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Saint-Germain #5
Tempting Fate
Europe 1920s. Fifth [published] in the Saint-Germain series, Tempting Fate finds the count as guardian to a Russian war orphan during the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I. As he travels across Europe with his adopted daughter, he encounters three women -- all of whom will alter his tormented destiny: a duchess who will lead him into fateful temptation, a young widow who plunges him into an abyss of corruption and obsessive desire, and Madeline de Montalia -- the women for whom Saint-Germain will risk eternity to protect. Driven by his insatiable need for this woman who shares his terrible secret, Saint-Germain will commit a final, desperate act that could doom the lovers to a world of everlasting damnation.
662 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 15, 1981
14 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
259 books477 followersA professional writer for more than forty years, Yarbro has sold over eighty books, more than seventy works of short fiction, and more than three dozen essays, introductions, and reviews. She also composes serious music. Her first professional writing - in 1961-1962 - was as a playwright for a now long-defunct children's theater company. By the mid-60s she had switched to writing stories and hasn't stopped yet.
After leaving college in 1963 and until she became a full-time writer in 1970, she worked as a demographic cartographer, and still often drafts maps for her books, and occasionally for the books of other writers.
She has a large reference library with books on a wide range of subjects, everything from food and fashion to weapons and trade routes to religion and law. She is constantly adding to it as part of her on-going fascination with history and culture; she reads incessantly, searching for interesting people and places that might provide fodder for stories.
In 1997 the Transylvanian Society of Dracula bestowed a literary knighthood on Yarbro, and in 2003 the World Horror Association presented her with a Grand Master award. In 2006 the International Horror Guild enrolled her among their Living Legends, the first woman to be so honored; the Horror Writers Association gave her a Life Achievement Award in 2009. In 2014 she won a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention.
A skeptical occultist for forty years, she has studied everything from alchemy to zoomancy, and in the late 1970s worked occasionally as a professional tarot card reader and palmist at the Magic Cellar in San Francisco.
She has two domestic accomplishments: she is a good cook and an experienced seamstress. The rest is catch-as-catch-can.
Divorced, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area - with two cats: the irrepressible Butterscotch and Crumpet, the Gang of Two. When not busy writing, she enjoys the symphony or opera.
Her Saint-Germain series is now the longest vampire series ever. The books range widely over time and place, and were not published in historical order. They are numbered in published order.
Known pseudonyms include Vanessa Pryor, Quinn Fawcett, T.C.F. Hopkins, Trystam Kith, Camille Gabor.
After leaving college in 1963 and until she became a full-time writer in 1970, she worked as a demographic cartographer, and still often drafts maps for her books, and occasionally for the books of other writers.
She has a large reference library with books on a wide range of subjects, everything from food and fashion to weapons and trade routes to religion and law. She is constantly adding to it as part of her on-going fascination with history and culture; she reads incessantly, searching for interesting people and places that might provide fodder for stories.
In 1997 the Transylvanian Society of Dracula bestowed a literary knighthood on Yarbro, and in 2003 the World Horror Association presented her with a Grand Master award. In 2006 the International Horror Guild enrolled her among their Living Legends, the first woman to be so honored; the Horror Writers Association gave her a Life Achievement Award in 2009. In 2014 she won a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention.
A skeptical occultist for forty years, she has studied everything from alchemy to zoomancy, and in the late 1970s worked occasionally as a professional tarot card reader and palmist at the Magic Cellar in San Francisco.
She has two domestic accomplishments: she is a good cook and an experienced seamstress. The rest is catch-as-catch-can.
Divorced, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area - with two cats: the irrepressible Butterscotch and Crumpet, the Gang of Two. When not busy writing, she enjoys the symphony or opera.
Her Saint-Germain series is now the longest vampire series ever. The books range widely over time and place, and were not published in historical order. They are numbered in published order.
Known pseudonyms include Vanessa Pryor, Quinn Fawcett, T.C.F. Hopkins, Trystam Kith, Camille Gabor.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 21, 2009
I am really enjoying these books about a 4000-year-old world-traveling good-guy vampire, even if the rather florid writing keeps me from actually recommending it to other people. If you like historical fiction and the idea of a kind-hearted vampire, and you don't mind some melodrama, you might like these.
This book begins with Saint-Germain's escape from Russia during the 1917 revolution. He encounters an impoverished Russian duchess who offers him shelter (with benefits), and he also rescues an abandoned little girl and takes her to Germany where he raises her as his daughter.
