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A thinking man's vampire novel on the pros and cons of immortality. The protagonist is a San Francisco lawyer who becomes a vampire, resurrects his murdered love and together they experience the thrills of immortality. It turns out, however, that being immortal in a world of mortals is not much fun and the lawyer seeks to return to the worlld of the living. The novel tackles an age-old riddle, what is life?
About the author
Michael Cadnum is the author of 35 books for adults and young adults. His work—which includes thrillers, suspense novels, historical fiction, and books about myths and legends—has been nominated for the National Book Award (The Book of the Lion), the Edgar Award (Calling Home and Breaking the Fall), and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (In a Dark Wood). A former National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, he is also the author of award-winning poetry. Seize the Storm (2012) is his most recent novel.
Michael Cadnum lives in Albany, California, with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Summary
Richard Stirling is a successful lawyer who specializes in defending the rights of the underprivileged. He falls in love with the pianist Rebecca Pennant, and as their romance develops, a tragic event takes Rebecca out of his life. In the wake of this dramatic misfortune, Richard re-encounters an heirloom, an astonishing mirror.
This is a vampire story unlike any other, a tale of this contemporary world reflected from that other land where the dead are more alive than any dreamer.
Additional text
“The book abounds with insights on how our mortality shapes our understanding of the world. In St. Peter’s Wolf, Cadnum leveraged the werewolf theme into a forceful exploration of the human condition; he does the same here with the vampire theme, in what is bound to be one of the more provocative horror novels.” —Publishers Weekly
