Dark Ages: Ventrue

Dark Ages Clan Novels #12

by Matthew McFarland

The Tides of War...

Jürgen the Swordbearer, vampiric Warlord of Germany, has his future riding on a push into the pagan lands of Livonia. There he must face the Gangrel warlord who has delivered an ancient vampire to Final Death, and he must endure the secret machinations of the dread Cainite Heresy. But his greatest enemy may be his own passions - his lust for power, his need for recognition, and his longing for the Toreador beauty Rosamund.

Genres: World Of Darkness, Fantasy, Vampires, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

278 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2004

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Those taken in battle, alive or dead, I own and I will claim my tribute!"

Lord Jürgen the Swordbearer, vampire Prince of Magdeburg, continues his military campaign against voivode Vladimir Rustovich and the other fleshcrafting Cainites of Clan Tzimisce in Livonia.



While the mortal knights of Teutonic Order fight by day against pagans, the immortal ones of the Black Cross order fight against other vampires at night.



With winter approaching, nights are going to be shorter and more dangerous for the noble Scion of Clan Ventrue and his followers: Quarakh the Untamed and his horde of Gangrel are still prowling the woods at est of Danube too, but the greatest enemies to Jurgen are going to be his lust for power and his love for the beautiful Rosamund, ambassador of Clan Toreador, while he struggles to follow the Via Regalis, a vampiric moral code used to keep at bay their inner Beast.



Well developed characters that we learned to love in the previous novels of the Saga, a great story packed with action and twists, in the penultimate book of the Dark Ages Clan Novels based on the late awesome role playing game by White Wolf publishing.

Is Jürgen the Swordbearer going to expand his territory and influence, playing his military campaign in the Est like a set of intricate chess moves? Is he going to let his love for Rosamund obfuscating his judgement? Can he really thrust her and Gortzon, the Lasombra priest whose eyes litterally seen hell and who has been his confessor since Jurgen became a Vampire more than 200 years ago?



The answers are at the end of this amazing book.

One more to read, all threads are coming to an end, and being the Tzimisce my most favourite one vampire Clan, can't really wait to read it!

[MrBearmouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. I wouldn't call it a perfectly structured and well designed story. It felt more like a Ventrue chronicle with events naturally unfolding one after another. But the characters were intriguing, relatable, the relationships real and mature, the settings of cold woods of eastern Europe also incredible. An overall feel of being in the middle ages was present everywhere - a lot of it came from a "dark ages" mentality and behavior.
The power of vampires was shown in a frightening way (not only by the antagonists), something a vampire setting needs desperately. You could feel the cainites' power and fear the unknown. The Tzimisce were a natural enemy as always and well portrayed - powerful, scary but majestic in their own twisted way.
I enjoyed the romantic story line as well. It shown vampires in a more humane way.

I just couldn't stop reading this novel. It was so interesting, brought me into a different time and it felt like I could read and read for a thousand more pages. But unlike the Assamite clan novel - in which I could pinpoint the quality - the love for this one felt more subjective, as a book you would either enjoyed or not mostly out of personal preference.
A great read for me.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong all around.

There's a lot to like about this book. The characters that have been around a while are further fleshed out. The action is visceral. There's even a bit of a cross-clan love story.

[E J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, as good as Assamite, book 2. Needed to be longer by, say, 60-80 pages though.

[Matt D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly standard as far as a White Wolf novel goes, Dark Ages Ventrue focuses on Lord Jurgen of Magdeburg as he plans a conquest into Tzimisce lands to the East. There are a scant few scenes of actual physical combat in the novel, but far more as he combats to stay on the Via Regalis, and combats his ever changing emotions toward the Toreador Rosamund.

[Kajla · Rating 3 out of 5]

no darkside glamour, no sexiness at all, but the masquerade worldbuilding is interesting.
moderately like it, but wouldn't call it a literature.