The blurbs for this book are entirely misleading, by the way, particularly the one which insinuates that Saint-Germain develops romantic/sanguinary designs on the girl. He actually never feels anything but paternal affection for her.
The book takes place mostly in Germany during the 1920's, which is suffering under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and witnessing the rise of the Nazi party. Saint-Germain befriends a Jewish family as well as a German noblewoman who has fallen on hard times.
Madelaine de Montalia makes an appearance in this story. She's an old lover of Saint-Germain's who became a vampire in early 18th-century France and seems to spend most of her extended life on archeological digs in various places around the world. There is a spin-off series about her which did not sound interesting at first, but I liked her in this book so I will check those out.
Anyway, this book is long and meandering, with plenty of historical detail. We spend a lot of time on the trials and tribulations of the Russian duchess and the German noblewoman, and also on the adventures of an American reporter who becomes Madelaine's lover. Eventually personal tragedy strikes Saint-Germain, and when in his grief he begins to engage in dangerous behavior, his friends call on Madelaine for help.
This book begins with Saint-Germain's escape from Russia during the 1917 revolution. He encounters an impoverished Russian duchess who offers him shelter (with benefits), and he also rescues an abandoned little girl and takes her to Germany where he raises her as his daughter.
The blurbs for this book are entirely misleading, by the way, particularly the one which insinuates that Saint-Germain develops romantic/sanguinary designs on the girl. He actually never feels anything but paternal affection for her.
The book takes place mostly in Germany during the 1920's, which is suffering under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and witnessing the rise of the Nazi party. Saint-Germain befriends a Jewish family as well as a German noblewoman who has fallen on hard times.
Madelaine de Montalia makes an appearance in this story. She's an old lover of Saint-Germain's who became a vampire in early 18th-century France and seems to spend most of her extended life on archeological digs in various places around the world. There is a spin-off series about her which did not sound interesting at first, but I liked her in this book so I will check those out.
Anyway, this book is long and meandering, with plenty of historical detail. We spend a lot of time on the trials and tribulations of the Russian duchess and the German noblewoman, and also on the adventures of an American reporter who becomes Madelaine's lover. Eventually personal tragedy strikes Saint-Germain, and when in his grief he begins to engage in dangerous behavior, his friends call on Madelaine for help.
December 8, 2017
It has been some time since I read any of Yarbro's Saint-Germain books. When I was reading them some years ago this was out of print and I was unable to get hold of a copy. Now that it is available to download as an ebook, I took the opportunity to correct that omission.
This is without doubt one of the better books featuring Saint-Germain and I am very glad that I went back to read it. We begin with Saint-Germain geing at the wrong end of the October Revolution in Russia but he escapes picking up a psychologically damaged orphan along the way to his schloss in Bavaria.
All is not well in Germany at the end of the Great War; it is an exhausted and economically-damaged country forced to suffer humiliations at the hands of the victorious Allies. There are those who have pride in their country and would see it rise to greatness; unfortunately these are not the kind people who take kindly foreigners in their midst. Naturally, the situation gets steadily worse for Saint-Germain, his ward and his foreign servants. It is an emotive read as we follow the woes of the characters who do their best to survive in this difficult period of history.
Perhaps the most poignoint aspect of the book is that the political leanings of the villains is disconcertingly similar to much of political attitudes in evidence in our world today. Saint-Germain must be desparing.
This is without doubt one of the better books featuring Saint-Germain and I am very glad that I went back to read it. We begin with Saint-Germain geing at the wrong end of the October Revolution in Russia but he escapes picking up a psychologically damaged orphan along the way to his schloss in Bavaria.
All is not well in Germany at the end of the Great War; it is an exhausted and economically-damaged country forced to suffer humiliations at the hands of the victorious Allies. There are those who have pride in their country and would see it rise to greatness; unfortunately these are not the kind people who take kindly foreigners in their midst. Naturally, the situation gets steadily worse for Saint-Germain, his ward and his foreign servants. It is an emotive read as we follow the woes of the characters who do their best to survive in this difficult period of history.
Perhaps the most poignoint aspect of the book is that the political leanings of the villains is disconcertingly similar to much of political attitudes in evidence in our world today. Saint-Germain must be desparing.
September 2, 2012
This was the first Saint-Germain book I had read since "The Palace" a few years ago. Frankly, I just didn't like "The Palace." It seemed to me that Yarbro was aiming her book squarely at the Renaissance Pleasure Fair crowd at the expense of plot and characterization. Every other chapter was swamped with detailed descriptions of clothing, to the point where I felt that 2/3 of the material could have been excised without any damage to the plot whatsoever. It was a maddening read because I have loved so much of this author's shorter work - in particular "Disturb Not My Slumbering Fare."
