The BloodKing calls his army to battle and will bring them South to claim his birthright; the throne of Britain.
Only the young Watchers on the old wall stand in his way.
It is time for them to face their destinies - to whatever end that might lead them.
In my Watchers series I am dealing with a retelling of the Bonnie Prince Charlie story, where romantic myths have already subsumed the harsh reality of a coup gone badly wrong.
I needed to strip all the romance out of the Highlanders and build them up from the bottom. Making them a shambling army of vamps and mindless drones seemed an obvious place to start. The Watchers series is a swashbuckler, but there is little lace and finery. What I do have is blood and thunder, death and glory in big scale battles and small scale heartbreak. I love it.
I got the idea on a walk along Hadrian's Wall, and by the time I stopped for a beer and sandwich break the story was almost all there in my head.Think ZULU or Last of the Mohicans mixed with Sleepy Hollow and you'll get a clue as to how it looks in my mind. It's a Tim Burton epic if he ever wants to get round to it :-)
There's this all new omnibus edition, as well as three seperate paperbacks and ebooks from Gryphonwood Press, with shiny new covers by the great Wayne Miller.There are also audiobooks of the three parts, available from Crossroad Press on Audible or iTUNES.
Bonnie Prince Charlie, and all his highland army, are Vampires and are heading south to claim the British throne. The "Watchers" of the title are the guards of the old Roman wall built by Hadrian, now reinforced to keep the vamps out. It is constantly patrolled by officers of the Watch, two of whom become the main protagonists of the series.
Soon they are under seige, as a huge army surrounds them. The wall will fall, it must under such pressure, and the Boy King will head into England, and the soft towns and cities of the South. Great battles must be fought,for territory...and for souls.
...superb story. Thoroughly enjoyable from the first word to the last. William Meikle has a wonderfully unique style..." - The Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
Breathtaking, Scary and Original. A must read. An impressive blend of horror, history and imagination. - Dave Dreher, Horror News Network
I was captivated from the very first scene...Very well written. - Patricia Altner, author of Vampire Readings
I’m always impressed when anyone can add a new twist to the venerable vampire canon. Hugely enjoyable fun to read. - Joe Gordon, The Alien Online
Descriptions so vivid you can almost hear the clash of the swords and smell the blood. - Murder and Mayhem Bookclub
William Meikle does it again! The past comes alive, especially the undead! ...the perfect follow-up to his fine debut novel. - Nancy Kilpatrick, author of The Power of the Blood series, editor of Graven Images
A confident and breathless romp through an alternative Jacobean history. Aims for entertainment, and hits the mark. - Simon Morden, Vector, the magazine of the British SF Association
The author is relentless; just when you catch your breath, something new and exciting happens, sending you spinning into another part of the adventure, and keeping you flipping pages to see what's next. - David Wilbanks, Horrorworld
Anyone who's fond of a good story and a good piece of writing will enjoy Meikle's clever conceits, interesting and earthy characters, and well turned prose. - Dread Central
Meikle has taken on a much abused genre and re-invented it to present us with a refreshingly different and sinister tale. - Counterculture
The book is very well-written. The language is rich, and... I found myself carrying the book everywhere, and taking slightly longer over lunch than I should have, as I just had to know what was happening! - The Dracula Society
