A reckless young Bulgarian lord struggling with guilt over his twin sister’s death, sees his mother brutally slaughtered by a vampire. Fearing that it hunts him and his sickly younger sister, he swears vengeance. But with a trail of brutal deaths ever getting closer, with his sister’s illness only getting worse, and with the threat of warfare against the Ottoman horde, time is running out. Will he risk abandonment and accept the help of others? Will he fulfil his quest before Vlad Dracula demands his service in the Crusades? Will he learn how to defeat the beast before it finds them?

Brought up to expect a life of chivalry and honour as a knight of Dracula’s sacred Order of the Dragon in defence of Christianity, Darius’s life is turned upside-down when his mother is killed. His father abandons him and his poorly sister, Lena, and Darius must learn to protect her whilst finding out all he can about the macabre monster.

Overcome with grief, his efforts are frustrated at every turn. Lena’s health is gradually deteriorating, and the threat of the vampire is ever drawing closer. And all the while, Darius is plagued by doubts. Will he eventually be fast enough and brave enough to kill the beast? And if he fails, what becomes of Lena? And what becomes of Darius’s very soul? This is not only about vengeance, no longer just a struggle for survival. This is about eternity and damnation.

Brutal and bloody, valiant and dark, part alternate history, part coming-of-age in Europe’s bloodiest of eras. A sprawling and menacing new vampire origins saga like none you’ve ever read. A world existing in the shadows alongside humanity with their own laws and myths, their own vendettas and vengeance, and all the while meddling with humanity.

If you like Gothic horror books,  dark fantasy or vampire fiction, if you live in a world of epic dark fantasy, then you’ll love Antony J. Stanton’s medieval thriller.

A race against time for a young Bulgarian lord to save his sister and exact vengeance — whilst trying to stay alive — and save both their souls from damnation.

Coming of age should never be this bloody.

Book one of the epic new Blood of the Dragon series.

The first of many modern vampire horror novels.

Part one of a two-part story.