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Vampires in the Sunburnt Country #1
Blood and Dust
Kevin Matheson works at his family’s service station in the Queensland outback. Life is all about cricket, fishing, the pub, his girlfriend. Then it all gets blown to hell – he’s caught up in a hideous, unbelievable world of cops and monsters in which two rival gangs of vampires vie for control, all while maintaining a charade of humanity.
Kevin has to cope with his new existence as a vampire, adapt to the destruction of his family and play the politics of the supernatural world. The biker Taipan and his lover Kala make for unlikely allies as they lead the nomadic Night Riders in their fight to be free of the control of the Brisbane-based Von Schiller group, led by the ruthless Mira and her pack of blood-addicted human servants.
Caught between vicious nomadic bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul. In a world without rules, only one tenet holds true: blood really is thicker than water. But how far will he go to save the people he loves?
Kevin has to cope with his new existence as a vampire, adapt to the destruction of his family and play the politics of the supernatural world. The biker Taipan and his lover Kala make for unlikely allies as they lead the nomadic Night Riders in their fight to be free of the control of the Brisbane-based Von Schiller group, led by the ruthless Mira and her pack of blood-addicted human servants.
Caught between vicious nomadic bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul. In a world without rules, only one tenet holds true: blood really is thicker than water. But how far will he go to save the people he loves?
406 pages, ebook
First published December 16, 2012
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 24, 2012
Blood and Dust is the just released Australian Vampire novel by dark fantasy author Jason Nahrung. If you've just obtained an ereader recently and you like your vampires dark, sensuous and dangerous - buy it.
I am a fan of Jason’s short fiction, where he manages to infuse old tropes with a distinct aussie flavour, something that goes a bit deeper than location and slang.
Nahrung’s a Queensland country boy, though he now lives in the big smoke and there’s a bit of that country sensibility that comes through in the writing, an attitude, a perspective.
The tale centres around Kevin, a mechanic in his parent’s servo in a dying town in outback Queensland. Kevin looks set to marry his girlfriend, inherit the servo and maintain the status quo until, by an unlucky twist of fate, he becomes embroiled in a turf war between two vampire clans The Von Schiller Organisation and the Night Riders, a vampire bikie gang.
What I really enjoyed about the novel, aside from the action driven story was Jason’s infusion of Australian flavour, subtle enough to avoid cultural cringe, consistent enough to deliver a tone or mood that is distinct. There’s an acknowledgement of Aboriginal history, of stolen generations. There’s an observation of country life that most rural Australian’s would have no trouble recognizing.
Bringing a European myth into an Australian setting, especially a rural one and having it stick is, I think, a considerable hurdle. It’s quiet easy for me to imagine vampires in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney for example but not so much in the “Sunshine State”. But Jason has done it and done it well.
I shake the red earth from my hands as I put the book down and dream fitful dreams filled with the roar of Harleys, the smell blood and Bon Scott singing Highway to Hell.
Give us some more Jason, to slake our thirst.
The book was provided by the author you can purchase it through Xoum and other digital outlets.
I am a fan of Jason’s short fiction, where he manages to infuse old tropes with a distinct aussie flavour, something that goes a bit deeper than location and slang.
Nahrung’s a Queensland country boy, though he now lives in the big smoke and there’s a bit of that country sensibility that comes through in the writing, an attitude, a perspective.
The tale centres around Kevin, a mechanic in his parent’s servo in a dying town in outback Queensland. Kevin looks set to marry his girlfriend, inherit the servo and maintain the status quo until, by an unlucky twist of fate, he becomes embroiled in a turf war between two vampire clans The Von Schiller Organisation and the Night Riders, a vampire bikie gang.
What I really enjoyed about the novel, aside from the action driven story was Jason’s infusion of Australian flavour, subtle enough to avoid cultural cringe, consistent enough to deliver a tone or mood that is distinct. There’s an acknowledgement of Aboriginal history, of stolen generations. There’s an observation of country life that most rural Australian’s would have no trouble recognizing.
