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In England, in the year 1847, two young boys by the name of Mark and Jack, escape from a dreadful workhouse where they
are mistreated and abused. Alone in the night, the horrified children find themselves facing the terrifying unknown, Vampires.
On this fateful night, both boys are bitten, but survive due to the actions of Mark, Jack's protector.
The boys are
taken to Ash Tree House and raised by a Pure Blood Vampire known as Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft becomes a father to Mark and
Jack, and the boys become loyal brothers. As Mark grows up, he becomes disgusted with what he has become and the desire to
be human overpowers him. This intense desire entices Mark to leave Ravenscroft and the vampire family. Jack, loyal to his
brother, flees with him.
After five years moving from town to town, with Mark feeding only when his body can no longer
withstand the lack of sustenance needed to survive, they settle in the town of Thirnbridge. In Thirnbridge, Mark and Jack
face the nightmarish experience of the events that unfold when their old vampire world catastrophically collides with their
new world, having integrated themselves within human society.
The Bitten is more than just a novel about vampires.
Mark's journey to find his humanity becomes entangled with the lives of others, both human and vampire. The challenges of
what it means to be human are revealed. Such human traits as revenge as justice, killing for survival, and killing to avenge
those that caused harm are raised. We see these traits in such characters as Ted Hawkins, obsessed with killing the vampire
that murdered his daughter, and Daniel Stewart, who wishes to wreak havoc on a society he blames for the abuse and torment
he suffered as a child.
In a modern day setting, The Bitten relinquishes many of the Gothic interpretations of vampires
to develop a realistic account fitting of a vampire living in today's world. Human morality, the basic human instincts of
survival, and the human desire to love and be loved are revealed. Through a meticulous and powerful account of life on the
streets of Thirnbridge, the reader is taken into the lives of the characters, feeling the raw emotions of each character that
is reflected in their surroundings. The intense description of violent killings, Mark's desire to love Lisa Jennings, and
the guilt he carries, makes the novel a genuine page turner.
The Bitten is a unique and captivating approach to vampire
novels. It delivers an engaging look at the human consciousness, the human spirit, and challenges how we look at ourselves.
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The novel, Vrolok, chronicles the journey
of a young vampire by the name of Isabella. As a child, Isabella lives in a harsh and cruel world, rejected by her father
who cannot see past his wife’s death while giving birth to Isabella. Isabella grows up with a rebellious and independent
spirit that leads her to the Castle of Vampire Vlad Dracula. Vlad falls in love with her and turns her into a vampire. For
about five centuries, Vlad and Isabella suffer a love-hate relationship, remaining loyal and protecting each other from their
own death.
Surviving Vlad’s attack and becoming a Vampire herself, Isabella, horrified at what she has turned
into, embarks on a journey spanning generations. As Isabella becomes a powerful vampire, she integrates within each historical
period that consists of various bloody wars, disease outbreaks, and religious persecution. Embedded in Man’s bloody
events, Isabella challenges the demons that haunt her. As she struggles with justifying her actions, she strives inwardly
to come to terms with what she is. Her resistance to the magnetic hold Vlad has over her always leads her back to him. She
fights against her fate and the love she feels for Vlad, which compels her to justify killing through her own moral reasoning
Vrolok
is a well-plotted and compelling work of historical fiction. Isabella’s historical journey not only reveals the demons
and struggles in her own mind, but also plots the dark history of humanity entwined in such events as torture and murder in
the name of religion. The brutal struggle for dominance and power, and the extent one is driven to in pursuit of eternal youth
and beauty, clearly resides within the story.
As a powerful fictional account, Vrolok unveils a tale of humanity’s
ruthless struggle for survival that is dark and cruel, as well as the blood curdling results when both Vampire and Mankind
collide.
In the eyes of a vampire struggling with her own dismal past, Vrolok tells a story of humanity’s innermost
demons and its moral justifications for shaping a world with such brutal and sinister events. Vrolok incorporates the techniques
of early Gothic Writers but goes beyond traditional Vampire tales to produce a macabre account of humanity that delves into
love, obsession, greed, paranoia, and the blind quest for eternal youth and beauty.
I highly recommend this well plotted
work of Gothic historical fiction to readers who enjoy spine-chilling suspense wrapped in an outstanding vampire tale.
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