I only kill bad people...

Sooner or later, every vampire had to kill.

Lucan didn't try to deny his nature, but on the occasions when he killed, it was by his choice, by his own rules. When he sought prey, he took primarily criminals, drug dealers, junkies and other low-lifes. He was judicious and efficient, never slaughtering simply for the sake of it. All of the Breed adhered to a similar code of honour; it was what separated them from their lawless Rogue brethern.

~~~~~

He'd been stalking a drug dealer whom he'd first spotted selling crack to a teenage streetwalker outside a seedy tavern..... Blood gushed against his tongue, nasty with the taint of drugs and disease. Lucan choked it down, swallow after swallow, clutching at his convulsing, gasping prey without mercy. He would kill this one, and he wouldn't care less.....Lucan took in the lifeless body of his prey with contempt. He crouched low, making a quick search of the greasy low-life....

Kiss at Midnight, Lara Adrian

I read this book over the weekend. Lucan is the hero.

I hesitate (briefly) to make an issue out of the above quotes, because there's nothing particularly unusual about them, is there? How often have you read similar passages? And not just in vampire/paranormals - in romantic suspense, historical etc.? So I'm not particularly picking out this book or this author. (Kiss at Midnight was otherwise an ok read - it ticked along at a reasonable pace and was pretty readable though it wasn't really my cup of tea).

The point of this blog post is this: this is the sort of passage I react negatively to. I see the point of it. He's a vampire, he kills. The author needs to get the reader comfortable with that. Different authors do that in different ways. For example, some authors will have vampire protaganists choosing synthetic blood, often at the expense of their satisfaction/appetite. In this book, the author has created a world in which (good Breed) vampires (unlike bad Rogue vampires) only need to kill rarely and when they do, they choose 'bad' people. We are even assured in the single scene in which we see him kill (quoted above) that he has witnessed his victim dealing drugs to a teenage prostitute.

That really didn't make me feel better.

Sometimes, as a reader, I edit books. Sometimes I take passages that I dislike, and lock them away in a mental cabinet. I can re-shape the book - if I wish. This is very much a conscious - or at least not a sub-conscious - thing. I think my willingness to do it is related, to a very great extent, to my level of enjoyment with the book. If I am richly enjoying a particular novel, I will do it. If I am having a lukewarm reaction to the book, I won't, even though it would make reading the book easier and more enjoyable. (Because of this, my reaction to books is somewhat unpredictable, and somewhat inconsistent. It's why I can say I dislike amoral violence in novels and then enjoy a book that features that very thing).

I would have preferred Lucan without his particular 'code of honour'. If he'd killed an anonymous, blameless passer-by without giving it a thought, he'd have been monstrous but at least I'd have been spared his really rather disturbing thoughts on drinking the nasty, tainted blood of the greasy low-life he chose as his victim.