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On the Soul #2.1
Pro Luce Habere: To Have Before the Light, Volume I
For eight hundred years, Valéry Castellane has known only one kind of light - the light in those human beings he's had to kill so he might live. The last of these has been the most brilliant light of all, the light of the one sent to tell him that heaven was never really lost to him. But did he destroy all hope for it in attempting to make this angel a human love he could hold forever on earth, or is the mystery of this vampire's salvation yet to be fully revealed? Sometimes the key which unlocks the secret of what's to come is hidden in the past. Take another journey with a vampire, through eight centuries of dark human history which have, all along, been leading him to the light.
Volume I: Descent
"You continue to see the lie before you, no matter how often it speaks the truth!" Valéry warned Angelina in On the Soul of a Vampire, when she refused once again to see in him the monster he saw in himself. But did the seemingly tragic end of their relationship truly indicate he had the clearer sight? Relive the memory of Valéry's descent into darkness before deciding who was really right.
Volume I: Descent
"You continue to see the lie before you, no matter how often it speaks the truth!" Valéry warned Angelina in On the Soul of a Vampire, when she refused once again to see in him the monster he saw in himself. But did the seemingly tragic end of their relationship truly indicate he had the clearer sight? Relive the memory of Valéry's descent into darkness before deciding who was really right.
- GenresParanormal
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2011
36 people want to read
About the author
Krisi Keley
11 books80 followersKrisi Keley is a writer and artist with a degree in theology from DeSales University, who has also studied foreign and classical languages. In addition to Mareritt and Vingede, the first two books in the supernatural mystery-suspense series, The Friar Tobe Fairy Files, she's also the author of the paranormal speculative fiction novels, On the Soul of a Vampire and Pro Luce Habere and of English translations of three 19th century French stories. She is currently at work on more Friar Tobe fairy tale mysteries as well as on other writing projects. She was born in Philadelphia and currently lives in Chester County, PA with her family and six dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 21, 2018
As noted in the Goodreads description, this is the first volume of a two-part prequel to the author's outstanding debut novel, On the Soul of a Vampire. As such, it fleshes out the 800-year-old background to the events of the first book, answers questions that might be raised by it, and further develops the characters and the author's spiritual and psychological themes. Theoretically, it could be read first, as it's chronologically first in terms of plot events; but I believe the reader's experience would be better, in terms of perspective in understanding the characters and situation, if the books are read in the order they were written. (Without reading the first book, it would also be hard to understand the brief prologue and epilogue, both of which flash back directly to that book's ending.) Much of what I wrote in my review of the earlier book (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ) is relevant here, too, though I won't recapitulate it. The same strongly positive features of the author's vision and style are markedly present; unlike some second-in-a series novels, this one doesn't disappoint!
Our chronological scope here ranges from 1212 to ca. 1370, and the settings extend from Western Europe to the Holy Land and Eastern Europe. We meet some secondary characters from the first book (and some new ones), but our central focus, again, is Valery and his story; and it's a dark story indeed, and played out against the grim backdrop of the tragic insanity of the Children's Crusade, the genocidal atrocities of the 13th-century "holy war" to exterminate the Catharist heresy, the horrors of the Black Death, and the bloody beginnings of the popular fear epidemic that would become the witch hysteria of the following centuries. Keley doesn't wallow in gore for its own sake, and spares us a lot of grisly detail; but there are definitely some scenes of grisly-gory violence here that she has to include to tell her tale (sometimes wrought by vampires, but the worst horrors here, as in real life, are the things human beings are capable of doing to other humans). The outward events of the plot, though, only make up a part of the novel's content, which is why I don't think this series would translate well to dramatic adaptation; a filmed version would miss the interior reflections (and the head games of some of the older vampires) that add so much to the experience. This is very much a novel of serious and deep ideas, grappling with issues like theodicy, the existence of God, the nature of right and wrong, the status of human life, the possible extent of the grace and mercy of God. And they aren't just abstractions; they're questions wrenched up from the depths of Catholic-educated souls faced with the necessity of taking human life --and doing so fairly frequently-- to ensure their own continued existence. True, one in this situation can sometimes make death a mercy killing of the terminally ill, or try to prey on the guilty rather than the innocent; but the latter option is more problematic when, in the moment of death, you know the victim's