Sedgwick, Marcus. Midwinter Blood.

Sedgwick, Marcus.  Midwinter Blood.  Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press     2013  262p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-800-2      hs/adult          Horror      VG-BN

In 2011, a reporter named Eric comes to the Scandinavian island of Blessed to write an article about a rare plant.  There he meets a woman named Merle. Because of an old Viking curse, Eric, the plant, and Merle, in different incarnations, inhabit all the other six vignettes.  An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking -- all of these characters trace back to the original Eric and Merle, who were a star-crossed king and queen.  It’s creepy, bloody, evil and sad -- rambling and strange, but pure Sedgwick, and purely compelling to those hardy souls who read past the first stories.  There is no happy ending to this, just a final end to the curse of reliving the various incarnations seven times. Pair this with Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn for two completely different and compelling reincarnation tales.         

Reincarnation                                                     --Pat Naismith