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Vampire: The Masquerade: Clan Novel #1
Clan Novel Toreador: Book 1 of the Clan Novel Saga
"The World of Darkness Exposed It begins with Clan Novel: Toreador, but this novel is just the beginning of a 13-book series dedicated to the Kindred. It's the biggest event in World of Darkness history This epic series of over one million words will reveal the secrets of this hidden world, from the smallest detail to the grandest marvel. The Nosferatu's apparent scheme to put the Eye of Hazimel into the hands of the Setite Vegel will decide the fates of Kindred legions -- and will determine the future of the Camarilla and Sabbat, the sects engaged in a massive war along the entire East Coast. And the list of schemers doesn't end there. Can you say ""Antediluvian""? Each novel in the series focuses on a member of one of the 13 vampire clans. Clan Novel: Toreador sets events into motion with Victoria Ash: a high-ranking Camarilla manipulator who turns plots, assassinations and wars to her advantage".
210 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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December 17, 2023
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TOREADOR is the first novel of the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE Clan Novel saga that began in 1999 and finished right before the ending of the Old World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying game. If that sounds like gobbledygook to you then you're probably not the intended audience of Goth nerds who ate these books up toward the turn of the millennium. Even so, I remember a lot of people picking up these books who'd never played a game with dice or character sheets in their life. It was a big influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON books as well as works like TRUE BLOOD and UNDERWORLD.
The premise of Vampire: The Masquerade (and the World of Darkness setting in general) is a familiar one to urban fantasy fans. The world we know is built over a hidden reality where vampires, werewolves, mages, and other supernaturals compete for supremacy. The undead wield amazing powers, financial and otherwise, that protect them from hunters as well as other threats. They control the world and feed on humankind with impunity. Unfortunately, they are their own worst enemy with the vampires divided into 13 clans, multiple sects, and a conflict between elders as well as neonates.
This book begins a 13 novel series that illustrates each of the clans as well as tells an overarching story. Among other things this means that while some of these books are going to be self-contained stories, others will just be open-ended. In this case, Toreador only starts the journey of its protagonists and you'll have to read the entire thing to see how it all ends up. I did read the original thirteen novels and while some were only so-so, others were great and I recommend it all to readers.
Clan Novel: Toreador follows two members of the Toreador Clan, a clan of artistes and socialites who are the "pretty" vampires. The first, Leopold, is a Neonate who doesn't remember his past and makes a living as a sculptor who feeds off street kids he seduces into being his models. The second, Victoria Ash, is a sex-obsessed Elder of her clan that is deluded into believing her petty power games are important. Both of them have their immortal ennui-filled lives disrupted by an attack from the Sabbat as well as the discovery of a magical artifact.
The Sabbat, for laymens out there, are the really evil vampires compared to the Camarilla or Anarchs who are just the sorta-evil vampires. They're a bunch of rampaging psychopath monsters who want nothing more than to feed on humanity openly while the others want to hide. The artifact, the Eye of Hazmiel, is only hinted at being a gamechanger in their world but will not reach its full potential until later books. This book's appeal is primarily groundwork and explaining the World of Darkness to newcomers.
The treatment of the Toreador clan was very well-done as we get the different sides of the Clan. The artistes are represented by Leopold, who struggles with the amorality of his work as well as his desire to give back to the world by creating beauty. However, he's unable to create anything original anymore due to the curse afflicting him. He can't even make sculptures of his fellow Kindred as something blocks his talent. Victoria Ash, by contrast, surrounds herself with art and misses how dark and disturbing all of it is. She also can't break free from using sex and desire as her only weapons despite the fact most Kindred can barely remember what sex is like since the lust for blood has replaced it.
The book is a bit slow going in terms of both action as well as deep character angst. For the most part Leopold's story about not remembering his past isn't as evocative as Louis from Interview with a Vampire's "I need to kill people to survive." Likewise, Victoria Ash is very comfortable with her existence as a monster. The action doesn't begin until the end of the book and then it's everything going to hell.
My favorite part of the book remains the opening where Leopold describes his night consisting of luring a young woman back to his home, convincing her to model for him, seducing her (with his powers or not), then feeding only to drive them away with a lure of drugs as well as cash. It's a crass and robotic story that fascinates. We also learn how he makes his money, what he does to secure his haven, and other details that set it apart from other vampire stories.
In conclusion, Clan Novel: Toreador has quite a lot going for it. I like both Leopold and Victoria Ash as characters. However, I do think this is a book that should be read primarily by people at least loosely familiar with the World of Darkness. I also think it's a big commitment because you aren't going to get the full appeal of the series unless you read the whole 13 novel set.
TOREADOR is the first novel of the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE Clan Novel saga that began in 1999 and finished right before the ending of the Old World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying game. If that sounds like gobbledygook to you then you're probably not the intended audience of Goth nerds who ate these books up toward the turn of the millennium. Even so, I remember a lot of people picking up these books who'd never played a game with dice or character sheets in their life. It was a big influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON books as well as works like TRUE BLOOD and UNDERWORLD.
The premise of Vampire: The Masquerade (and the World of Darkness setting in general) is a familiar one to urban fantasy fans. The world we know is built over a hidden reality where vampires, werewolves, mages, and other supernaturals compete for supremacy. The undead wield amazing powers, financial and otherwise, that protect them from hunters as well as other threats. They control the world and feed on humankind with impunity. Unfortunately, they are their own worst enemy with the vampires divided into 13 clans, multiple sects, and a conflict between elders as well as neonates.
This book begins a 13 novel series that illustrates each of the clans as well as tells an overarching story. Among other things this means that while some of these books are going to be self-contained stories, others will just be open-ended. In this case, Toreador only starts the journey of its protagonists and you'll have to read the entire thing to see how it all ends up. I did read the original thirteen novels and while some were only so-so, others were great and I recommend it all to readers.
Clan Novel: Toreador follows two members of the Toreador Clan, a clan of artistes and socialites who are the "pretty" vampires. The first, Leopold, is a Neonate who doesn't remember his past and makes a living as a sculptor who feeds off street kids he seduces into being his models. The second, Victoria Ash, is a sex-obsessed Elder of her clan that is deluded into believing her petty power games are important. Both of them have their immortal ennui-filled lives disrupted by an attack from the Sabbat as well as the discovery of a magical artifact.
The Sabbat, for laymens out there, are the really evil vampires compared to the Camarilla or Anarchs who are just the sorta-evil vampires. They're a bunch of rampaging psychopath monsters who want nothing more than to feed on humanity openly while the others want to hide. The artifact, the Eye of Hazmiel, is only hinted at being a gamechanger in their world but will not reach its full potential until later books. This book's appeal is primarily groundwork and explaining the World of Darkness to newcomers.
The treatment of the Toreador clan was very well-done as we get the different sides of the Clan. The artistes are represented by Leopold, who struggles with the amorality of his work as well as his desire to give back to the world by creating beauty. However, he's unable to create anything original anymore due to the curse afflicting him. He can't even make sculptures of his fellow Kindred as something blocks his talent. Victoria Ash, by contrast, surrounds herself with art and misses how dark and disturbing all of it is. She also can't break free from using sex and desire as her only weapons despite the fact most Kindred can barely remember what sex is like since the lust for blood has replaced it.
The book is a bit slow going in terms of both action as well as deep character angst. For the most part Leopold's story about not remembering his past isn't as evocative as Louis from Interview with a Vampire's "I need to kill people to survive." Likewise, Victoria Ash is very comfortable with her existence as a monster. The action doesn't begin until the end of the book and then it's everything going to hell.
