Some of Your Blood

Written by Theodore Sturgeon

Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

In Sturgeon’s dark and foreboding take on the vampire myth, the therapy sessions of a young soldier named George Smith reveal the truth about George’s traumatic childhood, a twisted romance, and the unusual obsession he keeps hidden from the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Apr 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781433275463

Theodore Sturgeon

Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression “Live long and prosper.” He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut’s recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout. Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. 

Reviews for Some of Your Blood

[gregorio_roth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Disturbing psychology of what makes a vampire a vampire. The novel presents as a case file of Dr. Philip Outerbridge. Dr Philip is terrified by the case of George and hopes to present his findings to the colonel who wants to know what made George so angry that he hit his commanding officer. The possibilities explored are tremendous.Some of your blood is a vampire psychological novel that examines the matriculation of evil from birth to the age of twenty three.
Theodore Sturgeon does a great job looking at developmental physiologically and especially keen observation o the Havelock Ellis Principal. The Havelock Ellis principle states:"That any mutual act - any one, providing only that it was not forced by one upon the other, and was an expression of love is moral." Sturgeon yields a command of psychology as a tool.

From the tool he asks the following terrorizing questions: Is it possible to create a vampire by defining social norms which would reward the blood sucking event? What would happen if love was connected to the harm of the giver? George learns to seek the comfort of blood because his mother sacrifices herself.

Sturgeon further examines: What if the social conditioning and the pain from punishment came with crimes or no crime committed, would this create a psychopath? What is role of punishment? What should punishment's role be in society? How do the first two years socially construct an individual? Is an individual beyond the ability to be reconditioned from a traumatic childhood? How much are we products of our parents and the environment we are born into?

The book was terrifying . The middle section, George's story, might get a reader bogged down, but blast through that part and you will find a blood red orange.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! I loved this book! Let me tell you why.

I always have had a respect and love for older horror stories. I find it fun to read them and then speculate on what modern tales might be based upon these older works. In this case, I can see an even older story (Dracula) within. But what this book does is turn that classic tale upside down. In fact, I don't even consider this to be a true horror story.

This short book, originally written in 1956, is told mostly through letters back and forth between an overworked Army psychiatrist, (Doctor Phil!), and his superior. The letters discuss one "George Smith" who was arrested and thrown into the psych ward for punching an Army officer in the face after the officer questioned him about a letter he mailed. No one knows exactly why because that officer is now dead and no one knows what happened to the letter. Unfortunately, George is forgotten for about three months and now Dr. Phil's boss wants him to be released before anyone finds out about the Army's neglect.

Doctor Phil needs to find out a little something about the patient before releasing him, so he begins by having him write out a bio in the third person. This is where things get very interesting. The patient uses the name George Smith in his bio which consists of not only horrible grammar, but also horrible tales from George's past. From there this story takes off in a completely different direction.

That's all I'm going to say about the plot. However, I will make a few observations here, that you can take or leave at will. First off, there is a lot of humor in the letters between Dr. Phil and his superior. I think their discussions were very subtle, but added a lot to the tale. Some readers might get bored with their exchanges; I did not.

Second -A lot of readers call this a vampire story. I don't believe it is. I think it's a story of a sociopath in the making. There are several clues to which I could point to support my theory. Of course, there are lots of clues pointing to the vampire theory as well. (George's real name is Bela, for one.) Which theory do you support? I would love to find out after you've read this fantastic story. Look me up and we'll talk about it. :)

Highly recommended!

[Marsha541 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting, but too disgusting in the end.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly engrossing and disturbing, this story is partly a third-person narrative written about himself by an Army psychiatric patient who attacked an officer, and partly a series of letters exchanged by the doctor who is determined to get to the bottom of the patient's motivation and his superior officer (though not superior in the field of psychology.) Sturgeon reveals things little by little until the whole picture adds up--and it is a memorable one, though to try to describe the plot more would spoil the pleasure of discovering it for yourself. I found this to be an altogether better written and more memorable work than his more celebrated MORE THAN HUMAN.

[thebentley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. I finished this book in all of 36 hours. Though it's widely considered a "horror" novel, it really isn't. In fact, it has much more in common with something like "Sybil." I wouldn't even call it a thriller, so much as a psychological (or psychiatric) drama. It does, however, deliberately mirror "Dracula" in structure, and it is disturbing--although not as much, I would argue, as your average episode of "Criminal Minds." It's also very, very good. Well worth the read.

[clarencex_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book many years ago but have never forgotten it. It is a fascinating study of strange folkways in the Appalachians. I don't want to be a spoiler, but this has one of the most amazing and chilling endings I ever read. The book made my hair stand on end. One non-spoiler note: this book is NOT about vampires.