Publication Date: December 1, 2009 | Series: Five Star First Edition Mystery
Donovan DeChance is a collector of ancient manuscripts and books, a practicing mage, and a private investigator. When, despite the finest in natural and supernatural security, a sexy and well-loved, three hundred year old lady vampire is kidnapped right out from under her lover's nose, Donovan is called in to investigate.
He soon finds that there is much more to the case than a simple abduction when an unknown intruder invades his home and steals a very rare, very ancient manuscript. There will be no ransom for the kidnap victim, and if Donovan doesn't prevent an ancient, forbidden ritual from reaching its culmination, far more than a single vampire's undead existence will be at stake.
Calling on his lover and partner, Amethyst, and an odd assortment of contacts, informants, and connections, Donovan follows the ghostly trail of the kidnapper through a winding maze of intrigue-always a step behind-through magical battles, murders, and confrontations with a rogue band of young vampires intent on beating Donovan at his own game.
Vintage Soul is a dark urban supernatural mystery with a hint of romance. Set in an underground society, a city within the city of San Valencez, California, it opens portals to the unknown darkness that surrounds us. Fast-paced, strewn with clues, investigation, and magic, this is a book sure to slake the appetites of fans of mystery and the supernatural.
Welcome to the darkness; welcome to VINTAGE SOUL - Book One of The DeChance Chronicles.
David Niall Wilson has been writing professionally since the mid 1980s.He has sold seventeen novels to date, including the trilogy "The Grails Covenant," and the novels "This is My Blood," "Deep Blue," "The Orffyreus Wheel," "On the Third Day," and "Vintage Soul." His novella, "Roll Them Bones," was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in long fiction.David won the Bram Stoker Award for poetry for his part in the three-way collection "The Gossamer Eye," written with Rain Graves and Mark McLaughlin.He has over 200 published short stories in markets as diverse as Cavalier Magazine, Cemetery Dance Magazine and anthologies such as Robert Bloch's Psychos, Deathport, Murder Most Delicious, and The Daw Year's Best Horror, XIX.His work has been collected several times, including the volumes "The Fall Of the House of Escher & Other Illusions," "The Subtle Ties That Bind," "Joined at the Muse," "Ennui & Other States of Madness," and "Spinning Webs & Telling Lies."His screenplay "Godhead," written in collaboration with creator / director Rosanna Jeran, is in pre-production in 2005, and his screenplay "Killer Green" is expected to be produced in 2010.Wilson is a former president of the Horror Writer's Association and an active member of both HWA and SFWA.
I was born in a very small town in Illinois. Clay County has less people in it than your average large city, and Flora , Illinois , is so tiny it barely hits the map. That's where it happened, though. My grandparents lived there, and I spent a lot of happy times with them in my youth -- particularly my grandfather, Merle Cornelius Smith, who was likely the most amazing man I'll ever claim association with. But that's another story, and this one is about me.
My first really clear memories start around my third year of life, when my father left. He took me out for a drive, let me sit on his lap, then went back out for milkshakes and never came back. Things blur quite a lot during that period, but after a period of living with my grandparents, my brother and I were whisked away to Charleston Illinois , where our mom had a job working in one of the cafeterias at Eastern Illinois University , and had married a barber named Robert Leland "Bob" Smith. I could write volumes about good ol' Bob, but I won't. If you really want to meet him, look between the lines of the bits and pieces of Deep Blue where Brandt talks about his father. Think Seagram's 7, Ballantine beer, cheap cigars, Hank Williams, Sr., and Archie Bunker and sort of squash it all together into a 6'4" 270 or so pound frame -- that was Bob. Formative? Yes. Important here? Nope.
I escaped Charleston , family, Bob, and a number of other things in 1977 when I left in June and joined the United States Navy. I headed for San Diego , where I went to boot camp, headed next to Groton CT for submarine school (which I dropped out of because my ears wouldn't equalize) and ended up in North Chicago attending Electronics Technician "A" school. I learned guitar, got engaged, unengaged, taught Bible School , got excommunicated, and moved on to San Diego, California once again as part of the crew of the USS Paul F. Foster.
