Blood Maidens

James Asher #3

by Barbara Hambly

The new 'James Asher' vampire novel from the best-selling author It's 1911. War is coming, and according to one of the vampires of St. Petersburg, the Kaiser is trying to recruit vampires. James Asher, Oxford don and formerly on His Majesty's Secret Service, is forced to team up again with his vampire partner Don Simon Ysidro for a journey to the subarctic Russian capital. Are they on the trail of a rogue vampire with a plan to achieve the power to walk in daylight? Asher wonders. Or is Ysidro's real agenda to seek the woman he once loved?

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Urban Fantasy

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2010

About the author

aka Barbara Hamilton

Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.


"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly

Reviews

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another mesmerizing novel from Barbara Hambly. Don't let the melodramatic titles in this series fool you - Hambly is an excellent writer, and Don Simon Ysidro is one of my favorite literary vampires.

This story is set in 1911. Asher, the Oxford don and former British spy, teams up once again with Don Ysidro (more or less willingly, this time) when one of the vampire's long-time aquaintances in St. Petersburg disappears. Just before her disappearance, she wrote to Ysidro about a German doctor who was possibly teaming up with a vampire to do research with an eye towards harnessing vampirism for the benefit of the Kaiser. Asher and Ysidro travel across pre-war Europe looking for clues, while Lydia Asher immerses herself in the high society of St. Petersburg, trying to sort through the gossip and the popular mysticism of the time for clues of her own.

The plot is not the strongest point of the novel - nor was it in the previous two books. The interaction between the Ashers and Ysidro, however, is fascinating.

Don Simon Ysidro became a vampire in 1555, after he came to England as part of the retinue of King Philip of Spain who married the English Queen Mary Tudor. He's a romantic figure, even an honorable one - but there is no denying that he kills humans in order to continue his existence. Has been killing humans for 350 years. The Ashers know that they should kill him, and they've have had the opportunity to do so more than once. Yet Ysidro has kept his word to them, and has saved their lives on several occasions. Against their will he has become almost a friend - actually more than a friend to Lydia Asher. The conflict in their hearts when they consider Ysidro is the backbone of these novels.

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me begin by congratulating the publisher on their find. I assume their goal was to discover the most hideous cover imaginable and they succeeded. Congrats!

Barbara Hambly is a writer with a beautiful, lyrical voice who lends thoughtfulness and depth to vampire fiction. I discovered her book Those Who Hunt the Night back when it was first published in the 1980s. It is a brilliant work, nuanced and intelligent, tackling the glamour of the world of the vampires without losing any of the horror of the idea of a being that kills to live. I absolutely loved it.

For me,though, this third book in the James Asher series was simply a rehash of the first two. As in the first book, we have people wanting to create a daylight immortal. As in the second novel, we meet the vampires of exotic places. And of course, we hang with the truly awesome Don Simon Ysidro, a being who is so artfully crafted that in spite of his cold hearted, deadly nature you find yourself wishing he was real and you could meet him. But nothing moved forward in the plot, we learned nothing new of the nature of vampires, we covered old ground with beloved characters. Sometimes that is fun but sometimes it isn't enough and that was the case for me here. I will continue to read the books but I hope that the next two in the series show a bit more creativity.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the first two books in this series, I anticipated another enjoyable page turner with good characterisation. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed: the plot seemed to be rather a rehash of the previous volume, with a great deal of it being a travelogue as James Asher travels across Europe in the company of Don Simon, the 16th century Spanish vampire, while Lydia Asher pours over documentation in pre-Revolution Russia to track down information on a particular woman who has vampire traits but can walk in daylight without instantly burning up.

It is understandable that Simon keeps James away from the vampires in the various cities they visit in search of information that would uncover a plot to create vampires as the perfect killing machines for the Kaiser on the brink of what became World War I given the terrible injuries James has suffered from such encounters in previous books, yet it meant that a lot of the action took place off stage with James just kept up to speed with notes Simon left for him to read in daylight. The action doesn't really take off till about two thirds through when both Ashers fall into the clutches of various villains. For me this volume was a disappointment after the suspenseful writing of the first two so I can only award it an OK read of 2 stars.

[Dorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a long-time fan of Barbara Hambly, and especially of her Asher&Ysidro series, so I was delighted to finally get my hands on this third installment in it (hooray for ebooks! I never saw it in the bookshops).

It felt a bit derivative to begin with, as James and Ysidro set out to track down a vampire that may or may not be able to walk in the sun (an issue in book one of the series), and may or may not be being recruited by a human government (a major issue in book two). However, this time the trail takes them to St Petersburg, and despite the superficial similarities, the plot is sufficiently different from the previous books' that my misgivings were soon allayed.

This book featured more moral qualms and soul-searching on James' part than the previous ones - and also more trouble leading from his previous life as a government agent. But there was also plenty of what I love about this series - James exercising spycraft, Lydia researching and gossiping, Ysidro being snooty, the interactions between all three, the excellently-drawn historical setting...

I think "Travelling with the Dead" is still my favourite book in this series, but this one is also very good. (And I got a mention in the Acknowledgements, which is very exciting!)

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably say this every time I review a Barbara Hambly novel: I've loved her books for years. She wrote vampire novels before they were clichéd, the series that began with Those Who Hunt the Night, of which this is the third book.

Her use of metaphor and simile is one of the loveliest things I know of in fiction. "The woman put back her veil – champagne-colored point-lace that wouldn't have stopped a glance, let alone sunlight". "Ellen bridled like a coy percheron." There are few authors who can come close to matching her, and none can surpass her. Her sentences are things of beauty which create miracles of character and setting. In a sea of mediocre freebies and ARCs, she is utterly reliable. "Reliable" may not be one of the sexier compliments one can give – but when it comes to reliable enjoyability, reliable skill, reliable wonder, reliable joy … every author should be so complimentable.

[Adelais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Наступний роман с серії про Лідію і Джеймса Ешерів та вампіра дона Сімона. Тут вони переживали пригоди у Санкт-Петербурзі, бо треба чи то знайти колись кохану дона Сімона, а то знову попередити працевлаштування вампірів у військо. Мені сподобалось, але Распутін і майже обов'язкове гроно журавлини про загадкові сніги і душу теж присутні.

[Michelle Villmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Installment #3 of the Asher series takes Jamie and Don Simon to Russia and Lydia soon follows. They find vampires walking in daylight and discover a love story that surely can't end well and while this unfolds, Lydia continues to struggle with emotions and feelings for Simon she finds it more and more difficult to deny. Barbara Hambly has penned another masterpiece in this thrilling..and chilling..series

[Jacqie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I pretty much like anything Barbara Hambly writes. Admittedly, her straight historical novels haven't grabbed me as much as her mysteries or fantasy work. This book returns to Don Simon Ysidro, vampire, and his human acquaintances/pawns James Asher and wife Lydia. This time, we get to go to St Petersburg, which is just as lush, corrupt, and intriguing as one could wish. Don Ysidro may be my favorite vampire. He is inhuman, honorable in an ancient sort of way, but clearly a predator who cannot be trusted by people. No sparkles, no moonsick maundering over a seventeen year old girl, no tortured darkness. He's accepted what he is long ago. The fascination between Lydia and Ysidro is explored sympathetically- he's a predator who uses seduction as a hunting tool. Lydia knows this, and yet can't disengage her emotions.
The endless trains from Moscow to Warsaw to Berlin to Munich to Nurnberg take up perhaps too much of this book, which was surprisingly short. That's about the only complaint I have. I hope we get more of these characters.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably say this every time I review a Barbara Hambly novel: I've loved her books for years. She wrote vampire novels before they were clichéd, the series that began with Those Who Hunt the Night, of which this is the third book.

