Vampire Vow (#1)
Victor Decimus was once a ruthless officer in the Roman Legion—but all his power couldn’t make Jesus of Nazareth love him the way he wanted to be loved. Seeking solace and escape, he finds release with a seer who is something more than human.
Turned into a vampire, Victor is filled with rage and a lust for revenge. In two thousand years, he has honed these emotions to a razor-sharp edge, his thirst for vengeance matched only by his thirst for human blood. He takes pleasure in infiltrating monasteries and corrupting young monks, slowly undermining the Church of Christ.
Victor finally finds the perfect lover to replace him as a vampire and ultimately to join him in the Dark Kingdom, a young monk named Michael. Just as Michael’s initial resistance weakens, the local authorities begin investigating a ghoulish monster who has left a trail of bloodless victims. Victor must convince Michael before the investigation unravels his plans, depriving him once again of the man he loves.
Reviews
“VAMPIRE VOW is a literate, compelling, and original contribution to the horror fantasy genre, and strongly recommended, especially compelling reading for vampire buffs.”Midwest Book Review
“Michael Schiefelbein has employed the conventions of gothic fiction with wit, passion, and intelligence, a combination that will render his book a crossover success because these qualities will appeal to a wide range of readers, including those who would not normally read vampire novels […] For most readers, perhaps, VAMPIRE VOW’s pleasures will be more concrete: Its action is tightly plotted, it characters completely and believably drawn, and its prose style simple but elegant. They will devour it–or let it devour them.”Lambda Book Report
“[An] audacious, erotic and entertaining novel […] Sexy, suspenseful and yes, spiritual, VAMPIRE VOW is a distinctive debut.”Philadelphia Gay News
“[Schiefelbein’s] take on vampirism is perhaps the most interesting […] The theological concepts, the envisioning of a vampire heirarchy, the conflicting emotions of the protagonist, all conspire to render an absolutely fascinating book.”Gay People’s Chronicle
Awards & Accolades
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Insight Out Book Club selection