Posts Tagged ‘Novel’

David A. Patrick, a student at Bethlehem High School for three years, finished his first novel in the summer of 2006 and published it the following year in the fall with iUniverse Publishing; he titled it Nero Demare and the Legend of the Vampires.

Patrick’s first horror novel was based largely off his own experiences except for any vampire encounters; however, he did face spiritual attack during the writing of this book. Family issues exploded enormously, ministerial duties swallowed his time, and the book was becoming far more difficult to finish. However, these problems compelled him to complete his writing so that the world could peer into the spiritual realm through the story of a young boy.

Seven-year-old Nero Demare believes in vampires and grows up admiring their mythical slayer, Duke Angtrav. But little does Nero know that he himself carries the bloodline of the vampire slayers.

Throughout his childhood, a mysterious man watches over Nero and saves him from a fleet of the bloodthirsty brethren, who take their orders from King Orthendarh, a master far worse than Dracula ever dreamed of being. Without Nero’s knowledge, this man continues to watch over him, knowing that the world will one day need Nero.

As he grows older, Nero learns that it is his destiny to save the world from the malicious clutches of the vampires. Vampires soon cower in fear at the mere mention of his name. But sinister forces conspire to condemn the entire world to darkness, and only Nero Demare can save mankind from destruction.

Nero Demare and the Legend of the Vampires is a fast-paced story of good versus evil and the battles waged by both sides.

This novel was written predominantly for gothic fans and other avid horror readers but only for young adults due to the graphic violence and mature themes.

This review is based on the paperback edition of Anne Rice’s novel, ‘Christ the Lord Out of Egypt’.

I must admit that as a past reader of Anne Rice vampire novels, I was prepared for a different experience than what I encountered by reading this book. My son gave me my first Anne Rice novel at Christmas a few years ago, and he followed up with more of her paperbacks on subsequent birthdays, Mothers’ Days, and Christmases.

Many of Anne Rice’s previous novels are dark, yet strongly compelling, reading. You might find your mind wandering as you wade through paragraph after paragraph of descriptive details that, while setting the scene, sometimes distract you from the storyline. However, her stories always seize your interest. You might skim over the flowery descriptions, but you are always entranced by the characters in their search for something bigger than themselves.

In this book Anne talks about something bigger than all of us – and succeeds in eliciting strong emotions accompanied by occasional tears. This is a simply written account, narrated from the point of view of a young Jesus.

Unlike earlier novels, she restricts the descriptive language to a level which accurately depicts the time, customs, and surroundings – without distracting from the story’s progression. The book has been carefully researched. Historical facts are intertwined with dialogue and narrative in a way that makes them come alive to the reader.

Young Jesus surprisingly commits a huge sin in the third paragraph of the first page. This startled me! My perspective of Jesus has always been one of God personified in the flesh – and God would never sin! That first page raised my hackles and I almost put the novel down in disgust.

However, it was a Christmas present from my son, and I felt compelled to read it for his sake. I certainly didn’t think that Anne Rice was going to tell a story about the Jesus Christ I knew from reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Without a doubt, I am overjoyed that I read the book right to the end. It cleared up a mystery that has plagued me for years: Why did Jesus have to die to save me? This answer had been given to me many times in sermons and in the Bible itself. However, I never completely understood it until I read this book.

Whatever you do – don’t skip to the end of the novel to discover the answer. Without absorbing the narrative, chapter by chapter, you will not comprehend the last two pages.

Anne has wavered from Roman Catholicism to atheism, and back to Roman Catholicism. She relates in the paperback edition why she made a promise to dedicate her life to God.

The introductory pages of the novel include a map showing the northern part of Egypt and the areas of the Holy Land that are mentioned in the story. The back of the book includes an ‘Author’s Note’ and ‘Note to the Paperback Edition’. Here, Anne describes a bit of her background, her research techniques, and her conversion back to Christianity.

No matter what your religious beliefs, you will find this novel an interesting read. I intend to buy several to give away to friends and relatives.Christ the Lord Out of Egypt – by Anne RicePaperback Edition ISBN: 0-7704-3013-9Hardcover Edition ISBN: 0-6769-7768-5*Anne Rice has kindly provided the following thoughts on this review:

‘I do personally believe that Jesus was sinless, and in my novel the intention is to present Him as absolutely sinless. In the opening scenes He does not kill anyone. He ‘feels the power go out of Him’. Rather like the similar passage of the Gospel of Mark when the hemorrhaging woman is healed by touching His robe.

‘Take care and have a good year,

‘Anne Rice’

©Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author’s note below (with active links) are included.

Not too long ago Anne Rice was the queen of vampire fiction with her creation of the legendary Lestat.  However, in the past few years Stephenie Meyer with her Twilight Saga,  Charlaine Harris with True Blood, and other authors with their vampire creations have stormed the best seller charts.  But what are the most popular series with the legions of online vamp lit fans?

The top ten most popular (based on online chatter) vampire book series are:

10. Riley Jensen Guardian by Keri Arthur

9. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton

8. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

7. The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

6. Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

5. The Darren Shan Saga by Darren Shan

4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

3. The House of Night by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2. The Southern Vampire Mysteries / Sookie Stackhouse Novels / True Blood Series by Charlaine Harris

…and the most popular Vampire Lit Series is no surprise…

1. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

Not quite making the top ten were:

Night Huntress by Jeaniene Frost
Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith
Undead and … by MaryJanice Davidson
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Vampire Beach by Alex Duval
Night World by L.J. Smith
Nikki and Michael by Keri Arthur
Mackenzie Vampires by Nina Bangs
Almost Human by Melanie Nowak.

The top two series on this list have also been adapted for the screen, with the wildly popular Twilight Saga movies and True Blood television series on HBO.

This can have only helped their dominance in this poll.  While great literature does not need to be adapted for the screen, it will clearly raise awareness of a series and bring in a whole new group of fans.  A Darren Shan motion picture (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant) will be released in late 2009.  Both House of Night and Vampire Academy films or TV adaptations are almost inevitable, although neither seem to be even close to production.  If the new CW Network TV series based on L. J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries is a hit, then those novels are bound to be in the top ten for my next vamp lit poll.

And, finally, it is lovely to see that modern vampire literature icon and pioneer Anne Rice made the list, even if she was not in the top five.  Oddly, only two of Anne Rice’s novels (Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned) were ever turned into feature films.

I compiled this list by searching for each of the vampire book series on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online. Read more about vampires at SpookyFiles.com.