The Piaculum

About the Book

The Piaculum is at once hauntingly dark yet deeply spiritual. Set in the distant future, the story takes place on a desert landscape where a group of Christians called the Mone and a blood worshiping cult known as the Kathe are ensnared in religious tension. The Kathe believe that salvation can only be achieved by drinking blood from men born with a rare skin condition known as the white-mark.

The novel follows the life of Cearl, a man with the white-mark born to a group of poor Mone farmers. Cearl has a good life with a wife and two children he deeply loves, but he finds himself consumed by memories of being tortured by the Kathe as a child, as well as an overwhelming feeling that his god wants something from him. When a group of Kathe come to Cearl's village looking for human sacrifices, Cearl comes face to face with his childhood memories and makes choices that could destroy his life.

About the Author

Richard Gray was born in Utah where the local landscape inspired much of his writing. He is a scientist, writer, and artist. He earned his bachelor?s degree in physics from the University of Utah and is currently living in upstate NY while working toward his Ph.D. at Cornell University.