Her use of metaphor and simile is one of the loveliest things I know of in fiction. "The woman put back her veil – champagne-colored point-lace that wouldn't have stopped a glance, let alone sunlight". "Ellen bridled like a coy percheron." There are few authors who can come close to matching her, and none can surpass her. Her sentences are things of beauty which create miracles of character and setting. In a sea of mediocre freebies and ARCs, she is utterly reliable. "Reliable" may not be one of the sexier compliments one can give – but when it comes to reliable enjoyability, reliable skill, reliable wonder, reliable joy … every author should be so complimentable.

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't agree with the reviews that describe this as a rehash of Travelling With the Dead (James Asher #2) but set in St. Petersburg instead of Istanbul. While some of the plot is similar - humans motivated by scientific curiosity and/or national interest attempt to "improve" on vampirism with tragic results - this is a major theme of the series, and, to be honest, one of the few situations that would realistically force humans and the undead into alliance with each other. As in the two previous books, the POV goes between James Asher (linguist and folklorist, now retired from British intelligence), and his wife, Doctor Lydia Asher (non-practicing medical doctor and researcher). The vampire Don Simon Ysidro is, as always, important to the story, but, wisely, the author never tells the story from his perspective, which I think is important to maintain uncertainty as to his true feelings, as well as the ambivalence in the Ashers' relationship with him. As the clock in Europe continues to tick towards WWI, Asher has become increasingly troubled about the "Great Game" and the rise in militant nationalism, his part in it, and also, parallels between spies and vampires. An enjoyable read and one that advances the overall themes of the series. However, this installment is rather short (244 pages in fairly large type), which made parts of the book seem a bit rushed. Also, the cover is horrific. It's like a flier for Dracula's Ball. But don't let this spoil your enjoyment of one of my favorite vampire series; I now regret that I put off reading this one so long due to the cover and negative reviews. 4 stars. I'm looking forward to #4 (Magistrates of Hell).

[James Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1910 Europe, starting in England, then bouncing around from Germany to Russia and points in-between, mostly focused on St. Petersburg. A vampire may be working with the Kaiser to create troops for the coming war.

The vampire, Don Simon, brings his human ally, James Asher, in to investigate. Of course, James' wife Lydia ends up involved, due to her medical knowledge and skills with legal records (both helpful when dealing with ancient vampires).

Good story, constant suspense and dangers, in a constant life and death fight to avoid what would be the end of human dominance on the planet.

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a complex plot but the characters shine as always. I continue to love how genuinely gruesome vampires are in this world.

[Mikhail Yukhnovskiy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The James Asher series is really worth reading for the duration of the first two books. Further on is like visiting an old acquaintance only to see that nostalgic memories is all that still attracts you to him\her.

[Katharine Kimbriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

True vampire lovers should know about Hambly’s wonderful books about John Asher, Oxford don and formerly of His Majesty’s Secret Service, and the ancient Spanish vampire Don Simon Ysidro. The series starts with Those Who Hunt the Night, and continues with Traveling with the Dead. In Blood Maidens, we are eighteen months further into the marriage of James and Lydia Asher. It’s 1911, and they have gone on with their lives since the last time vampires and humans were forced to work together.

But Don Simon is powerful enough to slip into human dreams, and he calls James to him to tell him of a disturbing rumor. There may be a rogue vampire working with humans to create a vampire capable of walking in daylight. And the Kaiser of Germany would be very interested in such an agent.

James Asher is no innocent. He knows that his own government would be just as interested in such a thing, and that a terrible war looms on the horizon. Don Simon knows that such a meeting of vampires and humans would be an abomination, a nightmare let loose on the world. But he has no more information – the vampire who wrote to warn him of such a possibility has disappeared.

Don Simon would go to see if his friend is still free, living the vampiric life she chose (though he refused to give it to her, so she found another willing to bring her over into unlife.) But he can not travel without assistance, not without safe places to pass the day. Asher can no longer travel as he did for His Majesty – the other vampires know of him, and most want him dead.