And so now, twenty years after it was written, when we are awash with good vampires who don't drink human blood - I wonder if Saint-Germain glitters in the twilight? - I wasn't expecting much.
"Tempting Fate" was a terrific surprise/ I enjoyed every paragraph of this story, which I kind of imagined as Dr. Zhivago meets The Undead.
This is a straightforward, serious novel examining the horrors of pre-world war Germany and the rise of the Nazis. Saint-Germain is the perfect viewpoint character because, through his eyes, this dark epoch is put into historical perspective and compared to similar historical events. I felt the writing style was perfect for the material, no wasted verbiage, no over-writing although Saint-Germaine himself is portrayed as a well-educated aristocrat and expresses himself accordingly.
I won't ruin the plot by giving you a synopsis - but I will warn you to keep a box of Kleenex nearby. If you're a touch, macho kind of guy -- well, you may want to draw the blinds, or read it when you've got some time to yourself - away from the the wife and kids.
Highly recommended.
And so now, twenty years after it was written, when we are awash with good vampires who don't drink human blood - I wonder if Saint-Germain glitters in the twilight? - I wasn't expecting much.
"Tempting Fate" was a terrific surprise/ I enjoyed every paragraph of this story, which I kind of imagined as Dr. Zhivago meets The Undead.
This is a straightforward, serious novel examining the horrors of pre-world war Germany and the rise of the Nazis. Saint-Germain is the perfect viewpoint character because, through his eyes, this dark epoch is put into historical perspective and compared to similar historical events. I felt the writing style was perfect for the material, no wasted verbiage, no over-writing although Saint-Germaine himself is portrayed as a well-educated aristocrat and expresses himself accordingly.
I won't ruin the plot by giving you a synopsis - but I will warn you to keep a box of Kleenex nearby. If you're a touch, macho kind of guy -- well, you may want to draw the blinds, or read it when you've got some time to yourself - away from the the wife and kids.
Highly recommended.
January 6, 2010
Again, the publication date on this book must be for a more recent edition, because I read it a lot earlier than that.
Saint-Germain escapes Russia's October Revolution, unexpectedly finds himself the guardian of a Polish orphan, and retreats to his estate in Bavaria. Troubled times in Germany, with runaway inflation making money nearly worthless and with the monied aristocracy either pretending nothing is wrong or joining the growing political force of the Nazis, form the backdrop for this story of Saint-Germain's efforts to protect those he loves.
This is not a man you want to anger.
Saint-Germain escapes Russia's October Revolution, unexpectedly finds himself the guardian of a Polish orphan, and retreats to his estate in Bavaria. Troubled times in Germany, with runaway inflation making money nearly worthless and with the monied aristocracy either pretending nothing is wrong or joining the growing political force of the Nazis, form the backdrop for this story of Saint-Germain's efforts to protect those he loves.
This is not a man you want to anger.
June 24, 2020
One of the best CQ Yarbro books I've read so far!
March 20, 2012
An insightful, wonderfully written story of people in difficult circumstance, in the time between the world wars, in and around Germany; and of fictional Saint Germain, 3,000 years old and though he can’t solve the big issues, he helps each who come across his path in just the right way. He has not given up on humanity.
Roger - his faithful vampire friend, continues to handle many of Saint Germain’s life’s details.
Irina - as Saint Germain is escaping imprisonment in a Russia in upheal looking to destroy anything aristocratic, he takes refuge one night in the home of a friend, only to find Gudrun, the wife the only survivor (her husband and children dead). They share comfort, and he helps her get centered, pack what she can (including jewels) and to join her cousin in leaving Russia. A year later, her cousins family mostly dead from illness, 2 others went to Canada (on one of her jewels), her uncle in France ignores her requests and she cannot find work (she is a countess and not much work for them). She has become as invisible as she can in a Russian slum, until Saint Germain looks her up, sees what has happened, and endeavors to help her.. Taking her to his home, purchasing clothing for her, and finding her a position with Madelaine translating documents she has uncovered on one of her digs. Madelaine generously shares the credit and Gudrun has many requests for her services. She also finds a man, who lost his wife during the war, and they marry to raise his two nephews.
