Vampires from an ancient African tribe, that was lost to time.

A rebirth of that tribe in the New World to help free the people from slavery.

There’s some deep revenge stories and questions of what is good and is there a line.

Willie and Gertie really were a great couple, and lived these themes.

When the gore came it came strong!

Thank you, Kensington Publishing and Netgalley, for the early copy of Blood Slaves. This novel was a lot, but I enjoyed reading it, and vampires were a plus. I like the author's writing style; he is a good storyteller. Thank you again

If given an opportunity to fight for freedom from enslavement, what would you be willing to sacrifice to gain freedom? 

Markus Redmond's exceptional storytelling seamlessly blends American history and supernatural horror in a deeply rewarding fight for freedom. While reading, I found myself telling everyone they had to get a copy upon release, and now I'm convinced this would be incredible as either a movie or a television series. It has everything: love, betrayal, tons of action, and a classic good-versus-evil dynamic.

Blood Slaves is a tough read at times, but a necessary one. It's much more than just a book about vampires and slaves; it's thought-provoking and opens up vital discussions. I appreciated the way Redmond explores the differing opinions among slave owners and the complex arguments among the enslaved. Even though Robert Callowhill, James Barrow’s (Big Jim) house guest, owned slaves, he didn't share Big Jim's particularly vicious justifications for slavery. The novel delves into the difficult question of violence versus non-violence, and the multifaceted nature of freedom and its cost. Gertie's verbal stance, weighing enslavement by white men against enslavement to blood, and questioning if being undead equates to true freedom, is particularly compelling. If you had the opportunity to fight for freedom from slavery, would you do so, and to what extent?

I also appreciated Redmond's portrayal of Rafazi, who admitted his fear and acknowledged that, while not a natural leader himself, he recognizes and respects Willie/Kwadzo's leadership. I like Redmond's inclusion of how the enslaved people honored and shared the land with the Indigenous people. I felt that the violence and revenge in this story were not portrayed as the actions of heartless killers, but of a need to survive and change the narrative of the mistreatment of humans for the color of their skin.

Redmond also raises important points about the significance of identity and heritage, and how profoundly the loss of one's birth name, as experienced by Willie and the other enslaved, can impact a person.

Redmond successfully built the Barrow Plantation, vividly depicting the plantation, the lives of the slaves, and the characters. I found it interesting how little Big Jim valued his chief overseer, Monroe Washington, almost less than his slaves, and how that dynamic fueled Monroe's hatred for Willie. Redmond also provides a rich history of the Ramanga Tribe, and through Rafazi, we learn about the nature of their blood and how humans respond to it.

From every angle, the story maintains a compelling and intriguing pace, building towards the action and rebellion. Readers seeking a traditional vampire story may not find this book to their taste. But those who enjoy historical fiction with an alternative blend of supernatural horror will find Blood Slaves full of depth, entertainment, and characters that readers will both love and hate.

This novel receives my highest recommendation for readers willing to engage with challenging themes presented without sugar-coating. Potential readers should be aware that the story is set in 1710 in the province of Carolina. It contains triggers and content warnings, including violence, blood/gore, murder, abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, racism, hate speech, racial slurs, and systemic racism.

