Volaria

by M.D. Neu

Humans are no longer alone; they have been joined by Arcanes, Lycans, and Vampires. It’s been over a hundred years since the Earth went through The Shift. Where once almost eight billion humans lived, the population now holds at four billion. But that wasn’t the only change. No one anticipated the branching of human DNA to produce new species of humans. Arcanes, Lycans, and Vampires are hidden throughout the genome, awaiting puberty before they manifest distinctly unhuman abilities. Finally, the new species of man were welcomed. No longer studied or treated as outcasts by most. People accepted these new humans and they integrated into society, albeit not easily. This allowed the UN Government to focus on colonizing space, in order to secure a future for all.

Risks remain however, permitting a vampire to feed from you can cause shared memories. Tobin Corsian took such a risk. He resides in a newly reopened district of San Jose, California, where his family’s old home stood. He lives there with his friend Mikel, a Lycan, and his dog Begger. Instead of making his mandatory monthly blood donation at the government blood bank for the vampire community, Tobin decides, with the help of his therapist, to visit Biter, a vampire spa. The spa allows vampires to feed from humans directly while providing spa and sexual services, granting the donor a three-month reprieve from their required donations. Tobin’s encounter at Biter opens a window to his past and an experience he had as a child on the moon. Questions abound as he tries to unravel his past and make sense of his life.

453 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2022

About the author

M.D. Neu is an award-winning inclusive gay Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.

Reviews

[Marzipop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm. Debated hard about giving it a three.

The plot didn't make a whole lot of sense but the world building was very cool. I thought the characters were interesting and multidimensional. The mystery was also intriguing but I felt the climax was a bit lackluster and left more questions than answers.

I should also mention, the m/m romance is a misnomer. This isn't a romance, it's a suspense novel that features LGBT characters.

I hope there's a sequel in the works cuz frankly, I disagree with Tobin being imprisoned. He was a victim who was groomed his entire life. Do you blame the car who kills a pedestrian or the driver? To me, accepting punishment is self-serving on his part to alleviate guilt for others actions.

I struggled to understand some characters motivations. It felt as though I was missing some key information that the author forgot to include.

There was also a lot of inhaling and neck cracking lol sometimes a little too much extra descriptors when I wanted to get back to the plot.


That being said, I did actually like the story. I thought the world was fascinating and felt drawn in. It cracked me up that Disney and Big Pharma managed to survive the sort of apocalypse.

If there is a sequel, I'd like to read it.

[Maryann Kafka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tobin Corsian, now thirty-eight, needs a change. He doesn’t want to believe in all the negativeness that his father passed on to him. As a young boy he loved being with his great grandfather and remembering what he told him about the world before. How humanity was thought to hold domain over the planet, but it was the planet that held domain over humanity. When “The Shift” took place it changed everything and the Earth taught them humility. He still lives in his great grandfathers house with his companion Begger and friend, lycan Mikel. With “The Shift” humans, Arcane’s, Vampires and Lycans lived amongst each other.

Tobin has made up his mind to get control of his life and not live in fear in what he was told by his parents. He has struggled enough with: depression, anxiety and nervousness. He doesn’t want to take medicines anymore but he does continue to see his therapist, Dr. Gana. He’s also curious about what happened to him as a child. A vacation to the Moon, with his family left him ill. The remembrance of the vacation haunts him and left him with a fear of flying to other planets. He want’s to be normal, better and well informed. He’s also tired of every month being pricked, he fears needles, but the government requires blood donations every month. He decides to go to “Biter”. He would get a reprieve for three months of having to get pricked, even though it would cost him some credits. “Biter” offers extra treatments but Tobin is only curious about academics and himself. He also wanted an experience without: mental, physical, magical or pharmaceutical interference.

