As the new year begins what could be more appropriate than diving into a good old-fashioned vampire tale…but not just any tale. This sequel is the continuing saga of Victor Decimus, Roman Centurion, romantic pursuer of Jesus (called Joshu throughout) and vampire extraordinaire.
Vampire Thrall tells of Victor and his search for love and companionship. At the end of Vampire Vow, Victor had failed to convince Michael, his human boyfriend/lover, to convert to the dark side though he was sorely tempted. Michael was critically injured but refused to drink Victor’s blood, choosing to remain true to his God, to Jesus, and to the “light.” Victor was left to continue trodding the earth always driven by his love/hate obsession with his first love, Joshu.
Victor is now back, this time in Rome at the monastery of San Benedetto. Victor, it seems, is most comfortable (secure perhaps?) in monasteries. He had claimed to be a wealthy American drifter and had seduced a San Benedetto brother into allowing him entry and residence among the brotherhood.
Paul Lewis, an American art historian and artisan in calligraphy, has been hired to illuminate a hand-written vellum bible, a spectacular project of the monks at San Benedetto.
Paul, gay, secular, and troubled by a sort of seizure condition analogous to epilepsy, settles in, meets Victor, falls in love, and is gradually seduced to the dark side...or maybe not.
Like his earlier story, Vampire Thrall contains all the elements which were so exciting in Vampire Vow: entertainment, theology, philosophy, and homoeroticism. While not so shocking as Victor’s love/hate for Jesus, the reader will continue to be spell-bound by the story line involving Paul and Victor. But wait! there’s more…Michael’s Creole grandmother, Jana, reappears, a formidable foe forever thwarting Victor as Paul becomes more and more enthralled (literally).
Like the earlier tale, the conclusion leaves the reader with ambivalent feelings…good prevails over evil (sort of), Victor’s future is unclear, and Paul…well you’ll need to read it to find out.
Little else can be said lest the plot be given away.
Suffice it to say, Schiefelbein’s sequel maintains the excellent pace and homoerotic tone that captivated me in the original. Along with the initial tale, Vampire Thrall has become one of my three favorite works of gay literature.
While these stories will most likely never be read by the mainstream readership, they remain for me important literary efforts. They are not shallow, they are spiritual, they cause me to examine the nature of good and evil, and they do it in a really hot and sexy way.
If you like horror/vampire stories at all and you are not offended by some graphic homoerotic passages, then you cannot help, like me, becoming enthralled. These two books as a set would make a great gift. And you can always borrow them back to read them yourself!
Wow!