be an artist but for the life of him he couldn’t draw. Sitting by the pond one day with Baital, he began to sketch the scenery in front of him. He drew the picture over and over trying to get it right but for some reason he couldn’t. Each time he began, he would draw a tree; but there was no tree before him, under the tree was a girl covered in blood, though she wasn’t really there either. Everything was wrong th...more Blood of the Revenant by N.R.Allen

2.5*

Gabriel the ‘fighter’ of the family wanted to be an artist but for the life of him he couldn’t draw. Sitting by the pond one day with Baital, he began to sketch the scenery in front of him. He drew the picture over and over trying to get it right but for some reason he couldn’t. Each time he began, he would draw a tree; but there was no tree before him, under the tree was a girl covered in blood, though she wasn’t really there either. Everything was wrong this day but Gabriel didn’t understand why. On his way back home he was attacked by Ryvall; one of the ‘older’ females who despised him, but after he managed to get away Gabriel soon learnt exactly what was wrong with the day. Ryvall was in cahoots with Exile; a rogue revenant who had been imprisoned for years but was trying again to take over the city, and even the priests seemed to be allowing it to happen. Together with Lamia; a lone revenant, Gabriel and his family set out to save the city before anymore revenants or his family are murdered, but can he really trust her?

I was given a copy of this book for review and as is normal for me with review books even if I am provided with a blurb, I never read it… So the only information I had about this story was the title, and that gave nothing at all away as far as the plot was concerned. The minute I began to read my curiosity was piqued! I found the story intriguing, it was so completely different to anything else I have read before, and I read…A LOT!….But….it wasn’t long before I was totally confused! The story was very slow, it plodded along, giving us plenty of things to build interest but not quite enough to give us understanding….I was getting quite far into the story and I still didn’t know what a revenant was. This lack of information and explanation soon turned my curiosity to annoyance. I couldn’t connect with the characters because I didn’t even understand what they were plus the names were so unusual often not giving clue to gender or pronunciation that it became quite a chore to read.

I really really really wanted this book to blow me away, it started off so well and I still definitely give it 10 out of 10 for uniqueness I am just disappointed that the plot wasn’t executed better. I’m disappointed that the author tended to forget that although she knows all the facts the reader doesn’t so we needed a little more in way of explanation. I certainly wouldn’t write this book off but I think it does need reworking a little bit, perhaps take out a few of the repetitive sentences and include a few more facts to speed up the pace, if that was done I think it could be a really great read.

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Jun 25, 2012 Kelly rated it 1 of 5 stars

Promising a completely original spin on the classic vampire tale, I was excited to dive into Blood of the Revenant. One-dimensional characters, overly repetitive dialogue, a stagnant plot and a lack of world-building has left me quite disappointed.

Right out of the gate, Allen presents concepts and terminology that demand explanation - the not-family or "others", the darkness and what it means to take it, how each family is divided into roles with every person being successful in only one of the...more Promising a completely original spin on the classic vampire tale, I was excited to dive into Blood of the Revenant. One-dimensional characters, overly repetitive dialogue, a stagnant plot and a lack of world-building has left me quite disappointed.

Right out of the gate, Allen presents concepts and terminology that demand explanation - the not-family or "others", the darkness and what it means to take it, how each family is divided into roles with every person being successful in only one of the roles, the difference between the Youngers and the Olders, why the city was shrouded in perpetual darkness, what role the Priests had to play and the list goes on. My interest was immediately piqued, but as time went on, my questions only accumulated. How did Gabriel (and his "red") go unnoticed for so long? How long is a cycle? What happened to "Exile"? How much time has passed between when Gabriel leaves Returning City and when he returns? Why are the revenants all getting bloodthirsty now? What changed? What's the machine? Why is it called Dominion? What's a Corinthian? How do they get their powers? Again, I could go on. The only reason I continued to read Blood of the Revenant was to get some answers to my numerous questions, so you can imagine my frustration when most were left untouched.

The characters lacked depth or realism - I wasn't able to relate to any of them, but especially Gabriel because of his repetitive manner of speaking.

But he couldn't risk going back. If he was Exile...What if his family was like Ryvall [...]

And a few paragraphs later:

Would he ever hurt his family? The thought jolted him. No, he wouldn't. And they wouldn't hurt hum. But if they were like Ryvall...

It was almost as if every thought he had had to be repeated a few lines later, as if to emphasize that he was conflicted over his emotions. The effect was monotonous, and I found myself flipping back and forth, wondering if I had accidentally gone back a page by accident. It didn't help that a lot of his thoughts were disjointed and conflicting.