Laisha - also on his escaping from Russia, Saint Germain comes across a 7 year old girl hiding in a chicken coop, wearing an expensive dress not her own (its too big)... He takes her with him, and then as he settles in his home in Austria, he raises her as his daughter. She has little to no memory of her childhood. Saint Germain is a wonderful father, finding her tutors that challenge her, teaching her different musical instruments and playing with her regularly, finding children to play with. He answers her questions over the years with gentleness, and tack... he allows her to see the real world - at 15, in a horse riding competition she is faultily disqualified because she is foreign born and too good in comparison to the Germans competing & they could give her a ribbon... and he explains this to her with honesty but with gentleness. He gains from her a family such as he has never had before, and looks forward to holding grandchildren through her. Saint Germain reads the unrest growing, and with Laisha’s agreement they are making plans to move to his house in London. But while in Berlin, finishing up business, Laisha goes to the booksellers on her own, and the Nazi’s stage a riot... and she gets caught up, can’t find the chauffeur, is cornered by 3 Nazi’s who react to her Russian accent... and a Saint Germain who is rushing to find her, sees her but cannot get to her in time, and watches as 2 hold her and the other bashes in her head with the butt of his gun, killing her instantly. Ahhhh
Gudrun - Through her experiences, especially with her brother, we see how insidious the Nazi group grew and sucked in some and intimidated others and played on the anger of the punishments wrought by WWI. She is a neighbor of Saint Germain who has returned to her Austrian, childhood home with a husband, exgeneral, injured in the war and in a vegetable state. Her location, the weather, and the loss of society in general leads to great periods of isolation. She accepts less help from Saint Germain than others, though they are lovers for a time. Her brother, Maximillian, had exhausted his fortune, lives on her land in the guest cottage, expects her to finance his car & food & clothing - and will not believe her when she tells him that her resources are dwindling. He is working himself up in the Nazi party, hosting others, borrowing money from them, criticizing his sister, etc. When one of the cronies, who has an eye on his sister, confronts the sister with the intention of marrying her & ‘allowing’ her to be the woman she was raised to be, dependant on him, he finds out she is all but broke, kicks Maxl out of the Nazi’s as he lied about the money, then murders him after forcing a suicide note in which he asks for her forgiveness and tells her to marry the crony. After her brother’s apparent suicide (and while Saint Germain is struggling with his anger over the loss of Laisha), the crony returns with a list of her brother’s debts that she is responsible for, and offers marriage in trade for elimination of the debts. The Nazis also take over Saint Germain’s house and they are staying there while he finances renovations in her home.
A Jewish family - mother/father/5 children + new baby... I forgot their names. The father works for Saint Germain restoring his schloss. But as the Nazis begin meeting, their family is harassed, culminating in 5 thugs going to the house, and allowing violence to get the better of them, killing the gentle mother and baby, leaving the older daughter unable to cope. With Saint Germain’s help the remaining father go to the US, and he helps him to get his first job, through letters they are making their way. A hint at the tragedy Nazi’s and Hitler would generate.
Nikolai - When Saint Germain was imprisoned in Russia, Nickolai was one of the guards, and one who held to the ideals of the revolution - trying to feed the prisoners when there was next to no supplies. Saint Germain overpowered him and escaped, unlatching another prisoner’s door allowing 14 others to escape (most seemed to have been recovered). In the letter portion of the book, Nikolai, imprisoned along with the other guards for execution for allowing the escape, wrote a letter to the Russian general asking that he alone bear the responsibility. This gained him alone a reprieve from death, but was sent to Siberia, and then work camps as punishment. A couple of years later he is part of a work crew clearing the roads in Austria in the deep winter, and Saint Germain, stopping his car in deference to the crew, recognizes him. He pays his indenture, and hires him as his chauffeur.
Madelaine - of the Hotel Transylvania. Saint Germain and Madelaine continue to love - though as of the ‘same blood’ it is not physical. He advises her... but mostly Madelaine is on her own, living as Saint Germain prepared her to live. She is forced to leave her home in Russia, but was prepared for it. She spends as much time as she can in the acheological digs. And she begins a 12 year long affair with James (see below). When Irina informs her of Saint Germain’s loss of his daughter, she returns as quickly as possible... and locates Saint Germain - who is on self destruct - and helps him to center himself.
James - a US journalist covering post war Europe. Early on he interviews Madelaine, who had relocated to France, he becomes lovers with her - and quickly falls in love with her & the intimacies (which he attributes to French ways). She does not allow his love to be an obsession, pushing him to complete his work and she goes away on her own interests, but they meet up regularly. And Madelaine returns his feelings - but consults Saint Germain as she realizes that they have been together often enough that when he dies, he will be vampire. She tells him, and he decides to tolerate her illusions, but seems to be coming to a bit of acceptance at the end - as he is able to accept Saint Germain’s role in her life. We find out most about him through letters he writes to his state side sister. I’m guessing he’ll be back.