My favorite part of the book remains the opening where Leopold describes his night consisting of luring a young woman back to his home, convincing her to model for him, seducing her (with his powers or not), then feeding only to drive them away with a lure of drugs as well as cash. It's a crass and robotic story that fascinates. We also learn how he makes his money, what he does to secure his haven, and other details that set it apart from other vampire stories.
In conclusion, Clan Novel: Toreador has quite a lot going for it. I like both Leopold and Victoria Ash as characters. However, I do think this is a book that should be read primarily by people at least loosely familiar with the World of Darkness. I also think it's a big commitment because you aren't going to get the full appeal of the series unless you read the whole 13 novel set.
October 30, 2017
I'll start off by saying that this is not by any means a bad book. The only other Old World of Darkness books I've read was The Horizon War trilogy, which draws mostly on Mage: The Ascension (my preferred game) material. For the record, my approach to reviewing books is to not only review how good I thought the story was, but to also examine the prose and technique.
The story is fine. The chapters are unnumbered and instead have headings for the time, date, and location of the text that follows it. The majority of the story/action takes place in a single night (June 21-22, 1999) in Atlanta, GA, though there are some "chapters" that take place a couple of days before. Readers should be warned that the Clan Novel series is not chronological, so you do need to pay attention to these timestamps as other books can start significantly before or after the events of this book.
The first third of the book focuses on Leopold, a fledgling Toreador sculptor that begins to have an existential crisis about trying to find out who sired him. The second third of the book focuses on Victoria Ash, an ambitious and seductive Elder Toreador that has recently moved to the city in order to serve as the Toreador Primogen (i.e., clan representative) of Atlanta. In a (I assume unintentional) twist of Mrs. Dalloway, Victoria throws a lavish celebration party with the ulterior motive of engaging in intrigue and mischief. The last third of the novel switches between several POV characters from multiple clans that are attending the party, including revisits to Victoria and Leopold.
The only "technique" that's present in the book is that when it approaches the climax, the chapters start getting progressively shorter. It's successful in adding to the suspense. Characterization is somewhat of a strength of the novel. Victoria is a strong POV and I feel like I walk away knowing who she is a character. She has a penchant for "tossing the dice" and using chance/chaos determine the paths she takes in order to maintain an air of unpredictability. I thought this was a very nice touch, considering the flatness of most other characters. Leopold had his moments, but his part of the story didn't add too much to the overall plot. I feel like I can predict his role in future books, but his chapters didn't have much relevance to the centerpiece (the party) of this novel. Vegel (a Setite) was also fairly interesting for the little "screen time" he got.
Otherwise, the prose and structure in this novel is such a mess... A strong editor would have brought this up to 4 stars at minimum. The author is very guilty of "telling" and not "showing," meaning that most of the time it feels like you're reading a source book for the game instead of a narrative. Most of the worldbuilding is done in this "tell you" manner, which really ruins the suspension of disbelief. Instead of saying "Nosferatu are all hideous. Their ugliness makes them hide in sewers. Kine are horrified by their ugly faces." you can say "The light slanted under the Nosferatu Elder's hood, illuminating the same melting, gnarled deformities that branded all of their clan. Her nose flared at the smell of waste and mildew that wafted from his robes, no doubt from the sewers and shadows that his kind have been consigned to lurk in for eternity. The mere sight of their ghoulish visages by a kine was enough to break the masquerade." I mean, I have no formal training in writing and I just whipped out something better than what I read.
Another issue I have is leaving things written in between the lines for astute readers to figure out. Right when you start thinking you've figured something sneaky or unsaid about a character, the author comes out and bluntly states it... which is very frustrating. It makes you feel like you don't really need to read everything because you'll just be "told" shortly. You will also run into a few paragraphs where absolutely nothing of value is written and you can skip them and not miss anything. No characterization, worldbuilding, plot details... Just tangent thoughts provided by the character. It's the equivalent of filler/bullshit in a student essay,
Another technical issue I have is that three or four chapters are dedicated to Benito Giovanni, in which absolutely nothing of relevance happens that contributes to this story. I understand that all of these stories are supposed to intersect/connect, but if it was necessary to keep him in this book they could have found a way to tie a stronger thread to the party, Victoria, or Leopold at bare minimum. The Horizon Wars similarly had strange Giovanni chapters where (like in this one) the Giovanni sits in their office thinking and not much happens otherwise... until it does and then it just leaves you scratching your head.
Finally, the party scene was largely from Victoria's POV, where she essentially repeats the same sentiments the entire time... snickering in her head about this brilliant little intrigue she hopes to conduct. It would have been more refreshing to explore more chapters from other perspectives to see how a variety of different vampires perceive her. From a "game novel" POV, it would mean that we not only get a chance to see her thoughts, we can also see how Kindred of different clans/generations react in order to gauge how skilled she truly is. A woman's perspective (e.g., Eleanor, the Prince's wife) would have been fascinating, for example.
In sum, Victoria Ash is the redeeming quality of this novel as she truly embodies the Toreador archetype she's designed after. She also demonstrates a level of complexity that is interesting, whereas I can't say the same for Leopold and Vergel. The pacing of the novel and use of progressively shortening chapters to build tension makes it a fairly easy read. However, the prose is really lacking, and the choices of POV characters (or lack thereof) wasn't always well thought out. It really makes it hard for a novel to stand on its own when you include material that doesn't fit within the plot.
Perhaps they could have thought out how to structure these books in a better manner. I appreciate how they were ambitious and wanted to have a book dedicated to each clan, but perhaps better planning (storyboards and whatnot) would have led to a better execution. I get the feeling we'll be getting a lot of disconnected fragments through the next 12 books, which is really just bad writing... There are methods of successfully including "one-shot" chapters in a novel that may pop back up in a future publication, but you won't find them here.
I've read the next book is one of the best of the saga (and by a different author), so I look forward to reviewing that one.
The story is fine. The chapters are unnumbered and instead have headings for the time, date, and location of the text that follows it. The majority of the story/action takes place in a single night (June 21-22, 1999) in Atlanta, GA, though there are some "chapters" that take place a couple of days before. Readers should be warned that the Clan Novel series is not chronological, so you do need to pay attention to these timestamps as other books can start significantly before or after the events of this book.
The first third of the book focuses on Leopold, a fledgling Toreador sculptor that begins to have an existential crisis about trying to find out who sired him. The second third of the book focuses on Victoria Ash, an ambitious and seductive Elder Toreador that has recently moved to the city in order to serve as the Toreador Primogen (i.e., clan representative) of Atlanta. In a (I assume unintentional) twist of Mrs. Dalloway, Victoria throws a lavish celebration party with the ulterior motive of engaging in intrigue and mischief. The last third of the novel switches between several POV characters from multiple clans that are attending the party, including revisits to Victoria and Leopold.
The only "technique" that's present in the book is that when it approaches the climax, the chapters start getting progressively shorter. It's successful in adding to the suspense. Characterization is somewhat of a strength of the novel. Victoria is a strong POV and I feel like I walk away knowing who she is a character. She has a penchant for "tossing the dice" and using chance/chaos determine the paths she takes in order to maintain an air of unpredictability. I thought this was a very nice touch, considering the flatness of most other characters. Leopold had his moments, but his part of the story didn't add too much to the overall plot. I feel like I can predict his role in future books, but his chapters didn't have much relevance to the centerpiece (the party) of this novel. Vegel (a Setite) was also fairly interesting for the little "screen time" he got.
