Kirkus Reviews QR Code
TWIN TORN by Stephan F.  Rogers

TWIN TORN

by Stephan F. Rogers

Pub Date: Nov. 1st, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73571-610-7
Publisher: Venerated Sage

An amnesiac tries to stop a powerful vampire from performing a world-ending ceremony in this debut fantasy/thriller.

A year ago, Ash suddenly found himself on Ellis Island, unable to remember anything, including his real name. Now, all he knows is that he has an uncontrollable thirst for blood and has been killing someone on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, militarized vampires leave their realm of Pandoria for New York via a portal. They’re on a reconnaissance mission for Queen Chanovalle Remseldorne, but their objective quickly changes when the slave Kayala escapes captivity with help from Ash. The vampires fear the queen’s retaliation because Kayala is her “pet.” This unfortunately results in the vampires’ abduction of high school sophomore Inalia Edwards. The crime is accidental: She’s a dead ringer for Kayala. The vampires outfit Inalia with a collar and leash and take her to their realm as the queen’s personal slave. Later, seeing a missing person report, Kayala surmises Inalia is her twin and decides to rescue her. She and Ash travel to Pandoria only to learn that Inalia is an unwitting participant in a ritual, part of an apparent prophecy that will cause Armageddon. Vibrant characters populate Rogers’ swiftly paced tale. Kayala, for example, evidently kills certain troublesome Pandoria citizens. And the cast of characters even includes a werewolf and a dragon. This cross-genre narrative is dark but entertaining, comprising action sequences, fantastic elements, and vampires’ blood-drenched homicides. There are also abundant backstories to explain Ash’s lost memory and the queen’s power-hungry scheme, which she keeps largely to herself. These elucidating scenes never slow down the book’s momentum, though some intriguing characters, like the werewolf, get considerably less of the spotlight. Nonetheless, the author has plenty of rich material to expand this novel into a series.

A hearty, riveting vampire tale with a wonderfully motley cast.

(author bio)