Vortex: Book Three of the Veins Cycle

by Lawrence C. Connolly

The final hour has come. Rocks burn. Floods rage. Serpents fly. A storm of fire threatens the world. Amid the chaos, a man lies in a shuttered bedroom. He has the power to save the earth, but first he must retrieve an artifact of dream . . . a horror he has spent a lifetime trying to forget. With a single ally standing guard, his spirit searches his past, following clues that may unlock a second chance for the human race. All he needs is time. Enter Samuelle-a woman whose touch can raise the dead, kill the living. Her mission: find the dreamer, deliver the death touch, unleash the final storm. Fasten your seat belts for the concluding arc of the Veins Cycle, where cosmic forces play out on a human scale, and where the mind may yet be the strongest spirit of all.

282 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2014

About the author

Lawrence C. Connolly’s books include the collections This Way to Egress, whose titular tale of psychological horror was adapted for the Mick Garris film Nightmare Cinema; and the Bram-Stoker-nominated Voices, which features Connolly’s best stories from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror, and other top magazines and anthologies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A third collection, Visions, was praised by Publishers Weekly for featuring an eclectic mix of “entertaining and satisfying” SF.

His new novel, Minute-Men: Execute & Run, is a globetrotting adventure from Caezik Science Fiction that combines elements of military science fiction, gaming, and medical suspense to deliver a thrilling reinvention of the superhero genre. It’s based on a concept developed by brother Christopher Connolly.

He is also the writer of Mystery Theatre, a podcast produced by Prime Stage Theatre, who premiered his adaptation of Frankenstein in 2022. His latest commission, a play based on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, opens in November 2025 at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theatre.

To learn more and stay up to date, please visit: lawrencecconnolly.com

Reviews

[Leadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read in this 'cycle' the more fascinating it is. It's hard enough to write a series, but to write a story that is an Ouroboros is quite a feat. The main characters stay the same but secondary characters keep changing. As does the story that takes place in one town. A town that keeps changing based on Indian legend, or is it?
It is a cycle that continues based on the choices the characters make. These changes trigger another series of events that again cause the characters to have to make life and death choices. I'm not going to give any spoilers in this commentary. Just read the book(s) and you'll understand.