To Taste The Dragon's Blood
By T.M. Moore, 2006
Series: The Children of the Dragon Series

Imagine that everything you knew or thought you knew about humanity's place in the universe is turned upside down by just a few days spent on the surface of Mars. Jonathan Kraine is a well-known explorer and archaeologist who finds that reality is just as fantastic as myth, and that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, when he stumbles upon an ancient ruin buried beneath the surface. His life is changed forever when he discovers the answers to some of the greatest mysteries of all time through his association with an alien vampire named Andru.

This is a prequel to "Destiny's Forge". It is about truth and justice, and the choices humanity must make if it is to survive as a species, placed against the backdrop of questions about human history and the future of space exploration. It also reveals various character traits of this species of alien vampire not seen in the first novel. To read this one first would be rather like turning to the last page in the book to see how it comes out.

Paperback Info: ISBN 1847283365, Lulu.com