Otherwise, the prose and structure in this novel is such a mess... A strong editor would have brought this up to 4 stars at minimum. The author is very guilty of "telling" and not "showing," meaning that most of the time it feels like you're reading a source book for the game instead of a narrative. Most of the worldbuilding is done in this "tell you" manner, which really ruins the suspension of disbelief. Instead of saying "Nosferatu are all hideous. Their ugliness makes them hide in sewers. Kine are horrified by their ugly faces." you can say "The light slanted under the Nosferatu Elder's hood, illuminating the same melting, gnarled deformities that branded all of their clan. Her nose flared at the smell of waste and mildew that wafted from his robes, no doubt from the sewers and shadows that his kind have been consigned to lurk in for eternity. The mere sight of their ghoulish visages by a kine was enough to break the masquerade." I mean, I have no formal training in writing and I just whipped out something better than what I read.
Another issue I have is leaving things written in between the lines for astute readers to figure out. Right when you start thinking you've figured something sneaky or unsaid about a character, the author comes out and bluntly states it... which is very frustrating. It makes you feel like you don't really need to read everything because you'll just be "told" shortly. You will also run into a few paragraphs where absolutely nothing of value is written and you can skip them and not miss anything. No characterization, worldbuilding, plot details... Just tangent thoughts provided by the character. It's the equivalent of filler/bullshit in a student essay,
Another technical issue I have is that three or four chapters are dedicated to Benito Giovanni, in which absolutely nothing of relevance happens that contributes to this story. I understand that all of these stories are supposed to intersect/connect, but if it was necessary to keep him in this book they could have found a way to tie a stronger thread to the party, Victoria, or Leopold at bare minimum. The Horizon Wars similarly had strange Giovanni chapters where (like in this one) the Giovanni sits in their office thinking and not much happens otherwise... until it does and then it just leaves you scratching your head.
Finally, the party scene was largely from Victoria's POV, where she essentially repeats the same sentiments the entire time... snickering in her head about this brilliant little intrigue she hopes to conduct. It would have been more refreshing to explore more chapters from other perspectives to see how a variety of different vampires perceive her. From a "game novel" POV, it would mean that we not only get a chance to see her thoughts, we can also see how Kindred of different clans/generations react in order to gauge how skilled she truly is. A woman's perspective (e.g., Eleanor, the Prince's wife) would have been fascinating, for example.
In sum, Victoria Ash is the redeeming quality of this novel as she truly embodies the Toreador archetype she's designed after. She also demonstrates a level of complexity that is interesting, whereas I can't say the same for Leopold and Vergel. The pacing of the novel and use of progressively shortening chapters to build tension makes it a fairly easy read. However, the prose is really lacking, and the choices of POV characters (or lack thereof) wasn't always well thought out. It really makes it hard for a novel to stand on its own when you include material that doesn't fit within the plot.
Perhaps they could have thought out how to structure these books in a better manner. I appreciate how they were ambitious and wanted to have a book dedicated to each clan, but perhaps better planning (storyboards and whatnot) would have led to a better execution. I get the feeling we'll be getting a lot of disconnected fragments through the next 12 books, which is really just bad writing... There are methods of successfully including "one-shot" chapters in a novel that may pop back up in a future publication, but you won't find them here.
I've read the next book is one of the best of the saga (and by a different author), so I look forward to reviewing that one.
May 31, 2010
This was an interesting reading experience. The whole novel takes place in one night or so, and the story does pack a lot into that one night. Though we are mostly following Victoria Ash and Leopold, the story moves back and forth between other characters, all with their different schemes and motivations. If you like dark fiction with a lot of intrigue and machinations, then this book is for you because the vampires of The Masquerade, known as the Kindred, pretty much live to pursue Machiavellian plots. Our main characters are members of the Toreador Clan, which are artists, so you also get a lot of descriptions related to the art crafts, specially sculpture which is what Leopold does. I think I particularly enjoyed this novel at this point in time because it presents vampires as they should be: scary, powerful, ruthless. In other words, these are not the wimpy sissy vampires a lot of paranormal romances and urban fantasies seem to favor these days. These are not nice vampires, even when they are at their most seductive. The novel has a pretty strong dark tone overall that works nicely. It does leave you with a cliffhanger leading to the next novel, which I will be sure to try and find. It looks like the plot will thicken, but I will have to wait for the next books to find out more.
January 6, 2008
This is the first volume in a 13 book set which focuses on the thirteen clans of the Kindred. It is a huge undertaking to commit to a 13 book series but White Wolf Publishing is known for the quality of it's publishing and this series, thus far, does not disappoint. The Toreador's are considered hedonists and are easily ignored by the other clans but one of the Toreadors has a plan. That plan includes becoming the most powerful vampyre in Atlanta and to control the city. She has set her plan in motion and by the final page it is easy to see that all thirteen clans will play a pivotal role. The story begins here....the end will determine the fate of not only Atlanta...but the world. My bet is this is where the idea for the "Soprano's" came from....but that is just my opinion.
June 11, 2010
It was a very long book. It took me at least half a month to finish it. I can't say I hated it though. I was extremely upset and pleased at the same time as soon as I read the final pages of the last few chapters.
The idea of vampires in this novel pushed me into a whole new world. I got so far in that actually forgot that the second half of the book took place in a single night.
I remember it was around six or seven at night and I was screaming "NO! THAT CAN'T BE THE WAY IT ENDED!" because they just left me off on a cliff-hanger.
My favorite character had to be Leopold. My least, Victoria.
I liked Leopold the best because I thought he went insane in the end when he was sucking on a literal eye-ball. I disliked Victoria the most because she sounded a lot more selfish than evil, and she was the closest thing in this book to a villain.
Thinking about Hannah, I was wondering whether or not she knew what was going to happen that night. None of the Tremere showed up to the summer solstice, and the author brought it up more than once.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good.
It was satisfying in a way that I was craving for more but I was so long that it was a little painful to focus on a single page and read for more than two hours at a time.
The idea of vampires in this novel pushed me into a whole new world. I got so far in that actually forgot that the second half of the book took place in a single night.
I remember it was around six or seven at night and I was screaming "NO! THAT CAN'T BE THE WAY IT ENDED!" because they just left me off on a cliff-hanger.
My favorite character had to be Leopold. My least, Victoria.
I liked Leopold the best because I thought he went insane in the end when he was sucking on a literal eye-ball. I disliked Victoria the most because she sounded a lot more selfish than evil, and she was the closest thing in this book to a villain.
Thinking about Hannah, I was wondering whether or not she knew what was going to happen that night. None of the Tremere showed up to the summer solstice, and the author brought it up more than once.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good.
It was satisfying in a way that I was craving for more but I was so long that it was a little painful to focus on a single page and read for more than two hours at a time.
April 13, 2008
I really like the idea of The Masquerade and all the different personality sets there are for the vampires. This was an awesome start to the series and I loved how it follows one person from the clan but gives and over all storyline.
September 11, 2013
Real rating is fluctuating between 3.5 and 4
I am rereading this book. I (I think) read it when it first came out during the days of the Old World of Darkness game systems heyday.
I'm not quite sure how entertaining this book would be to someone who has not played the games. I have the feeling that it would be easy for someone who doesn't know the world already to get lost in the novel.
There is a lot of explanation throughout the book, in an attempt to clue in the casual reader. To someone who has played the games though, this might drag the story down. To me some of the inclusions of game lore seemed a little gratuitous and was distracting.
I'm a bit of a loss of how to proceed from here. I want to finally read the whole series, but am having trouble finding some of the parts.
White Wolf released collections of the novels (there is 13 in all) and rearranged them. They basically took all 13 novels, and dissected them and put them back together in chronological order. I have read mixed reviews on this.
Also, I am a reading challenge whore and look at that as the difference between reading 13 books and 4 books toward my goal :P
I am rereading this book. I (I think) read it when it first came out during the days of the Old World of Darkness game systems heyday.
