Effective gothic horror with a mystical touch. In 17th-century
Europe, young Peter and his alcoholic father, Tomas, have settled
down for longer than their transient life usually allows. They live
in a vast forest, cutting wood for nearby villagers, but are always
estranged. An eerie sense of menace haunts the area. Two bizarre
and gruesome murders in a short time couldn't be due to wolves, but
Tomas insists that whispers of supernatural danger are mere
superstition. Then, because one victim was unmarried, Peter's
friend Agnes is forced into a Wedding of the Dead and stowed away
for 40 horrifying days of symbolic mourning. Visiting her cabin
secretly, Peter confronts the chilling truth: Undead corpses are
rising from graves, killing and recruiting more and more humans.
Led by new friend Sofia and her Gypsy caravan, Peter and his
historically unreliable father find that their only hope lies in a
singular old sword and an ancient song with lyrics confronting the
emotional essence of the zombie-vampires. Underlying tenderness,
overt chills. (author's note) (Fantasy. YA) (Kirkus Reviews)
An original interpretation of the timelessly fascinating vampire
myth, and a story of father and son, by award-winning author Marcus
Sedgwick. Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize and shortlisted for
the Carnegie Medal. In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter,
Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust. Despite the villagers'
lack of hospitality, they settle there as woodcutters. But there
are many things Peter does not understand. Why does Tomas dig a
channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they live on an
isolated island? Why does Tomas carry a long battered box
everywhere they go - and refuse to tell Peter of its contents? When
a band of gypsies comes to the village, Peter's drab existence is
turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy
princess, Sofia, and intoxicated by her community's love of life.
He even becomes drawn into their deadly quest - for these
travellers are Vampire Slayers, and Chust is a community to which
the dead return to wreak revenge on the living. Stylishly written
and set in the forbidding and remote landscapes of the 17th
century, this is a story of a father and his son, of loss,
redemption and resolution.
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