An enslaved man. An ancient immortal. A revolution forged in blood. Blood Slaves is a high-stakes, action-packed Black vampire epic that redefines survival, leadership, and freedom in the most unforgettable way. Willie, a slave shackled by a brutal system, becomes Kwadzo—a force of power, rebellion, and retribution—when Rafazi, the last surviving member of the Ramangan vampire tribe, turns him immortal. As Kwadzo navigates his new existence, fighting not only for survival but for liberation, love and loyalty are tested. Gertie, his love interest and mother of his unborn child, must come to terms with what he’s become. Deep themes of morality, indoctrination, and religious manipulation run parallel to bloody encounters, culminating in a seismic shift of power. And despite the satisfying ending, the realization that freedom must extend beyond their own plantation leaves us desperate for the next book.
This is a dark historical fantasy and Black vampire fiction masterpiece, fusing action, romance, and deep philosophical themes about freedom, morality, and humanity’s darkest instincts. Markus Redmond writes with a visceral, cinematic style—sharp, fast-paced, and emotionally charged. The action is immediate and relentless from the opening scene to the final page. The themes are never heavy-handed, but seamlessly woven into dialogue, inner conflict, and character arcs. The voice feels raw, powerful, and perfectly matched to the grit and gravity of the story’s setting and subject matter. Black vampire lore is criminally underrepresented, and Blood Slaves gives it the lush, feral, and fiercely intellectual treatment it deserves. The exploration of slavery, religious brainwashing, and survival through the lens of vampirism feels authentic, brutal, and relevant. Every character—from Rafazi’s cowardice to Kwadzo’s rising leadership—is crafted with nuance and truth.
Speaking of characters, Kwadzo’s transformation from a powerless human to a revolutionary leader is masterful. You feel every growing pain, every righteous rage, every victory. Rafazi is a fascinating study in survival through cowardice–he’s not the grand hero of his people, but the last flickering remnant of a proud tribe. Gertie’s character arc from resistance to understanding was beautiful and emotionally satisfying. Her acceptance of Kwadzo was hard-won and authentic. Watching Kwadzo and Gertie's relationship stretch, break, and rebuild across the brutal reality of immortality was deeply satisfying and rich with emotional stakes. I also truly enjoyed Penelope’s role as a quintessential lesson on the parental indoctrination into racism and religious justification for the treatment of enslaved people. I’m immensely interested in her role in the upcoming books.
The pacing of Blood Slave is ruthless and relentless–in the best way. There are no wasted scenes, no downtime. There is a strong narrative backbone with excellent twists and thematic cohesion. The ending left my jaw dropped with a perfect set up to leave us craving the next installment. This story grabs you by the throat emotionally and doesn't let go. From searing grief to intoxicating triumph, the emotional stakes mirror the high-octane action perfectly. You can practically hear the screams, feel the sticky Southern heat, and taste the metallic tang of blood and rage. A masterful, action-packed Black vampire epic exploring slavery, freedom, morality, and immortality through fresh, powerful storytelling, Blood Slaves doesn’t just entertain—it challenges, questions, and ignites something primal in its readers.

Where to start?

This is a story that doesn’t shy away from the brutal horrors of slavery and the author doesn’t sugarcoat it.

This book is a visceral read, the storytelling is so vividly descriptive and immediately knew how to capture my attention from the very first page. The characters are complex and so well written and fleshed out. The plot was very thorough and the Ramangan lore was incredibly well done. The way the author mixed African mythology with history felt very unique and fresh.

I went through so many emotions. Reading about the horrors that were done to the enslaved people made me so angry, sad and even nauseous at times. The white men calling black people savages and uncivilized while they are the ones abusing, raping and killing made my blood boil.

The atrocities of slavery are never easy to read and this is not for the faint of heart. Please check your trigger/content warnings before going in. The story contains vivid description of someone being torn apart by a dog, sexual assault and rape, SA of a child, abuse, racism, racial slurs.

This was a though read but it also had a satisfying ending. I love a good revenge story and this one exceeded my expectations. I think everyone should read this book.

🕯️🩸 Book Review: Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond (@markusredmond)

This book bleeds history, rage, and hunger—in the best, most brutal way.

From the first page, where chains and bloodlines intertwine, Redmond throws you into 1710 Carolina: a world where enslaved Africans seize monstrous power to break their oppressors. It’s fierce and raw, not just a vampire story—it's an uprising wearing a coffin’s grin. Think Django Unchained meets Dracula, carved with a hot iron.

💭 "Freedom ain’t given. Freedom’s taken—even if it costs your soul."

If you love:
📍Horror that doesn't flinch from real-world atrocities
📍Vampires that are ancient, blood-bound, and born of survival
📍Stories where monstrosity becomes a form of resistance
📍Prose that hits like a war drum—loud, furious, unforgettable

This one’s calling your name.

⚔️🩶 Savage, soulful, and soaked in fire and blood.

🌟 5/5 – A blade between the ribs of history. Not just powerful—necessary.

Note: I received this book as an ARC & am leaving this review voluntarily.

#bookreview #historicalhorror #vampirenovels #blackhorror #darkfantasy #gothicfiction #bookstagram #bloodslaves

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book prior to publication.

I would 100% recommend this book to any reader, it is filled with unique characters with great character development and overall an intriguing and entertaining plotline. I could not put this down and finished it within a day. Highly recommend!

