Apart from Ms. Yarbro's St. Germain series, I think this is one of her best works. Again we see a 'monster' transformed into something other than a blood thirsty demon. Instead of the monster, we read of a man tormented by a curse and can actually identify with him and feel for his torment. The book also depicts the awful onset of the Spanish Inquisition that is very believable.

Ms Yarbro again displays her deft touch in creating a tapestry woven of rich characterizations and exquisite historical detail with just a touch of the supernatural. The story centers around a young Spanish nobleman at the height of the inquisiton. Bound by the strictures of his station and tortured by a dying woman's curse, he must try to find a way to happiness.

This fourth book of the series, in terms of the order in which they were written, was at the time it was written the second in terms of internal chronology; the first book, "Hotel Transylvania", was set in 1700s France. The second, "The Palace", was set in late 1400s Italy. The third, "Blood Games", was set in first century Rome. This one is set in 1200s Asia, ranging from China to India.

I was somewhat disappointed by this book; it started well and ended well, but dragged rather badly in the middle. Really, it should have been two separate books, as there were two female romantic leads, one early, one late, and my biggest complaint with the book is the abrupt death of the apparent female lead a third of the way into the book; the character deserved better treatment. Mind you, I don't object to the concept of Saint-Germain losing a lover; I understand that it's part of the character concept; an immortal vampire suffers a continuing series of losses of that sort throughout his life. But the character was good enough to deserve a climactic death at the end of a book, rather than being disposed of in mid-book, in a senseless and wasted death. And the second female lead was an interesting enough character, also, to deserve a book all her own, rather than first appearing 2/3 of the way through the book.

On the other hand, both of these characters were nice deviations from the "damsel in distress" pattern we'd seen previously for Saint-Germain's lovers, and that's a definite plus as far as I'm concerned (although if part of what you like about the series is the "hero rescues damsel in distress" shtick that we've seen previously, you may be disappointed in this one).

Then again, back on the negative "hand", the villains in this book are even more cardboard than we've seen previously in the series; there's nothing wrong with having stories with clear-cut divisions between good and evil, as Yarbro consistently does, but it helps if your villains are at least fleshed out sufficiently that the reader can fathom what it is that THEY think they're accomplishing. It was one thing to have the Mongol hordes be an implacable, mindless force (certainly, that's how they were perceived by their enemies historically) but the worshipper of the goddess Kali was simply a nutcase, with no more rationale given for her evil than that she was crazy, and no rationale at all given for WHY she was crazy. Now, I realize that there ARE people like that in the world, but it's a cheap out to use in fiction. Generally, even unabashedly evil characters should have SOME reasonable explanation for their actions; this book is the weakest of the series so far in that regard.

On the other hand again, I really liked the ending. (I can't tell you more without making for an inexcusable spoiler.)

As you can no doubt tell, I had mixed emotions about this book, so a three star rating seems about right.

Yarbro's "historical horror novel"s, as they are described on their covers, are actually historical romances featuring a vampire as the continuing hero. 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, 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, insofar as that was a full-time occupation through most of history; in some books he has another "job" as well. St. Germain does not literally drink blood; he feeds on emotions, usually during erotic experiences. In most of the series, sex is treated discreetly and is rarely described; this book, however, features more sex, and more blood, than most. 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. 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.

Path of the Eclipse is really two separate novellas, with a bridge between them. St Germain starts out in China, in the first story. As China grows suspicious of foreigners, due to the incursions of the Mongols (it's the early 13th century), St. Germain finds it prudent to leave the city, and travel to an outpost. There, he is to help defend a fortress from the Mongols. The fortress is unusual in having a female Warlord. This section of the book is a good read for the plot, the strategy, and the unusualness of the setting. Where many of us are somewhat familiar with the historical setting of the series when they take place in Europe or the Americas, we tend to be far less familiar with the history of the Orient. There are fascinating details here. There is also a "side" story about some traveling Nestorian Christians, with hints of Yarbro's opinions as to how Christianity might alternatively have developed.

After the fortress falls, finally, St. Germain escapes by way of Tibet, where along the journey he meets a child Master at a Buddhist lamasary. This is one of the very few occasions in the series where there is any hint of the supernatural other than the vampire characters and their ghoul servants.

The second story in the book has St. Germain arriving in India. He is caught up in the machinations of a cult of Kali, goddess of destruction. While there are interesting parts of this story, it is also one of the bloodiest in the entire series; the literal bloodbath that takes place is gruesome. I did NOT enjoy most of this story because of its explicitness.

Thsi text is probably on of the best St. Germaine books. A saga which takes him form China to India over the Himalayas, the story unfolds into a tantalizing epic of Chinese xenophobia and Indian mythology and religion. I highly reccomend this book to fans of historcial fiction and it is a must for Lovers of the Count.

I have to agree with one of the other reviews. This was a good book, but not as interesting as the first and certainly not of the caliber you'd expect if you're a CQY fan.

I was really looking forward to this book, having enjoyed "The Angry Angel" quite a bit. However, this second volume in the series defintely lags behind Yarbo's initial offering.

She spends the first several chapters telling us in many different ways what we already know: that the heroine, Fenice, is bored and frustrated with her life of Venetian privilege and yearning for adventure on the high seas and elsewhere. Enough, already! Let's cut to the chase! But no - these points are belaboured for a while longer; her disapproving family, her boring fiance, her desire to postpone marriage for as long as possible, etc. etc. etc.

In contrast to "The Angry Angel," for most of this book Dracula is basically absent. There seems to be little real connection between him and Fenice, and little reason for one. Unlike Kelene who was trapped in a situation of dire poverty and physical danger, Fenice is in the lap of luxury. How many people in real life are desperate to flee lives of privilege for the squalor and "adventure" of street-life? This motivation is not realistic.

Finally over halfway through the book things begin to pick up, but by this time finishing the book is an act of will. My ennui was completed by the discovery that Kelene, the heroine of the first novel, has somehow morphed from a wise-beyond-her-years, interesting teenager to a spoiled, petulant brat. What?!

Let's hope the heroine of book 3, whoever she might be, realizes there's more than enough of Dracula to go around.

Am reading the first and second books in this trilogy for about the third time. They both get better with every read. When will the third one be out? I anxiously await it. Quinn Yarbro looks at vampirism from a different angle than Ann Rice. Excellent read no matter how many times you read them.

Or third in the Olivia series, depending on how you look at it.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the Saint-Germain series is a series of historical "horror" novels (although the horror element is tenuous at best, based purely on the fact that the main characters are vampires, and "vampire fiction" is considered a subgenre of "horror fiction"; actually, "historical romance" is closer to accurate) in which the main character is the vampire Saint-Germain, who has lived as a vampire since roughly 1500-2000 BCE. In this book, however, as in the previous two, the main character is Atta Olivia Clemens, who as a lover of Saint-Germain's became a vampire when she died, back in the Rome of the Emperor Nero (in the third book of the series, "Blood Games".)

This book is set in France during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, which is the period during and slightly after the time of Cardinal Richelieu of "The Three Musketeers" fame. The "d'Artagnan" of the title is based on the historical Charles d'Artagnan on whom Dumas based his hero, not on the fictional hero himself.

In some ways, this book is better than the two previous books focusing on Olivia; my major complaint about them, that Olivia's vampiric powers were downplayed too severely, does not apply to this book. But I have a very major problem with EXTREMELY major plot points happening offstage, and the reader being informed of them after the fact and given an insufficient description of events to follow the action. This was badly done, and is a major part of my failure to rate this book more highly. Also, the editing did not seem as tight as in the previous entries; far too many typos and incorrect word usage (being "adverse" to something, rather than "averse", etc) managed to slip through. I hope this trend doesn't continue into the later books in the series.

This is an enjoyable read, better than some in the series, certainly not as good as "Tempting Fate", the fifth book in the series.

An Italian Queen, A French cardinal, a Gascon guard and a Roman vampire..Ironically, Olivia is pressed into diplomatic service..for the Church! A respectable Roman widow can hardly refuse a request from that source, so she sets up house at the French court and tries to inject a little vampirish long -sighted rationality into the political scene that wiped out all three Musketeers. Naturally, Dumas' great lover becomes Olivia's. Naturally, she hopes this is the one who will last..forever. Unfortunately, no mortal can ever be quite as heroic as a vampire with a mission..but they will try. Poor Olivia..poor St. Germain! (oh, Ms. Yarbro, why do crucial plot twists have to happen in a letter from offstage?) not as good as others in the series, but any book in the vampire chronicles is better than most..

In A Candle for D'Artagnan, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has provided Atta Olivia Clemens with her ultimate reward, a lover who embraces her life cheerfully, passionately and with respect. Yarbro borrows D'Artagnan, the unlettered Gascon hero of the Dumas Musketeer novels, and gives him a new stature as Olivia's ultimate partner. Dumas would have been proud, if he had recovered from his shock.

It is a pleasure -- albeit a bittersweet one -- to read this best of the Olivia books and realize that if there had been no Count de Saint-Germain, one would still want to know this brave, wise woman who only incidentally has lived for centuries.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has definitely written better Saint-Germain books. _Communion Blood_ takes the vampire hero to 17th-century Rome, where he gets embroiled in a real-estate dispute, Papal politics, and the composition of an opera (with music great Alessandro Scarlatti, no less). As always, Yarbro's historical research is adequate (although not nearly as impressive as her fans always seem to insist it is). But not only is the plot tedious, the characters are absolutely cardboard and inconsistent. As for Saint-Germain, he has almost no personality at all, except to serve as a vaguely-defined fantasy version of the Perfect-In-Control-But-Sensitive-Almost-To-The-Point-of-Being-Annoying Male.

Overall, this book has the feel of having been written in a terrible rush. Yarbro has a tendency to put stilted, verbose language in her characters' mouths when she means them to be elegant or clever. Even worse, whoever edited the book deserves to be fired: on average, a typo, a grammatical error, or gross misspelling occurs once every five pages ("roughian" instead of "ruffian," or "thredony" rather than "threnody," for example). Not to nitpick, but when you're reading an author whose reputation is based largely on her research skills and her intelligent use of language, it jars quite a bit to read prose that looks like it's been proofread by a middle-school student.

Communion Blood is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's 12th novel featuring the vampire Count Saint-Germain. Saint-Germain is in Rome to come to Niklos' aid, whose right to keep Olivia's property is being challenged by a man with close ties to the Church and government. Saint-Germain must find a way to help Niklos and keep their own true nature a secret--the Count is a vampire; Niklos a ghoul. The story has other fascinating sub-plots and supporting characters, such as the penitent whom Saint-Germain tries to help and the musician Scarletti. Yarbro's research and writing continues to be impeccable and fascinating. Encore! Bring on # 13!

I have followed Saint-Germain now for over 15 years. I fell in love with the vampire and the historical settings and people that Yarbro placed her vampire in and around. For a while there Saint-Germain was silent, and when the novels once again started coming forth, I was extremely happy. Unfortunately, the stories and situations that were written about were so extremely dark and depressing that it still takes me a long time to build up the courage to begin a new Saint-Germain book. I am very happy to say that Communion Blood and Blood Roses were extremely wonderful to read. Not that there wasn't darkness because there is in abundance especially where the Roman Catholic Church touches. However, there is a great deal of hope that shines through in Saint-Germain and those that touch his life which was very unlike what was portrayed in Mansions of Darkness, Better in the Dark, or even Tempting Fate. I would highly recommend this book not only for the historical accuracy and removed-blinders look at the power that the Roman Catholic Church wielded, but for a real glimpse of why Saint-Germain still remains even more human than many of us today.

This novel is the first in a growing and very successful series about the vampire le Comte de St. Germain, known also as Prinz Ragoczy of Transylvania, among other lesser aliases. So if you've encountered any of the other books in the series, you doubtless know yourself whether you want to read this one or not: if you've enjoyed the others, you no doubt want to read the original; if you haven't, you probably don't.

But for those of you who are not familiar with the series, I can honestly say that I highly recommend this book, it may not seem it, based on the three star rating I've given it, but I truly do enjoy it. It is well-written, well-researched, (it's set in mid-18th century France) has a compelling plot and exquisite characters.

So why do I only rate it three stars? Three reasons, really; one is that in spite of my visceral liking for the book, my head insists on pointing out that the style is rather too close to a Gothic romance for my taste (if you enjoy both Gothic romance and horror, ignore this quibble; you'll definitely like this book) the second is that I find a stylistic affectation of the author's annoying: every "section" of the book begins with an excerpt from some sort of correspondence between the characters, and every chapter ends the same way. Now, I have nothing against using correspondence between characters as needed to further the plot, but to do it so formulaically seems to me, as I say, an affectation. It seems forced. The third reason is that I find the ending, if not unsatisfying, a bit baffling. I can't say more without revealing more of the plot than would be fair, but suffice it to say that I felt that a very major point in the "Epilogue" went unexplained and unjustified.

Other than that, however, I find little to object to. This is for the most part a very well-written book, and certainly an enjoyable one.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Hotel Transylvania (Signet, 1978)

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has been doing her thing for quite a while now, and doing it rather successfully. Nothing has brough her more success, or a wider readership, than the Comte de Saint-Germain chronicles, a series of books about an ageless vampire set against different timeframes. The whole series is well-known for its attention to detail and stunning descriptions of life at the various times and in the various places where Saint-Germain (and the main characters in the spinoff series that have sprung from this) has his adventures.

The series' first novel in set in France in 1743, as Saint-Germain meets one of the great loves of his life, Madelaine de Montalia. Madelaine's reaction to Saint-Germain's rather bizarre history isn't the usual fainting-and-horrified-looks one expects in a vampire novel, and thus the framework here lends itself more to gothic romance than it does to straight-out horror. However, the horror elements find their way into the book in a subplot involving the renewal of a thirty-year-old enmity between Saint-Germain and another French petty noble, Saint Sebastien.

While there is certainly enough going on here to make Hotel Transylvania a stand-alone novel in itself, it's obvious that Yarbro was gearnig up to make Saint-Germain into a series character, and so many passages in the book have the sense of being a setup for a larger picture. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though other authors have drawn out the necessary setup into more than one novel to make it less obtrusive. The longstanding success of the series shows that the fans don't have a problem with it; it's doubtful readers of horror fiction new to Yarbro and/or Saint-Germain will, either. *** 1/2

If you like historical fiction, vampires and romance, you are in for a treat. Hotel Transylvania is the first in a long line of novels featuring le Comte de St. Germain, an exiled nobleman trying to survive in a world not ready to accept him. Old when Christ walked the earth, St. Germain is a compelling character presented with style, grace and a compassion. In this first novel St Germain meets the woman of his dreams. A woman compassionate enough to accept what he truly is and strong enough to embrace him.

For more than 20 years I have been a fan of this series. This is the first novel I took out from the library when I got my "Adult reader card" long long ago, and it's the one that got me hooked. Though many of the subsequent novels are set earlier in history and can be read out of order without losing anything in the story, this one starts the wheel turning. Each book also contains a little bit of St. Germain's history that none of the other's do. Trying to piece together the chronology of this character's life, where he has been and who he has known, is almost as much fun as the stories themselves. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.

While not a Saint Germain novel, this has some of the same themes: how to act rationally in an irrational time, honor, alchemy, being an outsider. It's primary characters are a discharged Polish army captain Arkady who was fighting the Turks in 1524 who buys a beautiful blind Indian-Tibetan-Chinese -- could you tell I was unclear -- slave Suratta who is able to fight her enemies in shared visions during tantric sex. They travel from Hungary to Kyrgyztan and perhaps into China to battle the bad guy who took her sight, killed her family, and wants to plunge the world into darkness. It's a good vs. evil quest book, but it's more and better too.

This is a great book! The characters have a great deal of depth and personality. I have been looking for this book ever since I read it at the library. Unfortunately it's out of print, but it's worth pursuing regardless.

Fans of Yarbro's sympathetic vampire will recall the conflicted horse trainer Tishtry from "Blood Games." I used Amazon's out-of-print book search to get this novel and am very satisfied to have it. It is a juvenile novel but still interesting for fans of Saint Germain, even though he appears only very briefly at the end. The novel is not as dark as "False Dawn" or "Dead and Buried" but is not a typically cheerful story for young teens.

The novel details Tishtry's career as a stunt rider years before her fame at the Circus Maximus in Rome, the situation of her family's slavery and her determination to free them. Very interesting was the detail concerning the rights of slaves in the Roman Empire, something not stressed in "Blood Games."

Tishtry passes from master to master, performing in small provincial cities until she is on the brink of accomplishing her dreams: performing for Nero in Rome and freeing her family. Will a morally and financially corrupt master shatter those dreams?

Or second in the "Olivia" series, depending on how you look at it.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the Saint-Germain series is a series of historical "horror" novels (although the horror element is tenuous at best, based purely on the fact that the main characters are vampires, and "vampire fiction" is considered a subgenre of "horror fiction"; actually, "historical romance" is closer to accurate) in which the main character is the vampire Saint-Germain, who has lived as a vampire since roughly 1500-2000 BCE. In this book, however, as in the last, the main character is Atta Olivia Clemens, who as a lover of Saint-Germain's, became a vampire when she died, back in the time of Nero in Imperial Rome (in the third book of the series, "Blood Games").

This book is set in the late twelfth Century, during the time of the third Crusade.

As with "A Flame In Byzantium", the previous book featuring Olivia as the main character, I found this book somewhat disappointing, mainly because Olivia's power as a vampire is radically downplayed. Mostly, the only indication we have of her vampiric nature is her disabilities: her susceptability to light and water, her inability to eat normal food, etc. Her power is DISCUSSED, but never seen. Granted, there are more episodes in this book than in the last in which she is shown acting intrepidly, but never really in any way that could not have been accomplished by a reasonably heroic mortal woman. In the books that feature Saint Germain, we invariably see him demonstrating surprising power for his diminutive frame, or in some other way showing the reader his vampiric power (always subtly enough not to tip his hand to other characters, of course.) And certainly, Yarbro paints Olivia as a sufficiently independant-minded and resourceful woman that one cannot easily accuse her of the intention of writing female characters that are helpless damsels waiting to be rescued. So the question is: WHY do we never get to see Olivia use the "exceptional strength" that we keep hearing that she has? Just as it has been, in previous books, quite cathartic to see short, dapper Saint Germain beat the stuffing out of, say, five proto-Nazis each of whom had eight inches and eighty pounds on him, in this book there were several situations in which it would have been quite satisfying to see Olivia do something similar, and it could easily enough have been arranged. Instead, the author very carefully arranges the circumstances so that when Olivia has to fight, it is without the advantage of her powers. Just once, I'd like to see her demonstrate the ADVANTAGES of being a vampire.

This is a well-written book, excellent if what you want is a historical novel of the time period. But as a vampire novel, it's more than a little bit lacking.

Well, this novel proves what I've been saying to fellow SG fans all along..Olivia Rocks!

Filled with action and taut moments, Yarbro really shows us Olivia at her best. Strong, heroic, sympathetic and sexy (the 'dream' sequence is amazing), it's no wonder Bondama Clemens is one of Saint-Germain's favorite ladies.

I have to admit, I missed the Count's actual presence in this book, but there are several references made to him and he's definately there in spirit.

I enjoyed the Olivia-Niklos interraction. What a great team those two make!

I'm giving this 4 stars because of the lack of 'Saint-Germain'-ness, but it's still a great read, nonetheless.

This book is part of a series about an almost-immortal vampire, Olivia Clemens; Olivia's stories are a spin-off from Yarbro's main series about the 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 if we have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Elements. 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, and is a continuing series. Olivia, the heroine of this book, is a woman of ancient Rome whom St. Germain has turned into a vampire; this book is one of several written about her rather than about St. Germain. St. Germain and Olivia are definitely good guys, using the knowledge they've gained in hundreds of years of living to help others. There are a few characters that continue from book to book besides these two. Ghouls are the only other supernatural characters who appear in these books. Olivia can stand daylight with the right preparations. She has unusual strength, but not limitless, and unusual wisdom, but there are no other overt magic powers. Olivia has an occupation of being an aristocrat and landowner, insofar as that was a full-time occupation through most of history. Yarbro's vampires do not literally drink blood; they feed on emotions, usually during erotic experiences, but sex is nonetheless only a minor plot element, rare and very discreet. The series as a whole 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. 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.

Crusader's Torch is set in 1189 C.E., more than a millenium after Olivia has first entered the life of a vampire. The scenes include the Middle East during one of the Christian Crusades; the orders of the Knights Hospitaler and Knights Templar are major players in the story. The gist of the story is Olivia's struggle to get out of Tyre and back to Rome. Women are not held in high regard in this period, and Olivia's independence offends a highly placed Hospitaler; among the "good guys" are a Templar who gets thrown out of his order on suspician of leprosy. We catch a glimpse of an offshoot Christian sect, as we do in some of the other St. Germain novels, one based on absolute love and acceptance. Someday I would like to see Yarbro write an alternate history in which that is the main path the Catholic Church took... meanwhile, the details of sin and penance as conceived of in the 12th century provide a story that everyone who likes the series will enjoy, and those who haven't read the rest of the series will nonetheless find this a fine historical novel.

If, like me, you've read all of the St. Germain Chronicles, you will want to read Come Twilight, but if you're just starting to read Yarbro's vampire books, I don't recommend you start with this one. Since the St. Germain books range through time from ancient Egypt to the outbreak of World War II, it is understandable that Yarbro has some difficulty in creating narrative tension concerning St.Germain, when she writes about his life during an earlier period of history. Nevertheless, there is less narrative tension here than in many of the books in the series. It is true, as mentioned in the review printed with this book, that Yarbro does not ascribe to historical persons 21st century attitudes. It is also true that this can be a weakness, as well as a strength, in her work. It can become tiresome to read about female characters with no scope for change in their lives, or people, such as Csimenae (the female vampire character in this book), who are incapable of learning or experiencing emotional growth and intellectual change. Even St. Germain and his relationship with Roger can
sometimes become just so much rote behavioral habit. Come Twilight made me long for the passion and fire and narrative drive of the earlier books in the series, such as Roman Blood, Path of the Eclipse, and Tempting Fate.

Since we know that St. Germain will survive into the 20th century, the narrative drive has to come largely through the supporting characters in the novels. The supporting characters in this particular novel, however, were just not sufficiently compelling to make me care about their survival.

This series is terrific. I read some of them a while ago, and am re-reading them now (and now there are even more in the series, so there's no danger of running out any time soon!)

There's some moral preaching, and the series does tend to be repetitive; the people follow trends. [...]

(Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.)

That said, that's my only beef with it. The writing is lovely, the letters to and from the characters and the notes describing what happened to the letters - weather they made it or not - are wonderful. The history comes to life and seems like a place just around the corner; you can see the mountains, touch the trees. You feel the differnt colors of the story.

This book represents a break from the series' tradition of plot: St Germain sets himself up in a place, meets people, gets himself a few friends and a few enemies, meets a lovely woman and sometimes an icky woman, gets into trouble and has to leave under bad circumstances. In this case, he makes a vampire out of a woman... and ooooh boy was that a mistake. It's sort of three related novelettes, taking place over some time. It isn't resolved completely at the end, thus the title of this review: I smell a sequel....

I actually like this book all the more for it's breaking from the traditional plot of her others. It's nice to know that while history may repeat itself, Chelsea Quin Yarbro doesn't have to.

Come Twilight is one of the most powerful Saint-Germain novels that Yarbro has written to date. As usual, her writing and historical research is top-notch; the reader feels like they are part of Spanish history, be it the 7th, 8th, or 12th century. This book is darker, bloodier, and more disturbing than many of Yarbro's, but given the long history of what is now Spain, nothing seems out of place.

My favorite part of the book was the character of Csimenae, and seeing how she grew from a strong-willed woman to an utterly evil vampire. This character is probably one of Yarbro's most terrifying creations.

I also liked how we more about Roger in this book, as well as other parts of Saint-Germain's long, undead life. We also see Olivia through the letters; another great character.

I hope Yarbro will have another Saint-Germain book out soon!