whole mind and soul and all its possibly extenuating handicaps and circumstances, and when you question how you can distinguish the hopelessly evil from those who might, given time, come to repent. An option the author doesn't dwell on, but which is constantly in the mind of the reader (and no doubt of the characters) is passive suicide by self-starvation; but the natural instinct for self-preservation resists this. (For beings raised as Catholics, too, even passive suicide may well raise a mental block as "unforgiveable sin.") And it would cause terrible grief to the surviving vampiric loved ones --because these vampires CAN honestly love and care about each other; they're not blood-thirsting automatons, but beings with hearts, consciences and compassionate feelings. Even though they're deadly killers (albeit reluctant ones) they're not out-and-out evil; they hurt inside for their victims, and hate what they have to do. My recommendation to any of them (I think --though it's hard to know what you'd say to someone in that situation face-to-face) would still be self-starvation; but when you know them the way Keley makes you know them, it's impossible to make that recommendation casually or glibly.
One caveat that's worth mentioning here: there's no explicit sex in either of Keley's books, but there are several references here to sexual desire on the part of teenage boys for pre-teen or barely teen girls (acted on, in one case --with a resulting death of both mother and child in a pregnancy the girl's body couldn't physically handle.) Apparently, the medieval culture in which they were raised did not clearly view this sort of thing as the kind of kinky perversion that it actually is (Valery mentions in passing that when his parents were married, his mother was 11 and his father, I believe, 28!!!), and you have to make allowances for kids whose upbringing is defective and who honestly don't know any better; but for some readers this might be very off-putting. (It would be for me, too; but it's a tribute to Keley's skill as a writer that she eases you over this without making it a deal-breaker for the book!)
This series is one that I predict will stand the test of time as a serious, significant contribution to the tradition of vampire fiction. I'm glad to have the privilege of being among the first readers; and I'm looking forward eagerly to the continuation of this prequel!
Our chronological scope here ranges from 1212 to ca. 1370, and the settings extend from Western Europe to the Holy Land and Eastern Europe. We meet some secondary characters from the first book (and some new ones), but our central focus, again, is Valery and his story; and it's a dark story indeed, and played out against the grim backdrop of the tragic insanity of the Children's Crusade, the genocidal atrocities of the 13th-century "holy war" to exterminate the Catharist heresy, the horrors of the Black Death, and the bloody beginnings of the popular fear epidemic that would become the witch hysteria of the following centuries. Keley doesn't wallow in gore for its own sake, and spares us a lot of grisly detail; but there are definitely some scenes of grisly-gory violence here that she has to include to tell her tale (sometimes wrought by vampires, but the worst horrors here, as in real life, are the things human beings are capable of doing to other humans). The outward events of the plot, though, only make up a part of the novel's content, which is why I don't think this series would translate well to dramatic adaptation; a filmed version would miss the interior reflections (and the head games of some of the older vampires) that add so much to the experience. This is very much a novel of serious and deep ideas, grappling with issues like theodicy, the existence of God, the nature of right and wrong, the status of human life, the possible extent of the grace and mercy of God. And they aren't just abstractions; they're questions wrenched up from the depths of Catholic-educated souls faced with the necessity of taking human life --and doing so fairly frequently-- to ensure their own continued existence. True, one in this situation can sometimes make death a mercy killing of the terminally ill, or try to prey on the guilty rather than the innocent; but the latter option is more problematic when, in the moment of death, you know the victim's whole mind and soul and all its possibly extenuating handicaps and circumstances, and when you question how you can distinguish the hopelessly evil from those who might, given time, come to repent. An option the author doesn't dwell on, but which is constantly in the mind of the reader (and no doubt of the characters) is passive suicide by self-starvation; but the natural instinct for self-preservation resists this. (For beings raised as Catholics, too, even passive suicide may well raise a mental block as "unforgiveable sin.") And it would cause terrible grief to the surviving vampiric loved ones --because these vampires CAN honestly love and care about each other; they're not blood-thirsting automatons, but beings with hearts, consciences and compassionate feelings. Even though they're deadly killers (albeit reluctant ones) they're not out-and-out evil; they hurt inside for their victims, and hate what they have to do. My recommendation to any of them (I think --though it's hard to know what you'd say to someone in that situation face-to-face) would still be self-starvation; but when you know them the way Keley makes you know them, it's impossible to make that recommendation casually or glibly.
