'Kevin Matheson works at his family’s service station in the Queensland outback. Life is all about cricket, fishing, the pub, his girlfriend. Then it all gets blown to hell – Kevin is caught up in a hideous, unbelievable world of cops and monsters in which two rival gangs of vampires vie for control, all while maintaining a charade of humanity.
Kevin has to adapt to the destruction of his family and play the politics of the supernatural world. The biker Taipan and his lover Kala make for unlikely allies as they lead the nomadic Night Riders in their fight to be free of the control of the Brisbane-based Von Schiller group, led by the ruthless Mira and her pack of blood-addicted human servants.
Caught between vicious bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul. In a world without rules, only one thing holds true – blood really is thicker than water' [Source: Xoum website]
Jason Nahrung seeks to answere the questions: 'Why are so few Australian vampire stories set in Australia?' and 'In what ways can the metaphorical elements of vampire Gothic be applied to the Sunburnt Country?' by examining examples of Australian vampire narratives, including film. Particular attention is given to Mudrooroo’s Master of the Ghost Dreaming series which, more than any other Australian novel, succeeds in manipulating and subverting the tropes of vampire Gothic. The process of adaptation of vampire Gothic to the Australian environment, both natural and man-made, is also a core concern of Nahrung's novel, Vampires’ Bane.
Nahrung argues that Australia’s growing urbanisation can be juxtaposed against the vampire-hostile natural environment to enhance the tropes of vampire Gothic, and make Australia a suitable home for narratives that explore the ongoing evolution of Count Dracula and his many-faceted descendants.
Jason Nahrung seeks to answere the questions: 'Why are so few Australian vampire stories set in Australia?' and 'In what ways can the metaphorical elements of vampire Gothic be applied to the Sunburnt Country?' by examining examples of Australian vampire narratives, including film. Particular attention is given to Mudrooroo’s Master of the Ghost Dreaming series which, more than any other Australian novel, succeeds in manipulating and subverting the tropes of vampire Gothic. The process of adaptation of vampire Gothic to the Australian environment, both natural and man-made, is also a core concern of Nahrung's novel, Vampires’ Bane.
Nahrung argues that Australia’s growing urbanisation can be juxtaposed against the vampire-hostile natural environment to enhance the tropes of vampire Gothic, and make Australia a suitable home for narratives that explore the ongoing evolution of Count Dracula and his many-faceted descendants.