The Vampires

The award-winning, New York Times–bestselling author of City of Night delivers a novel of manipulation, sexuality, and the supernatural.   On a beautiful private island somewhere in the Caribbean, the rituals of witchcraft and Satanism suddenly take over the lives of a group of people, exposing and shaping their destinies.   Richard, a millionaire who is the epitome of male beauty, is the host to a gathering of carefully selected friends for the purpose of a bizarre confrontation—unknown to them. These odd guests arrive from all corners of the globe by helicopter and speedboat and discover that they are strangely bound together by hate or love or an evil fascination. In the guise of a search for truth, the invited guests are by turns victims and victimizers during a ritual ceremony of evil.   Utilizing the techniques of film—close-ups, long-shots, and sudden shifts of scene, garish flashes of colors—John Rechy blends the supernatural ingredients, violent sexuality, and depraved rites with the lush beauty of a sea island to create a world whose superficial beauty conceals dark and violent forces close beneath its surface.   Praise for John Rechy   "Rechy shows great comic and tragic talent. He is truly a gifted novelist." —Christopher Isherwood, author and playwright   "His tone rings absolutely true, is absolutely his own, and he has the kind of discipline which allows him a rare and beautiful recklessness. He tells the truth, and tells it with such passion that we are forced to share in the life he conveys. This is a most humbling and liberating achievement." —James Baldwin, novelist, playwright, and activist   "His uncompromising honesty as a gay writer has provoked as much fear as admiration . . . John Rechy doesn't fit into categories. He transcends them. His individual vision is unique, perfect, loving and strong." —Carolyn See, author of Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America