by Jon Lewis
Lauren Cortez is the only survivor of a horrific a attack that wiped out a small village and her entire squad while on patrol in Afghanistan. Even with treatment, Lauren’s PTSD episodes are getting worse, as she relives the horror of watching her men being slaughtered by savage mountain men with glowing eyes and razor-sharp teeth. A move to the quiet peaceful state of Maine seemed like the answer. An escape from all the triggers.
Shortly after she arrives, she is approached by a strange Frenchman named Henri. Somehow Henri knows what she has been going through and tells her that once he had the same symptoms and a similar experience. He provides her with answers as to what is wrong with her: She is becoming a living vampire herself, and hers is the most potent vampire bloodline in existence. She is quickly drawn into a shadowy world of real living vampires who have been hidden amongst us since the end of the Ice Age.
As she comes to grips with the implications of this new reality, she is drawn even further into their secretive collecfitive, where she finds herself at the center of a global conspiracy and the deadliest terror attack in history. When a radical vampire faction tries to take control of their secret government, they seek their “Eve,” an ancient vampire thought to be at least 20,000 years Thold, who they believe still exists. They want her blood to increase their own longevity and power. And if they can’t fifind her, then Lauren’s potent blood will have to do.
* * *
Afilways a sucker for vampire fiction, I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into Jon ffLewis’s debut novel. Mr. Lewis’s inaugural effort reminds me of another writer of the genre, Charlie Huston and his Joe Pitt casebook series. Jon’s story starts in the arid, cold desolation that is Afghanistan and transitions to a more bucolic setting a world away (Maine, as all self-respecting bloodsucker narratives should). I will not give away anything else but can highly recommend Jon’s frenetic and dynamic prose, and if you’re searching for a way to spend a couple dark nights you could not do better.
—Eric Richard Gabrielsen, author of Gideon’s Fall ffThand his latest effort “The Bottom Line,” which fiwas included in the top ten Amazon ranked 2023 sci-fi anthology ThThe Science Fiction Novelists
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon Lewis grew up in Maine and joined the USAF right out of high school, where he served as an avionics technician and had the good fortune to travel all over the world. After that, he returned to school to become a respiratory therapist. After he graduated, he and his wife returned to Maine to raise their children. He had a very satisfying career caring for his fellow veterans and has now retired from healthcare to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a published author. He now lives in a small coastal town with his beloved wife, Niki, spending his time traveling, writing poetry and short stories, and watching his seventh grandchild grow up.
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