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The Familiar
Paperback
Series: Annals of S.O.L.M., Book 1
Publisher: Gary Paul Varner
Published: Feb 3 2026
Pages: 280
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.63 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
If you want to meet a vampire, go to a hospital.
Gerome was desperate when he met Madeline, desperate enough to make a deal with a vampire. His grandmother was dying. The bills were crushing. So, when his beautiful benefactor offered him money in exchange for blood, he didn't ask questions.
He became a Familiar.
In this dark urban fantasy, not all vampires kill. They don't forever feed on the innocent. Some vampires prefer to make deals. Madeline is ancient, meticulous, and terrifyingly rational. She doesn't rule through violence but through contracts, secrecy, and dependence. Her Familiars aren't victims in the traditional sense. They're volunteers. Professionals. People with bills, secrets, and something to lose.
For a time, the arrangement works. Gerome's life improves. Madeline's occasional visits fade into the back of his mind. Then Madeline disappears, and Gerome falls in love, telling himself that the vampire is gone for good.
She isn't.
When Gerome's grandmother dies, Madeline returns, intent on dragging him deeper into her world. Worse, she knows about his fiancée, Nancy, and the vampire seems far too interested in her. Gerome must navigate addiction, manipulation, and the terrifying realization that monsters don't need to be cruel to be evil. And sometimes they want your wife.
The Familiar is a psychological adult urban fantasy novel about power imbalance, moral compromise, and the quiet horror of choosing survival over truth. Set in a contemporary world where vampires thrive because no one wants to believe in them, this is a modern vampire novel that treats immortality as a curse, intimacy as a transaction, and secrecy as the most dangerous addiction of all.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
Dark urban fantasy
Vampire fiction with moral depth
Supernatural stories set in the modern world
Psychological fantasy with adult themes
Vampires as predators, not romantic heroes
This is not a paranormal romance. It is a story about the choices we make when the alternative feels worse and what happens when those choices follow us home.
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Varner, Gary Paul
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