Blood Colony, the third in a fiction series of books by Tananarive Due, focuses on a mysterious sect of people who are immortal, and live in a secluded colony in the Pacific Northwest.  Blood Colony in particular tells the story of Fana, a young woman who holds the power to cure nearly all mortal diseases with a few drops of her blood.

Fana is an integral part of the new Underground Railroad – a distribution network to heal people with “Glow,” the street name for her blood. Because of the nature of her talents (reading minds, regeneration, etc…), Fana has been shielded from the outside world. However, as a teenager’s rite of passage, Fana decides to run away from the confines of home to try and share the gift of her blood with the world. Her parents, Jessica and Dawit, set out on a desperate mission to find their once sheltered daughter, but little do they know that there is another group of immortals seeking to locate Fana – religious fanatics that wish to fulfill a prophecy to cleanse the world with “the Blood.”

This book will take you to every end of the emotional spectrum – pain, agony, gut-wrenching laughter, horror and hope. Due is an excellent writer that uses beautiful imagery to keep the reader’s attention but this book has more: filled with sharp social commentary, cynical remarks and moments of terror that will have you gripping the pages. I finished in 5 days (reading slowly because I’ve been waiting for nearly 7 years for this book and I was not disappointed!). I highly recommend this book for anyone that may enjoy a thrilling series that spans over 500 years. However, you should read the two novels preceding this one, namely: My Soul to Keep and The Living Blood, before you attempt to read this book. It’s the only way you can fully appreciate the storyline.

If you plan on navigating the streets, as they will be full of bikers and floats, I suggest you peer through some literature first, so you don’t try to cross Market St. too many times…

You could start here but to get deeper in, may I suggest:

You’re going to want to take notes and file your pictures away.  If you want to access the city and do that the Moleskine Notebook series is amazing (the notebook of Hemingway and Picasso, notably).  They have one for most major US cities.

SF, what is it known for more than restaurants?  The food here is awesome, but you’ll need help figuring out where on earth to go.  Zagat’s is still the standard on this front.  I would definitely Yelp when you get a little more clear on what you’re looking for, but the long thing maroon book is still the starting point, no question.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Lonely Planet is amazing.  Get the SF one here.

Oh, and if you wanna stop by, the ultracool betterworld.com team is here in the Bay, leave a comment with your email, maybe we can go get a drink.