Roger - his faithful vampire friend, continues to handle many of Saint Germain’s life’s details.
Irina - as Saint Germain is escaping imprisonment in a Russia in upheal looking to destroy anything aristocratic, he takes refuge one night in the home of a friend, only to find Gudrun, the wife the only survivor (her husband and children dead). They share comfort, and he helps her get centered, pack what she can (including jewels) and to join her cousin in leaving Russia. A year later, her cousins family mostly dead from illness, 2 others went to Canada (on one of her jewels), her uncle in France ignores her requests and she cannot find work (she is a countess and not much work for them). She has become as invisible as she can in a Russian slum, until Saint Germain looks her up, sees what has happened, and endeavors to help her.. Taking her to his home, purchasing clothing for her, and finding her a position with Madelaine translating documents she has uncovered on one of her digs. Madelaine generously shares the credit and Gudrun has many requests for her services. She also finds a man, who lost his wife during the war, and they marry to raise his two nephews.
Laisha - also on his escaping from Russia, Saint Germain comes across a 7 year old girl hiding in a chicken coop, wearing an expensive dress not her own (its too big)... He takes her with him, and then as he settles in his home in Austria, he raises her as his daughter. She has little to no memory of her childhood. Saint Germain is a wonderful father, finding her tutors that challenge her, teaching her different musical instruments and playing with her regularly, finding children to play with. He answers her questions over the years with gentleness, and tack... he allows her to see the real world - at 15, in a horse riding competition she is faultily disqualified because she is foreign born and too good in comparison to the Germans competing & they could give her a ribbon... and he explains this to her with honesty but with gentleness. He gains from her a family such as he has never had before, and looks forward to holding grandchildren through her. Saint Germain reads the unrest growing, and with Laisha’s agreement they are making plans to move to his house in London. But while in Berlin, finishing up business, Laisha goes to the booksellers on her own, and the Nazi’s stage a riot... and she gets caught up, can’t find the chauffeur, is cornered by 3 Nazi’s who react to her Russian accent... and a Saint Germain who is rushing to find her, sees her but cannot get to her in time, and watches as 2 hold her and the other bashes in her head with the butt of his gun, killing her instantly. Ahhhh
Gudrun - Through her experiences, especially with her brother, we see how insidious the Nazi group grew and sucked in some and intimidated others and played on the anger of the punishments wrought by WWI. She is a neighbor of Saint Germain who has returned to her Austrian, childhood home with a husband, exgeneral, injured in the war and in a vegetable state. Her location, the weather, and the loss of society in general leads to great periods of isolation. She accepts less help from Saint Germain than others, though they are lovers for a time. Her brother, Maximillian, had exhausted his fortune, lives on her land in the guest cottage, expects her to finance his car & food & clothing - and will not believe her when she tells him that her resources are dwindling. He is working himself up in the Nazi party, hosting others, borrowing money from them, criticizing his sister, etc. When one of the cronies, who has an eye on his sister, confronts the sister with the intention of marrying her & ‘allowing’ her to be the woman she was raised to be, dependant on him, he finds out she is all but broke, kicks Maxl out of the Nazi’s as he lied about the money, then murders him after forcing a suicide note in which he asks for her forgiveness and tells her to marry the crony. After her brother’s apparent suicide (and while Saint Germain is struggling with his anger over the loss of Laisha), the crony returns with a list of her brother’s debts that she is responsible for, and offers marriage in trade for elimination of the debts. The Nazis also take over Saint Germain’s house and they are staying there while he finances renovations in her home.
A Jewish family - mother/father/5 children + new baby... I forgot their names. The father works for Saint Germain restoring his schloss. But as the Nazis begin meeting, their family is harassed, culminating in 5 thugs going to the house, and allowing violence to get the better of them, killing the gentle mother and baby, leaving the older daughter unable to cope. With Saint Germain’s help the remaining father go to the US, and he helps him to get his first job, through letters they are making their way. A hint at the tragedy Nazi’s and Hitler would generate.
Nikolai - When Saint Germain was imprisoned in Russia, Nickolai was one of the guards, and one who held to the ideals of the revolution - trying to feed the prisoners when there was next to no supplies. Saint Germain overpowered him and escaped, unlatching another prisoner’s door allowing 14 others to escape (most seemed to have been recovered). In the letter portion of the book, Nikolai, imprisoned along with the other guards for execution for allowing the escape, wrote a letter to the Russian general asking that he alone bear the responsibility. This gained him alone a reprieve from death, but was sent to Siberia, and then work camps as punishment. A couple of years later he is part of a work crew clearing the roads in Austria in the deep winter, and Saint Germain, stopping his car in deference to the crew, recognizes him. He pays his indenture, and hires him as his chauffeur.
