A war of dark and dangerous magic burns across the mortal earth.InThe Priest of Blood, a youth named Aleric became falconer, then soldier — and finally, vampyre. InThe Lady of Serpents, a dark queen rose to power among the frozen towers of her kingdom. And now, she seeks the Dark Madonna from beyond the Veil. FromNew York Timesbestselling author Douglas Clegg comes the third book of the epic dark fantasy saga,The Vampyricon.In a world of gods and monsters, love and betrayal, handmaidens of Death, terrifying and beautiful vampyres, shapeshifting wolf women, shadow priests, epic battles, and magnificent underworld kingdoms, *The Vampyricon concludes with a titanic battle fought between the Queen of Wolves and Aleric, Falconer, the priest-king of the race of vampyres.Praise for The Vampyricon:“Astonishing. Douglas Clegg writes of…nightmares with such clarity and passion you don’t end up reading his books; you end up drinking them in. The Priest of Blood is a bloody gem.”Christopher Rice, New York Times bestselling author of The Vines and Heaven's Rise."If you like Game of Thrones and vampires, you're going to love The Vampyricon." - Robert Swartwood, USA Today bestselling author of The Serial Killer's Wife and New Avalon."A dark tale of swords, sorcery, and vampires." -- Christine Feehan, NY Times bestselling author."Douglas Clegg has accomplished a rarity in the horror vein...This book will sink its teeth into you" -- The Kansas City Star"Richly layered, beautifully rendered foray into a past filled with sorcery and mystery -- and a rousing good story." -- Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestselling authorStunning...gives the iconic vampire a massive makeover. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review.Discover Douglas Clegg's fiction:Lights OutNeverlandThe Children’s HourThe Halloween ManYou Come When I Call YouThe Hour Before DarkNightmare HouseBad KarmaGoat DanceBreederAfterlifePurityDark of the EyeThe WordsWild ThingsRed AngelNight CageMischiefThe InfiniteThe AbandonedThe NecromancerIsisNaomiThe Nightmare ChroniclesThe AttractionNight AsylumThe Priest of BloodThe Lady of SerpentsThe Queen of Wolves*From Publishers WeeklyA titanic battle that pits vampyre against vampyre in a war that will determine for eternity whether the undead will coexist with the living caps the conclusion to Clegg's majestic Vampyricon trilogy (afterThe Priest of BloodandThe Queen of Serpents). Aleric, the foreordained Priest of Blood, recounts his escape from the gladiatorial penal colony Aztlanteum with his lover, Pythia, and their efforts to find a haven where they can safely indulge their vampyre needs. Fate draws Aleric inexorably to Myrryd, the former home of Medhya, Queen of Serpents, who was banished beyond the Veil for her overreaching ambitions but who schemes to sneak back and enslave the world under vampyre dominion. Empowered by Merod, the Great Serpent who spawned the vampyre civilization, Aleric raises an army of vamps and mortals for a cataclysmic clash described with the vivid color and intense imagination that have been the saga's hallmarks. Clegg crafts a fitting finale ornamented with prose that modulates between the sensual and regal and that distinguishes his series as one of the more memorable modern vampire epics.(Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistFormer falconer and vampyre messiah Aleric flees with Pythia, who made him a vampyre, trailed by assorted enemies, the most dangerous of them Enora, queen of the Wastelands, who wants to call the Dark Mother into the world to destroy or enslave living and undead alike. Aleric must now prove himself the true messiah by raising and leading a vampyre army and persuading the undead that their true task is to protect, not merely use, the living, which proves hard to sell. Not quite as exciting as The Lady of Serpents (2006), the Vampyricon trilogy's conclusion still should satisfy fans. Murray, Friedawords : 110507