In Vacuo Andrea Morstabilini 9781803369778

A queer gothic coming of age novel about a young boy confronting the ghosts of the past and the restless, obsessive pursuit of immortality. Perfect for fans of Susannah Clarke and Kelly Link.

All bones have a story.

Henry arrives at the vast estate of Dr Robertson Hammond alongside his pregnant mother one rain-soaked night. But after a sudden tragedy, the young boy finds himself orphaned and the ward of the enigmatic doctor.

But stories surround Dr Hammond. There are those who call him an alchemist, those who accuse him of murder. And the more Henry hears, the more he questions his life at the house. Why won't Dr Hammond talk about his mother's sudden death? Why are the entire household staff sent away on the anniversary of the event? And what is the truth of the wild woman who roams the woods, whispering the names of the dead?

As the years pass Henry starts to explore the land upon which he lives, from the wilds of Bald Mountain to the impossible revelations of the towers that he climbs with the enigmatic Xavier. And when the truth behind Dr Hammond's research is finally uncovered, Henry will have to make a decision that will affect everyone he cares about, and which has the power to change reality as we know it.

PRAISE FOR ANDREA MORSTABILINI:

A luscious novel that opens new doors and brings new obsessions to the Gothic and romantic mythology of the vampire: queer sensibility, the secret Polari language, sectarian violence, the Moon and the Tarot, images as precious as Symbolist paintings. It leaves you with a strange nostalgia and a scent of what has been lost.
-Mariana Enriquez, author of Our Share of Night

Reading A Blood As Bright As The Moon is like licking a battery in a rose-filled abandoned operating theatre while someone plays Wagner on the theremin. Utterly astounding, beautiful, and audacious. With writing this lush, and a toothsome exploration of queer difference and faith, fans of Castlevania or Anne Rice will absolutely eat this one up.
-Ally Wilkes, Bram Stoker award-nominated author of All the White Spaces

Baroque, lyrical, and marvelously operatic. A Blood as Bright as the Moon is a fever dream written in blood and unlike anything I've ever read before. A haunting, surreal examination of monstrousness and fate, this remarkable queer horror novel is evocative and powerfully chilling.
-Eric LaRocca

Sharp with intricate danger. An imaginative Gothic by way of Catriona Ward and a horrific theatrical fairy tale.
-Hailey Piper, author of All the Hearts You Eat

Erudite and bonkers, A Blood as Bright as the Moon is a restless meditation on vampirism through the competing lenses of the moon-fixed dreamer and the mad scientist. Between the cruelty of the doctor's scalpel and the impossible castles of the Swan King, Morstabilini charts the journey of an artistic soul - a tender confession of queer abjection. It's Anne Rice meets Umberto Eco, with the saturation cranked up to 100. Fans of ST Gibson will find plenty here to sink their teeth into.
-Noah Medlock

An epic journey of a novel, which sinuously traverses both time and space. Ambitious, wily, inventive and witty, it is also a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting depiction of the persecution of the other, and of triumph in the face of oppression. Morstabilini's powers of storytelling are remarkably rich and haunting.
-Lucie McKnight Hardy

A unique voice and vision. Morstabilini puts a fresh spin on vampire mythos and the Gothic genre and delivers something unforgettable with this novel.
-A.C. Wise

A Blood as Bright as the Moon is such a charismatic book, vivid and audacious, and I love its hopeful heart. Every page is alive with awareness of how to use both genre expectations and deep emotional connections to create something quite special.
-Aliya Whiteley, Shirley Jackson award-nominated author of The Beauty

This was a joy to read. With the skilled surety of a master Morstabilini guides you along this riveting tale of vampires and dreams and the tug of war that is loyalty to self versus saviour, all wrapped up in a delicious cocktail of scintillating prose, a fearless experimental format and juicy cascade of events. A breath of fresh air to the vampire genre!
-Tobi Ogundiran, award-winning author of the Guardian of the Gods duology

A Blood as Bright as the Moon is a bold new entry into the vampire genre. I've never read a novel that so deftly merges brutality and hope in each and every line. Just as eviscerating as it is healing, Morstablini's English debut is a decadently dark adventure.
-Erin E. Adams author of Jackal

A Blood as Bright as the Moon holds multitudes. It is a dark fairy tale, a gothic play, a queer romance, and so much more. This exquisite novel is sure to haunt readers long after they have finished the final page.
-Johanna van Veen, author of My Darling Dreadful Thing

I would follow Andrea Morstabilini's writing anywhere. I trust his literary instinct and playfulness with literary codes. A Blood As Bright As The Moon is joyful proof of this author's boundless talent and it takes readers very far. An act of love for literature, transcending conventions.
-Claudia Durastanti, author of Strangers I Know

His narrative pulse is magnetic, and his novel is impossible to stop reading.
-Roque Larraquy, author of the National Book Award nominee Comemadre