Media Center: ‘By Blood We Live’ by Glen Duncan
WHO: Glen Duncan
WHAT: BY BLOOD WE LIVE, a novel
WHEN: Published by Knopf February 6, 2014
WHERE: The author lives in London.
WHY: “Duncan’s elegant, striking prose is the star in this enthralling conclusion to the Last Werewolf trilogy.
Sure, yes, there are plenty of battles, blood, and sexy escapades; but the real treats continue to be Duncan’s beautifully twisted way with language and the profound thesis he poses about humanity. Defiant and dramatic to the last, Duncan wraps up his finale with a flourish akin to a film actor staring directly into the camera.” —Courtney Jones, BOOKLIST
“Vampires and werewolves are at it again…
and for the most part, they still don’t like each other.
“In this book, Duncan continues the saga of Tallula (the werewolf, also known as Vali) and Remshi (the vampire), one of the stranger love stories of modern times—and of ancient times as well, since their relationship goes back some 17,000 years. Although Tallula knows about ‘species enmity, Mutually Assured Detestation at the cellular level,’ she still has a thing for her vampire lover.
“The novel opens with Remshi in a relationship with Justine Cavell. He’s bewildered when he shows up one night expecting to be received with open arms, though Justine is even more bewildered to see him because he’s actually been gone for almost two years. Remshi has almost no memory of his time away, though, given his nature, he realizes he’s probably been up to some naughtiness. Meanwhile, a vampire named Olek sends a mysterious diary to Tallula purporting to explain how to get rid of the curse of ‘turning’—the process of becoming a werewolf.
“In a flashback to prehistoric times, we learn of the budding relationship and sexual ferocity of Remshi and Vali; meanwhile, back in the contemporary world, Remshi has become convinced that Tallula is a ‘reborn’ version of Vali. Talulla and her band of werewolves are attacked, and she, along with her daughter, Zoë, is kidnapped, but her son, Lorcan, escapes. Tallula is questioned—Inquisition style—by Cardinal Salvatore di Campanetti, but in an extraordinarily violent scene, she is eventually liberated when a gang of vampires comes to her rescue.
“Duncan’s style is animated, and he recounts the imperatives of vampire and werewolf brutality and sexual aggressiveness with particular gusto.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
From the first lines of the book: It’s better to kill people at the end of their psychology. They have nothing left to offer themselves or the world.
Media Resources:
About the book | About the author | Read an excerpt | Download the jacket or the author photo | Listen to the AudioBook
Publicist for this title:
Kim Thornton | 212-572-2299 | kthornton@randomhouse.com