Madelaine - of the Hotel Transylvania. Saint Germain and Madelaine continue to love - though as of the ‘same blood’ it is not physical. He advises her... but mostly Madelaine is on her own, living as Saint Germain prepared her to live. She is forced to leave her home in Russia, but was prepared for it. She spends as much time as she can in the acheological digs. And she begins a 12 year long affair with James (see below). When Irina informs her of Saint Germain’s loss of his daughter, she returns as quickly as possible... and locates Saint Germain - who is on self destruct - and helps him to center himself.
James - a US journalist covering post war Europe. Early on he interviews Madelaine, who had relocated to France, he becomes lovers with her - and quickly falls in love with her & the intimacies (which he attributes to French ways). She does not allow his love to be an obsession, pushing him to complete his work and she goes away on her own interests, but they meet up regularly. And Madelaine returns his feelings - but consults Saint Germain as she realizes that they have been together often enough that when he dies, he will be vampire. She tells him, and he decides to tolerate her illusions, but seems to be coming to a bit of acceptance at the end - as he is able to accept Saint Germain’s role in her life. We find out most about him through letters he writes to his state side sister. I’m guessing he’ll be back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2018
This is a Guilty Pleasure read and nothing wrong with that. I LOVE vampire stories but somehow had never heard of the Saint-Germain novels until recently, though the first book came out in 1978 and the author is prolific so this is a BIG series, with spin-offs, too. I decided to jump in with number five because the setting is of particular interest to me: Ragoczy, Comte de Saint-Germain escapes from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, picks up a young orphan girl displaced in the immediate aftermath of the Great War and takes her to his castle in Bavaria. The novel mostly takes place in Germany during the 1920s...vampires+Weimar=perfection!
So far (I'm about 30% in) the story is light on vampire lore and heavy on period history, well written though with some purplish tinges. Saint-Germain is very much the Romantic vampire archetype, aristocratic, charming, handsome, elegant, cultured, clever, a noble gentleman with honourable intentions. A positively depicted vampire in other words rather than a monster. The last novel I read with vampires and Nazis (Dracula vs Hitler by Patrick Sheane Duncan) was not for me but Yarbro's is more my cup of tea.
More than halfway now and I have to say this is a fun read, though you need to be interested in the historical context because it's detailed, sometimes clumsily inserted using the epistolary format. The writing reminds me of my fondly remembered fanfic years, and I mean that as a compliment. Yarboro includes practical information such as how Saint-Germain manages his financial affairs and difficulties associated with eternal life, being recognised, for e.g. as suspiciously unageing, that creates a believable reality. Which leads me to wonder whether it would be possible for a modern day vampire to survive given digital technology, record keeping, surveillance, and security checks- we tried to open a UK bank account for our grandchild who lives abroad and had to give up in the face of bureaucracy and money laundering prevention!
Vampire lore has now been explained further, for e.g. Saint-Germain can go out and about in daylight so long as he has some homeland dirt in his shoes and keeps to shade where possible. Obviously this has advantages for the storyteller, no need to skulk indoors and lead a nocturnal existence, so limiting. Yarboro's vampires make other vampires through frequent sexual contact and blood exchange, unless the nervous system is destroyed at the point of death. They have no reflection but can enter a church.
What I'm enjoying most, to my surprise, is the development of the relationship between Saint-Germain and his adopted daughter Laisha. Fatherhood at the advanced age of 4,000 years is challenging to say the least, but the resourceful vampire manages rather well. Of course he does have the advantage of long experience of human nature and how to stay calm under any pressure.
Finished. Definitely a guilty pleasure read but most enjoyable. It ticks so many boxes for me, vampires, history, Weimar, archetypal flawed romantic hero...wonderful. Not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm happy to have discovered such a long-running series to explore. The best of it is, you can pick up these books in any order because they're not written chronologically. I will choose by historical period, based on my favourite eras. I can see there's one set just before WWI so will probably read that next. Much as I love the Romantic aristocratic vampire in period costume trope (Lestat and Louis!) it's more interesting to see how Saint-Germain manages in a more modern setting. I think he'd rise to the challenge of smart phones and ipads though how would he deal with airport security?!
