From Library Journal
This sequel to Rulers of Darkness (LJ 7/95) focuses on Jenn Hrluska, a young resident physician in Washington, D.C., who is a "hemophaege"?an immortal being with human strength who must subsist on human blood. Jenn's father, Zane, from whom she inherited the gene that allowed her transformation from human to hemophaege, turned her into this vampiric being. With the help of her grandfather, a retired police detective (and fellow hemophaege), she chooses to take blood through a transfusion process that does not harm mortals. But Zane wants her to be like him and most other "phaeges"?a killer who enjoys the thrill of taking human life through drinking the victim's blood. Much of this novel revolves around the bitter contest between Jenn and Zane, but the tension that made Rulers of Darkness such fast-paced reading is less strong here. The first part of the book moves slowly, although things pick up toward the end. Recommended where Spruill is popular.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA. Fans of both the horror and medical suspense genres will enjoy this tale. Dr. Jenn Hrluska, a beautiful, talented intern at a Washington, DC, hospital, is a hemophage: a genetic defect requires that she feed on human blood to survive. In this sequel to Rulers of Darkness, Spruill tells the riveting story of Jenn's affection for her grandfather, Merrick, who raised her to transfuse blood harmlessly from sleeping victims to feed her hunger. He has decided that he no longer wishes to live the immortal life of a hemophage, so he takes special transfusions that will allow him to grow old with his present wife. As a police detective, Merrick hunted the deadly hemophages, including his own son, but now he is no longer a match for Zane's powers. When Zane escapes from his father's underground prison and vows revenge, Jenn must choose between them. YAs will enjoy this fast-moving variation on the traditional vampire tale and its many subplots. One of Jenn's young patients is dying of leukemia; a fellow intern plants drugs in her locker to get her fired; Jenn's new boyfriend experiences odd hallucinations that make her fear he may be "phage" as well; and an overly curious television reporter stalks Jenn and almost reveals her family's secret to the world. Perhaps, most of all, YAs will identify with Jenn's emotional turmoil as she untangles her complex feelings for a father who asks her to return to a "natural" but deadly life with him; and a grandfather who believes that she can transcend that life and care for the children of the world.?Pat Bangs, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
