As the Catholic Church fights to maintain its power base they attack anything that smacks of the least bit of heresy. Book publishers are especially suspect by the Spanish Inquisition in the Lowlands because of their power to disseminate information outside of Church control.
As if this isn't enough for the Count to concern himself with, he is also the target of a plot in Venice to fleece him of his fortune by unscrupulous members of the ruling class. Of course there are also the constant worries that accompany his "condition" which living in Venice can only exasperate. Since both running water and sunlight are anathema to vampires he must take sizable precautions in order to carry out a semblance of a normal life.
Of course being under increased scrutiny from the Church in the Lowlands and the spies of the ruling class in Venice also increases the chances of his true nature being discovered. Since the un dead are one of the few things that both Catholics and Protestants would agree on, it means he has to be highly circumspect and discreet.
It's obvious that Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has done her research. The attention to detail of everything from style of dress to foods eaten and served in the different parts of Europe at the time alone is breathtaking. Combined with a deft hand at descriptive narrative and knowledge of the political temperament of the time, she gives her reader a glimpse into another time and place.
Unfortunately it's the details that are the undoing of the story. While it is one thing to describe what someone is wearing, it's another all together itemize every single garment. Although the inclusion of a tailors' bill might be considered by some as a sign of verisimilitude on the part of the author, the constant interruptions of flow caused by such descriptive passages were more distracting than informative.
Considering the time period, the locations, and the nature of the central character I had expectations of something a little more involving and engrossing. Intrigues in Venice, confrontations with the Spanish Inquisition and a vampire all in the same story had me hoping for something a little more compelling.
Instead the author's detached language and adherence to a formalness of style reduces even the most interesting confrontations to almost bloodless debates. Even the more notorious aspects of a vampire's lifestyle are skipped over, with more emphasis placed on Count Saint – Germain as a romantic hero type figure.
Article comments