As for this novel, well it certainly builds to a tense climax, and satisfactory ending. I have to say, however, I worry about Gudrun and devoted Frau Bürste, for what is to come in the years ahead, Hitler's rise to power and the triumph of men such as the detestable Helmut Rauch.
So far (I'm about 30% in) the story is light on vampire lore and heavy on period history, well written though with some purplish tinges. Saint-Germain is very much the Romantic vampire archetype, aristocratic, charming, handsome, elegant, cultured, clever, a noble gentleman with honourable intentions. A positively depicted vampire in other words rather than a monster. The last novel I read with vampires and Nazis (Dracula vs Hitler by Patrick Sheane Duncan) was not for me but Yarbro's is more my cup of tea.
More than halfway now and I have to say this is a fun read, though you need to be interested in the historical context because it's detailed, sometimes clumsily inserted using the epistolary format. The writing reminds me of my fondly remembered fanfic years, and I mean that as a compliment. Yarboro includes practical information such as how Saint-Germain manages his financial affairs and difficulties associated with eternal life, being recognised, for e.g. as suspiciously unageing, that creates a believable reality. Which leads me to wonder whether it would be possible for a modern day vampire to survive given digital technology, record keeping, surveillance, and security checks- we tried to open a UK bank account for our grandchild who lives abroad and had to give up in the face of bureaucracy and money laundering prevention!
Vampire lore has now been explained further, for e.g. Saint-Germain can go out and about in daylight so long as he has some homeland dirt in his shoes and keeps to shade where possible. Obviously this has advantages for the storyteller, no need to skulk indoors and lead a nocturnal existence, so limiting. Yarboro's vampires make other vampires through frequent sexual contact and blood exchange, unless the nervous system is destroyed at the point of death. They have no reflection but can enter a church.
What I'm enjoying most, to my surprise, is the development of the relationship between Saint-Germain and his adopted daughter Laisha. Fatherhood at the advanced age of 4,000 years is challenging to say the least, but the resourceful vampire manages rather well. Of course he does have the advantage of long experience of human nature and how to stay calm under any pressure.
Finished. Definitely a guilty pleasure read but most enjoyable. It ticks so many boxes for me, vampires, history, Weimar, archetypal flawed romantic hero...wonderful. Not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm happy to have discovered such a long-running series to explore. The best of it is, you can pick up these books in any order because they're not written chronologically. I will choose by historical period, based on my favourite eras. I can see there's one set just before WWI so will probably read that next. Much as I love the Romantic aristocratic vampire in period costume trope (Lestat and Louis!) it's more interesting to see how Saint-Germain manages in a more modern setting. I think he'd rise to the challenge of smart phones and ipads though how would he deal with airport security?!
As for this novel, well it certainly builds to a tense climax, and satisfactory ending. I have to say, however, I worry about Gudrun and devoted Frau Bürste, for what is to come in the years ahead, Hitler's rise to power and the triumph of men such as the detestable Helmut Rauch.
August 14, 2025
St. Germaine meets the Nazis. As usual, St. Germaine has the terrible misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This time it's World War I and it looks like he made a wise decision in getting out of Europe, but it turns out not to be so because he is in Russia instead. When the Bolsheviks take over and start hunting nobility it doesn't serve him well to be Comte St. Germaine. In escaping from the Communists he encounters an orphaned girl and for the first time in 4000 years St. Germaine becomes a father.
After WWI St. Germaine retires to Germany because bad choices are what he does. While learning to raise a young girl he gets a first hand view of the rise of the National Socialist German Worker's Party. Being the rich scion of a prominent Hungarian noble family helps him in dealing with the Nazis, but being a foreigner who hangs out with Jews does not. Over the years he watches his "daughter" grow and also the growth of the Nazi Party. He watches as they bring ruin to his neighbors in turn until finally he is touched by them himself.
The focus of this book is St. Germaine learning to be a father and thus learning to be human. The backdrop is the looming threat of the Nazis. There are some other characters from previous books scattered about but mostly it's St. Germaine, his ward, and a local German woman of noble birth. The fall of the last vestiges of nobility in Europe is also a theme throughout. Like the other books this is a historical novel foremost, the vampire parts of it being few and far between. Well researched and very enlightening.
Funny bit: The "about the author" entry at the end proclaims this to be the final novel in the St. Germaine horror series. Not so much.
After WWI St. Germaine retires to Germany because bad choices are what he does. While learning to raise a young girl he gets a first hand view of the rise of the National Socialist German Worker's Party. Being the rich scion of a prominent Hungarian noble family helps him in dealing with the Nazis, but being a foreigner who hangs out with Jews does not. Over the years he watches his "daughter" grow and also the growth of the Nazi Party. He watches as they bring ruin to his neighbors in turn until finally he is touched by them himself.
