The Queen of Darkness

by Miguel Conner

After living in the shadows for centuries vampires have finally gained dominance over the Earth by instigating a nuclear holocaust that has blotted out the sun. Humans are now treated as animals, kept in concentration camp-like farms. Byron, the Moon Queen's favorite "creation," is assigned the task of stopping an insurrection at one of the human farms. But while investigating a religious cult among the humans, he begins to question his own reality. As he digs deeper for the truth, he becomes a renegade outcast among his own--and humanity's last chance for salvation.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Vampires

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Miguel Conner is host of Aeon Byte, the only topical and guest radio show on Gnosticism, ancient mysteries, and true conspiracy theories evolving since the beginning of civilization. He is author of the critically acclaimed Voices of Gnosticism. His fantasy book, 'The Executioner’s Daughter', will be released in 2012 by Solstice Publishing. His articles, fiction, and reviews have appeared in such publication as The Stygian Vortex, The Gnostic Journal, Houston Public News, The Extreme, Mindscape Magazine, The Cimmerian Journal, Reality Sandwich, and many others. He lives in the lawful dystopia of Chicago with his family, patiently waiting for the beginning of the world.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great vampire novel.

[Kellylynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very intriguing read. I definitely plan on finding more by this author. I must admit though that the book is a bit raw - it could have used another round of editing.Although from what I have seen it looks like it may have received it and was published again.

This is a type of vampire story, but it doesn't really lay it on heavy with what they are or the feeding. Although the main story is about the potential uprising of the 'warm ones' that they do use for food.

Byron is the guy that runs through the story and you learn through him as he learns what the Stargazers are (vampires) and where they came from.

[Brian Kubeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take on the vampire sub-genre. The story focuses on Byron, who is a blood-sucking Stargazer sent on a mission to investigate a revolt in the farm where the humans (warm ones) live in conditions like that of concentration camp. A lot happens here as Byron goes on his wild adventure, eventually becoming a traitor against his fellow superior beings, to becoming a heretic, to finally returning to become the great liberator. The writing was a little confusing; I got a grasp of some of it but a lot left me in the dark, reading on for further explanation. There’s a weird relationship with Byron and the shaman-to-be, there’s another relationship with him and the queen of darkness herself, and there’s a bunch of other Elders and Ravens and comrades that have influence in the story minus character development. An ongoing theme of “sol” and “luna” persists throughout the citadel and locales such as Xanadu. There’s also a subplot of improving the infrastructure, you know…the plumbing system so the human blood could flow better for quicker feeding. I get that these vampire-like beings could turn into a mist and fly away, but I was amazed when he turned into a rodent to crawl through tunnel systems. I enjoyed this; would like to see the movie on Tubi!