Blood and Chrysanthemums: A Vampire Novel

Sarah Robertson is associate editor of the Canadian Book Review Annual.

This sequel to Nancy Baker’s erotic vampire thriller The Night Inside
finds the centuries-old Rozokov and his recent convert Ardeth in Banff,
Alberta. The exhilarating terror that infused their nonstop Toronto
adventures has given way to malaise, petty jealousies, and an uninspired
diet of elk blood. There are no how-to manuals on making the most of a
vampire relationship. Rozokov finds in astronomy a diversion from his
angst-ridden existence. Ardeth finds consolation in rock-climbing with a
local jock—until a quarrel with Rozokov spurs her back to Toronto for
a brief interlude in the Queen Street carnival of leather freaks and
vampire wannabes. The couple are reunited through the machinations of
the almost–1000-year-old vampire Sadamori Fujiwara, leader of a yakuza
organization. Fujiwara’s story unfolds through his diary, which begins
with the imperial court of the 11th century and ends with the
unimaginable horrors of August 6, 1945. The hara-kiri performed by this
poet-cum-gangster effects a reconciliation (of sorts) between the
estranged vampires.

Baker knows how to make a story move. Her crisp and smoothly written
book will appeal to vampire fans who find Anne Rice’s metaphysical
musings overwrought and self-indulgent. Yet there is an unfinished
quality about the relationships in this novel that diffuses its impact.
Fujiwara and Rozokov are no Lestat and Louis; indeed, the former samurai
dispatches himself before the friendship even gets off the ground. There
are a fistful of intriguing secondary characters with similarly
unfinished stories and relationships; the inevitable (and welcome)
sequel awaits.