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Blood Farm
Mike, a friendly Vietnam vet driving a hearse for his uncle, picks up Angela, a half-frozen hitchhiker on her way back to college. When a blizzard makes the road impassable, Mike and Angela spend a night of terror and passion at Blut Farm--a night they will never forget--if they survive.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 9, 2023
You really can’t go wrong with a horde of pitch-black demonic pigs whose hobbies include emanating evil, grunting ominously, staring with red, red eyes, and snacking on visitors when they overstay their welcome and/or threaten the demon pigs’ vampire overlord. Seriously, that’s the ultimate in home protection right there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2023
Billed as 'Iowa Gothic', Blood Farm lived up to the gothic, if that means excess melodrama. Set in 1972, our main protagonist Mike, a Vietnam vet, starts the novel driving a hearse down I-80 when he picks up a hitchhiker-- Angela. Mike works for his uncle, an undertaker, and was heading out to pick up a coffin/body at the Blud farm, located in BFE Iowa. Mike, pretty stoned and then some, tells Angela he can take her to Iowa City (she is a student at the university there), but has to make a stop in Udolph to pick up the casket first. Well, the weather turns exceptionally nasty (blizzard), and the small detour to pick up the casket ends up taking hours.
Driving slowly through the blizzard, Mike manages to hit a huge dog or something, but when they both get out to find it, it seems to be gone; yet, they do find a straggly hippy passed out and half froze to death. So, they pick him up and resume their journey, finally arriving at the Blud Farm (Blud is German for Blood, hence the title). The Blud farm is centered by a run down gothic mansion and the only farm aspect seems to be a bunch of hogs running around. Dr Blud is one strange fellow, however, seemingly impervious to the cold and looks like an albino. He invites them to stay the night, giving the storm, and treats the half-frozen hippy (he is a doctor after all). You know this is going to turn out badly for Mike and Angela, and yes indeed, strange things happen that night at the farm...
This had a decent story line, albeit one used in countless gothic tales. An old, creepy house in the middle of nowhere, a strange 'aristocratic' family living there and stranded travelers. The Iowa setting was unique, but that was about it. Perhaps Siciliano meant this to be a homage to the gothic vampire tales of the 19th century; it sure felt like it. Unfortunately, the author does not add anything new (besides the setting) to this old trope. That, and the excess of melodrama made this almost a chore to read. Finally, our villain, Dr. Blud, comes off like the antagonist from an Austin Powers movie, but while the film was a parody, this tried to make it serious. Just too OTT and corny. 2 sad stars.
Driving slowly through the blizzard, Mike manages to hit a huge dog or something, but when they both get out to find it, it seems to be gone; yet, they do find a straggly hippy passed out and half froze to death. So, they pick him up and resume their journey, finally arriving at the Blud Farm (Blud is German for Blood, hence the title). The Blud farm is centered by a run down gothic mansion and the only farm aspect seems to be a bunch of hogs running around. Dr Blud is one strange fellow, however, seemingly impervious to the cold and looks like an albino. He invites them to stay the night, giving the storm, and treats the half-frozen hippy (he is a doctor after all). You know this is going to turn out badly for Mike and Angela, and yes indeed, strange things happen that night at the farm...
This had a decent story line, albeit one used in countless gothic tales. An old, creepy house in the middle of nowhere, a strange 'aristocratic' family living there and stranded travelers. The Iowa setting was unique, but that was about it. Perhaps Siciliano meant this to be a homage to the gothic vampire tales of the 19th century; it sure felt like it. Unfortunately, the author does not add anything new (besides the setting) to this old trope. That, and the excess of melodrama made this almost a chore to read. Finally, our villain, Dr. Blud, comes off like the antagonist from an Austin Powers movie, but while the film was a parody, this tried to make it serious. Just too OTT and corny. 2 sad stars.
March 18, 2020
What the hell is wrong with Iowa?
February 16, 2020
2.2 stars
Iowa February 1972. Vietnam vet, hippie Michael Michaels smokes pot, cracks jokes, and grins under sholder length, tangled golden locks. Swerving a black hearse in a blizzard, Michael picks up a hitchhiker university coed, Angela Rosalba. They find another vet, named Renwick buried beneath a bunker of roadside snow. (Renwick reminiscent of Renfield?) Michael, Angela, and Renwick end up at the isolated Gothic farm of Dr. Blut and his beautiful albino daughter, Ursula Blut (Blut sounds like blood). Toss in Blut's intimidating black dog and evil pigs.
