The Nosferatu Conspiracy, Book One: The Sleepwalker

The Nosferatu Conspiracy, Book One: The Sleepwalker is the first book in a new series by author Brian James Gage. Set mostly in Russia’s St. Petersburg, and in the days leading up to the Bolshevik uprising, December of 1916, readers are introduced to a new mythology surrounding the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia.

Grigori Rasputin, a self-proclaimed mystic, has arrived in St. Petersburg to offer assistance to the tsar and tsaritsa’s sickly son, Alexei, who suffers from hemophilia. Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra, trust Rasputin and bring him into their royal inner circle. But Rasputin is planning the rise of something dark and evil. Something foretold in the vampire bible: the Bloodchild.

Fortunately, there are other characters working against Rasputin, some of whom have fought him once before and a few who do not yet understand their role in the grander scheme of things. Felix, Alexei’s godfather, is unwittingly drawn into Rasputin’s gruesome plan after his fiancé is killed under strange circumstances and Felix is accused of her murder. Rurik, a coroner, is working with a telepathic seer and knows that the worst is yet to come. He has been preparing for this battle, and he teams up with Felix to clear his name and save the royal family. But can they prevent the Sleepwalker from awakening the Bloodchild before it is too late?

Gage takes readers on a journey through the cold and beautiful landscape of the Carpathian Mountains, crossing borders into Bucharest, Romania, and even into the magical realm of Vlad Draculea’s haunting citadel. The story is told through a large cast of characters. There are seers as well as vampires, witches and warlocks. Rurik and Felix are our unlikely heroes, humorous and bumbling at first, but also very likable. They are characters who readers want to root for as they fight scary vampires and very large bats.

The book also includes several different sources that run parallel to historic record: newspaper clippings and Alexandra’s diary entries, to name a few. There are even mysteriously suppressed documents from a vampire bible that provide us with an insight into the history of Vlad Draculea and the Black Hundred, a mystical group in service to the prophecy.

A well-researched work and a thrilling read, The Nosferatu Conspiracy is a gruesome retelling of Grigori Rasputin’s influence over the family of Tsar Nicholas II. It is a fascinating tale that offers gothic horror fans a new vampire story with a classic feel.