"I am infatuated by vampires... they are so beautiful and captivating... but yet they are capable of complete obliteration... I started reading your book and so far it is a read that never ceases to amaze me."
Comments by: Annie 3/1/2002
Hello everyone and thank you for all your wonderful comments & reviews!
If you've read, or are still reading the book, please share anything you would like here.
I love hearing from you, and talking about/answering questions regarding my favorite subject, Drexus.
4/12/02 As of this time I am busy editing "Drada-kish - Book Two In The Drexus Tavosn Saga."
If all goes well, which we think it will, Drada-kish should be out by December 2002!
Don't forget, keep a watch on my Event & news listings page for more updates, book signing events and more.
"What an imagination this author has! I do admit that the terminology took some getting used to, but this book is well worth the effort. It's entering another world and walking next to its inhabitants. And what a fascinating world this is! Can't wait for the next installment!"
Comments/Review 4/10/2002 "Hunting Shadows - Book One"
3/4/02 ~ In answer to some of your thoughts, Jackie, without giving anything away, the incidents surrounding Drex's feelings of anger and mistreatment of how he was raised will be looked into in Drada-kish, which picks up the story a few years after Hunting Shadows left off. Many changes have come to all our intrepid "heroes" and there will be new faces--as well as new characters, glimpsed for the first time.
The meeting of Drex and Ressa-Dso will also be touched like a painful wound, but the depth of their real story must wait to be completely revealed in book three: "Tavosn." I assure you, Ressa and Drex, as well as their good friend the flamboyant Story Teller, Kaduen, have had many a good (and bad) adventure.
Any further information on future "adventures" they may or may not have--you just have to wait for. ;)
Regarding Mastin Zarkash'oe, all I can say is that zarome lad has a new face as well. Getting him to take off his mask and reveal the one beneath...well, he'll show us when he's damn good an' ready, and not before. --And trust me, it'll be worth it! ;)
7/20/02 ~ Thank you David! Yes, the Draz world is one I myself love to visit. It's a heady place, all that tropical greenery. You can smell life itself in the air. Seems every time I send my mind there more Drakkone folks appear with their stories to share.
As to Drex developing, well both Drex & Drashone have some evolving to do, gaining strengths and weaknesses. Yes, wings really would get those Tarrons where they live, the snoots, wouldn't they? However I don't see "Basiks" with wings in the immediate future.
A cure? Well, here's a little quote from our 'hero' in "Drada-kish - Book Two":
"Find a cure? The tzuugh you can. How does one make a silent heart beat again? Bring heat once more to dead flesh? Tell me, Tarron Lord, the real truth is my continued existence is your revenge. My suffering gives you satisfaction."
Now David, you had one more question in your email that I did not post here... My congratulations, what a delightfully devious mind you have! No one else has remarked on that little scene--but that's ALL I'm going to say. Except to add that more truths will be revealed--just like a glimps of fang at midnight--and they will be deliciously painful. *rubs hands together gleefully*
Oh, and yeah, of course you have to wait for the next books!
"Dear Melissa, I love your book 'Hunting Shadows', it is a good stimulator for creative thinking and fantasy. I thank you for your invitation to go on a trip with your playful imagination. Your book is a good and mysterious companion. I recommend it warmly to everyone who loves suspense from an author with great talent. "
Comments/Review 5/30/02 "Hunting Shadows - Book One"
Name: Geert Verbeke , Location: Flanders-Belgium, Europe
Occupation: Musician, Singing Bowl Recording Artist
Book reviews, reader's feedback & author comments for the esoteric, adventure fantasy, philosophical, tropical alien jungle vampire book "Hunting Shadows - Book One In The Drexus Tavosn Saga" by Melissa J. Vivigatz, author & artist. (whew!)
Excerpt from an email...
"I finished your book a couple of weeks ago. I liked it. :) It sounds like a wonderful world to live in. Well, without the element being spread. hehe. ... Is Drex going to develop anything more? Maybe an ability to grow wings and fly around, while making his body thinner and more aerodynamic? That would bother the tarrons. Is there going to be a cure? Or do I have to wait for the next books? "
Comments/Review: 7/20/2002 "Hunting Shadows - Book One"
"I keep thinking about what it would be like to climb those vines and swing around in them. I like climbing things. And climbing high to chase ransoo. I would like to have a pet ransoo.
I like what the book says about the problems of greed and arrogance, and the need to know and control yourself and your instinct. And what it also seems to say about the problems with the taking of power through oil, no matter the cost to the world. I also like that you got very descriptive without ever getting dull. Some books describe things for so many pages that I forget what's being described and I want to throw them, but with your book, I could feel the cold air at night and see the rainbow light patterns through the ice and frost in the morning, and not get bored. And the book brings out feelings from me for the characters. I was happy when Drex took out the Tarash. And when he crashed Twyzalia. hehe. I could tell how he would feel listening to them. And a little sad for what he and his friends are going through now.
Devious mind? I'm a jellyfish. I have no mind. hehe I still think there's some cure. That has to be a misleading quote to keep us guessing. hehe "
"Hunting Shadows, Melissa Vivigatz's first book in the Drexus Tavosn saga, is a compelling story. It has elements of classical Greek tragedy, primal folklore, adventure, horror, and love.
The central character, Drexus, is heroic yet flawed, emotionally human yet a Basik, a member of the Drakkone race who inhabit this imaginative land the author has created.
Rich descriptive passages paint the scene so that the reader can experience these alien landscapes. The characters are also vividly described so that as readers we can imagine them and empathize with their very human problems and emotions. The story itself, a new twist on a folk legend as old as time, has many surprises and turns toward the unexpected which kept me
hoping and guessing throughout.
The book, to its credit, is not a fluffy easy read. It has many unfamiliar terms, explained in the glossary to be sure, but also skillfully explained in context. Philosophical passages merited re-reading to be certain to grasp the implications. I grew to feel deeply for the characters,
but especially for Drexus and his predicament, more so than I have sometimes felt for some human characters in other novels.
This book, intelligently written blending action, mystery, legend and philosophy was a fascinating experience. It left me thinking and most especially looking forward to the next installment.
Comments/Review 8/10/02 "Hunting Shadows - Book One"
Name: Eleanor Borkowski, Location: CT, USA
Occupation: Teacher, Middletown, CT. school system
