Book Review: Blood Tithe

by: Glenn Soucy

(From Amazon) In the damp, dark forest of northern Maine, a secret that was buried for decades becomes exposed. Jeremy was five years old and playing in the thick forest, when he fell into a forgotten tunnel. The old passage was left over from WWII; when the USA was trying to create the Master Race with DNA alterations. The chemicals were still there, mixing with flood waters, and only becoming stronger.

Jeremy is rescued from the tunnel, and spends the summer in the hospital recovering. But soon realizes that he can sense heartbeats from a distance, feel sap moving in trees. Best of all, he can gather energy from every living thing, which gives him unnatural and sometime uncontrollable powers.

His mother and sister are frightened by this as he struggles for their affection. Soon the CIA hears of the news and starts asking questions, as do mysterious people who are still alive from the original experiments. Jeremy doesn’t know who to trust. (End Copy)

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I was intrigued with the synopsis of Blood Tithe on Amazon and felt it would be an interesting read.  My initial thoughts proved correct.  At first, I wondered how Soucy would bring off the accident that pushed young Jeremy into the center of the story.  Having Jeremy as the busy, thoughtful, yet careless youngster proved to be the method that held my attention.

Jeremy not only fell into the sludge soup of a WWII experiment gone bad, he learned quickly that his life would be radically different from what it was until the tender age of five.  Those around him began to wonder about his new-found abilities, as did he.  When he found he could do things that normal people couldn’t his inquisitive nature spurred him on.  But those abilities soon became threats to his family, friends, and those who thought they had the upper hand.

Jeremy was in a quagmire of problems.  If he told anyone the truth, they probably wouldn’t believe him.  If they did, they’d lock him up and study him as a guinea pig.  His mother feared him.  His friends were no longer.  His enemies wanted his life.  Yet he was only just six years old.  One person who seemed to understand his dilemma was his father, but even with his father trying to learn about Jeremy’s sudden “Abilities” his life was over.  A six year old is supposed to play, climb treas, build forts, and enjoy fantasies brought on by childhood.  Not so for Jeremy.

The meaning of the title – Blood Tithe – doesn’t come out until near the end of the book.  That had me thinking that I might have missed something, but I had not.  I think the concept could have been better explained.  I felt as if Blood Tithe was forgotten and Soucy put it in near the end to fulfill the title.  Had he brought it out sooner and developed the idea, the book would have had a better flow.

I did, at times, get bored with the continuous avalanche of situations Soucy brought to Jeremy’s life.  I wanted to shut my Kindle and move on, but I stayed the course and continued the read.  That said, I probably will not go into the next book in the series.  My curiosity is not pulling me in that direction.  Had Soucy tightened up the too long story and condensed the too many situations which Jeremy found himself pulled into, I might have looked at the second book in the series.  At this point I am done with Blood Tithe.  All in all, I give the book 3.5 stars.