I'm not quite sure how entertaining this book would be to someone who has not played the games. I have the feeling that it would be easy for someone who doesn't know the world already to get lost in the novel.
There is a lot of explanation throughout the book, in an attempt to clue in the casual reader. To someone who has played the games though, this might drag the story down. To me some of the inclusions of game lore seemed a little gratuitous and was distracting.
I'm a bit of a loss of how to proceed from here. I want to finally read the whole series, but am having trouble finding some of the parts.
White Wolf released collections of the novels (there is 13 in all) and rearranged them. They basically took all 13 novels, and dissected them and put them back together in chronological order. I have read mixed reviews on this.
Also, I am a reading challenge whore and look at that as the difference between reading 13 books and 4 books toward my goal :P
November 2, 2018
I am blogging the reviews to this whole series.
It starts here: http://pseudopod.org/2018/10/25/the-c...
And for this book: http://pseudopod.org/2018/11/01/the-c...
It starts here: http://pseudopod.org/2018/10/25/the-c...
And for this book: http://pseudopod.org/2018/11/01/the-c...
September 2, 2014
Slow-starter, but the ending took it all
July 12, 2017
Still my favorite after all these years....
October 11, 2023
If you ever heard of World of Darkness, you probably know it is a tabletop roleplaying system. I am a huge fan of its world and its denizens, however I've only had very limited playing experience, and when I try to read the core rule books I fail to get in touch with the lore. So what made me seek out this book was my need to know more about the lore and the universe and how it is supposed to feel when intent, inspiration and rules are put together.
Toreador, though first of the Vampire Clan Novels, does not focus exclusively on this particular clan. We are thrown right into the multi-layered intrigues and power plays of these undead competitors, while the lore, terms and meaning are introduced to us piecemeal, from the point of view of neonates new to it all themselves, allowing even freshmen like me to catch up and enjoy my time.
And then there is a truly captivating story going on. Of course, I need to admit there are a few details amiss, details the author introduced one way and applied later through another and the rare typo, but all that only strengthens the talented underdog position of the novel in my opinion, though it came from no one less than Stewart Wieck, co-author of the World of Darkness itself.
This climaxes into a thrilling showdown, throwing up far more questions and introducing way more threats than it solves, and suddenly we feel right inside that wonderfully dark setting, one with the various players and enemies, where deceit and concealment are the first and foremost tools of survival to our predatory breed: Vampires.
A true gem in my opinion, and worthwhile for anyone seeking a more profound application of the vampire genre, WoD or not. I am going to read the whole series, that's for sure.
Toreador, though first of the Vampire Clan Novels, does not focus exclusively on this particular clan. We are thrown right into the multi-layered intrigues and power plays of these undead competitors, while the lore, terms and meaning are introduced to us piecemeal, from the point of view of neonates new to it all themselves, allowing even freshmen like me to catch up and enjoy my time.
And then there is a truly captivating story going on. Of course, I need to admit there are a few details amiss, details the author introduced one way and applied later through another and the rare typo, but all that only strengthens the talented underdog position of the novel in my opinion, though it came from no one less than Stewart Wieck, co-author of the World of Darkness itself.
This climaxes into a thrilling showdown, throwing up far more questions and introducing way more threats than it solves, and suddenly we feel right inside that wonderfully dark setting, one with the various players and enemies, where deceit and concealment are the first and foremost tools of survival to our predatory breed: Vampires.
A true gem in my opinion, and worthwhile for anyone seeking a more profound application of the vampire genre, WoD or not. I am going to read the whole series, that's for sure.
August 11, 2019
Honestly a much better book than I anticipated. Decently written, adult themes, and I found myself Googling a series of classic sculptures as important events happened in their presence. Who would have thought that would be the result of a V:TM offshoot novel?
Another read as I dip back into the world in preparation for Bloodlines 2.
Another read as I dip back into the world in preparation for Bloodlines 2.
August 25, 2022
All the stars. Just for that ENDING!!
June 23, 2015
I recently finished Vampire: the Masquerade- Bloodlines (in case you're wondering, I first used a tremere and I'm currently playing as a malkavian- obfuscate is the shit!) so I decided to finally read this book that I bought for 3 euros at a local book bazaar.
It is the first novel of the "Clan" series, named so because each book mainly describes a single vampire clan. As the name implies, this one is about the Toreador, the "artistic" vampires of the setting. Leopold is a young Toreador who does not remember who Embraced him. Additionaly, he cannot scultp a statue if he knows that his model is a Kindred (fancy vampire term for "vampire"). It all changes when he finally manages to do so, and he decides to show his latest creation at Victoria Ash's party.
Enter Victoria. A 300-ish years old Toreador who decides to throw a party in order to gauge the vampire situation in Atlanta, Georgia, and move into position to become a major player among the Kindred of the city... before unexpected guests (you can probably guess who they are) come and ruin it all for everyone.
There are more characters, obviously- a Giovanni who is stalked by an unknown person, a Ventrue and a Brujah who create their own (or so they think) political game to overthrow Atlanta's Malkavian prince, a Setite and a Nosferatu with a mysterious ancient occult item...
I am mildly interested in the World of Darkness setting, so I was eager to read the book. Sadly, it was not as interesting as I wanted it to be. First of all, it never made me sympathise with any characters. This is important because even dislikable characters make you feel something! Not the protagonists of Toreador, though. I couldn't really make myself feel anything for Leopold, or Vegel, or the Anarchs, or Victoria. I guess the book failed to make me care about them, or the situation in general. The main reason is that it was not really well-written. It wasn't well-translated, either. Weird words, repeating the same words, that kind of thing.
I am willing to give it three stars for two reasons. First, I cannot give it 2.5 stars. Second, I am willing to gice the series another chance. I might read another one or two books and see if they get any better. Plus, there have to be some good books based on the World of Darkness!
It is the first novel of the "Clan" series, named so because each book mainly describes a single vampire clan. As the name implies, this one is about the Toreador, the "artistic" vampires of the setting. Leopold is a young Toreador who does not remember who Embraced him. Additionaly, he cannot scultp a statue if he knows that his model is a Kindred (fancy vampire term for "vampire"). It all changes when he finally manages to do so, and he decides to show his latest creation at Victoria Ash's party.
Enter Victoria. A 300-ish years old Toreador who decides to throw a party in order to gauge the vampire situation in Atlanta, Georgia, and move into position to become a major player among the Kindred of the city... before unexpected guests (you can probably guess who they are) come and ruin it all for everyone.
There are more characters, obviously- a Giovanni who is stalked by an unknown person, a Ventrue and a Brujah who create their own (or so they think) political game to overthrow Atlanta's Malkavian prince, a Setite and a Nosferatu with a mysterious ancient occult item...
I am mildly interested in the World of Darkness setting, so I was eager to read the book. Sadly, it was not as interesting as I wanted it to be. First of all, it never made me sympathise with any characters. This is important because even dislikable characters make you feel something! Not the protagonists of Toreador, though. I couldn't really make myself feel anything for Leopold, or Vegel, or the Anarchs, or Victoria. I guess the book failed to make me care about them, or the situation in general. The main reason is that it was not really well-written. It wasn't well-translated, either. Weird words, repeating the same words, that kind of thing.
I am willing to give it three stars for two reasons. First, I cannot give it 2.5 stars. Second, I am willing to gice the series another chance. I might read another one or two books and see if they get any better. Plus, there have to be some good books based on the World of Darkness!
