![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51DhTBaa2OL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Painted Darkness<\/span><\/a> by Brian James Freeman<\/span><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n When Henry was a child, something terrible happened in the woods behind his home, something so shocking he could only express his grief by drawing pictures of what he had witnessed. Eventually Henry’s mind blocked out the bad memories, but he continued to draw, often at night by the light of the moon.<\/p>\n \nTwenty years later, Henry makes his living by painting his disturbing works of art. He loves his wife and his son and life couldn’t be better… except there’s something not quite right about the old stone farmhouse his family now calls home. There’s something strange living in the cramped cellar, in the maze of pipes that feed the ancient steam boiler. <\/p>\n \nA winter storm is brewing and soon Henry will learn the true nature of the monster waiting for him down in the darkness. He will battle this demon and, in the process, he may discover what really happened when he was a child and why, in times of trouble, he thinks: I paint against the darkness. <\/p>\n \nBut will Henry learn the truth in time to avoid the terrible fate awaiting him… or will the thing in the cellar get him and his family first? <\/p>\n \nWritten as both a meditation on the art of creation and as an examination of the secret fears we all share, The Painted Darkness is a terrifying look at the true cost we pay when we run from our grief–and what happens when we’re finally forced to confront the monsters we know all too well.<\/p>\n \n After.Life<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \n The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1)<\/span><\/a> by Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith<\/span><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. Millions of humans were killed outright. Millions more died of disease and famine due to the havoc that followed. Within two years, once great cities were shrouded by the grey empire of the vampire clans. Human refugees fled south to the tropics because vampires could not tolerate the constant heat there. They brought technology and a feverish drive to reestablish their shattered societies of steam and iron amid the mosques of Alexandria, the torrid quietude of Panama, or the green temples of Malaya. Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. She is quick with her wit as well as with a sword or gun. She is eager for an adventure before she settles into a life of duty and political marriage to man she does not know. But her quest turns black when she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan. Her only protector is The Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans.<\/p>\n The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire<\/span> is the first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, The Greyfriar brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.<\/p>\n \n The House on Durrow Street<\/span><\/a> by Galen Beckett<\/span><\/p>\n Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA charming and mannered fantasy confection with a darker core of gothic romance\u201d is how New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb described Galen Beckett\u2019s marvelous series opener, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent<\/span><\/a>. Now Beckett returns to this world of dazzling magick and refined manners, where one extraordinary woman\u2019s choice will put the fate of a nation\u2014and all she cherishes\u2014into precarious balance.<\/p>\n Her courage saved the country of Altania and earned the love of a hero of the realm. Now sensible Ivy Quent wants only to turn her father\u2019s sprawling, mysterious house into a proper home. But soon she is swept into fashionable society\u2019s highest circles of power\u2014a world that is vital to her family\u2019s future but replete with perilous temptations.<\/p>\n Yet far greater danger lies beyond the city\u2019s glittering ballrooms\u2014and Ivy must race to unlock the secrets that lie within the old house on Durrow Street before outlaw magicians and an ancient ravening force plunge Altania into darkness forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. The Painted Darkness by Brian James Freeman Promo copy: When Henry was a child, something terrible happened in the woods behind his home, … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/515ZcOk3d3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51LXniJViCL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nIt is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51g1L6itCML._SL500_AA300_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n