Children of the Eighth Day
Are vampires real? They are in this exciting new novel that introduces an entirely new take on the vampire genre. The vampire of myth and fairy tale is born of the truth - vampires do drink blood to survive, but they are not un-dead creatures who live only by night. They walk among us, indistinguishable from mortals until the blood lust takes control. Destined to live seemingly forever, vampires can quickly lose all vestiges of the mortal humanity as the revel in the power their new nature provides.
Alexander McGill is one vampire who has not lost his humanity. He sees his kind as the manifestation of evil and has made it his mission to protect mortals by hunting and destroying vampires wherever they dwell. His battle with his fellow immortals is not as challenging as his battle with his past. He is haunted by the memories of the lives he has taken. How is he any better than those he condemns?
Join the journey as Alexander pursues his greatest foe, the most powerful vampire living today.
John Jones is an average teenager living an ordinary life in Savannah, GA. A single act of teenage mischief, breaking into the empty house across the street, introduces him into a dark reality that he thought only existed on late-night television, a world where vampires are real, and they kill without remorse to satisfy their lusts. John discovers the personal journals of Alexander McGill, a vampire who resists the unnatural desires of blood lust and fights to protect humans from domination by immortals. John refused to believe Alexander's stories until he is kidnapped off the street and is only saved from a savage death by Alexander.
After his brush with death, John and his mother are caught up in the fight to destroy a vicious band of vampires before they can complete their plan to rule all mortals. In the battle between good and evil, not all the lines are clear. Only a desire to retain a piece of his soul keeps Alexander driven to save the world of humans from becoming slaves to the immortals, no matter the cost.
Vampire's like you've never seen before. Mark Graves expertly combines multiple literary genres and ancient legends with his brilliant new spin to create a completely engrossing and thrilling story. This book manages to weave together both large and small scale plot points, from world building, history, and science, to intimate character development and personal intrigue. This book really does have something for everyone.
Graves has aimed high and followed through.
And in case that wasn't enough, this book arrived in pristine condition and in record time. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday read.
Emily H
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I couldn't put the book down. This book isn't your run-of-the-mill vampire story - a completely new twist to the genre. I had to know what would happen next to our protagonist, Alexander McGill.
The author leads the reader on an exciting chase against the antagonist, the ruthless Graf, and his mob of vampires. Interspersed with flashbacks of the protagonist's life and how he faces his moral dilemma of being a vampire himself, McGill presents a sympathetic vigilante who seeks to rid the world of the vampires like the Graf.
I can't wait to read the next installment in the series!
Charlie C
Excerpt:
"Of course, I understand your affliction. I can see it in your eyes and smell the reek of it all over you. You, like me, are a vampyre." I had no idea what a vampyre was, so the phrase did not give me any comfort. My new companion, sensing my confusion, simply shook his head and said, "I see you have much to learn about our kind. Let me tell you what I know about you. Sometime in the past several months, a madman attacked you and left you near death. And now, although you have recovered your strength, you no longer feel like yourself. You are driven by urges that you cannot control, and you have contemplated attacking strangers to satisfy this new blood lust."
I looked at this stranger with amazement. How did he know these things? Was my guilt so piteously obvious? So great was my relief at encountering someone who seemed to understand my affliction, I blurted out, "It’s much worse than you can imagine. When the blood lust hit me, I could not resist and have destroyed the one person most precious to me in the whole world."
The old man smiled kindly and replied, "I understand everything. The blood lust is a fearsome mistress. But I can help you learn how to manage and survive the scourge that we both suffer. If you are willing, I will train you and house you until I know you will be able to survive on your own. In return, I ask that you grant me one favor. I won't tell you what that favor is now – you are not ready, but you must swear that if you accept my help, you will grant my favor."
I was overwhelmed by everything. The horrid blood lust was still coursing through my veins, pounding on my temples, making it hard to think of anything but my strange thirst. "Don't decide now. Return to my lodging with me, listen to my story in comfort, and then you can decide if you want to take up my offer." The old man led me along the river path, up to the Ile de la Cite. There in the side street running next to the great cathedral, he showed me into his apartment. Through not over large, it was the most sumptuously furnished space I had ever seen, grander even than the stately home in which I had been raised. Entering the drawing-room, I had the chance to observe my host for the first time. He was not physically imposing, standing maybe five and a half feet tall, with grey hair that led me to assume his age, but that did not seem to fit his youthful-looking face. He was elegantly dressed in fine linens and silks, but in a style that was considerably out of fashion, perhaps indicating that his purse did not allow him to update his wardrobe regularly.