Review - Book of The Bloodless by Christopher Fielden

Review - Book of The Bloodless by Christopher Fielden 

Book of the Bloodless: Alternative Afterlives is a short volume of high quality short fiction. Each story reads for around five to ten minutes. They’re bite-size, addictive, they make you smile and stay with you – in fact this is the perfect book for any coffee table; digestible and fun reading.

The theme is death, the afterlife, though the stories are far from bleak. They’re imaginative, often funny, and there’s a certain amount of hope that each story leaves you with; that there’s something more to what we are, who we are; that there’s more to come once this life ends.

It’s the age-old idea that this world is a preparation for the next, a test, something to enjoy, though moral values are not to be taken lightly because the spirit world is never too far away. You never know when Death may just come a knocking, be it in the form of a starry-eyed witch, a terrifying Rhino called ‘Keith,’ or a hairless, golden, hornless incubus. Each and every monster that turns up is in fact very much injected with such character that it makes them almost … well, human.

But for me, reading this book wasn’t so much about the themes explored and it wasn’t about the characters. It was the quality of the writing that won me over. Absolutely top stuff.

Christopher Fielden is an award winning author and every story in Book of the Bloodless is worthy of a first prize. Whether you’re joining the zombie vampire knitting group, watching a troll inspire a revolution, or sat face to face with a man called Slash Hack Maim Kill, the imagination and damn right realism pulls you inside a room of fantasy that compares to the very best of the Neil Gaiman.

A demon in your living room, Batman at Heaven’s gate, a couple of drinks with a phantom feeder on the edge of El Paso …

Familiar characters, familiar monsters, yet with Fielden’s masterful understanding of the fantasy world, rules are never broken but instead are brought to life with a fresh modernity. The added twists bring an extra-original sparkle, while the illustrations by David Whitlam are the icing on the cake.

This is definitely one to pick up. And once you do, you’ll definitely have a lot of trouble putting the thing down.

Book of the Bloodless Volume 1: Alternative Afterlives is a collection of Chris’s short stories, many of which have won awards. Chris’s work is known for being imaginative, filled with vivid characters and twists of fantasy. Death is the common theme, explored in a dry, humorous style.

Christopher Fielden is an award winning and Amazon bestselling author. His work has featured in books published by independent press, established magazines and renowned competition anthologies. For more information you can check out his amason page here and his website here.