Gabriel had to stop the machine. He wanted to just go to sleep. He wanted to give up. Not when he was so close.

It made for a very irritating read and only added to my frustrations over Gabriel's indecisiveness. He was completely incapable of making a decision - he kept being led by his gut feelings, and then chastising those same feelings when they didn't immediately provide him with results. A passive protagonist, Gabriel was content to be given the answers and told what to do instead of working to solve things for himself.

The repetitive and disjointed dialogue seeped into the plot, making an already slowly paced story even slower. Gabriel spends a lot of time wandering around aimlessly, questioning everything. Even when he's being chased by the revenants, it was hard to think of the plot as moving quickly, as the revenants were almost lazy in their pursuit, confident in their kill. Not much happens in terms of plot development until the last few chapters, where we finally uncover some of Blood of the Revenant's secrets, but at that point, it was too little too late. It definitely didn't help that the ending was glazed over during an epilogue.

With a promising concept, Blood of the Revenant had a lot of potential that, for me, it failed to reach.(less)

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Jun 29, 2012 Michelle (In Libris Veritas) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, vampires, young-adult

I want to thank NR Allen for sending me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.

Blood of the Revenant turned out to be a very unique book that sends you on a journey of self-discovery and hidden truths. I can’t say I’ve ever read anything like this before, and I’ve read a lot of vampire like novels. One thing that I adore about this book is the use of the lesser known vampire (revenant) deterrents that were prevalent in folk lore. It’s nice to see something like that in vampire ficti...more I want to thank NR Allen for sending me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.

Blood of the Revenant turned out to be a very unique book that sends you on a journey of self-discovery and hidden truths. I can’t say I’ve ever read anything like this before, and I’ve read a lot of vampire like novels. One thing that I adore about this book is the use of the lesser known vampire (revenant) deterrents that were prevalent in folk lore. It’s nice to see something like that in vampire fiction, especially now that they’ve become popular and people have branched off into creating their own creatures. I will say that if you are not all that familiar with the lore then you will be kind of confused at first, but give it time and it all comes together. The writing is very descriptive and really pulls you into the moment, you get a sense of what the main character is feeling and how he’s processing the situation. I did have a problem with a bit of the circular talk in this and found myself kind of confused for a few seconds, my brain doesn’t work in circles at all. It’s also fairly fast paced and once the action got going I found it impossible to put down. It actually deals with a lot of issues like betrayal and the lost of innocence, as well as a sort of coming of age aspect.

The main character, Gabriel, is one that you see grow and learn throughout the novel. He isn’t fully revealed at the beginning because he doesn’t truly know himself, so you as a reader are learning right along side him. Being so use to having characters completely fleshed out and given to me it took me a bit to get use to, but once I did I was hooked on figuring out everything being placed in front of him. I love how the situation with his family turns out and even though parts of it are rather sad I found it really creative and it really gives Gabriel something to fight for and against. Ryvall and Lamia are equally shadowy figures and they both have plans for Gabriel, and I found myself stuck between who was right and who was wrong. They are similar and at the same time very different. Then there is the Dominion Machine, which I am still most curious about. It plays a rather important role in the story and is kind of a driving force behind a lot of the events, however I really wish there were more on it’s creation. I want to know exactly what it is because the way it weaves it’s way into the characters is rather interesting.

Overall I found this to be a really unique and interesting book, with a refreshing revival of the old vampire lore. I feel it’s certainly worth picking up and checking out, especially if you’re a vampire fan like me.(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r-complete, read-2012

(I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis.)
Gabriel is a revenant. He lives in a place called ‘Returning City’, which is surrounded on all sides by a forest known as ‘Eden’.
Gabriel lives with his family – four other boys called Leute, C’hian, Call, and Baital. Each has their own thing that they are good at, and Gabriel is his family’s fighter. Every so often he must go to the fighting circle in the middle of the city and fight an ‘other’ – a revenant who does not...more (I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis.)
Gabriel is a revenant. He lives in a place called ‘Returning City’, which is surrounded on all sides by a forest known as ‘Eden’.
Gabriel lives with his family – four other boys called Leute, C’hian, Call, and Baital. Each has their own thing that they are good at, and Gabriel is his family’s fighter. Every so often he must go to the fighting circle in the middle of the city and fight an ‘other’ – a revenant who does not have a family. If Gabriel wins the fight he gets food, clothing, and shelter for his family, if he loses they will go hungry, and will lose their clothes and house.