Bringing a European myth into an Australian setting, especially a rural one and having it stick is, I think, a considerable hurdle. It’s quiet easy for me to imagine vampires in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney for example but not so much in the “Sunshine State”. But Jason has done it and done it well.
I shake the red earth from my hands as I put the book down and dream fitful dreams filled with the roar of Harleys, the smell blood and Bon Scott singing Highway to Hell.
Give us some more Jason, to slake our thirst.
The book was provided by the author you can purchase it through Xoum and other digital outlets.
February 18, 2016
Nahrung, who wrote the excellent Salvage, sets the first of his ‘Vampires in the Sunburnt Country’ series in outback Queensland, the last place you’d ever expect to find rival gangs of vampires who are traditionally fatally sensitive to sunlight.
Kevin Matheson, a mechanic who works at his parents service station in the tiny and slowly wilting country town of Barlow’s Siding. But then a car pulls in, containing a policeman who isn’t, his dying partner and a body in the boot that, despite the steel sticking out of his chest, isn’t quite dead.
Things go from bad to personal apocalypse pretty quickly after that, with rival gangs having bloody shootout, and Kevin’s family caught in the middle. Kevin’s not the only one to die that day, but he’s the only one who crawls out of the earth, transformed.
Blood and Dust provides plenty of both as Kevin struggles to adjust to his new state, and to understand the deadly rivalry between the nomadic vampire bikers he’s fallen in with, and their rather more organised-crime-type vampire enemies from Brisbane. Kevin’s desperate to save the family he has left, and to survive in a world he doesn’t understand. He’s also determined to balance the books with Mira, the vampire who is trying to use him to trap the Night Riders and is a threat to his own family.
Nahrung brings his own touches to the ever-changing milieu of the vampire story. Here, blood is more than nourishment for vampires. It carries memories, and ways of linking the vampire to those from whom they drink; and especially those they drink dry. It’s a fabulous new take on both the addiction and the dangers of blood-sucking. The way that blood sharing can communicate not only memories but particular skills also leads to some very cool passages. Kevin might be the new vampire on the block, but he’s picking up some mad skills along the way.
The characters are complex and often surprising, both the vampires and their human ‘red-eyes’ who have extended life from blood sharing, but aren’t yet turned. Taipan, the first indigenous vampire character I’ve ever read, and Kevin’s maker, is fascinatingly complex and contradictory, as is Reece, the not-policeman and Mira’s favourite red-eye, who brought all this disaster down on Kevin’s head with his appearance at the servo.
Elements of Blood and Dust reminded me of Australian films of the 70s, depicting oppressive heat and simmering violence in the outback, though with a much broader (and very welcome) diversity. There’s a dash of Mad Max, a soucon of Wake in Fright, and maybe even a tiny taste of Thirst, though all transformed and written with Nahrung’s deft hand with dialogue and character.
The whole story barrels down its hot Queensland highway, full throttle, guns blazing, until its grim and bittersweet ending.
Kevin Matheson, a mechanic who works at his parents service station in the tiny and slowly wilting country town of Barlow’s Siding. But then a car pulls in, containing a policeman who isn’t, his dying partner and a body in the boot that, despite the steel sticking out of his chest, isn’t quite dead.
Things go from bad to personal apocalypse pretty quickly after that, with rival gangs having bloody shootout, and Kevin’s family caught in the middle. Kevin’s not the only one to die that day, but he’s the only one who crawls out of the earth, transformed.
Blood and Dust provides plenty of both as Kevin struggles to adjust to his new state, and to understand the deadly rivalry between the nomadic vampire bikers he’s fallen in with, and their rather more organised-crime-type vampire enemies from Brisbane. Kevin’s desperate to save the family he has left, and to survive in a world he doesn’t understand. He’s also determined to balance the books with Mira, the vampire who is trying to use him to trap the Night Riders and is a threat to his own family.
Nahrung brings his own touches to the ever-changing milieu of the vampire story. Here, blood is more than nourishment for vampires. It carries memories, and ways of linking the vampire to those from whom they drink; and especially those they drink dry. It’s a fabulous new take on both the addiction and the dangers of blood-sucking. The way that blood sharing can communicate not only memories but particular skills also leads to some very cool passages. Kevin might be the new vampire on the block, but he’s picking up some mad skills along the way.
The characters are complex and often surprising, both the vampires and their human ‘red-eyes’ who have extended life from blood sharing, but aren’t yet turned. Taipan, the first indigenous vampire character I’ve ever read, and Kevin’s maker, is fascinatingly complex and contradictory, as is Reece, the not-policeman and Mira’s favourite red-eye, who brought all this disaster down on Kevin’s head with his appearance at the servo.
Elements of Blood and Dust reminded me of Australian films of the 70s, depicting oppressive heat and simmering violence in the outback, though with a much broader (and very welcome) diversity. There’s a dash of Mad Max, a soucon of Wake in Fright, and maybe even a tiny taste of Thirst, though all transformed and written with Nahrung’s deft hand with dialogue and character.
The whole story barrels down its hot Queensland highway, full throttle, guns blazing, until its grim and bittersweet ending.
October 30, 2015
So, your home of 19 years has exploded, your father is dead and you've just crawled out of a hole in the ground and been molested by a woman who can't possibly have done... take it on the road, buddy. You don't need to outrun the tiger... oh, actually you do.
This book sets a scorching, where's-that-rocket-launcher pace from the get-go, but still contrives to weave complex, mature characters into a piece of worldbuilding so seamless it makes me want to cry. Kevin's traumatic learning curve, Kala's knife-edged balancing of humanity with exigency, the world-weariness of the Hunter, Reece, and the 600 years worth of method in Mira's madness are dazzling: while there's probably a viewing or two of Near Dark amongst Nahrung's influences, he has created a convincingly original milieu of vampires, victims and politics, as well as a reason to never, never travel in far north Queensland. Drenched in atmosphere and neatly plotted, this one will carry you all the way to the edge of the gorge and then sabotage your brakes.
This book sets a scorching, where's-that-rocket-launcher pace from the get-go, but still contrives to weave complex, mature characters into a piece of worldbuilding so seamless it makes me want to cry. Kevin's traumatic learning curve, Kala's knife-edged balancing of humanity with exigency, the world-weariness of the Hunter, Reece, and the 600 years worth of method in Mira's madness are dazzling: while there's probably a viewing or two of Near Dark amongst Nahrung's influences, he has created a convincingly original milieu of vampires, victims and politics, as well as a reason to never, never travel in far north Queensland. Drenched in atmosphere and neatly plotted, this one will carry you all the way to the edge of the gorge and then sabotage your brakes.
May 2, 2013
No one in Australia does vampires like Jason Nahrung.
January 22, 2013
About bloody time, Jason Nahrung. I've been waiting for something like Blood and Dust ever since I heard one of Nahrung's short stories (Smoking, Waiting for the Dawn) on the Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction podcast a couple of years ago. Yes, yes - I know he released a sensitive almost literary novella recently filled with beautiful gothic themes and broody settings earlier in the year. I liked Salvage and thought it was a great read. But this is the novel I've been waiting for. Vampires in the Australian outback. Love it.
Kevin Matheson is a young mechanic in a small rural town somewhere out the back of the Australian state of Queensland. He dreams of marrying his high school sweetheart, taking over his father's garage/service station and helping keep his rural community alive. Then a cop arrives dragging a prisoner with a stake through his heart, a dying partner and a truckload of vampire bikies behind him and Kevin's life isn't the same again.
Blood and Dust has been released as an eBook only from the relatively new Xoum. I'm always interested in what level of quality control a new publisher brings, and it seemed good with only a single typo jumping out at me. Xoum also published Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott recently, which I've reviewed here.
The world building in this novel is extensive, but inserted into the story in a seamless way. By the end of the novel I had a good sense of the much larger world outside the rural setting of the novel, but I never felt like there was a lot of info dumping. This is difficult to pull off, but Nahrung makes it seem effortless.
Be warned. There is violence. And sex. And sexy violence. And violent sex. On the whole, Nahrung does not hold back from exploring what the reality would be for creatures that needed blood to survive and for those that provide it. It may not be for everyone, but the everyday life of a Blood and Dust vampire provides a visceral backdrop to the storyline.
