Thirsty by Tracey Bateman Published by: Water Brook Press (2009) 367 pages Rating: 6/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Tracey Bateman: Claire Knows Best Leave it to Claire I Love Claire

Vampire novels are everywhere. With the success of the Twilight series, the genre has spread even into the Christian fiction realm. In some cases, such as with Eric Wilson's Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, the stories were just waiting for a market that would support them. In others, such as seems the case with this book, the story was written to capitalize on the market.

It's also very interesting how some Christian publishers want to get in on the trend, but are reluctant to do anything that might offend. That's all I can figure based on the odd marketing of this particular book. If you read the cover copy, you won't find one mention of vampirism, drinking blood, or anything supernatural at all. Except for the hint of a drop of blood on the cover, it appears to be a novel about alcoholism. But the press release and other marketing elements trumpet the vampire connection. It's all so very schizophrenic.

But that's not especially surprising. After all, to many in the Christian worldview, vampires represent nothing but evil. Why would you want a story about them? That's like having a story about witches. Or mass murderers... oh. We've got lots of those, don't we? So what's the struggle? Is it, perhaps, the romanticism that has been attached to vampires - the idea in common fiction that, no matter how evil they seem, surely there is something good and noble about them? Perhaps that very factor is part of what needs to be addressed from a Christian point of view. Sin is alluring, is it not?

Tracey Bateman takes things somewhat in that direction with Thirsty. In the letter to readers, she recalls an editor telling her "Vampires are analogies." And that much can certainly be true. In this particular case, she uses them as an analogy for alcoholism. Surprise. The back cover is right - this IS a story about alcoholism (but it also has a vampire).

What more do you need to know? The protagonist, Nina Parker, has a problem with alcohol. Someone else has a problem with blood. Bateman adds a few of her own touches to the idea of vampirism, throwing out the concept of passing it on to others, for example, but otherwise, the story is much as you would expect. It's decent, but leaves so much potential unrealized. The story keeps a tight focus on Nina, and the supernatural elements are very much sidelined by the main plot. Mildly Recommended.