New Gothic Fantasy: Descent into Dust by Jacqueline Lepore
Title: Descent into Dust
Author: Jacqueline Lepore
Release Date: March 23, 2010
Pages: 384
Genre: Gothic Vampire Fantasy
In Descent into Dust author Jacqueline Lepore creates a world where ancient Romanian legends meet early twentieth century England. It opens with the protagonist, Emma Andrews, suffering a strange and intense headache as she approaches a relative’s country mansion for a short stay. Constantly haunted by her mother’s past insanity, Emma tells no one of the bizarre and persistent headache.
It’s only after meeting a mysterious visitor to the estate, Valerian Fox, that her headache ceases. Even stranger, when viciously attacked by unknown forces she’s able to aptly defend herself with heretofore unknown skills. It’s clear that Valerian has knowledge that can bring light to these occurrences but he refuses to divulge any information when probed by Emma. But when an evil master vampire threatens Emma’s young cousin, the two adversaries become allies – even though Emma is still fighting with Valerian to get the answers she seeks.
Lepore’s masterfully handles the budding relationship between Emma and Valerian. Emma is a young widow who lost her older husband about a year ago and isn’t ready to give up her independence. Valerian is a man of mystery whose interest in Emma is obviously not just related to their fighting evil together. It should be noted that although Emma and Valerian’s interactions form an appropriate subplot to the book’s primary conflict, the novel’s secondary characters are brilliantly fleshed out and add additional depth to the storyline: there’s the foppish but fiercely loyal Sebastian; the pompous and demanding sister Alyssa; and Father Luke, the warrior priest with a hero complex. All three characters play an integral role in the good vs. evil element present throughout the book.
I found Lepore’s writing style befitting for setting a mood that matches the dark, gothic overtones of the novel. At times her prose is almost lyrical; it reminded me of great poetry. I found myself actually reading some of the passages out loud because I thought they were so beautifully composed.
Descent into Dust is a gothic vampire tale that totally captivated me. I was thoroughly entertained by this book and I recommend it to vampire lovers as well as the fans of gothic romance.
About Jacqueline Lepore
An avid reader of Nancy Drew mysteries, Jacqueline had written several short story collections by her senior year in high school. With the Emma Andrews series Jacqueline returns to one of her first loves: Gothic novels. The second book in the series is titled “The Cyprian Queen” and is slated for a March 2011 release. You can learn more about Jacqueline at her website: JacquelineLepore.com.