The pace is thriller-like, with escalating conflict all the way through. I tore through the book in a couple of sittings, ignoring my family and duties around the house. Thank I'm on holiday from work.
While the story is probably more plot driven than character driven, there is still significant character development through the novel. Not all the character arcs felt entirely complete, I suspect there may be plans for more writing in the world that Nahrung has created.
Some of the characters are Australian Aborigines, and there are themes of connection to land and dispossession that come through strongly in the novel. These will resonate strongly with an Australian audience, especially the references to the stolen generation of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents and sent to live in white homes. There was a small reference to the fact that Aboriginal vampires had evolved differently from European vampires - I hope this is something covered in more detail in future work, it was a fascinating idea. I'm not Aboriginal myself and so can't really comment on whether the Aborigines in the story were portrayed realistically, but it seemed believable to me.
As an Australian, I love reading speculative fiction that has an Australian sensibility. In Blood and Dust I particularly like the rural/outback setting. It is not the first place you'd think to place vampires (they'd probably blend in better in Melbourne - they all seem to like wearing black and being trendily miserable there). But using an outback setting adds a freshness to the tropes, and creates a real juxtaposition between undead creatures of the night and the sun soaked desolation of an Australian landscape in drought.
Now while I loved the "Australianess" of the story I did wonder while reading whether that local flavour would put off non-Australian readers. For those readers, I draw your attention to the Australian-English translation guide at the back of the book.
Nahrung's take on the vampire is interesting, and certainly harkens back to the darker interpretations of the vampire ethos. I particularly liked the way a connection is drawn between the vampire and those that provide blood, providing a natural check to their population growth. And the vampire familiars are equally well drawn, the "red eyes" who provide the vampires with a steady source of blood and daylight protection and are rewarded with youth, strength and vitality.
The writing itself is evocative and visceral. There is sentiment in the story, but it is not over done. Nahrung is comfortable portraying the dark and the macabre and the confidence of his writing is a joy to behold. I'm perhaps betraying my literary preferences, but this story is firmly in the genre camp and a joy to read because of it.
My thirst for Queensland vampires momentarily slacked, I find the desire for more work in this world starting to build already. Come on Jason, get on with it.
I also reviewed this book on my website.
Kevin Matheson is a young mechanic in a small rural town somewhere out the back of the Australian state of Queensland. He dreams of marrying his high school sweetheart, taking over his father's garage/service station and helping keep his rural community alive. Then a cop arrives dragging a prisoner with a stake through his heart, a dying partner and a truckload of vampire bikies behind him and Kevin's life isn't the same again.
Blood and Dust has been released as an eBook only from the relatively new Xoum. I'm always interested in what level of quality control a new publisher brings, and it seemed good with only a single typo jumping out at me. Xoum also published Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott recently, which I've reviewed here.
The world building in this novel is extensive, but inserted into the story in a seamless way. By the end of the novel I had a good sense of the much larger world outside the rural setting of the novel, but I never felt like there was a lot of info dumping. This is difficult to pull off, but Nahrung makes it seem effortless.
Be warned. There is violence. And sex. And sexy violence. And violent sex. On the whole, Nahrung does not hold back from exploring what the reality would be for creatures that needed blood to survive and for those that provide it. It may not be for everyone, but the everyday life of a Blood and Dust vampire provides a visceral backdrop to the storyline.
The pace is thriller-like, with escalating conflict all the way through. I tore through the book in a couple of sittings, ignoring my family and duties around the house. Thank I'm on holiday from work.
While the story is probably more plot driven than character driven, there is still significant character development through the novel. Not all the character arcs felt entirely complete, I suspect there may be plans for more writing in the world that Nahrung has created.
Some of the characters are Australian Aborigines, and there are themes of connection to land and dispossession that come through strongly in the novel. These will resonate strongly with an Australian audience, especially the references to the stolen generation of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents and sent to live in white homes. There was a small reference to the fact that Aboriginal vampires had evolved differently from European vampires - I hope this is something covered in more detail in future work, it was a fascinating idea. I'm not Aboriginal myself and so can't really comment on whether the Aborigines in the story were portrayed realistically, but it seemed believable to me.
