Skinner Sweet is a sociopathic outlaw in the 1880s who becomes the first of a new species: the American vampire. Unlike his European ancestors, Sweet is fueled by sunlight and gains strength from the harsh Western landscape. Decades later, in 1920s Hollywood, aspiring actress Pearl Jones is left for dead by a coven of old-world predators and receives Sweet's blood to survive. The narrative follows their parallel paths as they navigate a secret history of the United States defined by a violent evolutionary shift in vampiric biology.
Readers of historical horror and dark fantasy turn to this volume for its reinvention of monster folklore through a gritty, regional lens. Those interested in the intersection of American mythology and gothic tropes will find a reimagining of the vampire as a product of frontier expansion and industrial corruption. The reader gains a perspective on how different eras of American history—from the lawless West to the birth of cinema—shape the nature of predators. It provides a detailed look at a fictional genealogy where weakness to sun and silver is replaced by new, locally-bred vulnerabilities.
Practical, clear-cut and escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2010
- Language
- EN