But together? Together they can seek answers to many questions. And in the end, Lydia’s skills as a researcher will be needed as well.

This book has come out from Severn House. It may not have been picked up first by the trades because it starts slowly, intricately, placing you into the atmosphere and time of Hambly’s story. The story is heading for the sub-arctic capital of old Russia, with the White Nights eminent. Few vampires chose to live in the far north, where only the strongest can stay alive during the few hours of darkness of their summer. The names of the cities are evocative, and Hambly uses names proper to the place and time – Köln, Neuehrenfeld, Charlottenstrasse, Bohemia, Ragojskaia Zastava. We slip back and forth between the Gregorian and the Julian calendars, which are still at odds in the story’s time.

Hambly is not sentimental about vampires. They are predators, their few “attractive” traits lures to help them secure prey. Once again, we see that Don Simon is rare in that he still is interested in anything beyond the next hunt. But Hambly as always asks interesting questions about the nature of life and death, of how people use the time they have. Her characters consider the possibility of immortality of a kind, and choose where they will stand when vampires behave as humans, and humans as monsters.

A beautiful, historical look at one view of vampires. You will care about the Ashers and Don Simon, and how it all falls out. I'd recommend starting with the first book, if you can -- I think the layering of the plot will work better for you that way.

[Deborah Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're nauseated by sparkly, angst-ridden teenage vampires, and you like your dark suspense with wit and political savvy, check out Blood Maidens, the third in Barbara Hambly's turn-of-the-century vampire novels. It's as much mystery as it is adventure or spy novel or horror, both fast-paced and literate. It stands well on its own, although the previous two are highly recommended.

Hambly's vampires are neither sparkly nor nice. They're dark and dangerous, and on the eve of World War I, the Kaiser would very much like to enlist them as his agents. Not that this is any concern of the vampires themselves, existing as they do in their own separate, hidden world, one in which even the pleasures of the mind eventually wear away into apathy. (One of the most poignant images in the novel is a once-beloved harp, so long disused that its stings have turned to rust.) Enter James Asher, ex-British spy and former uneasy and unwilling ally of the Renaissance vampire, Don Simon Ysidro. Asher's search for Ysidro's missing friend takes him to St. Petersburg, from its daylight fads for the supernatural and spiritualism, fueled by Rasputin's utterances, to its nightly contest between two claimants to the mastery of the vampire population, to a mysterious woman who by all reason must be a vampire...except she appears in public in daylight. Hambly neatly connects the belief in spontaneous human combustion to the fate of vampires exposed to sunlight.

One set of questions gives rise to the next, with the threat of a German-vampire alliance overshadowing the landscape of Europe, all tempered by Hambly's deft and humane touch.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Much better than her last book, Traveling with the Dead. The quaint language, the relative simplicity of the incessant maneuvering of Europe towards the inevitable onset of World War I as a backdrop, and the horrifying possibility of vampirism being wielded as a truly heinous biological weapon makes this a satisfying, quick read. The three main characters are competent, honorable, and conflicted - but not to such a degree that there is any doubt as to what will eventually happen. Don Simon is still a fascinating, compelling character, James and Lydia both trust each other, are intelligent, and are awfully lucky/unlucky in the fact that almost every villain feels the need to keep them around and alive to trap someone else. Its actually nice to see a husband/wife team that respects each other's capabilities and strengths. The moralizing about the 'common good' was not overly heavy-handed. The story line was less convoluted and had less of the incessant fashion verbiage that weighed down the previous book. One incidental annoyance - I did think the quickness of the conversion to vampire and the almost instantaneous attainment of vampiric abilities was unbelievable, you would think there would be a period of debilitating weakness either until having fed properly or slept and allowed the body time to fully convert, but that is a minor quibble. All in all, an enjoyable quick read.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Centuries ago, the ancient vampire Don Simon Ysidro fell in love with a mortal woman. Entranced by the idea of eternal life, Lady Irene managed to get turned into a vampire as well. It was only then that she discovered the truth of Ysidro's warnings--that upon becoming Undead, all interests and morals are overwhelmed by the seduction of killing human prey. She and Ysidro have had little contact since...until she hears a rumor that the war-mongering Kaiser has recruited a vampire. Ysidro enlists the help of James Asher, formerly of the Queen's Secret Service, to accompany him on his search for answers.

