Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 4/30/2018 + 1032 more book reviews

This is the first St. Germain novel, and a long time since I read it. I'm not a "fan", but I think I've read most of these. It's interesting how Yarbro has evolved St. Germain. He starts out much the same - learned, elegant, compassionate, avoiding conflict wherever he can. But in this novel he seems to have more superhuman characteristics than I remember from later novels. He has incredible strength, he can turn into a wolf, pretty sure he has the ability to hypnotize people at least a little. I wonder how much backstory Yarbro built for him before she started this book, because there's lots of references here about which later books are written. Also this is more of a soft horror novel than the historical/political themes of the later books. St. Germain falls for Madeleine, but Madeline's father signed a pact with a Satanic cult "giving" his firstborn to them. Although he's repented, they're still after her. Lots of scenes with the Satanists torturing people, although it's fairly mild compared with most mainstream horror. There are the descriptions of clothes, architecture, and some food of the time. Still a good read after all these years.

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