6 Comments
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Nicholas Samuel Stember's avatar

Looks very interesting. I love a good vampire story.

John Watson - Horror Author's avatar

It’s definitely worth a read.

Nicholas Samuel Stember's avatar

Thanks, the story sounds very interesting. I just picked it up on Kindle for my TBR pile :) Oh, if you like sci-fi space operas, you may like mine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSHTNN1Q

R. Vanzela - Vanzela Darkworks's avatar

I really like how you highlight the balance between lore and pacing here. That slow, careful buildup sounds like it does a lot of the atmospheric work, even before the horror fully surfaces. The open-ended finish feels very fitting for a vampire story like this.

John Watson - Horror Author's avatar

I didn’t hate the ending, although I usually like to know in advance if I am reading part of a series. You get to a point where you start thinking that there is a lot of wrapping up to do in a short space of time. Takes me out of the story a wee bit if I don’t know that it’s a series opener.

R. Vanzela - Vanzela Darkworks's avatar

That’s fair, when you don’t know it’s opening a larger arc, your attention shifts toward closure instead of atmosphere.

I think that friction is interesting here, though: the story almost trains the reader to look for answers, then leaves them sitting with the discomfort instead. It feels intentional, but I agree it works best when the “contract” is clear up front.