The focus of this book is St. Germaine learning to be a father and thus learning to be human. The backdrop is the looming threat of the Nazis. There are some other characters from previous books scattered about but mostly it's St. Germaine, his ward, and a local German woman of noble birth. The fall of the last vestiges of nobility in Europe is also a theme throughout. Like the other books this is a historical novel foremost, the vampire parts of it being few and far between. Well researched and very enlightening.
Funny bit: The "about the author" entry at the end proclaims this to be the final novel in the St. Germaine horror series. Not so much.
June 14, 2024
The fire that warms your hearth and cooks your food is the same fire that burns cities and forests and men. It matters not at all to the fire, whose only purpose is to burn.
It had been quite a few years since I'd read a Saint-Germain book, and I'd forgotten how good a writer Yarbro is. A pleasure to read. More historical fiction - set from the very end of WWI to just before the stock market crash, an interesting liminal decade indeed - than vampire novel. I did still get to see a vampire fight some proto-Nazis, which is honestly the zenith of fiction.
It had been quite a few years since I'd read a Saint-Germain book, and I'd forgotten how good a writer Yarbro is. A pleasure to read. More historical fiction - set from the very end of WWI to just before the stock market crash, an interesting liminal decade indeed - than vampire novel. I did still get to see a vampire fight some proto-Nazis, which is honestly the zenith of fiction.
May 23, 2020
It's been a while since I read a Saint-Germain novel. Was nice to revisit his world. Getting closer to "present" day - this one was set in Germany in between world wars.
October 20, 2021
This edition is sad to me, because it marks the departure of either an artist or a model or both from the employ or access of the author or her publisher, and a cartoon-like representation greets the reader. Later editions are more elegant.
This was a fun read which ironically resonates with the emerging evils of contemporary America today. It covers an important bit of history that those of us who study history believe is crucial and those who do not probably will be surprised about. Or they won't be reading, anyway.
I enjoyed the twists and turns, the clear and honest grittiness, the struggle for the duality of human nature, and so on.
I am pretty sure that although I am a horror reader, I never read any of these because they all got shelved in romance or "supernatural romance" or something like that. For me, the romance part gets a bit old. But maybe not for you. There are always enough plot points involved that it doesn't get too much in the way.
This was a fun read which ironically resonates with the emerging evils of contemporary America today. It covers an important bit of history that those of us who study history believe is crucial and those who do not probably will be surprised about. Or they won't be reading, anyway.
I enjoyed the twists and turns, the clear and honest grittiness, the struggle for the duality of human nature, and so on.
I am pretty sure that although I am a horror reader, I never read any of these because they all got shelved in romance or "supernatural romance" or something like that. For me, the romance part gets a bit old. But maybe not for you. There are always enough plot points involved that it doesn't get too much in the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2013
Enjoyed this more for the time period. It is a tale of a vampire but included very little of the vampire lore. It was mainly involved in the period of time from the close of WWI to 1928 in Germany. It provides a glimpse into the lives of the German people as the NSDAP slowly grows amongst the people who were a conquered race following the Great War. It held my attention throughout.
May 20, 2010
The Saint-Germaine series is pretty heavy in history which is not my thing. In Tempting Fate, Saint-Germaine travels Europe in the 1920's with his adopted daughter. He has several relationships, but the romance is written lightly.
May 30, 2014
Good book
Saint Germain is a wonderfully deep and rich character. Each time he interacts with a new setting, the reader learns a lot about a time and place. Each character is beautifully drawn and convincingly motivated.
Saint Germain is a wonderfully deep and rich character. Each time he interacts with a new setting, the reader learns a lot about a time and place. Each character is beautifully drawn and convincingly motivated.
March 30, 2008
Loved the character, not the setting.
September 19, 2008
Set in Germany in the early 1920s
October 9, 2008
For me, at least, this is the best in the series. The book includes several characters that become favorites, and it is here that the Count seems to be at his most human.
May 29, 2009
One of the most moving books in the series. St. Germain feels like a person not just a mythical figure. There are nice memories of his former loves and hear rending moments as the war unfolds.
December 16, 2010
I love this book, great history, tragedy... wonderful...
August 20, 2012
This one I actually cried at the end. It portrayed a reality of the time, but I still thought it didn't have to happen.
February 26, 2015
an old favorite, one I now have in more than one format, like so many old friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2015
Liked vampire series!
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