A Stirring of Dust (1997), by Susan Sizemore, is the first novel in the cult classic Forever Knight. Nick Knight is the protagonist, originally a medieval knight from Brabant (present-day Belgium and Holland) during the Crusades. He was brought across as a vampire by his master, LaCroix, in 1228. However, after centuries of killing humans to sustain himself with blood, he began to reject the vampire lifestyle, and desires to regain his his humanity--his mortality. In order to burn the thirst for blood and repay society for his past sins, Nick Knight decided to become a homicide detective for the Toronto Metropolitan Police. 
In the city, police discover murder victims murdered in the most brutal fashion. Their throats are ripped apart, and their heads are missing. Initially, Nick Knight and his partner, Tracy Vetter, suspected a man recently released from prison for decapitating his wife committed the crime. Suddenly, if the victims heads are not cut off, they become walking zombies, or revenants. These creatures have vampire traits, but their skin cannot regenerate, and they lack rationality. Thus, Nick must suspect another horrific possibility from his long and dark past: an ancient monster among hiskind has awakened to seek revenge on Nick. He was brought across in 1228, preyed on humans for their blood.
Now, he wants to be mortal again.
...to repay society for his sins...
...to emerge from his world of darkness...
...from his endless...
...Forever Knight.
A Stirring of Dust is the first novel in a three-book series based off the popular 1990s Canadian vampire detective cult series, Forever Knight. This show was amazing in two ways: 1) it set the standard for future vampire TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and 2) despite lack of funding, the acting was excellent, and 3) despite threats of cancellation, fans united to save the show for two more seasons. I watched it faithfully during my adolescent years on USA Network and Sci-Fi (now Syfy) Channel. I can remember many late nights looking forward to my favorite show (For the youngins', high-speed Internet did not exist back then!). After three seasons, it generated a cult status among fans; you can find hundreds of fan fiction stories across the Internet.
Due to show's popularity by loyal fans, Susan Sizemore, an American author of romance and science fiction, was asked to write a novel based on the television series. A Stirring of Dust was her first vampire romance novel in her career. She would later two more successful vampire romance novel series, Laws of the Blood and Prime Universe.
I am not sure why I waited years to start this book. It has been collecting dust on my bookshelf since my undergraduate days (!) until I decided to read the darn thing. Was my current life too chaotic to reminisce the past? Did I want to preserve what I last knew about this cult classic? Who knows. Nonetheless, I am delighted that I read this book because it brought back many childhood memories.
Stay tuned for the second novel in the Forever Knight series, Imitations of Immortality.
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