THE TRUANTS

fresh twist on the vampire mythos, The Truants is a dystopian novel of startling intensity, narrated by immortal old-ones.

Contorting the conventional vampire narrative into a gritty tale of immortality, blood lust, and rage contaminating London's inner-city youth like a virus, The Truants tells the story of the last of the old-ones—
creatures afflicted with a condition not unlike vampirism: ancient, bloodthirsty, and unable to withstand sunlight. The sole remaining old-one has decided to end his life. But as he awaits sunrise and his impending demise, he is held up at knifepoint and stabbed before the sun rises. The assailant pockets the knife and disappears, the blood of the old-one seared into its sharpened edge.
As the knife trades hands, drawing blood again and again, the old-one's congealed blood comingles with that of its victims. The old-one is resurrected through their consciousness and divided, spreading through the infected and creating a horde of bloodthirsty youth. Determined to die, the old-one must reclaim the knife to regain control of his soul, and he enlists his pack of vampiric hosts to achieve his goal, wreaking havoc on the inner city along the way.
But someone is out to stop him . . .

Lee Markham is the founder of the children's publishing house Chestnut Tree Tales and No Man, an independent publishing house. He has previously worked as a brand content developer, and he has written articles for magazines including Admap and Brand Strategy. The Truants is his debut novel.