Sam Siciliano's harebrained foreshadowing coaxed a smile from my stony face. That said, Siciliano spreads harbingers of doom thicker and sillier than I like it. I prefer dread scarier, more subtler, less flighty. Night Blood's tone never settles in a groove. Sicliano rushes back-and-forth between Michael's wisecracks, portents of doom, poetic jags, winter weather personifications, and 20 page long sex scenes. Night Blood can't commit to Hammer horror or a lighthearted haunted honeymoon.
The novel suffers an identity crisis, sputters, slows to a crawl, catatonic, rolls over onto its back and dies, pocked in personification.
Iowa February 1972. Vietnam vet, hippie Michael Michaels smokes pot, cracks jokes, and grins under sholder length, tangled golden locks. Swerving a black hearse in a blizzard, Michael picks up a hitchhiker university coed, Angela Rosalba. They find another vet, named Renwick buried beneath a bunker of roadside snow. (Renwick reminiscent of Renfield?) Michael, Angela, and Renwick end up at the isolated Gothic farm of Dr. Blut and his beautiful albino daughter, Ursula Blut (Blut sounds like blood). Toss in Blut's intimidating black dog and evil pigs.
Sam Siciliano's harebrained foreshadowing coaxed a smile from my stony face. That said, Siciliano spreads harbingers of doom thicker and sillier than I like it. I prefer dread scarier, more subtler, less flighty. Night Blood's tone never settles in a groove. Sicliano rushes back-and-forth between Michael's wisecracks, portents of doom, poetic jags, winter weather personifications, and 20 page long sex scenes. Night Blood can't commit to Hammer horror or a lighthearted haunted honeymoon.
The novel suffers an identity crisis, sputters, slows to a crawl, catatonic, rolls over onto its back and dies, pocked in personification.
September 16, 2018
creepy vampires in iowa. it's billed as 'midwestern gothic,' but it comes across more of a nasty hammer knock-off. strangely, the location -- an hour or so outside of iowa city -- is underutilized, except to emphasize the isolation of the farm. the fact that the vampire is german and extremely hateful of christianity, with the nearby amana colonies founded by german pietists, offers up an opportunity to really drive a point home, and is completely overlooked.
there are also some really nasty rape scenes, coupled with uncomfortably revealing sexual encounters, that give blood farm a fairly tawdry feel. the book's definitely not one you'll want to return to, but it's a quick, visceral read that's worth it if you pick it up for a buck or so.
there are also some really nasty rape scenes, coupled with uncomfortably revealing sexual encounters, that give blood farm a fairly tawdry feel. the book's definitely not one you'll want to return to, but it's a quick, visceral read that's worth it if you pick it up for a buck or so.
September 27, 2009
I liked this book a lot more than I expected to. I love books that surprise me. This was better than your average Vampire horror novel. And the main character drives a hearse. And he's one of the good guys! I liked that. :)
January 5, 2019
Haiku review:
Good guy with a hearse
Midwestern vampire farmer
Iowan blood flows
Good guy with a hearse
Midwestern vampire farmer
Iowan blood flows
March 5, 2022
Blood Farm, Sam Siciliano, 1988
My favorite quote: It isn’t a quote from the book itself, but I just love that Blood Farm calls itself “an Iowa Gothic” on the cover. I mean, what is an Iowa Gothic? And do we need Iowa Gothics?
Notable characters: Mike Michaels, the tortured Viet Nam vet; Angela Rosalba, the hitchhiker, Dr. Blut, the creepy owner of Blut Farm; Ursula, his beautiful, nasty daughter
Most memorable scene: Sam Siciliano knows how to write some gory — and thus, memorable — stuff — and there are a lot of scenes in Blood Farm jumping out at me right now — but I’m going to have to go with this one: a dude being eaten by pigs …
Greatest strengths: Blood Farm has fantastic atmosphere. Not even kidding. While I was reading this, I could feel the winter cold in my bones. I’ve since read several more of Sam Siciliano’s books and they all have the ability to really bring the setting to life
Standout achievements: Blood Farm is extremely visceral. It spares the reader no tawdry detail and for that, I must admit, I like it. Thank you, Sam Siciliano. It’s almost like you know me. Blood Farm is true balls-to-wall 80s horror at its finest. And it has vampires!