One caveat that's worth mentioning here: there's no explicit sex in either of Keley's books, but there are several references here to sexual desire on the part of teenage boys for pre-teen or barely teen girls (acted on, in one case --with a resulting death of both mother and child in a pregnancy the girl's body couldn't physically handle.) Apparently, the medieval culture in which they were raised did not clearly view this sort of thing as the kind of kinky perversion that it actually is (Valery mentions in passing that when his parents were married, his mother was 11 and his father, I believe, 28!!!), and you have to make allowances for kids whose upbringing is defective and who honestly don't know any better; but for some readers this might be very off-putting. (It would be for me, too; but it's a tribute to Keley's skill as a writer that she eases you over this without making it a deal-breaker for the book!)
This series is one that I predict will stand the test of time as a serious, significant contribution to the tradition of vampire fiction. I'm glad to have the privilege of being among the first readers; and I'm looking forward eagerly to the continuation of this prequel!
July 25, 2011
Brilliant! Author Krisi Keley does a fantastic job of presenting the back story of principal character, Valery Castellane. A riveting vampire chronicle unlike any undead tale I have ever read, Keley takes the reader through a tumultuous timeline, injecting her story with a lethal dose of history- reaching as far back as the Children's Crusade of 1212.
Fans of epic fiction will devour this, along with those yearning for an unparalleled taste of the undead.
The fangs sink deeply... the account bleeds meaning and purpose.
Fans of epic fiction will devour this, along with those yearning for an unparalleled taste of the undead.
The fangs sink deeply... the account bleeds meaning and purpose.
September 22, 2011
In 1212 Valéry Castellane, then fourteen years old and bursting with love for God, joins the Children’s Crusade on a journey to the Holy Land to peacefully convert its inhabitants. Along the way, Valéry and the other children endure hardship, shipwrecks, and, ultimately, for the surviving children, slavery at the hands of the very people they’d hoped to convert.
Four years later, Valéry, near death from a beating, is saved by his “maker,” an ancient and beautiful vampire named Lukios. But at a terrible price. Instead of dying a mortal’s death and at last seeing the light of heaven, Valéry, now an immortal vampire, must abandon thoughts of heaven and kill to survive.
His faith all but destroyed by his experiences and “new life,” Valéry begins a journey stretching over three centuries, from Alexandria to the port of Genoa and beyond, across much of medieval Europe, including his native Kingdom of Arles. Traveling both alone and with Lukios, he searches desperately for meaning in what has happened to him. And because he must, he learns to kill.
After reading the first few paragraphs of Pro Luce Habere (To Have Before the Light), I knew I was in for something different. There is a richness to the language here that evokes just the right tone and conveys both the time period in which the book is set and the passage of time--of centuries unfolding.
And Ms. Keley can tell a story. In Valéry she’s created a rich, complex character you care deeply about, even as he takes human lives. In spite of it all, you sense the potential for great good in him. His anger with God and his struggle to not quite become the “creature” he says he is are, well, very human. It doesn’t hurt that Ms. Keley somehow manages to infuse her vampire death scenes with beauty and love (love of the vampire for his victim and vice versa).
I highly recommend this book. Although it’s Book II of Keley’s On the Soul series, it doesn’t hurt to read it first since it’s a prequel. And if you do, I guarantee you’re going to want to continue with Valéry's story in Book I.
