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Saint-Germain #22
A Dangerous Climate
The vampire Count Saint-Germain, disguised as a missing Hungarian nobleman, is on a spy mission in the heart of Czarist Russia. Almost by the power of his will alone, it seems, Peter the Great is wrestling the city that will one day be St. Petersburg out of swampland. Representatives of the heads of all European states are living in tiny, frigid, wooden homes as they jockey for power and influence over the Czar. When a man shows up claiming to be the Count Saint-Germain, the vampire must figure out how to protect his title and wealth without revealing either his true identity or his True Nature.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2008
8 people are currently reading
296 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 9, 2009
If you want to read the person who really was the pioneer of the romantic vampire book, you need to read Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. She has been writing this series for at least 30 years. The only reason that these books are not urban fantasy is that they are neither urban nor contemporary. Every one of these books works as a history lesson. In each book her main character, and some of the continuing characters, are living in a different place and in a different era. The series is a single timeline, but the books were not written in order, so before you pick one up you don't know if you are going to be experiencing the Dark Ages or WWII.
This time Saint-Germain is in St. Petersburg as it is being built. He is pretending to be someone else. Arpad Arco-Tolvay, is the husband of a woman, Zozia, Ksiena Nisko, who was sent on a mission half spy and half diplomatic, has disappeared. In that time and place a woman could not be a diplomat on her own and in 1704 most diplomatic missions including some spying and everyone knew it. St. Petersburg in the early 18th Century is an ugly, muddy, cold and dangerous place.
There is constant juxtaposition between the gorgeous clothing and fabrics the people in the Foreign Quarter are wearing and the way they are living, which is anything but comfortable. There is also an equally jarring clash between how the diplomats, and Russian upper classes are treated and how the people actually working on the projects are treated.
The plot is a pretty common Saint-Germain plot. He, and his party, arrive in a new place. The usual chapters on how they build it and what goes into it aren't in this book because the household is not his, but you do find out how he becomes part of the local society and how he deals with the fact that he can not eat or drink anything without ugly consequences. And then the political stuff starts.
There is a new one at the library that was written after this one. I intend to get it.
This time Saint-Germain is in St. Petersburg as it is being built. He is pretending to be someone else. Arpad Arco-Tolvay, is the husband of a woman, Zozia, Ksiena Nisko, who was sent on a mission half spy and half diplomatic, has disappeared. In that time and place a woman could not be a diplomat on her own and in 1704 most diplomatic missions including some spying and everyone knew it. St. Petersburg in the early 18th Century is an ugly, muddy, cold and dangerous place.
There is constant juxtaposition between the gorgeous clothing and fabrics the people in the Foreign Quarter are wearing and the way they are living, which is anything but comfortable. There is also an equally jarring clash between how the diplomats, and Russian upper classes are treated and how the people actually working on the projects are treated.
The plot is a pretty common Saint-Germain plot. He, and his party, arrive in a new place. The usual chapters on how they build it and what goes into it aren't in this book because the household is not his, but you do find out how he becomes part of the local society and how he deals with the fact that he can not eat or drink anything without ugly consequences. And then the political stuff starts.
There is a new one at the library that was written after this one. I intend to get it.
January 11, 2016
This is a hard one for me to rate because I think I'm judging the book for what I expected it to be instead of what the author wanted it to be. I had a professor in grad school who called this the "lemon poppyseed muffin versus the chocolate brownie conundrum" in which scholars judge the work of other scholars for being "bad poppyseed muffins" when in fact the work was never meant to be a muffin it was a chocolate brownie. In other words, judge the work/research for what it is not what you think or want it to be.
I wanted this book to be a rollicking tale of a dashing vampire rampaging his way through Peter the Great's new St Petersburg. That was my lemon poppyseed muffin. The brownie I got instead was an incredibly well-researched historical fiction with the slightest dash of vampire lore (seriously, if we judge Saint-Germain by the standards of the PNR vampires popular today, he just wouldn't cut it. The book opens with him getting his ass beat by two drunk guys). If I were to judge this book solely on my expectations it would have been a one star read for me. But trying to look at the brownie for its qualities as a brownie cause me to rate a (low) three star instead.
Frankly the plot was ridiculously slow and sadly (frustratingly) unresolved. The blurb suggests intrigue and mystery and instead what I got were lots of descriptions of clothes. Granted these were vivid descriptions! But they just seemed sort of gratuitous when I wanted to know more about the machinations going on behind the scenes. The end, in the end (ha), was anti-climactic and wrapped up in a few paragraphs if it was wrapped up at all.
Maybe I'm missing something with this series since it seems like so many other people love it. Perhaps I'll give it another shot, but that might be in the long distant future.
