The Book of Common Dread
Brent Monahan
As if performing an art restoration of a timeless masterpiece, Brent Monahan reveals the true image of the vampire trapped hidden beneath the layers of myth applied by man.
Vampire Vincent DeVilbiss's existence is part infernal bargain - and lie. And only the Scrolls of Ahriman, safely hidden in the fortress that is Princeton University's Firestone Library, stand in the way of his finding infernal - and eternal - salvation. But he does not count on his passion for a woman - or the man who becomes his rival for her - to become even more dangerous or insurmountable obstacles to his goals than a sophisticated security system or his satanic master.
In Monahan's able hands, the vampire transcends past legendary conceptions and modern pop-culture interpretations to become something more...human. Not confined to the night, to mindless bloodlust, to destruction - not even bound by immortality and eternal agelessness. Thoughtful. Charming. Cultured. And flawed. Driven by very human desires and hungers: the lust for power, for pleasure, for freedom - and, after nearly five centuries of servitude to the dark powers, for redemption.
“Monahan breathes new life into the vampire theme by discarding clichés and replacing Dracula by someone more closely akin to Faust. Horror fans will like it. Clever, thrilling and, above all, entertaining.”