Four years later, Valéry, near death from a beating, is saved by his “maker,” an ancient and beautiful vampire named Lukios. But at a terrible price. Instead of dying a mortal’s death and at last seeing the light of heaven, Valéry, now an immortal vampire, must abandon thoughts of heaven and kill to survive.
His faith all but destroyed by his experiences and “new life,” Valéry begins a journey stretching over three centuries, from Alexandria to the port of Genoa and beyond, across much of medieval Europe, including his native Kingdom of Arles. Traveling both alone and with Lukios, he searches desperately for meaning in what has happened to him. And because he must, he learns to kill.
After reading the first few paragraphs of Pro Luce Habere (To Have Before the Light), I knew I was in for something different. There is a richness to the language here that evokes just the right tone and conveys both the time period in which the book is set and the passage of time--of centuries unfolding.
And Ms. Keley can tell a story. In Valéry she’s created a rich, complex character you care deeply about, even as he takes human lives. In spite of it all, you sense the potential for great good in him. His anger with God and his struggle to not quite become the “creature” he says he is are, well, very human. It doesn’t hurt that Ms. Keley somehow manages to infuse her vampire death scenes with beauty and love (love of the vampire for his victim and vice versa).
I highly recommend this book. Although it’s Book II of Keley’s On the Soul series, it doesn’t hurt to read it first since it’s a prequel. And if you do, I guarantee you’re going to want to continue with Valéry's story in Book I.
October 3, 2011
This is the second installment of the On the Soul series and is a prequel to On the Soul of a Vampire.
In Pro Luce Habere we go back in time to 1212, when Valéry is just a 14 year old boy set out to join a children’s pilgrimage together with his best friend Noël. For the first part of the story we follow Valéry in this pilgrimage where they encounter hardship, shipwreck, loss of friends and the betrayal that comes to make him a slave. Four years later after being nearly beaten to death he is saved by Lukios, an ancient vampire, but at a terrible price which Valéry isn’t sure he wanted to pay.
After this we travel with Valéry on a journey through Europe over a period of three centuries where Valéry tries to discover who and what he is now.
Valéry is a well developed character who is struggling with his believe and trust in God, but also with his identity, who he is and who he has become as a person. Due through his struggle and the beautiful writing you come to care deeply about him. But not just the main character Valéry, but also the other characters who show up in this book are really well developed.
Krisi’s writing is so rich and sets the right tone for the story and the time periods in it, to the tee. It sucks you in and doesn’t let you go even after you read the last page.
Like I sad in my review of On the Soul of a Vampire, this is not your typical vampire novel. the things described in this novel make you think about different aspects of life, love and believe. And for me it meant I look different to things that happened in my life and choices I made in my past.
I for one can't wait for the next installment of the On the Soul series.
In Pro Luce Habere we go back in time to 1212, when Valéry is just a 14 year old boy set out to join a children’s pilgrimage together with his best friend Noël. For the first part of the story we follow Valéry in this pilgrimage where they encounter hardship, shipwreck, loss of friends and the betrayal that comes to make him a slave. Four years later after being nearly beaten to death he is saved by Lukios, an ancient vampire, but at a terrible price which Valéry isn’t sure he wanted to pay.
After this we travel with Valéry on a journey through Europe over a period of three centuries where Valéry tries to discover who and what he is now.
Valéry is a well developed character who is struggling with his believe and trust in God, but also with his identity, who he is and who he has become as a person. Due through his struggle and the beautiful writing you come to care deeply about him. But not just the main character Valéry, but also the other characters who show up in this book are really well developed.
Krisi’s writing is so rich and sets the right tone for the story and the time periods in it, to the tee. It sucks you in and doesn’t let you go even after you read the last page.
Like I sad in my review of On the Soul of a Vampire, this is not your typical vampire novel. the things described in this novel make you think about different aspects of life, love and believe. And for me it meant I look different to things that happened in my life and choices I made in my past.
