Two years ago, I read my first Christian horror novel by Shawn David Brink. If you recall, I myself am not a religious person but accept that others are — therefore, I still take the time to consume media that may not be exactly in my wheelhouse. Having just finished his newest work this summer, Brink contacted me again to review Bound by Blood, a tale of brothers in a battle of good versus evil. Challenge accepted.
I’ll try not to make too many comparisons between this and Pets for Legion, but understand that they’re both in the same subgenre and have the same author. Bound by Blood is modern, contemporary approach to the classic God vs. Satan, angels vs. demons storyline; so right off the bat, if you’re not into religious dogma, I’d read Pets instead. If you can get past that (which I highly suggest), you’ll find a world of spirits, cults, action, perseverance, and love.
Bound by Blood is a story about twin brothers Seth and Jason. Having grown up in a broken home, Jason finds “kinship” in a group with dark intentions. Seth follows, but quickly finds that that life is leading him down a treacherous, murderous path. Instead, Seth finds a family of his own at a nearby church. The dark forces at hand push the brothers — and their parishes — to fight for the souls of their individual groups in a religious battle like none seen before.
A demonic cult and a Christian church battle for territory. Combat lines are drawn. Angels and demons square off as brother goes against brother. The spoils of war are human souls. Who will rise victorious, and at what cost?
Bound by Blood, Amazon
And this “battle” takes place in many forms. The many characters surrounding Seth and Jason fight tooth and nail in many aspects: retribution and vengeance, forgiveness, guilt, etc. As much as there is real-life fighting (I’m talking kidnappings, gunfights and the like), there is just as much internal struggle that these characters go through. Bound by Blood not only shows the action through words, but brings you into the minds of the characters. It is massively helpful to read their thoughts and judge for yourself if their actions were acceptable given their circumstances.
Of course a heartfelt story about taking the path of enlightenment is all well and good, but I’m a horror reviewer, so my favorite parts tended to be darker. For example, I loved how Brink wrote what it was like to be in the dark spirits’ presence. In my mind, I was imagining something akin to the Dark of the Night scenes in Anastasia. Bound by Blood brought life to these evil entities and gave them a personality of their own; silently whispering to Jason, they felt powerful and a true threat to those who followed the gospel. The threat of eternal damnation was tangible.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Bound by Blood does have a good deal of proselytizing (mainly from one character to another, but you could make the leap that it also goes from book to reader). But to that I say, “Yeah, duh. It’s Christian Horror.” What kept me reading was the constant barrage of evil. There was something at stake here, something bigger than what most people encounter in their lifetimes. Brink made sure Bound by Blood stuck to that horror aspect by including glorious amounts of danger and wretched ploys by those dark spirits; I particularly liked a plot to lure a pastor to into a deadly situation at the climax of the story.
Bound by Blood is just that: two beings tied together by a common thread in a fight for their souls — and a good reminder that horror has the ability to bring everyone together.
What did you think of Bound by Blood? Let us know in the comments!
Check out my review of Pets for Legion, and see Brink’s other works on his website.