As an Australian, I love reading speculative fiction that has an Australian sensibility. In Blood and Dust I particularly like the rural/outback setting. It is not the first place you'd think to place vampires (they'd probably blend in better in Melbourne - they all seem to like wearing black and being trendily miserable there). But using an outback setting adds a freshness to the tropes, and creates a real juxtaposition between undead creatures of the night and the sun soaked desolation of an Australian landscape in drought.
Now while I loved the "Australianess" of the story I did wonder while reading whether that local flavour would put off non-Australian readers. For those readers, I draw your attention to the Australian-English translation guide at the back of the book.
Nahrung's take on the vampire is interesting, and certainly harkens back to the darker interpretations of the vampire ethos. I particularly liked the way a connection is drawn between the vampire and those that provide blood, providing a natural check to their population growth. And the vampire familiars are equally well drawn, the "red eyes" who provide the vampires with a steady source of blood and daylight protection and are rewarded with youth, strength and vitality.
The writing itself is evocative and visceral. There is sentiment in the story, but it is not over done. Nahrung is comfortable portraying the dark and the macabre and the confidence of his writing is a joy to behold. I'm perhaps betraying my literary preferences, but this story is firmly in the genre camp and a joy to read because of it.
My thirst for Queensland vampires momentarily slacked, I find the desire for more work in this world starting to build already. Come on Jason, get on with it.
I also reviewed this book on my website.
February 23, 2019
This book is a page-turner, I couldn’t put it down. It’s very Australian and very Queensland in the best possible ways. You can see, hear, touch and smell the landscape and the small towns. The characters are well drawn, complex. Despite most of them being vampires, or their red eye companions, they are believably real. Kevin the main protagonist, is a guy we all know, and we live his unbelievable journey in a very believable way as though it was happening to a mate. The book is beautifully written and tightly plotted, a vampire tale like no other you have read. Highly recommended!
May 17, 2018
3.5 stars. Loved the setting with the clear-cut Australian characters. A decent read.
August 8, 2015
Outback mechanic Kevin Matheson loves his quiet life. Then two men who’ve been in a shootout arrive at his garage closely pursued by a gang of bikers. Except none of these people are really human and by the time the day is over, Kevin’s life has changed forever.
Marvellously Australian Gothic where the relentless sun provides the bleak background, Blood and Dust is also a fast paced thriller that charges along like a bus without brakes. The pace is exciting, the writing spare and vivid. You feel for Kevin’s confusion he learns about this vampire world he never knew existed. Nahrung has set up an elegant and fascinating system where blood drinking can be all kinds of things, love, dreams, communication, and learning. These vampires are gritty, violent, cruel and sexy but there is a wonderful depth to their depiction especially in the way they both love and resent their servants. Each character stands out for themselves. And even though there is plenty of sexy blood drinking and sexy violence there’s none of the misogyny of which so distorts other thrillers. A great relief.
A worthy addition to the vampire genre. I missed my station reading it!
Marvellously Australian Gothic where the relentless sun provides the bleak background, Blood and Dust is also a fast paced thriller that charges along like a bus without brakes. The pace is exciting, the writing spare and vivid. You feel for Kevin’s confusion he learns about this vampire world he never knew existed. Nahrung has set up an elegant and fascinating system where blood drinking can be all kinds of things, love, dreams, communication, and learning. These vampires are gritty, violent, cruel and sexy but there is a wonderful depth to their depiction especially in the way they both love and resent their servants. Each character stands out for themselves. And even though there is plenty of sexy blood drinking and sexy violence there’s none of the misogyny of which so distorts other thrillers. A great relief.
A worthy addition to the vampire genre. I missed my station reading it!
August 15, 2015
Atmospheric Aussie vampire action that pulses with a savage bloodthirsty lust, driving the reader through the central west of Queensland to 'Bane and back as rival vampire gangs battle for supremacy.
Read
December 27, 2012Aurealis Awards entry, will be reviewed after the awards.
July 28, 2015
Now that's what I call a page turner.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews