Another Excellent book by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro in the continuing adventures of the immortal Saint Germain.
We find our favorite immortal shipwrecked and in dire straits as he is so very weak and washed ashore too tangled in the wreckage of his ship to free himself. He is found and freed by Ranegonda. A woman in a strange position as gerefa of a nearby castle. Her brother abandoned his duties as gerefa and became a monk, leaving her to be ruler in his stead. A bond of blood and trust slowly develops between the Saxon Ranegonda and St. Germain. As time moves on you begin to understand why she became one of the great loves of his immortal existance and though not brought to immortality herself, she lives on in his heart and memories.
I thought the book very well written and do recommend it to those who enjoy Yarbro's historical vampire tales, and perhaps to those who have yet to make him their own. A most strong yet romantic lover, and a great sense of justice make you wish to encounter him some evening yourself.
We find our favorite immortal shipwrecked and in dire straits as he is so very weak and washed ashore too tangled in the wreckage of his ship to free himself. He is found and freed by Ranegonda. A woman in a strange position as gerefa of a nearby castle. Her brother abandoned his duties as gerefa and became a monk, leaving her to be ruler in his stead. A bond of blood and trust slowly develops between the Saxon Ranegonda and St. Germain. As time moves on you begin to understand why she became one of the great loves of his immortal existance and though not brought to immortality herself, she lives on in his heart and memories.
I thought the book very well written and do recommend it to those who enjoy Yarbro's historical vampire tales, and perhaps to those who have yet to make him their own. A most strong yet romantic lover, and a great sense of justice make you wish to encounter him some evening yourself.
"In the year 938 A.D., the Count Saint-Germain has suffered a shipwreck along the northern coast of the German lands. Nearly dead, he is taken to the Saxon fortress town of Leosan to be held for ransom. Deprived of his freedom and without his servant Roger, the vampire Count must survive on his own." I liked this episode better than a couple of the previous; Yarbro uses St. Germain as a prop to write about various historical periods, but sometimes there is so much political intrigue that I find it rather dull. This book is more personal. The trials of life in a remote fortress in the Dark Ages, with bandits, the church and the king all trying to take what you made for their own are interesting. As always you don't want to look too closely at how St. Germain manages to live - here he is, in a massively superstitious world where every event is examined for omens, but the woman he loves is blithely accepting that he's a vampire and will turn her into one. At least this time he's not beset on all sides just because he's a foreigner. I liked the depiction of the times and the pacing is quite good.
