Hell Hole - Recommendations - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Communion Blood

A novel of Saint-Germain set in the late 1600s. Niklos Aulirios, Olivia Atta Clemen’s ghoul servant inherited her estates on her death. Thirty years later, he is faced with a challenge to his inheritance, and he needs help from Saint-Germain in protecting Olivia’s wishes. The holdings are just outside Rome, and this is a dangerous place and time for both of them, with the clergy as powerful as ever and social requirements exacting and difficult, especially for foreigners.
Saint-Germain agrees, and while he is present, rebuilds the villa where Olivia died, and has to come to terms with her loss. The case is difficult and not helped by the fact that the church has its own ideas about who should inherit the estates.
Yarbro describes the social life of Rome and its intrigues in rich detail, showing the cruel excesses of the time as well as its opulence and intricate manners. Saint-Germain must also fulfil his vampiric needs in this dangerous place, and his gynocentric sexuality is explored in some detail. His compassion and broad mind causes trouble, as always. This is a wonderfully atmospheric book, and fans of Saint-Germain will love it.
©Helen Knibb 1999

Blood Roses

The latest in the Count Saint-Germain series

A novel of Saint-Germain set in the 14^th century, with the plague advancing on Saint-Germain and Rogres at their peaceful home in Provence. The plague cannot harm either, but it brings with it times of distrust and fear, and though Saint-Germain should flee for his life, he cannot help but try to alleviate the suffering around him with his skills, which are inevitably interpreted as acts of diabolical subversion. Yarbro always writes vividly of the past and this book is as rich as the previous volumes, showing the hypocrisy and fear that assaulted the populations devastated by the plague and the ignorance which makes it far more savagely destructive. In times such as these, all kindness is misinterpreted, as is foreignness and unfamiliarity. Saint-Germain should flee for his life, and yet he is unable to ignore such suffering, and this brings him into ever greater danger. As always, he is the model of courtliness and courtesy even when he is under the greatest possible pressure. A brilliant and page turning novel. If you are a vampire fan, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's demon lover is a must, and her ability to sustain interest in Saint-Germain means that it is possible to read about favourite historical periods while making the acquaintance of her exiled hero. Highly recommended.
©Helen Knibb 1999

Writ in Blood
	Spanning centuries, the saga of the immortal Count Saint-Germain is an ambitious and engrossing feat of the imagination that rivals the Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s fascinating and dramatic novels have captured Saint- Germain throughout his long existence, from the temples of ancient Egypt to our present century. Writ in Blood now brings the Count to a world on the brink of war.... 1910: The great powers of Europe are united by ties of blood, but divided by conflicting ambitions and alliances. Now residing in Russia, Saint-Germain accepts an urgent commission from Czar Nicholas to deliver a top-secret peace proposal to the Czar’s kinsmen, King Edward VII of England and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. The Czar dares not trust his own ministers; only through Saint- Germain can he hope to avert the coming war.
But the Count’s mission attracts dangerous enemies, most notably Baron Von Wolgast, a scheming manufacturer of munitions who sees no profit in peace. Employing a network of spies and assassins, Von Wolgast plots against Saint-Germain, and when the Count becomes involved with Rowena Saxon, an independent-minded young artist, she too becomes a target of the Baron’s malevolence.
Observing all the intrigue is the shadowy figure of Sidney Reilly, the legendary British secret agent, who is determined to uncover all of the Count’s secrets, no matter where the trail may lead....
Writ in Blood is a captivating tale that will enthral readers new to the saga as well as those who have always savoured the work of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
Out of the House of Life
	Reprint. Originally published in 1990. A novel of Saint-Germain. The narrative is divided between the fortunes of Madelaine de Montalia, a pioneer archaeologist on an expedition in Egypt, and the early life of Saint-Germain in the house of Imhotep, where he spent a third of his long life. Madelaine is a vampire, and she has to combat not only her peculiar difficulties with excavating in the sun, but the scorn in which she is held by the men she works with who have a low opinion of women. Since she is funding the expedition, though, they can’t get rid of her. In addition to these obstacles to gaining the insights she desires, she must also fit into the politics in Egypt, which are extremely dangerous to women, especially educated women.
Saint-Germain writes her letters, telling her of his past in the temples, and giving her insights into the finds they make. The narrative weaves in the life he lead in old Egypt, and the story of his long metamorphosis from a bloodthirsty demon to healer and scholar in service of the Egyptian gods. As ever, the historical detail is richly captivating, contrasting the status of women – and vampires - across millennia. Highly recommended. ©Helen Knibb 1999

Mansions of Darkness
	Yarbro's creation, Count Saint-Germain, has evolved into quite an intriguing character as her novels have followed his adventures through the Centuries. He's far more introspective and ethical than Anne Rice's more famous and flamboyant vampire, Lestat. In this novel, the Count's endless travels bring him to seventeenth century Peru, where he finds passion as well as solace for his loneliness in the arms of an Inca Priestess. But mighty Spain has conquered the Inca - and brought the dreaded attention of the Holy Inquisition to the New World.


Better In The Dark
	The long awaited chapter in the undead existence of the immortal Count saint-Germain: the story of Ranegonda of Saxony, one of the three great loves of saint-Garmain's life. In 937AD the Saxon fortress of Leosan is under the almost unheard rule of a woman. The Gerefa of the fortress has become a monk, leaving his sister, Ranegonda to rule in his name. Into this tense and dire situation comes Saint-Germain. Shipwrecked on the Baltic shore, near the true death, he is found by Ranegonda, whom he will come to love for the gift of blood she gives him, and for her own indomitable spirit.


Darker Jewls

In her rich and complex tale of the wanderings of Count Saint-Germain, Yarbro brings to vivid life the dark and bloody 16th Century court of Ivan IV, or more commonly, Ivan the Terrible.
Underlying this absorbing and historically accurate work is a deep melancholy, reflecting both the immortal vampire's lost past and the tortured workings of the Russian soul - Publisher's Weekly


Also from Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

The Angry Angel (Sisters of the Night) In Bram Stoker's dark classic Dracula, three "weird sisters," make a brief but unforgettable appearance. The beautiful, mad brides of the vampire lord, their untold histories are at last revealed to us in SISTERS OF THE NIGHT, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's brilliant reimagining of a timeless legend.