One night as Gabriel is going home, he is attacked by a woman called Ryvall and a gang of ‘others’, he then finds his way through a secret door and speaks to a woman called Lamia, who tells him that Ryvall works for a thing called ‘Exile’ who is killing revenants. She warns Gabriel that Ryvall killed her entire family, and that Gabriel’s family is next.

After an unexpected summons to the fighting ring, Gabriel is asked to fight a member of his own family – Baital who is much younger and smaller than him. Gabriel can’t bring himself to fight properly and loses on purpose, which sets other events into motion; and Gabriel finds himself unsure of whom he can trust, and unsure of what exactly is going on.

It now seems that Ryvall may be a friend, and Lamia may not be. When Ryvall cuts her skin black liquid flows out, whilst his own blood is red. Now Gabriel isn’t sure who or what he really is; is he really a revenant? Is his family really his family? Who is killing revenants? Who is Exile? And what must Gabriel do to make everything right again?

That is an extremely simplified version of the beginning of this book, as there is far too much to try to summarise! To be honest I have to say that I was in two minds about this book in places, it is really complex and at times I felt confused, but even when I was confused I felt a compulsion to keep reading! This book is strangely addictive!
This book has an extremely intricate and complexly woven storyline, to the point where I would need to write an essay to even begin to tell you about Returning City, and the background to the story.

Gabriel is not your average protagonist, he doesn’t really understand what he is, or how he came to be, but this doesn’t seem to be an issue for him at all. He likes to keep things simple as much as he possibly can, he needs to provide for his family, and he does this by fighting. It’s as simple as that for Gabriel, and when he finds himself drawing pictures of places he has never been he wishes that he could go back to when things were simple.

At times Gabriel had no clue what was going on, or whom to trust during this story, and I have to say that I was right there alongside him! The reader follows Gabriel along his journey, and learns things as Gabriel learns them, giving the reader an idea of how confused he feels, especially when he wonders if his family has turned against him. All the way through the book I was thinking ‘What the heck is he?’, ‘What does that mean?’ and just had to keep reading to try to find the answers!
This book really does keep the reader in the dark, the same as Gabriel, and while clues are given, it is almost like the story allows the reader to make up their own mind as to exactly what is going on. This is an interesting approach, and one that seems to work in this book.

There was a lot going on in this book, and I think it might actually take a second read through to truly appreciate everything that happens, and the multitude of forces that are fighting for and against Gabriel. This book requires real thought, is not easy to put down, and is not your average ‘vampire’ story.
7 out of 10.
(Book Length: 5070 Kindle Locations)(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Unique but confusing. I found it very difficult to write some kind of a review when I failed to capture the essence of the story.

A family of 5 revenants. Each member of the family has a specific talent. Gabriel is the fighter of the bunch, but he dislikes fighting. The character is a bit of an enigma. I never developed a 'feel' for Gabriel.

I found the book difficult to follow, but enjoyable nonetheless. At the end, I was left with many questions and few answers. Perhaps there will be another bo...more

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Sep 10, 2012 M.A. Bronson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: runawaypen-reviews

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Gabriel lives in a world where family made of five and each member has a role, Gabriel is the fighter. But Gabriel soon discovers that his world is not what he thought.

Everything was very well described and easy to picture. The fantasy element of a completely different world was done very well. There were a lot of surprises and you're never really sure who to trust, much like Gabriel feels. Gabriel was a good main character, in that he was fairly i...more Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Gabriel lives in a world where family made of five and each member has a role, Gabriel is the fighter. But Gabriel soon discovers that his world is not what he thought.

Everything was very well described and easy to picture. The fantasy element of a completely different world was done very well. There were a lot of surprises and you're never really sure who to trust, much like Gabriel feels. Gabriel was a good main character, in that he was fairly innocent and had good intentions. He often wished things could just go back to the way they were, a reluctant hero.

Gabriel often second guessed himself, questioning what he was doing almost all through the book. It became very tedious that he couldn't seem to make a decision without pages of debate with himself. We are, to the best of my recollection, never told Gabriel's age. Now this is a young adult novel so I'm assuming he could be anywhere from 13 to 18 years old. But it was hard to tell because on one page he would seem very childish and easily led, then on the next page he was making out with a girl that he hardly knew.(view spoiler)

There was a lot of detail and I think at times it made it hard to follow. I also didn't get that they were supposed to be vampires, until I read I read a review by another reader. I did really enjoy this book, but Gabriel's actions were hard to follow and I was confused and had a lot of questions at the end. (less)

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