This is a beautiful book. Hambly's stories of the Ashers and Ysidro (which began in the equally superlative Those Who Hunt the Night) are always the very best that vampire fiction can be. Her grasp of history is sure and faultless. Her characterizations deep and multi-faceted. And her vampires are the creepiest, scariest, most seductive creatures of the night I've ever read.

[Jon]

I've been reading Barbara Hambly's books for a good many years now. She took a hiatus from writing fantasy novels a while back, and started writing historical fiction with her Benjamin January series, which had its share of magical mystical facets, but wasn't strictly fantasy. She also began the Don Simon Ysidro series, which was also historical fiction, but involving vampires this time. This is the third in that series, which begins with Those Who Hunt the Night and Traveling with the Dead. Hambly dropped the series in 1988, and I was quite surprised and delighted to see it continued 22 years later. This series is set around the turn of the 20th century, and Hambly has done a beautiful job of researching and describing the historical setting.

James Asher and his lovely wife, Lydia, are back in this book. Asher has quit the British secret service, and is living the happily married life of a professor. He is contacted in his dreams, though, by Don Simon Ysidro, an ancient Spanish vampire, and asked (coerced) into journeying with him to Petersburg in Russia to investigate a potentially dangerous connection between vampires and the Kaiser's intelligence services. It is rumored that they are researching a way to make vampires able to endure sunlight, which would make them, with their other powers against mankind, the perfect spies and assassins.

So Asher travels with the Don to the heart of Russia, where he still maintains a few friendships with some of his espionage contacts, and tries to track down the connection. Along the way, he is constantly under threat by the vampire masters of the city of Petersburg, and also the vampires that "live" in other cities in Europe where he and Ysidro pursue the trail. His wife, Lydia, is a researcher of blood and serum disorders, and eventually she also travels to Petersburg to make connections with other doctors and scientists there. She, as might be expected, ends up in grave and deadly danger from which Asher and his vampire ally, Don Simon, must rescue her.

Some interesting plot twists make this a fun one, and I hope we can see more of Asher and his lovely lady - sooner, this time.

[William Leight · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Blood Maidens” is a step backward, or at least sideways, for the series, though I enjoyed it well enough. The various relationships among Asher, Lydia, and Ysidro aren’t really developed at all. Instead, we get an old flame, sort of, of Ysidro’s, some new exotic locations (mainly St. Petersburg), and, as the title indicates, a new type of vampire. As always, Hambly does a great job blending the ominous political atmosphere of pre-war Europe — with, in a St. Petersburg that had experienced a revolution just a few years before, class conflict rearing its head as well — with the general atmosphere of danger that the vampires bring, and she’s a dab hand at maintaining suspense. But without the interesting questions about what the vampire-human relationship says about being human that the first two books offered, the series threatens to descend into being one of solving vampire-themed mysteries: you have the sense here that Hambly is simply putting her characters through their paces, rather than developing them. And the characters are fun enough that it works! Many mystery series operate very successfully on identical premises, after all. I plan to read the rest of the series regardless, but I hope that the next one comes closer to the first two books.

[Maddy Barone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed reading everything that Barbara Hambly writes. I read the first two books in this series years ago and I was glad to get back into this world. In romance land, vampires are always heroes who only sip a little blood and leave their blood donors alive, in love, and with stupendous orgasms. I am not bashing the romance genre. I love romance. I just never got on board with the vampire-as-hero sub-genre.

What I like about this series is the relationships between the characters. James and Lydia know that Don Simon is a serial killer. He's killed tens of thousands in his undead lifetime. He uses them for his own purposes. But those purposes are necessarily evil. More than once he has protected them. The relationship is multi layered. Ms. Hambly does not write one dimentional characters. Even her secondary-tertiary characters are at least two dimentional. For me, that is what makes her books a joy to read.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

German intelligence is recruiting vampires, at least one on their staff has been seen talking to one. Asher and his vampire friend Don Simon Ysidro eventually travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, at the time of the shortest night, when vampires find it hard to survive there. James’s wife Lydia follows later to help do research to find the vampires. Even Simon is a nasty vampire because they must kill to survive with their powers intact. They find someone trying to give vampire powers to the living, with no success, so far.
Excellent series. Vampires here are not romantic, they are monsters. In different degrees of course. Simon has ethics and even a sort of friendship.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable return to a series that until recently I had thought finished. The long gap between the second book and this third one might explain the similar plot, a re-introduction if you will, so the follow ups can go their own way. Just a couple of niggles towards the end, a phrase is used almost word for word by two different characters within a few pages, and Asher muses over his wife and, as yet unborn, child, when I'm fairly sure she hasn't told him she's pregnant yet... I might have skimmed over it, but then again, perhaps he deduced it, he was a master spy after all...

[Robynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love Barbara Hambly's writing style, and I fell in love James and Lydia Asher the first time I read Those Who Hunt the Night in the late 80s/ early 90s. Only recently did a friend ask if I'd looked for any other books about them.

The level of researched detail is incredible, and I love that she uses words I've never read before. How can a vocabulary expand without exposure?

I wanted the book to last one more night, but I hit the tipping point and stayed up an extra hour to finish. It's good to read before bed and these fit the bill beautifully.

[Sarah Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had been a while since I read this one (if I ever read it). I'm a huge fan of Barbara Hambly and this one did not disappoint. I didn't like it as much as the first two, a little something seemed to be missing but all in all it was great. Ysidro continues to be one of my favorite characters and the relationship between the Ysidro and Asher, Ysidro and Lydia and Lydia and Asher continues to be complex. A great read and I'm on to read the next one (soon-ish).

[Lorena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars Love Hambly's writing, as usual. This volume of the James Asher series heads to Russia, circa 1911, and the quest to stop Kaiser Wilhelm from acquiring day-walking vampires as pre-WWI tensions continue to rise. It does raise some interesting issues about what the vampire communities are like in different latitudes, as well as different cultures...like, what do vampires DO in the Land of the Midnight Sun?

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book a while back and I remember liking it. Barbara Hambly is one of those authors who cannot seem to write a terrible book, not that I've read her entire output, understand, and I could be wrong because I've been warned off from multiple sources from reading her sequels to Dragonsbane (which I loved, so I don't want to spoil that by reading sequels that are supposed to be a disappointment.)

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by an amazing author and on an all-time-favorite subject (vampires!). This one took great advantage of the pre-WWI Russian setting: the soggy riverbanks, appalling slums, and glittering aristocracy. It was atmospheric and menacing. With every installment the world building gets more detailed in this series. It's a shame these aren't always easy books to find!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good continuation of the series and interesting with a good premise. I love how the author can mix history and a good detective story together in a quick read of a book. I am eagerly devouring the rest of the series.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because of a change in publishers, I only recently became aware that there were more books in this series. I enjoy the combination of historical setting (Russia and Germany in 1911 pre-Great War) and vampires. Strong characters, cool settings, great plot twists. A pleasure to read.

[Alla · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be another good book with spy tricks and feeling of pre-WWI atmosphere. But there is too much of "enigmatic Russian soul" and other cliches in this text. Wife of the main character even meets Rasputin.
But I still like hard-building friendship between James, Simon and Lydia.