First published 1980
Edward Weyland has spent years crafting his perfect cover. He teaches anthropology at a university and runs a sleep research laboratory. His colleagues respect him. His students trust him. None of them know he feeds on human blood or that he hibernates for decades between active periods. Each time he awakens, Weyland must relearn how humans behave and think. His current identity has given him steady access to victims through his lab work. But success breeds carelessness. Weyland makes a critical mistake that nearly costs him his life. A perceptive woman wounds him severely. Later, a deranged Satanist captures and tortures him. These encounters force Weyland into unfamiliar territory. For the first time, he begins to understand his victims as more than mere food sources. This growing empathy creates an impossible dilemma that strikes at the core of what he is.
Genres: literary-fiction, horror, paranormal, academic
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
285 pages · Kindle Edition
Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence, mental-illness