This was a fantastic historical horror, very graphic and brutal, I thought the character transformations (emotional) were deftly handled, such a good book but not for the faint hearted (or squeamish)

Thank you NetGalley and Markus Redmond for this ARC . When I heard the description of the book I was intrigued. Please take heed to the trigger warnings, that’s what took me so long to read the book. The beginning started off slow but Once I got to about 30% I was hooked waiting for the fight! Shit boy (rafizi)and Willie came together and wrecked them wip crackers lives. Gertie stood her ground and I loved that for her. This story develops well and the ending seems like there will be a part 2 and now that most of the heaviness seems to be over I think I will enjoy it. The revolution was not televised but I would like to see what becomes of the plantation and if they will help others. I didn’t like the ending and not because it wasn’t good but because I wanted them to have this one thing just for them.

I was in love with the concept of Blood Slaves from the jump. It’s ultimately a revenge story. I just felt so satisfied by the end because these characters go through ALOT. TW for graphic violence and torture. I’m not particularly sensitive to violence and gore but I felt that too much emphasis was placed on the slaves various torture scenes and not enough was given to the plot/fantasy aspects. But if you can tolerate that it’s definitely worth the read

Blood Slaves, set in the early 1700s, doesn't ease you in gently, it drops you straight into a world teeming with moral corruption. The story opens with Rafazi, a character painted in deeply unsettling shades, and from that moment on, you know you're not in for a simple vampire tale.

Yes, Blood Slaves is an origin story of vampires in America, but to call it just that would be reductive. It's layered, haunting, and brutally honest. I'll admit, I was nervous going in. But once I began, it became clear this was exactly the kind of story I had been craving: bold, unflinching, and emotionally rich. Redmond doesn't shy away from depicting the horrors of slavery. It's essential to read the trigger warnings because this book confronts the reader with some truly difficult realities.

What gripped me most was the transformation, not just the supernatural kind, but the emotional and psychological shifts each character undergoes. Rafazi's arc and the difficult choices he faces, Kwadzo's evolving mindset, and the complex relationships that grow despite fear and trauma-all of it feels heartbreakingly real. Each character operates by their own moral compass, and that makes the painful moments hit even harder. You come to care for them, and that care makes their suffering more intense.

There's a chilling truth woven through these pages: the kind of delusion it takes to ignore the threat in front of you, simply because that threat doesn't see your humanity. By the end, the book leaves you grappling with unsettling questions: If you were given the chance to take revenge, would you? If faced with impossible odds, what would you give up-your morality, your soul-for justice, or vengeance?

Blood Slaves is entertaining and challenging. It provokes and it lingers and I absolutely devoured this book.

Welcome to the Blood.

Wow.
Set in 1710 in the Province of Carolina we follow the slave known as Willie, who wishes ot freedom from his oppressors. We follow his story as he gains the power to fight back for himself and brethren from an ancient vampire whose tribe was only known as myth.
This story reads like a cinematic masterpiece riddled with history of the the slave trade and the horrendous treatment of the those stolen from their land. Redmond's writing invokes both anger and hope.
We follow multiple povs with Willie and those on the plantation.
This is a powerful tale of overcoming fear and enacting justice.
Be mindful of the trigger warnings in the beginning of the book and the authors not in the beginning because this is more than just a vampire novel.

This book is well written but it was not for me. I will not be sharing a review of this book as I understand my dislike has nothing to with the writing or grammar but the themes were just hard for me to get through.

"Freedom. What had been a way of life for Willie in his younger years was now something he ran through the wilderness in the dead of night for as an adult. As if he were stealing it instead of it having been stolen from him."

Where do I even start with this one?
This is the first time I have read a book where the horrific accuracy of slavery is put on paper. Slavery was not fiction, freedom was not a choice or even an option for many of our ancestors. Blood slaves not only paints the cruel reality of what slavey was but it also did a beautiful job of showing black rage.

How could you not be mad? Whenever slavery is talked about the rage is always missing. Blood Slaves shows us what happens when you decide freedom is the only option for you.. when you remind yourself of you were before someone told you you were nothing, when you remind yourself it is in your blood..

Was it traumatic? Yes
Bloody? Yes
Horrific? Yes

Was this the best horror novel I've ever read? YES!!!!!

Wow!
First of all I would like to say thank you to netgalley and Markus Redmond for this amazing ARC.

This story really took me through so many emotions, anger, sadness, anticipation, happiness.
This book really exceeded my expectations and really felt like I was watching a blockbuster. The journey that Willie/Kwadzo goes on through the story really tore at my heart and I was left rooting for him to succeed in his journey.
The ending brought me a lot of joy for the characters and I would love to see what they do next if Markus Redmond would like to continue on this story.

Congratulations on a great book!