I wanted this book to be a rollicking tale of a dashing vampire rampaging his way through Peter the Great's new St Petersburg. That was my lemon poppyseed muffin. The brownie I got instead was an incredibly well-researched historical fiction with the slightest dash of vampire lore (seriously, if we judge Saint-Germain by the standards of the PNR vampires popular today, he just wouldn't cut it. The book opens with him getting his ass beat by two drunk guys). If I were to judge this book solely on my expectations it would have been a one star read for me. But trying to look at the brownie for its qualities as a brownie cause me to rate a (low) three star instead.
Frankly the plot was ridiculously slow and sadly (frustratingly) unresolved. The blurb suggests intrigue and mystery and instead what I got were lots of descriptions of clothes. Granted these were vivid descriptions! But they just seemed sort of gratuitous when I wanted to know more about the machinations going on behind the scenes. The end, in the end (ha), was anti-climactic and wrapped up in a few paragraphs if it was wrapped up at all.
Maybe I'm missing something with this series since it seems like so many other people love it. Perhaps I'll give it another shot, but that might be in the long distant future.
October 10, 2008
A Dangerous Climate takes St. Germain to the building of St. Petersburg where he must pose as a woman's husband. The book starts off well, but at times the story drags. The imposter does not appear until about a third of the way into the book, and the plot line never really seems to take off. Both of the women in the book, Zozia and Ludmilla, are not very memorable, not when compared to other women in the series (such as Olivia, Hero, or Xenya). In fact, one wonders how good a spy/diplomat Zozia really is.
However, there are several good points to the novel. Long time fans will welcome the return of Niklos (Olivia's bondsman) and the scenes with Niklos, the Count, and Hroger (Roger) are wonderful to read. The one scene that really stands out is a love scene between the Count and Ludmilla. Many fans refer to a scene between Xenya and the Count in Darker Jewels as one of the greatest or most erotic love scenes in the series; the scene between Ludmilla and the Count in this book rivials that one, and is a reminder that erotic doesn't always have to be graphic sexual descriptions.
However, there are several good points to the novel. Long time fans will welcome the return of Niklos (Olivia's bondsman) and the scenes with Niklos, the Count, and Hroger (Roger) are wonderful to read. The one scene that really stands out is a love scene between the Count and Ludmilla. Many fans refer to a scene between Xenya and the Count in Darker Jewels as one of the greatest or most erotic love scenes in the series; the scene between Ludmilla and the Count in this book rivials that one, and is a reminder that erotic doesn't always have to be graphic sexual descriptions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2008
The St. Germain Vampire books are really more historic fiction than horror, but of course human nature is horrible enough. St. Germain is more a 3,000 year old, good man who can compare the progress of the place he lives to those who have long disappeared from the earth. I always learn something new about history when I read one of the dozens of this series.
January 18, 2009
The vampire Saint-Germain is on a diplomatic mission, to the Russia of Peter the Great where Saint Petersburg is being built. The Saint-Germain series is challenging in an exciting way, with an admirable hero. My favorite fantasy read of 2008.
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June 22, 2022
It was okay the earlier books in the series seem to be better,it moved a bit slowly.And something else i've noticed with the later books some of the characterization doesn't seem consistant like St Germain and Madelaine as well.For example in earlier books he seems to have more emotion and also seems a bit more arrogant as well,not sure if this is because its a different editor or if CQY writing style simply changed over the years, or maybe she just wrote the characters in a less melodramatic way.Thats not a bad thing because the melodrama gets a bit tiring after a while.Not a huge deal just something i've noticed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2011
Almost good enough to rate four stars. This is the twenty-seventh book in the Saint Germain series;twenty second if one doesn't count the stories of Atta Olivia Clemens and Madeline de Montalia, two lovers of Saint Germain who became vampires through their association with him. And two of the books in the series are collections of short stories, which accounts for one of the other reviewers calling this the twentieth of the Saint Germain novels.
As always, the character of Saint Germain is a delight, and the setting is marvellously educational by being well-researched and elaborate; this time, it's Russia, specifically Saint Petersburg, just after its founding during the time of Peter the Great. And this book is far more interesting and entertaining than some of the recent novels in the series; Borne In Blood, for one, I found rather dull, as was States of Grace. But given that many of the plotlines were ultimately unresolved, I felt that this story was a bit unsatisfying, when it came right down to it. I understand and even appreciate Yarbro's refusal to have every story be an action-packed thriller with all loose ends tied up neatly; life doesn't work that way, and it's good when fiction occasionally acknowledges that. But on the other hand, one of the reasons that we read fiction is to escape from the untidiness of reality, and I find myself torn between recognizing that Yarbro has grown as a writer since she began this series, and missing the more satisfying, if unrealistic plots of the earlier novels.