The V.T.’s at Biter are assigned to each customer to give the best experience. He meets V.T. Wilhelm and after his experience things start to change for Tobin. When Tobin returns home, he discusses his experience at “Biter” with Mikel. He tells him about Wilhelm and then tells Mikel he’s thinking about going to the Moon. Mikel is surprised by this revelation and he thinks Tobin’s been influenced by Wilhelm. As Mikel looks into Station Inn on the Moon, he finds a picture of Wilhelm. The deeper they search they find that Wilhem was not only married to Andrew but also Zeberley. They find that Zeberley met a tragic ending at the hands of Purists.

Trying to be normal and no longer have fears Tobin is determined to travel to the moon and visit Volaria. He still has mysteries to solve about himself and the connection he feels to Zeberley. Tobin has one more stop to make before he leaves. He makes a visit to Marval’s House of Spells and Potions, seeking a remedy for the flight and headaches. Marval has aided Tobin in the past and has discovered that Tobin’s aura isn’t right. Tobin has faced so many frustrating situations, a strange seance involving his parents and the police that have only spotty information about him. Will this journey to the moon reveal what’s been missing in his life?

M.D. Neu is a first time read for me and I was fascinated with “Volaria”. The world building and descriptive space travel was so easy to imagine and understand. It’s a story of corrupt government, rules and laws, bigotry, hatred, manipulation, ignorance and lies to an innocent. Besides the spells, potions and magic there’s the use of crystals and their meanings and a different type of seance. The story evokes a keen sense of sadness and self-blame and regret. M.D. Neu also created a very twisted mystery with all the unanswered questions.

My heart went out to Tobin, he was mistreated and lied to and by the time he discovers all the answers he’s searched for it’s too late. I love that he found Lim, but I wished there was more for them. Lim made it possible for a broadcast to the Moon, Mars and Earth so others could understand the wrongs that were committed against Vampires.

There’s several secondary characters that make their own mistakes within the story: Malifo, that had good intentions but he made his mistakes. Marval who was evil in their own way because of bigotry. Golda Tatum Corsian who believed the lies and hurt her son.

There is so much more to “Volaria” than what I mentioned and I highly recommend this heart-rending novel for those who love a different type of vampire novel.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, M.D. Neu has always been good, but his writing went deeper, giving his characters an extra level of richness and complexity in this book as they developed and grew. Not to mention the surprising plot twists while leaving clues as to the direction in which we were heading. He’s shaken a lot of mystery into this science fiction cocktail while adding a splash of his own unique vampire coziness to the mixture.

Marval and Malifo were both such engaging, larger the life characters, revolving around Tobin in all of the latter’s huggable sympathy as he goes on a journey which begins with his visit to Biter. There’s lots of romantic tension between Tobin and various characters, yet he follows a refreshingly unpredictable path in where they go. Wrapped around various scenes is M.D. Neu’s air of coziness bound up with the setting of San Jose, California, a welcome and distinctive Bay Area Queer Writers’s flourish.

A lot of heart and heartache poured out of the characters as they confronted their fears, their hates, and their struggle isn’t over. At least I hope it isn’t. (Hint, hint, M.D. Neu? :))

[Virginia Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a intense mystery of a book. the characters draw you in with differences and view. this was a wonderful slow burn mix of sci fi you will love. things are not what he thought they were and it is unraveling

[SpeedX · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you looking for a romance, smut, cuddles and all that good feels with that mix of dark and angst, THIS is not that book. With that being said, the world building was excellent though there was a lot of unnecessary description and unneeded details.

Some characters I felt and a far larger role than was needed and other whose roles weren’t large enough. The story was intricate but still lack certain aspects that would have tied it all together amidst all the other extensive wording.

The ending I felt tied up too quickly, it went from 0 to 100 too quickly. While the shock factor was there but not for reasons you may think. While the villain was a surprise the ending sure was. Sigh…

As an honorable mention, the author did incorporate serious mental and societal problems that are relatable. I feel trigger warnings should be listed.

Though the story was lacking in many ways, I enjoyed the world the author created so a solid 3.5 to 4 stars.

[Deb Faucher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good writing

Good story telling, the ending made me feel let down. Wishing I had never wasted my time reading the story. Like my trust was broken. I will not be reading any further works by this author!