I for one can't wait for the next installment of the On the Soul series.
October 13, 2011
Pro Luce Habere tells the story of Valéry, the protagonist vampire from “On the Soul of A Vampire” and his life before he became a vampire and the 200 or so years following.
At the beginning of the novel, the year is 1212 and Valéry is a 14 year old on fire for God and his faith. He leaves home to join the Children’s Crusade only to end up in slavery at the hands of the people he sought to convert. Four years later, near death from a beating, his “maker,” Lukios, an ancient vampire, saves him from death but Valéry now must kill others to survive. At first, he refuses, but he eventually settles into a pattern of killing those who have hurt him or those he considers criminals.
In many respects, the life of a vampire as illustrated in this book is a lonely one, but Valéry eventually resigns himself to the life he’s destined to live, although he continues to hate himself for the monster he believes he is. (In Keley’s first book, On the Soul of a Vampire, Angelina tries to convince him that he is not the monster he thinks he is). In this book, another vampire shows him what evil vampires do (in that scene, the evil vampires torture a young girl for the sport of it and not because they need the nutrition).
I grew up watching old Dracula movies in which the vampire was always portrayed as the villain, so it’s easy to forget that Valéry is a vampire. However, he is no ordinary vampire. He’s a vampire with a conscience. He’s a vampire who is struggling with his faith in God (not unlike many mortal humans).
In one scene, he plans to kill a woman who has wronged him, then he realizes she is pregnant and leaves her alone (in my opinion, this is one of the best scenes of the book because it shows Valéry’s compassion).
Despite the fact that he is a vampire, it has become easier to love Valéry as a complex character who, like most human beings, has a conscience. And in the end, it begs the question: What is God’s plan of salvation for this vampire with a conscience? Is there any hope for him? Is there any hope for any of us, for that matter? Of course, the answer is there is always hope.
After reading this “prequel,” I have come to understand Valéry’s intricate character more deeply and why he chose to do what he did at the end of “On the Soul of a Vampire.” It also made me want to read Keley’s first book again (since I know the character better)....and it makes me impatient to read Part II of this book.
Beautiful language, Catholic themes, complex story, well-defined and believable characters make this a wonderfully intense read! Keley is an incredibly gifted author, one whose future books I look forward to reading.
I highly recommend this exquisite book to everyone!
At the beginning of the novel, the year is 1212 and Valéry is a 14 year old on fire for God and his faith. He leaves home to join the Children’s Crusade only to end up in slavery at the hands of the people he sought to convert. Four years later, near death from a beating, his “maker,” Lukios, an ancient vampire, saves him from death but Valéry now must kill others to survive. At first, he refuses, but he eventually settles into a pattern of killing those who have hurt him or those he considers criminals.
In many respects, the life of a vampire as illustrated in this book is a lonely one, but Valéry eventually resigns himself to the life he’s destined to live, although he continues to hate himself for the monster he believes he is. (In Keley’s first book, On the Soul of a Vampire, Angelina tries to convince him that he is not the monster he thinks he is). In this book, another vampire shows him what evil vampires do (in that scene, the evil vampires torture a young girl for the sport of it and not because they need the nutrition).
I grew up watching old Dracula movies in which the vampire was always portrayed as the villain, so it’s easy to forget that Valéry is a vampire. However, he is no ordinary vampire. He’s a vampire with a conscience. He’s a vampire who is struggling with his faith in God (not unlike many mortal humans).
In one scene, he plans to kill a woman who has wronged him, then he realizes she is pregnant and leaves her alone (in my opinion, this is one of the best scenes of the book because it shows Valéry’s compassion).
Despite the fact that he is a vampire, it has become easier to love Valéry as a complex character who, like most human beings, has a conscience. And in the end, it begs the question: What is God’s plan of salvation for this vampire with a conscience? Is there any hope for him? Is there any hope for any of us, for that matter? Of course, the answer is there is always hope.
