Roman Dusk

Roman Dusk is the 19th book in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Saint-Germain cycle. This is a series of books about an ancient vampire named Saint-Germain. It is not the 19th in chronological order, however. Yarbro’s Saint-Germain novels tend to spotlight differing periods in this very long-lived vampire’s life. Each one details a period of two or three years as the vampire travels and accordingly a different period of history. These books are almost as interesting for their historical information as for their intrigue and romance and vampire aspects.

Saint-Germain isn’t the typical horror vampire who is feared and abhorrent. He is cultured, humane, thoughtful and caring. These traits set him apart from the rest of humanity almost as much as his long life and need for blood. What sets him apart from your average literary vampire is his ability to receive sustenance from human emotions apart from their blood. In other words, he has no need to kill other humans to keep him alive.

In Roman Dusk, the reader finds Saint-Germain back in third century Rome, utilizing his skills as a physician and a merchant. As a foreigner and a wealthy man, he attracts the overzealous attention of a greedy low-level tax collector. Along with the scrutiny of his affairs by the officials, he also has to deal with the dysfunctional family of an ailing Roman matriarch whose health he is attempting to improve.

There isn’t a great deal of action in this novel. Quite a bit of information is given to the reader through a series of letters from those in Saint-Germain’s employ, his bondsman and another vampire friend. I found this to be the most challenging part of the story. Each letter gives us an idea of the travails of being a merchant trader of the day. However, it isn’t always easy to understand what pieces of information are pertinent or even true. As we find out later, many of the letters have been intercepted by thieves and re-written to provide misdirection from their misdeeds.

While I have found many of Yarbro’s Saint-Germain novels to be interesting and enjoyable reads, I won’t label this as one of my favorites. The actual story seemed rather thin. I felt that the author overused the letter device and let it detract from the telling of her story instead of enhancing it. I normally enjoy the historical detail that she clearly researches meticulously, the characters that she’s created and their complexities, and the fascinating dynamic between Saint-Germain, his bondsman and Olivia another vampire. Unfortunately, these wonderful characters have a well-realized historical setting and nothing to do. It just wasn’t as exciting as most of the tales of Saint-Germain usually are.

Other Reviews of works by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

BORNE IN BLOOD - Feb 18, 2008