Book Review: The Blood Tartan: Quest of the Five Clans by Raymond St. Elmo

This is no mere fantasy. This is a mystery, a lyrical poem stretched into a story, this is the thought you never knew you needed, this is alternative history. Yet, to state straight away that there were hiccups before I got the hang of the rhythm of the philosophical bear. In the beginning, I was so lost sliding from one fast action (fighting) scene to another, from one wordy sentence (you could spend days to mull over) thought to another, not knowing where I was and who I was following. I struggled the get a grip of the reality behind poetic words, needing a place to breathe and make sense of what I was reading, but when this happened, I began to see the light behind our hero? madman? Rayne Gray and the odd characters he meets and hope for a longer dialogue. (Especially the dog who seems to be one I would like to have a conversation with.)

The world and concept of the Quest of the Five Clans is fascinating. The idea of an alternate history of 19th-century industrialization in a world with vampires, clans, and other mysteries is on the rise. And the book taps into that greatly. The series holds great potential, but the first book only scratches the surface of what is about to come and what the books are all about.

Thank you for reading, and have a philosophical day!