As soon as I saw the description of this book, I was in. Re-writing history with vampires? Perfection. And that cover? Stunning in its horrific beauty.

These vampires, the Ramnga, are like nothing I’ve read before. They are based on real lore from Africa. The characters were well written and fleshed out nicely. I understood the reasons the characters did the things they did; some annoyed me, some made me so angry, some made me sad. The plot moved slowly in the beginning, but once it picked up, the action was non-stop. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next.

Reading about what happened on the plantation was hard. The atrocities of slavery are never easy to read, so please be mindful of that before reading this book. Please check your trigger warnings.

Thank you to Markus Redmond, Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!

My first question without a doubt is .. will there be a second book cause my goodness!

Now, let's jump into it. Amazing all around. From the characters to the emotions that can be provoked is simply well done! And yes, those trigger warnings were needed because a few scenes fueled my rage and sadness as a mixture.

Revenge is a dish best serve cold but in this manner, best serve with talons and fangs. I completely understood Willie and the need to be free. The need to not just be free for himself but everyone around him and his love for Gertie. Which brings me to Gertie.. have to admit she pissed me off for a longgg time. It wasn't a "woe me" situation with her but sometimes it felt like it. As if they could try to continue to do "right" or be "good" while licking their wounds in hope of stirring a difference in the violence portrayed against all of then.

I felt Willie had the right agenda all along. Reading this felt like I was watching a movie play out because the plot was so thorough and the characters were well rounded out and each stood out from each other that it created different feelings for every single one. And as I read this.. the main thought I had in my mind was what if.. what if this could've changed the path of history from then even until now? Well done with this story.

As mentioned, heed the trigger warnings as they were needed and certain scenes or events were hard to read. But I personally felt this book was so good.

Thank you Netgally and the publisher/author for an Arc copy

‘If’n it’s ‘tween death by my own hand or death fightin’ with a monster on my side, I choose fightin’.’

With a story that doesn’t shy away from the horrors of slavery, this book is a visceral read from the start. We follow an enslaved man named Willie as he wants to do anything to save his people - and especially his beloved Gertie - from the horrors of their daily life. When conventional means of escape fail, he discovers a much bloodier solution to his problem - and yet, as we read we can clearly see who is a monster and who is not. A novel about freedom, revenge, and using whatever means necessary to save yourself.

This book captured my attention from the start, and I spent a great deal of the book waiting for the well-deserved revenge to occur. Every character has a distinct voice, and we see the many faceted sides of the abuse those who are enslaved are forced to endure - and how each of them decides to survive living it.

The biggest issue I believe I had with this book is that once the knowledge of the “vampires” was discovered, the story still lingered on for a long while before anything significant was done using their abilities. As well as the fact that much of this book, especially near the end, felt like it was written more as a movie description as opposed to a novel. (The very last scene comes to mind as being a bit extremely cliche.) Where - if how the ending is intended to leave room for a sequel, where our main characters then rescue the rest of their people from the plantations they are enslaved, I would be less critical. However, if this was intended to be a one-off novel, then the open-endedness of the ending, and especially of the very last scene, feels a bit too “movie-made” for me, as opposed to how reading a book is supposed to feel.

A huge trigger warning for: explicit descriptions of SA, SA of a child, extreme violence (for instance, someone being torn apart by dogs), racial slurs/racism, sexual abuse

A huge thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Kensington Publishing for providing me this e-ARC.

Thank you so much Markus Redmond and Kensington Publishing for the ARC!

This book was SPECTACULAR! The vampire renaissance is here I seriously LOVED it. I was on the edge of my seat, and read the entire second half in a day because I couldn’t put it down. The ending is SO good and definitely sets up the potential for more books in the future.

This has such an amazing look at when and if violence is a necessity and the nature of good and bad that I’ve only ever seen at the same level in one other book (Babel). The beginning has such an unflinching depiction of the violence and depravity of the institution of slavery and evils of hatred, I was often sick to my stomach reading it, but it’s necessary to truly lay the message out, even if it’s uncomfortable. This was really truly well done.

Redmond also writes excellent dialogue, he really has a gift for making it come to life on the page and I can’t say that’s something that sticks out to me often, so this was really and truly special.

It’s so immersive, has such a powerful message, and vampires with extremely cool powers; honestly what more could you want?

From the very first page, this book draws you into its world with engaging prose, well-developed characters, and a compelling narrative. The author's storytelling is confident and immersive, weaving together themes that resonate long after the final chapter.