March 8, 2015
One of the problems with a planned series of novels is the difficulty of balancing the needs of of the overarching tale with the need to have each book stand alone by itself. Stewart Wieck's
Clan Novel: Toreador
fails the latter and arguably more important requirement. While Wieck struggles through much of the first half of the book making constant references to the lexicon of White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade without granting a novice reader any insight (and frustrating this reader who played the game from 1995-2000), it is the complete collapse of the plot in favor of sophomoric action that dooms this book. It serves as a reminder that the mature, political structure could and would give way to some damn fool who just wanted to make a bad guy (a Sabbat vampire) who got to wreak havoc and kill anything he wanted. It is a shame that the company and the author chose to endorse this.
Maybe this all gets redeemed in the succession of novels, but I cannot foresee the circumstances where I would choose to read those twelve books over the vast assortment of material I have yet to read.
Maybe this all gets redeemed in the succession of novels, but I cannot foresee the circumstances where I would choose to read those twelve books over the vast assortment of material I have yet to read.
November 2, 2017
So I read this because we're in the middle of a Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game, and I wanted to get into that headspace a little better.
Would I recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in The World of Darkness? No. Definitely not. The book relies on a lot of terms and ideas that aren't completely explained to those who've never seen the rpg, and I don't know that the plot was fleshed out enough in this one novel to really hook someone.
Each book in the series features one of the thirteen main clans in Vampire, and Toreador's are definitely the worst. So I'm happy I've got that over with. While I mostly enjoyed the story (despite the writing feeling a little dated? IDK) I really wish that the ebooks were scanned with OCR since my digital copy consists of scanned pages. Yep. Pages. So if I want to highlight something it doesn't really work. And if I want to take notes to try to remember all these names that are going to show up again in the next 12 novels, it's a pain. And I can't just search the text like I would with any other book. It's... frustrating.
That being said, I'll probably read the next two books at least. I'll stubborn my way through.
Would I recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in The World of Darkness? No. Definitely not. The book relies on a lot of terms and ideas that aren't completely explained to those who've never seen the rpg, and I don't know that the plot was fleshed out enough in this one novel to really hook someone.
Each book in the series features one of the thirteen main clans in Vampire, and Toreador's are definitely the worst. So I'm happy I've got that over with. While I mostly enjoyed the story (despite the writing feeling a little dated? IDK) I really wish that the ebooks were scanned with OCR since my digital copy consists of scanned pages. Yep. Pages. So if I want to highlight something it doesn't really work. And if I want to take notes to try to remember all these names that are going to show up again in the next 12 novels, it's a pain. And I can't just search the text like I would with any other book. It's... frustrating.
That being said, I'll probably read the next two books at least. I'll stubborn my way through.
August 31, 2018
Book 1 in the series:
Supposed to be all about the Toreador but there was a lot about nearly every other clan. Strange. I was drawn to this series because I used to be a storyteller for Vampire: The Dark Ages (that's what we called it in the late 90s/early 00s) so I thought I'd remember things. Yeah, nope. Since I never really played Masquerade I was on the struggle-bus while reading some of this. (Blood Curse? huh?) Thank goodness for wikis, is all I have to say.
As to the actual writing: it was alright. Painfully wordy at times. I felt there were a great deal of stories thrown all together like a tease for future things? I certainly hope these parts are resolved (the wraith in the office, the Eye, whatever that random witchcraft was with the Tremere chick) or else all of that will be a serious waste of time. For such a short book there was way too much stuff going on and it detracted from what I assumed was the main story (Victoria's party and political conniving).
Anyway. The rest of these books better deliver or I'm gonna be sad.
Supposed to be all about the Toreador but there was a lot about nearly every other clan. Strange. I was drawn to this series because I used to be a storyteller for Vampire: The Dark Ages (that's what we called it in the late 90s/early 00s) so I thought I'd remember things. Yeah, nope. Since I never really played Masquerade I was on the struggle-bus while reading some of this. (Blood Curse? huh?) Thank goodness for wikis, is all I have to say.
As to the actual writing: it was alright. Painfully wordy at times. I felt there were a great deal of stories thrown all together like a tease for future things? I certainly hope these parts are resolved (the wraith in the office, the Eye, whatever that random witchcraft was with the Tremere chick) or else all of that will be a serious waste of time. For such a short book there was way too much stuff going on and it detracted from what I assumed was the main story (Victoria's party and political conniving).
Anyway. The rest of these books better deliver or I'm gonna be sad.
June 28, 2013
I have been a fan of White Wolf vampires for 20+ years. This book showcases predominately the Toreador clan; the artists. In this worlds vampiric society, there is a great deal of politics as well as intrigue, deception and fantasy. This is a great first book of a 13 book series. Very excited to read them all.
January 19, 2016
As a vampire book, it was entertaining (despite the foppish arrogance of the Toreador Clan). But there was a lot of "behind-the-scenes, cloak-and-dagger" stuff going on, which didn't hold my interest.
March 28, 2023
Η μετάφραση είναι όσο για τον πούτσο την θυμώμουν, 20 χρόνια μετά την πρώτη φορά που το διάβασα και με εξέπληξε το ποσό χαμηλά στάνταρς είχαμε στις μεταφράσεις στα early 00s. Χαχα τι λέω ακόμα για τον πούτσο είμαστε.
February 28, 2012
Starts slow and repeats itself but then turn pretty interesting.
You should be familiar with Vampire : the Masquerade before reading this or you'll be confused.
You should be familiar with Vampire : the Masquerade before reading this or you'll be confused.
February 27, 2019
Genius, the perfect begging for the series, has everything to capture the reader, from deep history to a solid narrative. You can feel the characters and the consequences of all around them
February 9, 2026
"It was amazing." - 5 out of 5 star rating.
The first entry in a 13-book mega series about each and every clan within the Vampire the Masquerade intellectual property.
Starting off with a clan I never would have considered at the top of my personal list, Toreador comes in very strong. What I have come to really love about this clan is their whole fascination and obsession with art. This book does a phenomenal job of pulling the reader into this bloodline trait of this clan, with Leopold who is essentially the main character of the book, with his incredible passion for sculpting.
I also greatly appreciated all of the real-world art pieces that were injected into this story, creating great immersion.
This book also had the incredible challenge of being the kick-off for a 13-book series, where a lot of ground work was laid on various characters, Cain lore, basic core rules of Vampire the Masquerade, and so much more.
My one criticism about this book is how many characters are introduced. There are easily 1-2 per clan, so we are talking beyond the ~20 mark, which I could see for some being quite overwhelming. I for one too copious notes during my read-through which helped me counterweight this potential issue for other readers.
Considering the fact that:
1. This was the kick-off for a 13-book series and did outstanding.
2. Opened my eyes to the Toreador clan and gave me a new found interest/respect for them.
3. Cain lore, real-world art injection, and burdened with the responsibility of having to lay down a lot of Vampire the Masquerade rulesets for future books of the series.
4. I couldn't put it down and found myself picking up the book each and every day - wanting more and more.
5. Got my so pulled in, I already have books #2 (Tzimisce) #3 (Grangel - Note: my favorite VtM clan, so thankful that they come in early in the series) already sitting on my counter as I type this...
For those five (5) reasons above... I have to give this a 5 out of 5 star rating.
Looking forward into diving in to book #2 next!
The first entry in a 13-book mega series about each and every clan within the Vampire the Masquerade intellectual property.
Starting off with a clan I never would have considered at the top of my personal list, Toreador comes in very strong. What I have come to really love about this clan is their whole fascination and obsession with art. This book does a phenomenal job of pulling the reader into this bloodline trait of this clan, with Leopold who is essentially the main character of the book, with his incredible passion for sculpting.
I also greatly appreciated all of the real-world art pieces that were injected into this story, creating great immersion.