After reading this “prequel,” I have come to understand Valéry’s intricate character more deeply and why he chose to do what he did at the end of “On the Soul of a Vampire.” It also made me want to read Keley’s first book again (since I know the character better)....and it makes me impatient to read Part II of this book.
Beautiful language, Catholic themes, complex story, well-defined and believable characters make this a wonderfully intense read! Keley is an incredibly gifted author, one whose future books I look forward to reading.
I highly recommend this exquisite book to everyone!
October 13, 2011
I love Krisi Keley’s unique, passionate, vibrant and philosophically thought provoking novels. Pro Luce Haber is a moving prequel to ‘On the Soul of a Vampire’, which received an M-Award for memorable speculative fiction. It can be read as a stand-alone novel, but if you’ve read the previous book, you’ll enjoy seeing in full the events referred to before. Pro Luce Haber takes us back to thirteenth century France to when Valery leaves his home and sets out on a journey that begins full of hope, but leads to him feeling abandoned by God and ends with him being turned into a Vampire.
The book is full of mankind’s injustice to mankind in the name of God and justice, and it documents Valery’s struggle to come to terms with his ‘remade’ self and reconcile his beliefs with the fact that he must kill in order to live. The events shown are dark and disturbing, and Valery’s angst is real and continual, yet the book is full of light, Valery’s light. The light of his soul, his compassion, his beauty - both inner and outer, his unquenchable search for truth and the depth of his love.
I love Valery and I wonder what it is about this tortured soul that draws me so. I think it is his thirst to know God. Even when he has given up on God, still he seeks to know the essence of life, which is in the end, the same thing. Keley’s vampires can’t live on animal blood, because they seek to taste the soul of their prey at the moment of death. Animals do not know good or evil, or right or wrong, and without this knowing, their life is too simple for their death to satisfy. So Valery is forced to kill, hence to sin and deal with his guilt.
As we travel with Valery across Europe and through his life, we also hear the stories of his friends, mostly sad tales of love and loss, betrayal and unjust punishment. The stories make for moving reading in themselves, but what makes them special is how each person shares with Valery their philosophical rationalisation for their and other’s behaviour. This adds to the books deeply contemplative nature.
It’s probably not a book for everyone, but it’s perfect for those who like an intense, passionate character in a dark setting and especially for anyone interested in medieval history. I give it 5 stars and look forward to volume two in Pro Luce Haber.
The book is full of mankind’s injustice to mankind in the name of God and justice, and it documents Valery’s struggle to come to terms with his ‘remade’ self and reconcile his beliefs with the fact that he must kill in order to live. The events shown are dark and disturbing, and Valery’s angst is real and continual, yet the book is full of light, Valery’s light. The light of his soul, his compassion, his beauty - both inner and outer, his unquenchable search for truth and the depth of his love.
I love Valery and I wonder what it is about this tortured soul that draws me so. I think it is his thirst to know God. Even when he has given up on God, still he seeks to know the essence of life, which is in the end, the same thing. Keley’s vampires can’t live on animal blood, because they seek to taste the soul of their prey at the moment of death. Animals do not know good or evil, or right or wrong, and without this knowing, their life is too simple for their death to satisfy. So Valery is forced to kill, hence to sin and deal with his guilt.
As we travel with Valery across Europe and through his life, we also hear the stories of his friends, mostly sad tales of love and loss, betrayal and unjust punishment. The stories make for moving reading in themselves, but what makes them special is how each person shares with Valery their philosophical rationalisation for their and other’s behaviour. This adds to the books deeply contemplative nature.
It’s probably not a book for everyone, but it’s perfect for those who like an intense, passionate character in a dark setting and especially for anyone interested in medieval history. I give it 5 stars and look forward to volume two in Pro Luce Haber.
February 16, 2022
AIBA Book of the Day: 16 February, 2022: 074/40968
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include PRO LUCE HABERE by KRISI KELEY in the library of Awesome Indies' Badge of Approval recipients.
AIBA Book of the Day: 7 May, 2021: 074/40968
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