Horror isn't always about the thing jumping out of the closet. Sometimes, it’s about the person sitting right next to you at the dinner table who happens to be five hundred years old. When Tananarive Due released My Soul to Keep back in 1997, she wasn't just writing another supernatural thriller; she was effectively re-imagining the American Gothic through a Black lens. It’s a book that stays with you. Not because of gore—though there’s plenty of tension—but because it asks a terrifying question: what would you sacrifice to live forever? Honestly, most of us like to think we’d be noble. Due suggests otherwise.
The story follows Jessica Wolde, a journalist who thinks she’s hit the jackpot with her husband, David. He’s perfect. He’s kind, he’s a doting father, and he never seems to age. That last bit becomes a problem. As Jessica digs into a series of mysterious deaths involving people close to her family, the veneer of her perfect life starts to peel away. What she finds is the "Living Blood," a secret sect of immortals originating from Ethiopia.
David isn't just a man. He’s Dawit. And Dawit has been around a very, very long time.
Why My Soul to Keep Tananarive Due is Still the Blueprint
You can't talk about modern Black horror without mentioning this book. Before Jordan Peele’s Get Out or Victor LaValle’s The Changeling, there was Due. She brought a specific kind of "Black Excellence" to the genre that felt grounded. Jessica isn't a "final girl" in the slasher sense. She’s a professional woman navigating the complexities of marriage and motherhood, which makes the supernatural intrusion feel that much more invasive.
It’s personal.
Most vampire or immortality stories focus on the "cool" factor—the powers, the wealth, the brooding in castles. Due flips that. She focuses on the weight of history. Imagine carrying five centuries of grief. Think about the casual way an immortal might view a human life—even the life of someone they claim to love. It’s chilling because David truly believes he’s the hero of his own story. He thinks his obsession with Jessica is love, but it’s actually a terrifying form of possession.
The Ethiopia Connection and the Mythology of the Living Blood
The lore in My Soul to Keep is deep. Due didn't just invent a monster; she built a history. The immortals in the book, the Lalibela, trace their origins back to a group of monks in Ethiopia. This isn't your standard European Dracula mythos. It’s rooted in African antiquity and the idea of a "sacred" bloodline.
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They aren't technically vampires. They don't need to drink blood to survive, but their blood has regenerative properties that make them nearly impossible to kill. To join them, you have to undergo a ritual that involves a complete exchange of blood. It’s a literal rebirth. But here’s the catch: the life they lead is one of extreme isolation. To protect the secret of the Living Blood, they often have to commit unspeakable acts.
David’s struggle is the core of the book's tension. He wants to be "normal." He wants the wife and the kid and the house in Miami. But you can't be normal when you’re a living relic. The conflict between his ancient obligations and his modern desires is what drives the plot toward its brutal, inevitable conclusion. It’s a slow-burn tragedy.
The Problem With "Forever"
Honestly, immortality sounds like a nightmare in Due’s hands.
If you live forever, everyone you know becomes a ghost eventually. David has had many "families" over the centuries. He’s buried countless children. When you see the world on that timescale, individual human lives start to look like mayflies. Jessica realizes this too late. She’s not his partner; she’s his latest project.
Dealing With the Legacy of the African Immortals Series
If you’ve only read the first book, you’re missing the sheer scale of what Tananarive Due built. My Soul to Keep is the first installment of the African Immortals series, which includes The Living Blood, Blood Colony, and My Soul to Take.
- The Living Blood expands the world, introducing Jessica’s daughter, Fana, who possesses even greater powers than the original immortals.
- Blood Colony dives into the politics of the sect and how they try to hide in a world of modern surveillance.
- My Soul to Take brings the saga to a head, dealing with the spiritual consequences of the blood.
The series evolves from a domestic thriller into a sprawling epic. However, the first book remains the most potent because it's so intimate. It’s about a marriage. It’s about the secrets we keep from the people we sleep next to. Every time Jessica uncovers a new lie about David’s past, the stakes get higher until the "supernatural" elements feel secondary to the emotional betrayal.
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Critical Reception and Cultural Impact
When the book dropped, it was a bit of a disruptor. At the time, horror was still largely dominated by the likes of Stephen King and Anne Rice. Due brought a different texture. She used her background as a journalist for the Miami Herald to give the setting a visceral, humid reality. You can feel the South Florida heat. You can hear the cicadas.
Critics often point to Due’s ability to blend the "literary" with the "pulp." She isn't afraid of the tropes—there are narrow escapes and ancient conspiracies—but she handles them with a sophistication that makes the book feel "real." It’s no surprise that Tananarive Due has become a leading academic voice in the "Sunken Place" of horror, teaching courses on Black Horror at UCLA. She knows the mechanics of fear because she helped build the modern version of it.
What Readers Get Wrong About David
A lot of people go into this book expecting a romance. It’s marketed sometimes with that "forbidden love" vibe. Don't fall for it. David is a monster. He’s a charismatic, handsome, and deeply "loving" monster, but he is a monster nonetheless.
His actions are fueled by an intense, narcissistic need to not be alone. He doesn't respect Jessica's autonomy. In his mind, he’s "saving" her, but he’s actually stealing her life. If you read the book as a metaphor for domestic abuse or controlling relationships, it becomes ten times scarier. The supernatural elements are just the icing on a very dark cake about the dangers of losing yourself in someone else’s shadow.
Actionable Steps for Exploring Tananarive Due’s Work
If you're ready to dive into the world of the Living Blood or just want more of Due’s specific brand of "speculative fiction," here is how to approach it without getting overwhelmed.
Start with the Audiobook
The narration for My Soul to Keep is fantastic. It captures the rhythmic, almost hypnotic quality of Due’s prose. If you find the 500+ page count daunting, the audio version makes the transition into the mythology much smoother.
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Read "The Reformatory" Next
While it’s not part of the African Immortals series, The Reformatory is perhaps Due’s masterpiece. It deals with Jim Crow-era Florida and ghosts. It shows how she’s mastered the art of using the supernatural to talk about real-world historical trauma.
Watch "Horror Noire"
If you want to understand the context of where My Soul to Keep fits in the history of cinema and literature, watch the documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror on Shudder. Due is a featured expert, and she explains the evolution of these themes beautifully.
Follow the Timeline
If you decide to stick with the African Immortals series, read them in order. The jumps in time and perspective between books can be jarring if you skip around.
- My Soul to Keep (1997)
- The Living Blood (2001)
- Blood Colony (2008)
- My Soul to Take (2011)
Look for the Nuance
When reading, pay attention to the minor characters. Due is a master of the "side-eye." She uses the reactions of Jessica’s friends and coworkers to highlight how weird David’s behavior actually is. It’s a lesson in gaslighting.
Tananarive Due’s work reminds us that the past isn't dead. In the case of the Living Blood, it’s actively trying to move into your guest bedroom. It’s a haunting, beautiful, and deeply uncomfortable exploration of what it means to be human in the face of the eternal. If you want horror that makes you think as much as it makes you shudder, this is the place to start.