My time in the US Navy would fill a dozen books. In fact, parts of it can be found in almost everything I've written. Many of my novels were typed on US Navy computers (later on my own, but still on board) and the first two issues of my magazine, THE TOME, were printed and published on board the USS Guadalcanal (thank you Uncle Sam for supporting the arts). I was stationed on a lot of ships, went on a lot of cruises, lived in Rota , Spain for three years, and wound up retired in Norfolk , Virginia . I've worked as a contractor with several companies, and am now the IT Manager and Facility Security Officer for a company in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
We live in a nice, new house now where everything mostly works, but recently I lived in the historic William R. White house in a tiny place called Hertford , NC , where you buy your hardware from a man named Eerie Haste, and you can still get an ice-cream cone for fifty cents. I have a woman who loves and supports me, Patricia Lee Macomber, three great sons, two of which are serving now in the US Navy, and the third of which will be there in June. I have a lovely, talented daughter about to graduate college, and another - 9 years old and smarter than any nine year old ought to be who keeps me on my toes. She is also an author, both the girls are. You can buy Stephanie's "Tales of the Southern Hotel," a collection of girls about a young girl named Mary Lou who has visions of the past, and two children's books by Katie, our nine year old, Perilous Pink PcGee and Mars Need Pumpkins, available for Kindle.
I've sold a small pile of novels to date and published over 150 short stories, been in 32 or so anthologies, countless magazines, year's best collections, won awards -- notably The Bram Stoker Award for poetry, which I share with co-authors Mark McLaughlin and Rain Graves, and a second Stoker for my short story "The Gentle Brush of Wings," from my Stoker nominated collection Defining Moments. I've been President of the Horror Writer's Association, and I'm an active member of both SFWA and the newer International Thriller Writer's Association.
These days, along with writing, I'm CEO of Crossroad Press, an ever growing print, digital and audio publishing company. Now, enough about me...let me tell you a story...
Hidden within the city of San Valencez, California, a dark and mysterious society thrives. A society shaped by the supernatural, magic, wizards and vampires.
Amongst blood scented candles in a luxuriant and sumptuous setting, vampires gather to indulge in a celebration, hosted by the enticing Preston Johndrow and Vanessa DiCaprio. "I have brandy, I have the blood of kings...I have the exsanguinated voices of an entire choir in three cases, from bass and contralto to the shiver of soprano. Tonight, we will celebrate the blood." However, the celebration quickly turns to horror as security is breached and Vanessa is abducted.
A private investigator skilled in the art of magic, Donovan DeChance, is hired by the elder vampires to find and rescue Vanessa. Armed with talismans, charms and a wealth of magical knowledge, DeChance embarks on a dangerous journey. With the help of his self-assured and powerful partner, Amethyst and his unique Cat, Cleopatra, DeChance sets about solving the mystery, fighting his way through supernatural dangers and rogue vampires.
A young vampire, Vein and a crow, Asmodeus, are just a few of the intriguing characters that inhabit the darker side of San Valencez. The occasionally cocky Donovan DeChance is charming and likable. The reader is lured into a world that is fluid, uncertain and ominous. Vintage Soul is a thrilling read, full of suspense and style.
One of my favourite characters in fiction, Donovan DeChance is a brilliant collector of the occult, magician, mystic, traveller of secret ways, and all round go to guy when things start going south in the underworld of San Valancez - the author's Californian hub of all things Dark.
When one of the inner circle of the City's Vampires is kidnapped, Donovan is called in to find her - he uncovers a dastardly plot and as he and his allies come under attack, he must use all the skills and powers that have kept him going for so long, as well as those of his ally and sometime lover, Amethyst, to win the day and keep unspeakable powers froom breaking loose.
Tense, clever, full of mystery and action, the DeChance Chronicles get better with each story.
I will not review the plot line, as the other commentators did. I received this book as a special edition, signed by the author himself and because of my own busy schedule, I had to read the book in pieces, instead of devouring it in one sitting, like I would have liked. Although I sometimes had to put the book down for weeks, the characters and the plot stayed fresh in my mind. They were described in such fashion that made it easy to put everyone in their own place, I was anxiously awaiting to find out who this person/creature was that wanted to make the potion. Although I would have liked a more in depth introduction of Donovan DeChance, he was nevertheless a very likable character and I can't wait to find out more about him. I'm sure this book could easily have exceeded 1000 pages and many more twists and turns. This novel is extremely captivating and if you have a day to spare, absolutely worth reading in one sitting. But even if you can't rest assured that the characters and the plot won't fade from your memory and you can pick up right where you left off.
