Blood Rising (The Blood Saga #2) by Markus Redmond
Dafina (August 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
“If Blood Slaves is about the cost of freedom, Blood Rising is about the cost of power.” 
Markus Redmond introduces both installments of the Blood Saga with a letter to the readers. In the Blood Slaves opening, Redmond describes wanting to write a “badass vampire book,” which was what he was in the middle of writing in May 2020, right before George Floyd was murdered. And while Floyd’s murder was tragic, Redmond reminds us that it was not a new or unique occurrence. This kind of violence, with little to no consequence, has been happening since slavery in colonial America.
Feeling infuriated and powerless, Redmond returned to his vampire book, wishing he could be one, imagining how that kind of power could right so much wrong, unleash revenge, settle scores, and change culture, society, and history. That’s when the author’s vampire book became something more. That’s when it became Blood Slaves, and much to this reader’s delight, the Blood Saga.Continue Reading