This book also had the incredible challenge of being the kick-off for a 13-book series, where a lot of ground work was laid on various characters, Cain lore, basic core rules of Vampire the Masquerade, and so much more.
My one criticism about this book is how many characters are introduced. There are easily 1-2 per clan, so we are talking beyond the ~20 mark, which I could see for some being quite overwhelming. I for one too copious notes during my read-through which helped me counterweight this potential issue for other readers.
Considering the fact that:
1. This was the kick-off for a 13-book series and did outstanding.
2. Opened my eyes to the Toreador clan and gave me a new found interest/respect for them.
3. Cain lore, real-world art injection, and burdened with the responsibility of having to lay down a lot of Vampire the Masquerade rulesets for future books of the series.
4. I couldn't put it down and found myself picking up the book each and every day - wanting more and more.
5. Got my so pulled in, I already have books #2 (Tzimisce) #3 (Grangel - Note: my favorite VtM clan, so thankful that they come in early in the series) already sitting on my counter as I type this...
For those five (5) reasons above... I have to give this a 5 out of 5 star rating.
Looking forward into diving in to book #2 next!
September 5, 2025
This book has a lot of classic oWoD vibes. I love that. the problem is that it is really hard to pin down who the main character is and what they are after. I really liked Leopold and thought he was a good intro character for readers who might not know a Tremer from a Lasambra but the book spends most of the last half ignoring him completely to focus on the plots of other vampires we haven't met yet.
most of this book takes place during a party with multiple vampires plotting and scheming against each other. Which is a perfect place for a vampire book to take place in, but since this is the first time we are meeting many of these characters, this party is doing a ton of heavy lifting and I am not sure it does a good job all the time.
Still, though. There is something working here and I might pick up the next book in the series.
most of this book takes place during a party with multiple vampires plotting and scheming against each other. Which is a perfect place for a vampire book to take place in, but since this is the first time we are meeting many of these characters, this party is doing a ton of heavy lifting and I am not sure it does a good job all the time.
Still, though. There is something working here and I might pick up the next book in the series.
December 1, 2025
Primer libro que abre una serie de trece novelas basadas en el mundo de ''Vampiro la Mascarada". Los amantes y roleros de este juego lo van a disfrutar mucho, aunque para los que no se hayan iniciado nunca en este mundo, también supone una buena introducción al lore, ya que es bastante explicativo. La historia está narrada de manera coral y aunque se centra sobretodo en dos personajes del clan Toreador, toca muchos palos y aparecen gran variedad de clanes y subtramas. Ha tenido partes más lentas pero no se hace pesado. El final es apoteósico y abre la veda a una historia mucho más grande y compleja. Con ganas de seguir leyendo los siguientes, ya que la segunda novela se centra en mis amados Tzimisce 🙃
September 20, 2024
I run a Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle and two of my players enjoy writing short stories inspired by our sessions. Reading their work made me crave books set in this universe. Little did I know such novels already existed! Born in 1991, I completely missed out on these early 2000s gems. While the writing quality isn’t always the best, they’re incredibly entertaining to read and offer a great way to dive deeper into the setting, clans, sects, and lore of Vampire: The Masquerade.
March 29, 2023
another good instalment but not my favourite. the action was slow to start but well described. the characters were deeply compelling, even minor ones.
October 23, 2024
Questionable narrative choices but leads to true intrigue
I found the early narrative style a little unbearable honestly and had to force myself to keep going. Glad I did though, since the ending opens up an intriguing wider plot that makes me want to explore the rest of the series.
I found the early narrative style a little unbearable honestly and had to force myself to keep going. Glad I did though, since the ending opens up an intriguing wider plot that makes me want to explore the rest of the series.
March 12, 2019
http://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/14...
4/5
TOREADOR is the first novel of the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE Clan Novel saga that began in 1999 and finished right before the ending of the Old World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying game. If that sounds like gobbledygook to you then you're probably not the intended audience of Goth nerds who ate these books up toward the turn of the millennium. Even so, I remember a lot of people picking up these books who'd never played a game with dice or character sheets in their life. It was a big influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON books as well as works like TRUE BLOOD and UNDERWORLD.
The premise of Vampire: The Masquerade (and the World of Darkness setting in general) is a familiar one to urban fantasy fans. The world we know is built over a hidden reality where vampires, werewolves, mages, and other supernaturals compete for supremacy. The undead wield amazing powers, financial and otherwise, that protect them from hunters as well as other threats. They control the world and feed on humankind with impunity. Unfortunately, they are their own worst enemy with the vampires divided into 13 clans, multiple sects, and a conflict between elders as well as neonates.
This book begins a 13 novel series that illustrates each of the clans as well as tells an overarching story. Among other things this means that while some of these books are going to be self-contained stories, others will just be open-ended. In this case, Toreador only starts the journey of its protagonists and you'll have to read the entire thing to see how it all ends up. I did read the original thirteen novels and while some were only so-so, others were great and I recommend it all to readers.
Clan Novel: Toreador follows two members of the Toreador Clan, a clan of artistes and socialites who are the "pretty" vampires. The first, Leopold, is a Neonate who doesn't remember his past and makes a living as a sculptor who feeds off street kids he seduces into being his models. The second, Victoria Ash, is a sex-obsessed Elder of her clan that is deluded into believing her petty power games are important. Both of them have their immortal ennui-filled lives disrupted by an attack from the Sabbat as well as the discovery of a magical artifact.
The Sabbat, for laymens out there, are the really evil vampires compared to the Camarilla or Anarchs who are just the sorta-evil vampires. They're a bunch of rampaging psychopath monsters who want nothing more than to feed on humanity openly while the others want to hide. The artifact, the Eye of Hazmiel, is only hinted at being a gamechanger in their world but will not reach its full potential until later books. This book's appeal is primarily groundwork and explaining the World of Darkness to newcomers.
The treatment of the Toreador clan was very well-done as we get the different sides of the Clan. The artistes are represented by Leopold, who struggles with the amorality of his work as well as his desire to give back to the world by creating beauty. However, he's unable to create anything original anymore due to the curse afflicting him. He can't even make sculptures of his fellow Kindred as something blocks his talent. Victoria Ash, by contrast, surrounds herself with art and misses how dark and disturbing all of it is. She also can't break free from using sex and desire as her only weapons despite the fact most Kindred can barely remember what sex is like since the lust for blood has replaced it.
The book is a bit slow going in terms of both action as well as deep character angst. For the most part Leopold's story about not remembering his past isn't as evocative as Louis from Interview with a Vampire's "I need to kill people to survive." Likewise, Victoria Ash is very comfortable with her existence as a monster. The action doesn't begin until the end of the book and then it's everything going to hell.
My favorite part of the book remains the opening where Leopold describes his night consisting of luring a young woman back to his home, convincing her to model for him, seducing her (with his powers or not), then feeding only to drive them away with a lure of drugs as well as cash. It's a crass and robotic story that fascinates. We also learn how he makes his money, what he does to secure his haven, and other details that set it apart from other vampire stories.
In conclusion, Clan Novel: Toreador has quite a lot going for it. I like both Leopold and Victoria Ash as characters. However, I do think this is a book that should be read primarily by people at least loosely familiar with the World of Darkness. I also think it's a big commitment because you aren't going to get the full appeal of the series unless you read the whole 13 novel set.
Available here: https://crossroadpress.com/product/cl...
4/5
TOREADOR is the first novel of the VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE Clan Novel saga that began in 1999 and finished right before the ending of the Old World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying game. If that sounds like gobbledygook to you then you're probably not the intended audience of Goth nerds who ate these books up toward the turn of the millennium. Even so, I remember a lot of people picking up these books who'd never played a game with dice or character sheets in their life. It was a big influence on my STRAIGHT OUTTA FANGTON books as well as works like TRUE BLOOD and UNDERWORLD.
