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campmom03's review against another edition
4.0
Great intro novella into The Order of the Sanguines. Doesn't give too much away and still leaves you intrigued enough to want to read book 1.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Brothers is a short-story bridge between last year's blah The Blood Gospel and the forthcoming Innocent Blood, with James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell providing some interesting back-story to The Order of the Sanguines.
As short stories go, this is definitely much more of a traditional horror/thriller than The Blood Gospel itself was. Here we have a damaged family, complete with a Gothic sort of suicide, and a murder mystery spanning decades. It's all tied together by a rare orchid that links both brothers and a series of brutal murders.
The story really serves two purposes. First, it humanizes Christian to a certain degree, giving the reader a glimpse into his mortal past. At the same time, however, it lends ever greater significance to the horror of his actions. Through the eyes of his brother we see Christian as a young man, as a monster on the cusp of damnation/salvation, as the creature is he today. It is where those lines cross, however, that the real story lies, reminding us that no matter what role he chooses to play in the holy order, a monster still lies within his heart.
While those who haven't read the first book in the series will certainly miss the significance of the decision that links the two timelines within the tale, the story does provide an interesting introduction to the series, and just may drive some new readers back to check out the entire series.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
As short stories go, this is definitely much more of a traditional horror/thriller than The Blood Gospel itself was. Here we have a damaged family, complete with a Gothic sort of suicide, and a murder mystery spanning decades. It's all tied together by a rare orchid that links both brothers and a series of brutal murders.
The story really serves two purposes. First, it humanizes Christian to a certain degree, giving the reader a glimpse into his mortal past. At the same time, however, it lends ever greater significance to the horror of his actions. Through the eyes of his brother we see Christian as a young man, as a monster on the cusp of damnation/salvation, as the creature is he today. It is where those lines cross, however, that the real story lies, reminding us that no matter what role he chooses to play in the holy order, a monster still lies within his heart.
While those who haven't read the first book in the series will certainly miss the significance of the decision that links the two timelines within the tale, the story does provide an interesting introduction to the series, and just may drive some new readers back to check out the entire series.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
atlantic_reader_wannabe's review against another edition
5.0
I only have one complaint about this short story: it was to flipping short. I wanted this to go on for a few more pages at least! Though I did read this after I read Innocent Blood, I still really enjoyed it, and finding out a bit more about Christian as a character. I still think it was to short (again, this is my only complaint). It is still worth reading.
kimal25's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book for giving us more into the Sanguines series, even if it was a short story. It made me ready to get more of these books and to read the new one.
rclz's review against another edition
4.0
This was short but good. It also contains a peak at [bc:Innocent Blood|18089930|Innocent Blood (The Order of the Sanguines, #2)|James Rollins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375677202s/18089930.jpg|25003590] but I will wait on that. I'm sure I'll like it. It's a short back story on Christian.
alice2000's review
3.0
I liked this one a lot more than City of Screams. Might have something to do with finding the Sanguines more interesting as a whole than Jordan Stone. Either way I'm looking forward to finding out more about Christian.
macwolf01's review
3.0
This was a quick and very short read but definitely made me want to read more in the Order of the Sanguines Series.