Summary:
In the hushed solitude of a desert mountaintop, Asa Beck, a centuries-old vampire, perches on the precipice of his existence. With the horizon aglow, heralding the impending sunrise to the east, he grapples with a lifetime burdened by immortality and the shadows of a tormented past.
As the first rays of dawn paint the sky in amber and gold, Asa's thoughts drift back to the origin of his immortal curse—the twisted path that led him to embrace the darkness within and the relentless thirst that etched deep scars upon his soul.
Yet amid this bleakness, there remains a flicker of bittersweet memory—the one man Asa dared to love, a beacon of light in his endless night. Their love, forbidden and fleeting, lingers as a poignant reminder of a human heart that once beat within his chest.
With the sun's ascent looming ever closer, Asa confronts an existential crossroad. Should he continue his existence as a creature of the night, forever haunted by the echoes of his past and the insatiable hunger that defines him? Or does he dare to seek redemption, to find solace in the eternal slumber that awaits with the breaking dawn?
As the first rays crest the horizon, casting long shadows across the barren landscape, Asa Beck, the immortal wanderer, finds himself at the brink of a decision that will define his eternal fate.
There is a lot of Rick R Reed's work I haven't read yet but everything I have has never failed to entertain. Here Comes the Sun has a very dark feel, it's vampires right? But there is a very internal darkness about Asa Beck that puts a vamps life in perspective and you can't help but feel for the poor soul. That moment of truth is held till the very end and I won't spoil it, just know my heart could have went either way. Again, a story short on quantity but full to the brim on quality. Perfect read for this time of year but great anytime.
The vampire Asa Beck waits at the top of the Araby Trail in Palm Springs. Below him, in the murky darkness, the Coachella Valley stretches out, with its settlements of homes, its turbines, and its mountains rising like cathedrals all around.
Right now, he can only imagine these things at the top of this heavily-trafficked trail, now empty, save for the mournful cry of a coyote, somewhere near. Sunrise is still at least an hour off, which allows him to sit quietly and contemplate his life. Or is what he contemplates truly a life? Is it something else? Perhaps a living death? A horror story? A fairy tale? A brush with immortality?
Whatever it is, he wants it to be over. Done. Kaput. Nearly two hundred years walking the earth should be enough for anybody, right?
He’s anticipating the rising of the sun, cruel and merciless here in southern California, especially in August. In an instant, it will transform him from the living dead to a pile of ash. Magic. He’s never been one for half-gestures. If he’s going to do something, he wants to make it dramatic. He imagines a huge ball of flame followed by a billow of black smoke rising up to the sky.
This image, oddly, comforts him. He plays it over and over.
Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 60 works of published fiction. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and a multiple Rainbow Award winner. His works have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…” Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his two rescue dogs, Kodi and Joaquin. in his spare time, he enjoy cycling, hiking, cooking, photography, and reading.
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