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Promises to Keep
Middle-aged and ill, a computer science professor assumes the obvious when he's propositioned by a young man. But the man isn't young, he's offering more than sex, and it's not good exam results he's after. He's an immortal vampire who needs the professor's help to stay on the right side of the law. A vampire who wants to show him that it's still worth making a fight for life...
27 pages, ebook
First published October 1, 2004
30 people want to read
About the author
Jules Jones
26 books47 followersJules Jones is a British author of science fiction and erotic romance, mostly with m/m themes. Much of her work is cross-genre, being science fiction or fantasy with a strong romance element. Her day job is materials science, and it tends to show -- many of her characters are scientists, engineers, and sundry other geeks.
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I write science fiction, fantasy and romance. I read *lots* of things.
My main library catalogue is over on LibraryThing, because I'm the sort of anal-retentive bibliophile who wants to record the exact print run and page count of my individual copy of a book. This account's always going to be a somewhat out of date and partial mirror. But it lets me put my book reading log up on GoodReads to share with my friends over here. :-)
***
I write science fiction, fantasy and romance. I read *lots* of things.
My main library catalogue is over on LibraryThing, because I'm the sort of anal-retentive bibliophile who wants to record the exact print run and page count of my individual copy of a book. This account's always going to be a somewhat out of date and partial mirror. But it lets me put my book reading log up on GoodReads to share with my friends over here. :-)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 22, 2019
This just left me cold. There is zero emotion between these two unnamed characters - a middle aged dying professor and a vampire. The writing style seemed stilted and formal and with everything it was trying to describe, there wasn’t even enough information to let my imagination create a visual of what the professor looked like. This is a very short story that lacks a beginning and an ending.
September 10, 2011
The review can be found at Brief Encounters Reviews
This short paranormal story starts at the end of the story, then takes you back to the beginning. The story is told from the first person perspective of the professor above, a middle-aged man suffering from an unnamed autoimmune disorder, but not HIV. He has reached the end of his treatment options in a conventional hospital and is prepared for his vampire lover to keep his promise and turn him.We then discover how they met and how it came to this point.
As the story is all told from the professor’s perspective, you don’t get much of a feel for the vampire. He approaches the older man in the library, at first seeming to want a simple sexual encounter. However after revealing himself to be a vampire, he explains his need for help to create a false identity as it’s getting harder to exist without one, and he is quite aware of the illness. A lot of the story is the professor’s thoughts about youth – as the vampire appears very young – the wisdom of being older, of not holding back because his life may not last that much longer anyway, and deciding what his options are and if they are worth it. Because you only get the perspective of the older man, the story does make it seem like “it’s all about him”, but given the circumstances and that he’s telling his story, I suppose it would come across that way.
I’m a bit torn as to whether this is a romance – there is a definitely attraction between the two men – or a character study in facing your own mortality, or immortality I suppose. It seems to be a bit of both but I felt the musings about his life were the stronger portion of the story. It’s a bit of a poignant ending, not a guaranteed HEA, but gives that bit of hope that maybe even when modern medicine fails, there can be something more.
This short paranormal story starts at the end of the story, then takes you back to the beginning. The story is told from the first person perspective of the professor above, a middle-aged man suffering from an unnamed autoimmune disorder, but not HIV. He has reached the end of his treatment options in a conventional hospital and is prepared for his vampire lover to keep his promise and turn him.We then discover how they met and how it came to this point.
As the story is all told from the professor’s perspective, you don’t get much of a feel for the vampire. He approaches the older man in the library, at first seeming to want a simple sexual encounter. However after revealing himself to be a vampire, he explains his need for help to create a false identity as it’s getting harder to exist without one, and he is quite aware of the illness. A lot of the story is the professor’s thoughts about youth – as the vampire appears very young – the wisdom of being older, of not holding back because his life may not last that much longer anyway, and deciding what his options are and if they are worth it. Because you only get the perspective of the older man, the story does make it seem like “it’s all about him”, but given the circumstances and that he’s telling his story, I suppose it would come across that way.
I’m a bit torn as to whether this is a romance – there is a definitely attraction between the two men – or a character study in facing your own mortality, or immortality I suppose. It seems to be a bit of both but I felt the musings about his life were the stronger portion of the story. It’s a bit of a poignant ending, not a guaranteed HEA, but gives that bit of hope that maybe even when modern medicine fails, there can be something more.
January 8, 2012
Very short, less than 50 pages. One peeve, there are many autoimmune diseases, none are HIV. This story works in a strange, moody way. I quite liked it, but I'm not sure why. There are a lot of implications packed in into a few pages, and much is left to the readers imagination in such a way that I didn't feel cheated.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews