There is something quietly devastating about a story that understands how trauma echoes across generations. Tribes by Jerrick Payton opens with a deceptively simple premise — vampires live among us in the American South — and proceeds to build something far more emotionally complex than the genre label might suggest. Published in 2022 by Dorrance Publishing, this debut novel is the first installment in what promises to be an ambitious supernatural series. Set initially in the fictional town of Scarleton and later in the urban sprawl of Claret City, the novel follows David Harris across decades — from a wide-eyed ten-year-old playing hide-and-seek to a grown man raising his own son in the shadow of secrets. Payton structures the narrative as a coming-of-age epic told in two generational waves, and this dual timeline is where the novel finds its beating heart. The Architecture of a Fractured Bloodline David’s Childhood and the Weight of Inheritance The first half of the novel belongs entirely to young David Harris, living with his father Henry, Aunt Debra, and Uncle …