Fun Facts: Blood Farm is now out of print and considered rare. The last time I looked it up there were a few places charging outrageous prices for it. I hope that changes. If not, well, I’m glad I got my copy when I did. I really love Blood Farm
Other media: There’s no way they could make Blood Farm into a movie without butchering it. They’d have to cut out so much sex and violence that it just wouldn’t be Blood Farm anymore. That said, Sam Siciliano has a few other books out there that would probably make pretty excellent movies
What it taught me: Sam Siciliano is one of the authors who taught me the power of great imagery — and Blood Farm has it in spades. When it comes to horror, reviewers often say things like, “Blood Farm will make your skin crawl!” Or, “Sam Siciliano will make you sleep with the lights on!” In this case, it’s actually true, though. Your skin will crawl, and you won’t want to be in the dark. It’s just a creepy damned book
How it inspired me: I read Blood Farm twenty-some years ago when I was longing to be a writer myself, but not sure how to go about it, and it was this book (and a couple of others by Sam Siciliano and a small handful of other writers) that deepened my need to find a way to make it happen. So as cheesy as this book is, and as differently as I may do things from Sam Siciliano, Blood Farm helped set my course. It just goes to show that you never know what might change your life.
Additional thoughts: In a technical sense, Blood Farm isn’t a great book. I realize that. It head-hops, over-describes, repeats itself, and the plot is pretty thin. Even so, this book is special to me — and I’m grateful to Sam Siciliano for writing it
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Read Blood Farm: https://tinyurl.com/3xkcbxpx
My favorite quote: It isn’t a quote from the book itself, but I just love that Blood Farm calls itself “an Iowa Gothic” on the cover. I mean, what is an Iowa Gothic? And do we need Iowa Gothics?
Notable characters: Mike Michaels, the tortured Viet Nam vet; Angela Rosalba, the hitchhiker, Dr. Blut, the creepy owner of Blut Farm; Ursula, his beautiful, nasty daughter
Most memorable scene: Sam Siciliano knows how to write some gory — and thus, memorable — stuff — and there are a lot of scenes in Blood Farm jumping out at me right now — but I’m going to have to go with this one: a dude being eaten by pigs …
Greatest strengths: Blood Farm has fantastic atmosphere. Not even kidding. While I was reading this, I could feel the winter cold in my bones. I’ve since read several more of Sam Siciliano’s books and they all have the ability to really bring the setting to life
Standout achievements: Blood Farm is extremely visceral. It spares the reader no tawdry detail and for that, I must admit, I like it. Thank you, Sam Siciliano. It’s almost like you know me. Blood Farm is true balls-to-wall 80s horror at its finest. And it has vampires!
Fun Facts: Blood Farm is now out of print and considered rare. The last time I looked it up there were a few places charging outrageous prices for it. I hope that changes. If not, well, I’m glad I got my copy when I did. I really love Blood Farm
Other media: There’s no way they could make Blood Farm into a movie without butchering it. They’d have to cut out so much sex and violence that it just wouldn’t be Blood Farm anymore. That said, Sam Siciliano has a few other books out there that would probably make pretty excellent movies
What it taught me: Sam Siciliano is one of the authors who taught me the power of great imagery — and Blood Farm has it in spades. When it comes to horror, reviewers often say things like, “Blood Farm will make your skin crawl!” Or, “Sam Siciliano will make you sleep with the lights on!” In this case, it’s actually true, though. Your skin will crawl, and you won’t want to be in the dark. It’s just a creepy damned book
How it inspired me: I read Blood Farm twenty-some years ago when I was longing to be a writer myself, but not sure how to go about it, and it was this book (and a couple of others by Sam Siciliano and a small handful of other writers) that deepened my need to find a way to make it happen. So as cheesy as this book is, and as differently as I may do things from Sam Siciliano, Blood Farm helped set my course. It just goes to show that you never know what might change your life.
Additional thoughts: In a technical sense, Blood Farm isn’t a great book. I realize that. It head-hops, over-describes, repeats itself, and the plot is pretty thin. Even so, this book is special to me — and I’m grateful to Sam Siciliano for writing it
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Read Blood Farm: https://tinyurl.com/3xkcbxpx
June 10, 2020
A great start, the first quarter had me yammering for more, but fizzled. After the stunning intro to Blood Farm's horror, it sadly slows down incredibly and gets lost amid a slow, wordy second half.
October 26, 2021
There’s nothing to really enjoy about this book. The writing is pretty bad, no offense Sam I can tell you really tried.
It’s really DULL. The pace of the entire novel is very sluggish. Not much happens and things take forever to play out. Pretty short on scares, just a lot of uncomfortable rape scenes ☹️
I thought more would come out of protag Mike Michaels (lol) being a vietnam vet, especially since another character turns out to be one too, but it’s hardly relevant. Same with the demonic pigs. When I picked this book up I thought the pigs would be the villains of the book, but alas it was a vampire story.
It’s really DULL. The pace of the entire novel is very sluggish. Not much happens and things take forever to play out. Pretty short on scares, just a lot of uncomfortable rape scenes ☹️
I thought more would come out of protag Mike Michaels (lol) being a vietnam vet, especially since another character turns out to be one too, but it’s hardly relevant. Same with the demonic pigs. When I picked this book up I thought the pigs would be the villains of the book, but alas it was a vampire story.
September 30, 2024
A vampire gothic set it rural Iowa?!? Count me in! This book was very cheesy at times and full of clichés, but that's what makes monster stories so fun! I did not, however, enjoy the instances of sexual assault. I get vampires hold this sway over their victims that make them irresistible; their victims begging to be bitten. Sexual assault though? No thanks. I enjoyed many parts of this story. Several scenes, however, left a bad taste in my mouth.
March 9, 2023
Anti-sex vampire that enjoy raping. And everything is told twice, sometime thrice.
January 3, 2025
A very good old school classic vampire story with a really nice blizzardy winter setting.
February 16, 2025
Tried to like it from the beginning, but, incredibly cheesy.
July 31, 2025
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘵. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤��𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦?” …
Tenk deg at du står alene og er iskald langs en utrafikkert vei i håp om at noen stopper for å plukke deg opp slik at du ikke fryser ihjel midt på veien. Du er forberedt på å takke ja til hvem som helst som plukker deg opp, men den eneste bilen som kommer kjørende, er en likbil! Hadde du takket ja? Vel, det gjør Angela, og selv om føreren av bilen er hyggelig, skal dette vise seg å være starten på de to verste døgnene i hennes liv…
𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮 ble utgitt i 1988, og er en gjenfortelling av den klassiske vampyrromanen 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢, men istedenfor at handlingen er satt til skrekkelige Transylvania, blir vi her tatt til, litt mindre, men fremdeles skremmende, Iowa! Og altså, unnskyld meg, dette omslaget… Dette er en av de kuleste bøkene jeg eier!
Siciliano kommer med gode beskrivelser av miljøet og karakterene, som skaper en god, gotisk stemning. Samtidig blir det til tider for mye, kjedelige beskrivelser… Jeg trenger ikke 8 sider med tam sex og beskrivelser av at det blåser ute!
Samtidig har boka også den gode, 80-talls skrekkfølelsen som jeg ofte er ute etter. Det er en grunn til at jeg samler på meg disse gamle, slitte pocketbøkene, for det er veldig spennende å se om man får en fantastisk god skrekkroman, eller grusomme money-grabs! Mot slutten ble derimot handlingen dratt litt for mye ut på, og jeg begynte å miste interessen.
Alt i alt var dette en god skrekkroman, og akkurat hva jeg forventet fra en 80-talls Paperback from Hell-bok! 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮 får av meg TERNINGKAST 4!🎲
Tenk deg at du står alene og er iskald langs en utrafikkert vei i håp om at noen stopper for å plukke deg opp slik at du ikke fryser ihjel midt på veien. Du er forberedt på å takke ja til hvem som helst som plukker deg opp, men den eneste bilen som kommer kjørende, er en likbil! Hadde du takket ja? Vel, det gjør Angela, og selv om føreren av bilen er hyggelig, skal dette vise seg å være starten på de to verste døgnene i hennes liv…
𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮 ble utgitt i 1988, og er en gjenfortelling av den klassiske vampyrromanen 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢, men istedenfor at handlingen er satt til skrekkelige Transylvania, blir vi her tatt til, litt mindre, men fremdeles skremmende, Iowa! Og altså, unnskyld meg, dette omslaget… Dette er en av de kuleste bøkene jeg eier!
Siciliano kommer med gode beskrivelser av miljøet og karakterene, som skaper en god, gotisk stemning. Samtidig blir det til tider for mye, kjedelige beskrivelser… Jeg trenger ikke 8 sider med tam sex og beskrivelser av at det blåser ute!
Samtidig har boka også den gode, 80-talls skrekkfølelsen som jeg ofte er ute etter. Det er en grunn til at jeg samler på meg disse gamle, slitte pocketbøkene, for det er veldig spennende å se om man får en fantastisk god skrekkroman, eller grusomme money-grabs! Mot slutten ble derimot handlingen dratt litt for mye ut på, og jeg begynte å miste interessen.
Alt i alt var dette en god skrekkroman, og akkurat hva jeg forventet fra en 80-talls Paperback from Hell-bok! 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮 får av meg TERNINGKAST 4!🎲
February 27, 2016
2.5 stars.
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