The premise of Vampire: The Masquerade (and the World of Darkness setting in general) is a familiar one to urban fantasy fans. The world we know is built over a hidden reality where vampires, werewolves, mages, and other supernaturals compete for supremacy. The undead wield amazing powers, financial and otherwise, that protect them from hunters as well as other threats. They control the world and feed on humankind with impunity. Unfortunately, they are their own worst enemy with the vampires divided into 13 clans, multiple sects, and a conflict between elders as well as neonates.
This book begins a 13 novel series that illustrates each of the clans as well as tells an overarching story. Among other things this means that while some of these books are going to be self-contained stories, others will just be open-ended. In this case, Toreador only starts the journey of its protagonists and you'll have to read the entire thing to see how it all ends up. I did read the original thirteen novels and while some were only so-so, others were great and I recommend it all to readers.
Clan Novel: Toreador follows two members of the Toreador Clan, a clan of artistes and socialites who are the "pretty" vampires. The first, Leopold, is a Neonate who doesn't remember his past and makes a living as a sculptor who feeds off street kids he seduces into being his models. The second, Victoria Ash, is a sex-obsessed Elder of her clan that is deluded into believing her petty power games are important. Both of them have their immortal ennui-filled lives disrupted by an attack from the Sabbat as well as the discovery of a magical artifact.
The Sabbat, for laymens out there, are the really evil vampires compared to the Camarilla or Anarchs who are just the sorta-evil vampires. They're a bunch of rampaging psychopath monsters who want nothing more than to feed on humanity openly while the others want to hide. The artifact, the Eye of Hazmiel, is only hinted at being a gamechanger in their world but will not reach its full potential until later books. This book's appeal is primarily groundwork and explaining the World of Darkness to newcomers.
The treatment of the Toreador clan was very well-done as we get the different sides of the Clan. The artistes are represented by Leopold, who struggles with the amorality of his work as well as his desire to give back to the world by creating beauty. However, he's unable to create anything original anymore due to the curse afflicting him. He can't even make sculptures of his fellow Kindred as something blocks his talent. Victoria Ash, by contrast, surrounds herself with art and misses how dark and disturbing all of it is. She also can't break free from using sex and desire as her only weapons despite the fact most Kindred can barely remember what sex is like since the lust for blood has replaced it.
The book is a bit slow going in terms of both action as well as deep character angst. For the most part Leopold's story about not remembering his past isn't as evocative as Louis from Interview with a Vampire's "I need to kill people to survive." Likewise, Victoria Ash is very comfortable with her existence as a monster. The action doesn't begin until the end of the book and then it's everything going to hell.
My favorite part of the book remains the opening where Leopold describes his night consisting of luring a young woman back to his home, convincing her to model for him, seducing her (with his powers or not), then feeding only to drive them away with a lure of drugs as well as cash. It's a crass and robotic story that fascinates. We also learn how he makes his money, what he does to secure his haven, and other details that set it apart from other vampire stories.
In conclusion, Clan Novel: Toreador has quite a lot going for it. I like both Leopold and Victoria Ash as characters. However, I do think this is a book that should be read primarily by people at least loosely familiar with the World of Darkness. I also think it's a big commitment because you aren't going to get the full appeal of the series unless you read the whole 13 novel set.
Available here: https://crossroadpress.com/product/cl...
February 4, 2026
In comparison to the high-fantasy adventures of Dungeons & Dragons’ Forgotten Realms, the gothic punk of Vampire the Masquerade’s World of Darkness has always been a much less accessible and often less explored setting. It is fairly simple to see why: It has all the trappings of dark fantasy and grim-dark tropes—which were never that popular to begin with—crossed with a kind of mature-rated atmosphere, which layers on top of the doom, the gloom, the eyeliner, the leather jackets, the bleakness, the sex, and the collection of Joy Division CDs a whole plethora of complex politics, intrigue, and moral dilemmas.
Most people don’t even know who they’re going to be voting for until they reach the polls, let alone internalise the web of politicians and parties that govern their day-to-day lives. In that sense, the heavily political world of Vampire the Masquerade is given immense veracity, as to how there could be a secret society of immortal vampires, fragmented into clans, hidden from human oversight, constantly bickering over who is getting what, and who is getting dead. And it’s not just any vampires, a la your 18th century Serbians you’d read about your from Austrian medical reports, your Vladimir Țepeșes or your Edward Cullens (well I suppose it’s a little bit like your Edward Cullens, but I digress), but rather a set of immortal vampires, whose lineage extends as far as the times described in the Bible. In one of the coolest fiction writing choices ever, Cain – the first murderer, is cursed by God with vampirism for the murder of Abel, and he is forced to roam the land, siring children, who are burdened with the same aversion to sunlight and magical powers that turn skeletal systems into lawn chairs. With each subsequent generation, the blood of this original progenitor becomes more and more diluted, to the point where now, much like the seed of Genghis Khan, which ravaged Europe and Asia, every vampire is some distant descendant of Cain – a mere fraction of something great and powerful.
That fact alone is enough to drive some vampires crazy. The mere knowledge that someone is a generation up from you is enough for them to dismiss your entire existence, as if you were an ant stuck to the bottom of their boot. Their blood is twice as good as yours, after all. To survive in this cut-throat world, experience, reputation, and influence are everything, and it’s exactly what you know and who you know that the currencies of this world.
This first book in the so called Clan Novel Saga, centres around one of the myriad of clans, comprising the Camarilla… the Sabbat… the Anarchs and… uh, I digress. There’s about fourteen clans you’ll eventually become obsessed over, and they’ve all got their little unique traits and compulsions to make them distinct and interesting in their own idiosyncratic ways. The titular Toreador are a clan of aesthetically obsessive divas, whores, hedonists, degenerates and artists, who are perhaps the most human-like in their appearance. This proximity to mortals allows them to keep a hand on the pulse of human society, as well as be excellent socialites. This is only helped by the fact that they are supernaturally charming and their natural beauty is enhanced to such a degree that normal people will often find themselves compelled to cater to their every whim and desire.
In reality, you are introduced to much more than the Toreador, and that is both a good and a bad thing. You get the impression that there is rarely such a thing as an isolated clan, which can live peacefully in a vacuum. There is always someone else, they are always from a different clan, and they most likely want you dead or subjugated. Hierarchy is everything, and even when it isn’t the rules and regulations established by those who are actually calling the shots are ever-present and immutable.
In a second act of brilliant fiction-writing, the titular Masquerade is one of said ever-present inconveniences. The increasingly obnoxious to type out Masquerade is the veil, the game of deception that separates vampires from mortals. It’s a kind of Prime Directive, which all vampires must strive to uphold, regardless of circumstance. Everyone must keep the existence of vampires secret, which means not being sloppy, not openly displaying your ability to turn people’s skeletons into lawn chairs, and feeding carefully. This doesn’t always happen, but that is merely just another source of conflict, which makes this setting so delectable.
Now, when it comes to the actual events of this book, this is all preamble. It’s partially what makes Vampire the Masquerade compelling and difficult as a setting. Not everyone is as fanatical about this entirely fictional caste of vampires and their parallel world history, artifacts of power, and other idiosyncrasies. The Toreador clan novel is merely an introduction to all this, and it shows.
