The Truants

Contorting the conventional vampire narrative into a startling 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 last old-one has decided to end his life, but before he can act he is held up at knifepoint. His assailant disappears, the knife in his pocket, the blood of the old-one seared into its sharpened edge. The knife trades hands, drawing blood again, and the old-one is resurrected through his victims’ consciousness and divided, spreading through the infected. With his horde of infected youth, the old-one must reclaim the knife to regain control of his soul. But someone is out to stop him...

and makes us give a damn. An extremely smart, talented first novel.” - Jack Ketchum, author of Off Season

“Markham's take on the inside of an ancient vampire's head is as invigoratingly fresh as his story is, by turns, brutal and touching. Stripped of romance, paced like a crime novel, it engages a milieu which most of us, happily, will never need to see―the teen gangs on the cruel, poverty-stricken streets, the 'rats' in the gutters

in The Truants.” - Foreword Reviews

“The Truants pulls no punches in its paradigm-shifting treatment of vampire legends . . . with elegance and singing prose. The flow is such that putting down the book is difficult, and reading too fast, a mistake . . . Anyone interested in the varied tapestry that vampire fiction has become since Bram Stoker first popularized the genre should find much to enjoy―and ponder

About the Author

Lee Markham has written and published stories for all ages, and is the founder of the charitable children’s publish­ing house Chestnut Tree Tales. He has previously worked as a brand content developer, creating narrative architecture and content for some of the biggest brands in the world, including Disney and Playstation. The Truants is his debut novel.

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