As seen in Issue 3 of Uncaged Book Reviews. To read the full magazine, see the link below.
The Night Man Cometh
Tony-Paul de Vissage
Horror
Limousin, France, 1249: In one night, Damien La Croix loses his life and his soul, as he willingly choses Undeath rather than perish of the Plague. Once risen as a vampire, he takes his betrothed into the dark with him, but something goes wrong and Antoinette perishes. Now, Damien begins a solitary walk through the corridors of time searching for that one person to take his beloved’s place.
Through Mankind’s long centuries, many women and one man cross his path, respond to his enticements, and are forced to make the choice. None survive to become his companion in the darkness, and so many are lost, now even Damien begins to ask himself the question: Is there no one for me to love…in spite of what I am?
…for when the Night Man Cometh, Death is never far behind...
Uncaged Review: This is the first of a kind for me. This book doesn’t merely span years or even decades, it spans more than a millennia in the life and death and undeath of Damian laCroix. We begin in 1249, France, where the plague is ravaging the village of Limousin. Damian is the son of the Marquix, and a selfish man, but also vulnerable at the same time. His only wish is to live and marry his love, Antoinette, but the plague has taken a hold of her. Desperate and inconsolable, Damian wanders into the forest, and to the large pit that has been dug to throw in the bodies of the villagers who have passed on. Here he meets LeMaitre, a sansmort, or vampire. In his desperation to not catch the plague, Damian makes a deal to be Turned with LeMaitre. When he is Turned, he goes to his Antoinette, to be able to “save” her, by turning her as she’s near death from the plague, so they can be together forever.
I can’t go into the full story, but there is betrayal, and over the course of the book, you see the creature that he is along with the humanity that still exists within him. The only thing that Damian is looking for - a woman that he can love forever.
This book is not a vampire romance, nor is it a nosferatu, with the vampire only a monster. It lies somewhere in the middle, as it chronicles this very long unlife of Damian. This book has a very dark tone, but the ending surprised me. Well worth the read for vampire fiction, and highly recommended, although not for the faint of heart. Review by Cyrene
5 Stars
Merci, for your kind comments.
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