Toreador starts off slow. It tries to ease you in to all of this, by giving you all the hot, sexy, aesthetical stuff upfront, before letting you sink your teeth in into the political scandals of The Camarilla in its latter half. A lot of the important stuff is glanced over or appears as a little bit of a non sequitur in the middle of a chapter and then is never mentioned again. At any given point you might be indulging in ecstasy, drinking blood from the exposed thigh of an attractive woman, the next you’re fending off three helicopters with surface-to-air missiles in guerilla warfare. In one moment you’re discussing the vampire myth of origin, or the works of Dante Alighieri; in the next you’re grafting evil Mesopotamian artefacts of unspeakable body horror onto our body, like it’s Goichi Suda’s シルバー事件 all over again.
To call it uneven would be a bit of an understatement. I give it some slack, because of its seemingly impossible task of introducing the World of Darkness, while also laying out the groundworks for a series of thirteen planned novels about all the various clans, whilst also being an interesting exploration of clan Toreador in and of itself. There’s simply too much to cover for what is—in my eyes—a very short book. It has the benefit of being written by one of the co-creators of the role-playing game, but even with that pedigree, it is an obscene amount of information to get through.
When it’s not trying to tell you anything about the setting, Toreador is fairly heavy on descriptors, in a way I usually find indicative of literature, which is just padding for time and word count. Every surface, every particle of dust, every twirl of the hair, every inch of skin will be described in vivid detail. Every action will take an extraordinary amount of words, often repeated over and over ad nauseam. The kind of stuff that makes you go “Yeah, I get it.” more often than you’d want to. Where it really shines, much like the system it is based on is in the dialogue between immortal all-knowing vampires. There’s always something to be gained, and someone to be gamed. Internal monologues feature dozens of delightful paragraphs of considerations as to whether someone has noticed some involuntary tick or slight misjudgement. Vampires constantly weighing how their words and actions will ultimately influence others to accomplish their goals for them. Slight manipulations and heavy-handed intervention in the natural course of events always keeps everyone on their toes, and by virtue you the reader at the edge of your seat, wondering whether it’s all going to pan out, or whether something truly unexpected will occur, because of something everyone seemed to underestimate. That is where the true appeal of Vampire the Masquerade lies, and it is what the Toreador clan novel excels at in its latter half.
Most people don’t even know who they’re going to be voting for until they reach the polls, let alone internalise the web of politicians and parties that govern their day-to-day lives. In that sense, the heavily political world of Vampire the Masquerade is given immense veracity, as to how there could be a secret society of immortal vampires, fragmented into clans, hidden from human oversight, constantly bickering over who is getting what, and who is getting dead. And it’s not just any vampires, a la your 18th century Serbians you’d read about your from Austrian medical reports, your Vladimir Țepeșes or your Edward Cullens (well I suppose it’s a little bit like your Edward Cullens, but I digress), but rather a set of immortal vampires, whose lineage extends as far as the times described in the Bible. In one of the coolest fiction writing choices ever, Cain – the first murderer, is cursed by God with vampirism for the murder of Abel, and he is forced to roam the land, siring children, who are burdened with the same aversion to sunlight and magical powers that turn skeletal systems into lawn chairs. With each subsequent generation, the blood of this original progenitor becomes more and more diluted, to the point where now, much like the seed of Genghis Khan, which ravaged Europe and Asia, every vampire is some distant descendant of Cain – a mere fraction of something great and powerful.
That fact alone is enough to drive some vampires crazy. The mere knowledge that someone is a generation up from you is enough for them to dismiss your entire existence, as if you were an ant stuck to the bottom of their boot. Their blood is twice as good as yours, after all. To survive in this cut-throat world, experience, reputation, and influence are everything, and it’s exactly what you know and who you know that the currencies of this world.
This first book in the so called Clan Novel Saga, centres around one of the myriad of clans, comprising the Camarilla… the Sabbat… the Anarchs and… uh, I digress. There’s about fourteen clans you’ll eventually become obsessed over, and they’ve all got their little unique traits and compulsions to make them distinct and interesting in their own idiosyncratic ways. The titular Toreador are a clan of aesthetically obsessive divas, whores, hedonists, degenerates and artists, who are perhaps the most human-like in their appearance. This proximity to mortals allows them to keep a hand on the pulse of human society, as well as be excellent socialites. This is only helped by the fact that they are supernaturally charming and their natural beauty is enhanced to such a degree that normal people will often find themselves compelled to cater to their every whim and desire.
In reality, you are introduced to much more than the Toreador, and that is both a good and a bad thing. You get the impression that there is rarely such a thing as an isolated clan, which can live peacefully in a vacuum. There is always someone else, they are always from a different clan, and they most likely want you dead or subjugated. Hierarchy is everything, and even when it isn’t the rules and regulations established by those who are actually calling the shots are ever-present and immutable.
In a second act of brilliant fiction-writing, the titular Masquerade is one of said ever-present inconveniences. The increasingly obnoxious to type out Masquerade is the veil, the game of deception that separates vampires from mortals. It’s a kind of Prime Directive, which all vampires must strive to uphold, regardless of circumstance. Everyone must keep the existence of vampires secret, which means not being sloppy, not openly displaying your ability to turn people’s skeletons into lawn chairs, and feeding carefully. This doesn’t always happen, but that is merely just another source of conflict, which makes this setting so delectable.
Now, when it comes to the actual events of this book, this is all preamble. It’s partially what makes Vampire the Masquerade compelling and difficult as a setting. Not everyone is as fanatical about this entirely fictional caste of vampires and their parallel world history, artifacts of power, and other idiosyncrasies. The Toreador clan novel is merely an introduction to all this, and it shows.
Toreador starts off slow. It tries to ease you in to all of this, by giving you all the hot, sexy, aesthetical stuff upfront, before letting you sink your teeth in into the political scandals of The Camarilla in its latter half. A lot of the important stuff is glanced over or appears as a little bit of a non sequitur in the middle of a chapter and then is never mentioned again. At any given point you might be indulging in ecstasy, drinking blood from the exposed thigh of an attractive woman, the next you’re fending off three helicopters with surface-to-air missiles in guerilla warfare. In one moment you’re discussing the vampire myth of origin, or the works of Dante Alighieri; in the next you’re grafting evil Mesopotamian artefacts of unspeakable body horror onto our body, like it’s Goichi Suda’s シルバー事件 all over again.
To call it uneven would be a bit of an understatement. I give it some slack, because of its seemingly impossible task of introducing the World of Darkness, while also laying out the groundworks for a series of thirteen planned novels about all the various clans, whilst also being an interesting exploration of clan Toreador in and of itself. There’s simply too much to cover for what is—in my eyes—a very short book. It has the benefit of being written by one of the co-creators of the role-playing game, but even with that pedigree, it is an obscene amount of information to get through.
When it’s not trying to tell you anything about the setting, Toreador is fairly heavy on descriptors, in a way I usually find indicative of literature, which is just padding for time and word count. Every surface, every particle of dust, every twirl of the hair, every inch of skin will be described in vivid detail. Every action will take an extraordinary amount of words, often repeated over and over ad nauseam. The kind of stuff that makes you go “Yeah, I get it.” more often than you’d want to. Where it really shines, much like the system it is based on is in the dialogue between immortal all-knowing vampires. There’s always something to be gained, and someone to be gamed. Internal monologues feature dozens of delightful paragraphs of considerations as to whether someone has noticed some involuntary tick or slight misjudgement. Vampires constantly weighing how their words and actions will ultimately influence others to accomplish their goals for them. Slight manipulations and heavy-handed intervention in the natural course of events always keeps everyone on their toes, and by virtue you the reader at the edge of your seat, wondering whether it’s all going to pan out, or whether something truly unexpected will occur, because of something everyone seemed to underestimate. That is where the true appeal of Vampire the Masquerade lies, and it is what the Toreador clan novel excels at in its latter half.
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