Welcome to the web site of John Marshall

Epic scifi/horror novels that cross space and time

The DRAKUL novels are centred on legendary demon slayer and lycanthrope Finn Angmon and his complex, often fatal relationships with the Drakul Dynasty. Drawing on the legends of Fionn mac Cumaill, the novels also pay tribute to Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula whilst mixing magic and science fiction in a unique blend.

The novels visit the Treloka, four very different worlds where evolution and ecology have been altered profoundly by jiivaa, or vampire blood. Vasudha is a world of desert and mountain, whereas Jivaloka is a world of ice. Teraloka is in the grip of the Industrial revolution. The fourth planet is Earth. The different worlds share many of the same terms from the Vasudhan language.

DRAKUL I CREATION The first novel of the DRAKUL series commences in the present day. It is focused on the efforts of estranged vampire king Tepesch Drakul to open a magical portal to the home planet Vasudha, and the turbulent relationship of Finn Angmon and Shaolin Fei Chok, destined to become witch-queen of Vasudha. At the same time, Tepesch’s man-eating daughter Angelica is on the rampage, leading Finn to uncover a dark secret centred on the Carbon Institute. Tepesch finds himself strangely attracted to Fei, with tragic results. She is taken back to Jerusalem at the time of the Crusades, where the death of a newborn child will change everything.

DRAKUL II GATEWAY commences with the discovery of a torana (portal to other worlds) in the ocean depths. Buried inside is Vadhul Drakul, bloodthirsty father of the late Tepesch Drakul. He awakens and wreaks revenge on the crew, but loses control of the torana to the Institute. To capture the torana, Vadhul must take control of a cruise ship with brutal consequences, and the ensuing war is fought under the sea. In the battle against Finn, Angelov Drakul escapes to Vasudha and tries to rescue his mother using the powers of his priests, but instead, Saskia Drakul and Fei are drawn there, leaving Finn on Earth to face Vadhul Drakul alone.

DRAKUL III  INVASION The tribes of the Aayus (a magical canyon on Vasudha) choose Fei as their new Jananii, but Angelov has already seized power and proves a cunning and brutal ruler. On Earth, Finn has to come to terms with the loss of Fei and the unstoppable changes as he becomes vorkha (werewolf). Angelov lives in fear of Finn Angmon and sends an assassin to kill him, but instead Finn finds his way to Vasudha. There he must prevent Angelov from invading Earth and seeding it with jiivaa (vampire blood). To do this he has to give the Vasudhan people the secret of steel and sword-making and lead them into battle, riding a giant scorpion. Following an epic war that involves all of Vasudha, the vorkha must follow Angelica back to Earth to prevent the invasion. The vorkha finally defeats Angelica, but both are captured and held in a laboratory for over twenty years of experimentation.

DRAKUL IV  EMPIRE sees Finn escape and use the captured torana to return to Vasudha, taking with it a large section of the Carbon institute. With him are a group of thirty survivors. He must help them try to survive the terrors of Vasudha and find Fei, by then ruler of Vasudha. However Oisin, wayward son of Finn and Fei has discovered that an invasion by a Zilon hive is underway that could destroy them all and the warring tribes must unite to defeat their new enemy, once again aided by the planet itself. This time a cataclysmic battle follows as a volcanic eruption coincides with the ferocity of the Vasudhan night. The treacherous Drakul is brought back from the dead to help, but changes sides. The Zilon are finally defeated by dark and white magic and their queen dies by the sword of Finn Angmon. A new Jananii is wedded to Oisin and takes away Fei’s power, after which Fei and Finn are sent back to Earth.

DRAKUL V  ARISEN Through a curious accident, Tepesch Drakul comes back to life far in the future, and must come to terms with a world changed. His ancient adversaries are gone and his bank accounts have been frozen. His castle has been rebuilt and become a tourist attraction. His secret apartment has been bought by a Premier League footballer. Vampire blood has been analysed and the secrets of jiivaa and dark energy have been stolen and commercialised, used to bio-engineer ‘the Gifted’ by the fully privatised Carbon Institute. Tepesch Drakul has to build a new life and come to terms with his new status. Living in an infested London ghetto with the stolen identity of a Polish immigrant, he finds work as a private detective until he gets drawn into a plot that will take him to a new world, Jivaloka. There he must face his greatest challenge and will need the help of some old friends and enemies if he is to survive.

The five novels, in the author’s own words: “reveals the true history and ecology of the vampire. Where they originated, their grand design, how they work and who they really are.”   John Jarrold