THE LOST
by Jonathan Aycliffe
I wish I’d written this ...
... because I love how Bram Stoker-ish it feels!
This is a wonderfully atmospheric riff on DRACULA, written in the same epistolary style and faithfully reproducing the chilling sense of menace. In subject matter, it parallels the first part of Bram Stoker's classic in that the focus is on a man who travels to a remote Transylvanian castle in pursuit of certain business matters. However, it soon veers off into its own unique horrors and very efficiently sends icy fingers crawling up your spine. Parts of it were, in my opinion, a little under-explained (mostly the events that occurred back home in England while the protagonist was journeying through Romania) but this is a minor criticism of a very enjoyable tale of terror.
From the publisher
From the author of The Matrix, a dark and absorbing tale of ancient evil in the modern age. Jonathan Aycliffe's hardcover debut features prep school teacher, Michael Feraru, tired of his life, tired of his job, tired of dreary England. And though he doesn't know it yet—tired of his fiancee and her safe, undemanding love. When Michael takes a sabbatical and travels to Romania, he finds he is a titled lord, and more—the owner of an ancient stronghold in the Transylvanian Alps.
At Castel Vliacu, Michael becomes Count Mihai Vlahuta . . . and discovers an evil far worse than mere vampires. And far, far more seductive.
