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(More customer reviews)As of Dec. 2000, this is the newest book in the series about the almost-immortal vampire St. Germain. Those who already know that they like vampire novels, anything at all that features a vampire, can skip this review, and likewise, those who hate the whole idea of vampires can skip it. But for those trying to decide whether or not to read more of this genre, or whether the one vampire novel you've already read was a fluke, it may help to have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification Guide. First, most authors of vampire novels approach from one of the main genres of genre fiction; thus their background may be primarily in romance, or in science fiction/fantasy, or in murder mysteries, or in horror. Second, many vampire novels come in series; knowing whether this is one of a series, and where in the series it falls, may be helpful. Then we have some particular characteristics: - Is the vampire character (or characters) a "good guy" or a "bad guy"? Or are there some of each? - Are there continuing characters besides the vampire, through the series? - Are there other types of supernatural beings besides vampires? - Can the vampire stand daylight under some circumstances, or not stand daylight at all? - Does the vampire have a few other supernatural characteristics, many other supernatural characteristics, or none other than just being a vampire? (E.g., super strength, change into an animal, turn invisible) - Does the vampire have a regular job and place in society, or is being a vampire his or her entire raison d'etre? - Does the vampire literally drink blood, or is there some other (perhaps metaphorical) method of feeding? - Is sex a major plot element, a minor plot element, or nonexistent? - Is the entire vampire feeding act a metaphor for sex, part of a standard sex act, or unrelated to sex? - Is the story set in one historical period, more than one historical period, or entirely in the present day?
- Does the story have elements of humor, or is it strictly serious? - Is the writing style good, or is the writing just there to manage to hold together the plot and characters?
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's series about the vampire St. Germain starts from the historical romance genre (although Yarbro is equally well known as a science fiction writer), and is a continuing series. St. Germain is definitely a good guy, using the knowledge he's gained in several thousand years of living to help others. There are a few characters that continue from book to book besides him: the women he turns into vampires, and his "servant," Roger, who is a ghoul. Ghouls are the only other supernatural characters who appear in these books. St. Germain can stand daylight with the right preparations. He has unusual strength, but not limitless, and unusual wisdom, and is an "alchemist" but there are no other overt magic powers. In most of the series, he has an occupation of being an aristocrat, inasmuch as that was a full-time occupation through most of history; in some books he has another "job" as well. St. Germain does not usually literally drink blood; he feeds on emotions, usually during erotic experiences, but sex is nonetheless only a minor plot element, rare and very discreet. Drinking blood is a substitute for when he can't get the emotional nourishment he prefers. The series covers 3000 years, from ancient Egypt to the modern day; each book is set in a span of a particular period, usually 20-30 years (this book, however, is the exception). The writing is serious, but not self-important; the writing quality is excellent, and Yarbro's abilities as an author qualify these books as literature rather than "merely" genre fiction.
Come Twilight breaks somewhat from the pattern of the series by covering a span of several hundred years, from about 650 CE to 1117 CE (AD) in four leaps. The book is set in Spain, before it was Spain; the periods covered include the Visigothic (when many of the natives still worshipped older religions, and Catholicism had scarcely made a dent); the Moorish, which lasted for hundreds of years, and finally, the beginnings of the Catholic re-taking of Spain and the emergence of Spain as the beginning of a unified pais. Since the Moslem Moors are a much stronger power than the Catholics, they get to be the "bad guys" through much of the book. Yarbro's distaste for the Roman Catholic church in some of the series is more accurately a distaste for religions with too much worldly power and corruption. In this period, Islam was more powerful, and more corrupt, than Christianity, so it gets more criticism. (The Jews, always something of a wild card in history, play a small but significant role in this book.) Other reviews will tell you about the plot; let me point out the strong themes that Yarbro brings out here that have not been as prominent as in earlier books: the uses of actual blood; the part emotional nourishment plays in the development of any whole person, alive or undead, and the horrible effects of a lack of emotional bonds - you may compare this to some of the studies of children or monkeys deprived of emotional and physical contact with their mothers, and how stunted they are as adults. And a strong ecological message, where the deforestation of early Spain in order to build pieces of technology (ships, in this case) and to graze food animals, may serve as a warning for what is happening now in South America and other fading forest areas. Pardon the pun, but: this book provides much food for thought!
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Come Twilight (St. Germain)
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