They Fly at Ciron

Baker (Webs) attempts a fresh spin on the vampire tale in this involved novel, but his effort bogs down in an overstuffed plot and clumsy dialogue. David Bathory, 29, leads an uneventful life as a dealer of snakes and drugs. But after his wife is killed, he begins to rediscover his roots, which he learns are steeped in vampire ancestry. After meeting a mysterious woman named Dara, David quickly becomes engaged in a power struggle between his vampiric ancestors and his present-day family, realizing that he himself is a ``dhampire''--a human able to control undead ancestors. The author introduces too much arcane material throughout the narrative, and his convoluted story line, involving Indian snake legends, incest, Satanism, medieval torture devices and various demons, proves difficult to follow. Only vampire aficionados will want to venture into this novel, which, like its pale heroes, is a grim reworking of a dead ancestor: Baker's out-of-print 1982 novel, Dhampire. (Apr.)