The Venom Spell

The In-betweens are a peculiar kind; cursed with body parts that resemble those of animals, they are considered less than human in the eyes of the Church, and live only as slaves, bound to the service of farmers all throughout the Holy Kingdom. Alistair knows their plight well; as though he were a slave himself, his father forces him to work beside them, from dawn til dusk. But one night, while stargazing, a bright light comes crashing down outside of his otherwise peaceful home, and reveals itself to be a ravenous beast hell-bent on killing him. The boy fends it off, but sustains a bite containing the beast's potent venom. In search of a cure, Alistair is torn from his old life, thrust into a whole new world and pitted against his homeland, overtaken by a mad religion that now wants his head. With the help of a slave-girl named Wolf, they'll have to mount a desperate race to the border, and even if they survive, they might just find that freedom is hardly ever free. The debut novel of Ethan M. Kleinhans, The Venom Spell ventures into the controversial topics of race, religion, and more, questioning power and asking, quite simply, if there is a difference between being human and being a person.