Dark Ages: Brujah

Dark Ages Clan Novels #8

by Myranda Kalis, John Bolton (Illustrator)

In the year 1223, Paris is on the verge of collapse. A menagerie of vampires has gathered here after a long trek from Constantinople (chronicled in previous Clan Novels), fueled by religious mania. They demand access to the city and hope the ancient prince will save them. Meanwhile, dark priests of every sort vie to sway their souls and control the refugees. For Veronique d'Orleans, a Brujah vampire of the city, this could be an opportunity--or a disaster.

Genres: World Of Darkness, Vampires, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Role Playing Games

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2003

Reviews

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veronique d'Orleans is a young Brujah warrior who has the misfortune of being a woman in the Dark Ages. Recruited by Clan Toreador as a spy and saboteur, she is sent into the deadly decadent court of Alexander of Paris. He is a 4th Generation Ventrue and insane since he murdered his previous consort. Veronique must play the Game of Thrones (before that series was written) and figure out how to bring down the super-powerful Kindred Methuselah.

This will require seduction, blackmail, strange alliances, and more. The Brujah were called the Learned Clan centuries ago and this is a nice view of them without the leather jackets w/ shotguns that other books dismiss them as. Very intelligently written and one of my favorite books from the Dark Ages: Clan Novel line. Veronique is a sexy and fun character that I very much enjoyed reading about.

9/10

[Marcin Wronikowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Brujah" subtitle in this book is pretty misleading, as has been the case with this series from the very beginning. It should have been titled "The Court of Paris" or "Toreador Scheming" or "Things not to do in Paris when you're a Ventrue prince". Yes, the protagonist is a Brujah, but after reading this book I feel like I've learnt more about vampire politics in the middle ages in general than about the Brujah clan. Par for the course, really.

That said, this is one of the better books in the series, probably my favourite so far, as I like it marginally better than "Setite". It's well-written, with somewhat memorable characters making appearances, although for the first 2/3 of the page count it meanders a lot and nothing much happens. Then things get turned upside down and the novel turns does a one-eighty, which gets a little confusing. Characters are revealed to not be who they seem to be and their goals are suddenly revealed to be something else than what was said or assumed. It was a little jarring because I suddenly felt like more should have been done to explain the characters' actual motivations. There are plots that go unresolved after mentions are made of situations that seem pretty important, but ultimately are abandoned and go nowhere at all. The bad guys lose in the most laughable instance of sudden onset incompetence.

There are also WAY too many homoerotic moments in this book, which I found jarring and serving no point except to shoehorn the author's fetishes.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not as good as the more modern Brujah clan novel

Generally speaking, this book is fine. The characters are interesting. The conflict is complex. The only issue I have is the fact that it feels like the components exist alongside each while never fully connecting with each other.

[Kevin Low · Rating 4 out of 5]

I groaned internally when it became clear this was going to be a novel of courtly intrigue and prepared myself to power through. However I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself swept along by the machinations and politicking and it builds tremendously into a glorious denouement. Solid 4 stars.

[E J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Almost 5 stars.