Till Death
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“Vampire aficionados and romantasy fans alike will swoon over” (Publishers Weekly) this insatiable romantic horror novel from Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated author Kellan McDaniel about two gay men—one young, one ageless—who reclaim their lives and identities from those who would silence them.
Howard is biding his time until he can finally leave for college, where he has been promised it gets better. The last thing he expected was to meet a boy. But George reminds Howard of the movie stars from the 1960s he’s obsessed with. Plus, George is endearingly formal and well-read, and his grandpa fashion is super authentic.
After over twenty years together, George is about to lose his life partner. He met James when they were teenagers then lost track of him until they reconnected in their early sixties. Now, James is going somewhere beyond George’s reach—because George is a vampire, forever trapped in the body of a nineteen-year-old.
As the two grow closer, George begins to see a future beyond losing his first love, and Howard stops imagining himself always being alone…even if companionship comes at the cost of his mortality. When the discrimination the men have suffered their whole lives rears its ugly head to take away their happy ending, they finally strike back at the world that’s done its best to subdue them their entire lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A teenage vampire and a human high schooler grapple with homophobia in McDaniel's visceral debut. Living with his grandmother after parental rejection, Howard Kuiper is an old soul who's deeply connected with the residents of the Baltimore retirement home where he volunteers. When elderly James moves in, Howard assumes that his young visitor George is his grandson. Unbeknownst to Howard, however, George is a vampire who was turned shortly after his high school graduation 60 years before and James is his partner; the two reconnected after James's wife died decades ago. At James's urging—brought about by his rapid physical and cognitive decline—George starts dating Howard, who is supporting his transgender best friend Sue in his campaign for better protections for queer students. After the school board rejects Sue's proposal, Howard's grief brings him closer to George; in turn, George opens up about his vampirism and educates Howard about his unorthodox methods for personal liberation. Despite a somewhat jarring tone shift in the final act, McDaniel skillfully portrays queer loneliness and contemporary society's capacity to stall social progress via aching prose and tender (mostly white) character interactions. Vampire aficionados and romantasy fans alike will swoon over this unusual depiction of the paranormal mythos. Ages 14–up.
