Serge’s Gift

Title: Serge’s Gift
Author: D.C. Juris
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M paranormal
Length: 24 pages
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

Summary Review
A nicely written paranormal short.

THE BLURB

Though he spends his life interacting with vampires, and lusting after a certain one in particular, the idea of becoming one has never been something Bryan has ever entertained. But when he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer, Serge, the object of his affections, takes the decision out of his hands. Serge has always loved Bryan, and now, Serge means to have him.

THE REVIEW

The blurb of the story says it all really, as this short follows our first person narrator, Bryan as he discovers that he has cancer. His best friend, Serge, is a vampire, and whilst Bryan has always been attracted to Serge, there’s no hope of them getting together. Serge doesn’t have relationships with humans, so Bryan is happy to remain friends only. The cancer diagnosis changes things as Serge insists that he must save Bryan by changing him into a vampire.

I thought there were a few nice quirky touches to the story which were rather appealing. For a start, Bryan doesn’t want to be a vampire, then again, nor does he want to die young, so he has little choice in the matter. It was interesting to hear his thoughts as he contemplates what is going to happen to him and goes over and over his options. The scene where he is told of the cancer diagnosis was thoughtfully done and injected a tense drama into the story. I felt sorry for Bryan and understood his reservations about being a vampire, but also wanted to give him a bit of a shake at his selfishness and slight petulance when faced with the great gift Serge gives to him.

The story is too short to allow for any complexity in the paranormal setting, but there were enough hints about the integration of humans and vampires together to make the setting interesting to read. Serge comes across as surprisingly well rounded given that we only see him from Bryan’s point of view and I liked that he is obviously emotionally attached to Bryan, even if Bryan can’t see it himself. The story ends well with a nicely written sex scene and some good description of the turning process.

Overall I enjoyed this little short story. I was pleased for the couple and liked them as characters; I thought the writing showed strength in the plot and characterisation and the story was interesting enough to fill a gap between books. If you like paranormals and are looking for something short, then I’d recommend Serge’s Gift.