The Priest of Blood

Read The Priest of Blood Storyline:

A “stunning” (Publishers Weekly) epic from New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker Award–winning author Douglas Clegg. Aleric the falconer meets his destiny in the bloody clutches of the seductive Pythia, sending him on a quest to unearth the mysteries of the ancient vampyre race. Set in a dangerous world of ancient forests and buried kingdoms, of dangerous magic, and vengeance beyond lifetimes, The Priest of Blood is an epic dark fantasy of sword, sorcery -- and vampires. Be sure to get the rest of the Vampyricon trilogy: The Lady of Serpents, Book Two The Queen of Wolves, Book Three “Astonishing. Douglas Clegg writes of…nightmares with such clarity and passion you don’t end up reading his books; you end up drinking them in. The Priest of Blood is a bloody gem.” Christopher Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Vines and Heaven's Rise. "A dark tale of swords, sorcery, and vampires." -- Christine Feehan, NY Times bestselling author. "Douglas Clegg has accomplished a rarity in the horror vein...This book will sink its teeth into you" -- The Kansas City Star "Richly layered, beautifully rendered foray into a past filled with sorcery and mystery -- and a rousing good story." -- Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author Stunning...gives the iconic vampire a massive makeover. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review. Discover Douglas Clegg's fiction: Lights Out Neverland The Children’s Hour The Halloween Man You Come When I Call You The Hour Before Dark Nightmare House Bad Karma Goat Dance Breeder Afterlife Purity Dark of the Eye The Words Wild Things Red Angel Night Cage Mischief The Infinite The Abandoned The Necromancer Isis Naomi The Nightmare Chronicles The Attraction Night Asylum The Priest of Blood The Lady of Serpents The Queen of WolvesFrom Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. The stunning first volume of a new dark fantasy epic from Stoker-winner Clegg (Nightmare House) gives the iconic vampire a massive makeover and draws fresh possibilities from its most familiar aspects. Aleric Atheffelde, a low-born medieval Breton boy with a strange knack for training birds, gets snared while serving as an unwilling soldier in the Holy Land by arch-vampiress Pythia, who through a kiss inadvertently sparks a vision in him of his regal vampire destiny. From the moment of Aleric's conversion, the tale detours sharply from the well-plowed terrain of conventional vampire costume dramas into an undiscovered country entirely the author's own. Aleric and his new vampire tribe travel to the legendary vampire necropolis of Alkemara, a marvel of gothic creepiness. There they encounter the legendary Priest of Blood, who supplies an intricate and mesmerizing view of vampire culture and projects a tragic future whose outcome hinges on Aleric. This rich and symbol-laden blend of myth and history makes intense reading while it lays a solid foundation for later books in the series. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistHorror writer Clegg sets his sights on historical fantasy in the first book of the Vampyricon series. Set in medieval Brittany, it is the tale of Aleric, a young peasant born to a mother who tried to abort him. Aleric seeks to better himself when a local baron's men come seeking a boy to train birds for the hunt. When Aleric's skills with birds lead to him being chosen, he begins a new life at the baron's castle that is fraught with difficulties and dangers. Aleric jeopardizes his standing in the household when he falls in love with the baron's daughter, Alienora. When the affair is discovered, Aleric is sent away as an enslaved infantryman on a Crusade to the Holy Land. He discovers a fate far more terrifying, however, when he frees Pythia, a female prisoner, only to have her turn him into a vampire. Clegg's evocative, vivid medieval setting is every bit as appealing as the vampire lore in this promising series starter. Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved