The Priest of Blood takes place around the Crusades. The story has the feel of a memoir told from years in the future. Since it's book one of The Vampyricon, I assume that the first person narrator is the vampyre and therefore will last through several books. This takes away from any anxiety a reader might normally have about the life of the main character. However, very soon you learn that there are fates worth than death or even living death so you do need to worry about Aleric.

Aleric for all his down to earth view of life tends to trust to soon and too completely. He is betrayed for loving the wrong woman and sent to the Crusades and his death. But surprisingly he becomes a fighter to reckon with and he protects and holds together his friends and tries to see them feed and cared for. The older veterans tell stories of the creatures that hunt in the night and he finds they're not just stories but it's too late to escape.

The vampire legend used in this book is a variation on the usual theme and interesting. Aleric learns little from the vampires of his family and he's determined to find the origin of their species and learn about the boundaries of his powers--but it appears that his are not the ordinary powers of the vampires--he's much more. There's several directions this set up could move towards and it's not clear what will happen after this part of the story. So I find myself looking forward to the sequel.

Recommended for vampire aficionados.