In any case, this book at least avoided the tendancy that Yarbro has of failing to proofread her work adequately; unlike some of the books in the series, there are not an excessive number of typos in the finished product. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that there were any. Whatever editing process she used here, I hope she keeps it.
As always, the character of Saint Germain is a delight, and the setting is marvellously educational by being well-researched and elaborate; this time, it's Russia, specifically Saint Petersburg, just after its founding during the time of Peter the Great. And this book is far more interesting and entertaining than some of the recent novels in the series; Borne In Blood, for one, I found rather dull, as was States of Grace. But given that many of the plotlines were ultimately unresolved, I felt that this story was a bit unsatisfying, when it came right down to it. I understand and even appreciate Yarbro's refusal to have every story be an action-packed thriller with all loose ends tied up neatly; life doesn't work that way, and it's good when fiction occasionally acknowledges that. But on the other hand, one of the reasons that we read fiction is to escape from the untidiness of reality, and I find myself torn between recognizing that Yarbro has grown as a writer since she began this series, and missing the more satisfying, if unrealistic plots of the earlier novels.
In any case, this book at least avoided the tendancy that Yarbro has of failing to proofread her work adequately; unlike some of the books in the series, there are not an excessive number of typos in the finished product. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that there were any. Whatever editing process she used here, I hope she keeps it.
June 9, 2009
Yarbro’s cultured, enigmatic, vampire Saint Germain is back. This time he’s in Russia during the construction of St. Petersburg, as a spy in the Russian court, pretending to be a duke, a husband and a human. As Saint Germain tries to uncover the fate of the man he is impersonating, a man claiming to be Count Saint-Germain comes to town, threatening the real Germain and all of his entanglements.
Exquisitely detailed and smooth, A Dangerous Climate is a vivid, complex tale of political intrigue, led by a fascinating character who is almost harder to figure out than the full scope of Yarbro’s plot. Yarbro is the author to go to for historical fiction. She packs amazing detail into the world, so that readers open the book and feel as if they are there, in the middle of a completely different time and culture, enthralled through Germain’s voice and intriguing stories. Highly recommended for permanent personal and library collections.
Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com
Exquisitely detailed and smooth, A Dangerous Climate is a vivid, complex tale of political intrigue, led by a fascinating character who is almost harder to figure out than the full scope of Yarbro’s plot. Yarbro is the author to go to for historical fiction. She packs amazing detail into the world, so that readers open the book and feel as if they are there, in the middle of a completely different time and culture, enthralled through Germain’s voice and intriguing stories. Highly recommended for permanent personal and library collections.
Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com
January 10, 2011
This is the first book I've read in the long series about the vampire Count Saint-Germain, and it is one of the more recent ones written by the author (pub. 2008). It took place in St. Petersburg as it was being built in the early 1700s and involved the main character assuming the identity of someone else. I enjoyed the characters, although their names were confusing and difficult to pronounce. I'm not usually a fan of vampire novels, but that aspect was very subtle in this novel. There were brief mentions of characters and situations from earlier novels, but for the most part this one worked without reading the others. I enjoyed learning about the culture of the time and place -- the description of people's clothing was detailed, for example. The book was well-written with a high level of vocabulary -- some of which I had to look up!
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May 5, 2011Ms Yarbro delivers, once again, a story with wonderful characters, a time and place in history that entertains and informs the reader. Her attention to detail, as always, amazes me! Her books are really his story and history. Whenever I start one it seems it will take a while to read, but it goes so fast I am sorry to see it end. That has to say something about her incredible skills as a writer. I have been with this series since the beginning and will be there, I hope, for many years to come.
July 10, 2011
Another excellent offering in the Saint Germain series!
As ever, the writing style, story and characters are all engaging.
This is not one of my all time favourites from the series but it is still a really enjoyable read.
As ever, the writing style, story and characters are all engaging.
This is not one of my all time favourites from the series but it is still a really enjoyable read.
October 20, 2009
I've read several vampire books. This book offers an authentic, believable vampire character solving a mystery during Peter the Great's building of St. Petersburg. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Yarbro's vampire mystery and would love adding it to my collection.
June 12, 2009
I enjoyed the setting - the building of St Petersburg but I felt that St. Germain as a character was somewhat muted by acting as someone else throughout the book.
September 23, 2009
Was a bit slow. May have helped if I'd realized it was part of a series, and had read an earlier one.
May 23, 2011
Another fine historical novel with enough wealth of detail to make me glad that I never lived in Saint Petersburg when Peter the Great was building it in the early 1700s. Brrr.
November 22, 2011
Best Saint-Germain book I've read in some time!
July 15, 2012
"I can't find my plot . . . has anyone seen my plot?"
July 6, 2016
one of the better modern SG novels.
September 25, 2022
Not enough plot.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews