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I, Vampire #3
The Vampire Princess
"I HAVE FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN AWAKENING YOUR KILLER
INSTINCT. . . .
There will be many opportunities for you to indulge in your wildest desires aboard the Prince William. But if you refuse to abandon yourself to my bloody bacchanals I will find a new lover . . . and destroy you.
Remember, I am the only one who understands you--your dreams, your fears, your needs . . . your darkest desires. There is no one else who can help you. You are a vampire. You must live a vampire's life. Nothing else
matters. . . ."
Aboard the ultra-luxurious Prince William's maiden voyage, a glittering array of millionaires, movie stars, and royalty cavort, all with their own dark secrets. But not one of them has a past as evil as the ravishing Princess Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa. And few can resist the siren call of the deadly ecstasy she offers. . . .
INSTINCT. . . .
There will be many opportunities for you to indulge in your wildest desires aboard the Prince William. But if you refuse to abandon yourself to my bloody bacchanals I will find a new lover . . . and destroy you.
Remember, I am the only one who understands you--your dreams, your fears, your needs . . . your darkest desires. There is no one else who can help you. You are a vampire. You must live a vampire's life. Nothing else
matters. . . ."
Aboard the ultra-luxurious Prince William's maiden voyage, a glittering array of millionaires, movie stars, and royalty cavort, all with their own dark secrets. But not one of them has a past as evil as the ravishing Princess Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa. And few can resist the siren call of the deadly ecstasy she offers. . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 30, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 7, 2017
2 Stars
The Vampire Princess was like a mash-up of ‘Clue’ meets ‘The Titanic’ in many ways, and while ‘The Titanic’ may go down in my personal history as the most over-rated movie of ALL TIME I am quite a fan of ‘Clue’…. and also of vampires.
So what gives?
This is a multi-layered story about a voyage on a refurbished ocean-liner where none of the characters are quite what they seem. Probably my biggest issue is all the prospective jumping, I understand that it was designed to move the story forward without giving away too much too fast but honestly I found it frustrating rather than intriguing. I read the first quarter of this book back in May of 2016 and put it down (to finish another day) and then didn’t pick it up again until earlier this month.
It’s a shame really that I didn’t just keep plugging along a little bit further because my favourite, if it can be called that, perspective of this novel came into play shortly after I picked it back up. The diaries of Principessa Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa.
When her father was killed, leaving her Uncle (a violent idiot of a man, by all accounts) in charge, her homeland of Bellaria was attacked by the Sultans and the Principessa barely escaped with her life, using provisions her father had set out long ago in case of just such a situation. However, the world is not so kind to a teenage girl on the run. After her escape Nicoletta runs into numerous situations wherein she is treated poorly, and downright cruelly, by men. Not surprisingly, when she is gifted a huge power by a stranger she uses that power against the very sex who has so misused her.
Principessa Nicoletta is exactly the type of blood-thirsty, monstrous vampire I adore. She reins down hell wherever she goes and giggles into the darkness that she calls her home. An excellent, multi-faceted character to be sure.
Unfortunately, even with the inclusion of these tales from her past, I found this book unsatisfying. There were far too many voices present, and while I did somewhat like two of them, they jumbled up in my head and confused me to a point that I couldn’t be sure of who was who on several occasions. Everyone on the Atlantic Princess (yes, the boat is also a ‘Princess’) is not quite what they seem and when a woman is murdered – bringing in that ‘Clue’ similarity I mentioned – the story and these secrets start to unravel.
It unravels in too many directions and too many ways to keep track of, however. If this story were a tapestry around the 2/3rds point it would be like if you cut and started pulling from 6 or 7 different directions at once (rather than the usual one or two). It’s coming undone, certainly, but it’s leaving several big piles of useless thread in it’s wake that tangle with each other to create a great big fucking mess.
That’s what this novel is; a great big fucking mess.
And it could have been wonderful, other than the grotesque way that a new vampire (or vampiri) is made. That made me decidedly uncomfortable, and not in a deliciously disturbed way but rather in a I-just-puked-in-my-mouth-a-bit way.
Not so much!
March 31, 2025
The back cover promised vampires on a cruise ship, and I was sold. Maybe that premise was difficult to stretch to fill 350 pages, though, because this book is approximately 60% backstory for one of the vampires living through the Crusades and then Forrest Gumping her way through history. It's a tried and true formula for vampire books, but I've seen it before and have very little desire to see another vampire befriend Leonardo Da Vinci and William Shakespeare. It's alright, but it's not what I was promised by the jacket copy.
When we do get around to the ill-fated voyage of the cruise ship, it's a fascinating mash of 90s pop culture. It's a Titanic retelling with a twist (although this book came out just before the Titanic movie), we get some techno-thriller plotting that is reminiscent of Jurassic Park, and two of our protagonists are named Fox and Anderson and seem to be riffs on the X-Files dynamic duo. It's not that any of this doesn't work more or less, it's just that it feels like an afterthought in comparison to the backstory segments.
When we do get around to the ill-fated voyage of the cruise ship, it's a fascinating mash of 90s pop culture. It's a Titanic retelling with a twist (although this book came out just before the Titanic movie), we get some techno-thriller plotting that is reminiscent of Jurassic Park, and two of our protagonists are named Fox and Anderson and seem to be riffs on the X-Files dynamic duo. It's not that any of this doesn't work more or less, it's just that it feels like an afterthought in comparison to the backstory segments.
June 9, 2008
This is the third book in Romkey's series that started with I, Vampire and continued with The Vampire Papers. It continues the story of Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa, an ancient vampire princess. Half the novel is her diary, in which she tells of the fall of her kingdom to Muslim invaders during the time of the Crusades and her conversion to becoming a vampire. Along the way, she suffers all kinds of indignities at the hands of men, explaining her hatred for them.
As always, Romkey interweaves historical fact with fiction. For example, Medusa is close friends with da Vinci and takes credit for some of his work. She also claims that Shakespeare plagiarized her diary to write Hamlet. The device is not believable, of course, but it is entertaining.
The other half of the book takes place on a cruise ship, the Atlantic Princess, renovated from an earlier 20th-century luxury liner by Lord Godwin, a British magnate. Under pressure from his financial partner who has influential and dangerous ties to the Yakuza, Godwin cuts some corners to meet the date for the ship's maiden voyage from Florida to England across the North Atlantic.
Naturally, the Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa is along for the ride, as well as a morose and depressing David Parker, who actually tries to kill Medusa earlier in the book and fails. Medusa starts doing her thing on the ship and the copious bloodletting begins. It's all quite fun.
The only flaw is the myriad cast of characters. Romkey introduces too many in the space he allotted to the cruise part of the book. At times, it's hard to keep them straight, and it's impossible to tell, until the end, even who the protagonist is (it's not Parker, as in the previous two books). So there's a lack of focus through some of the story. And Parker is disappointing. He doesn't do much to stop the other vampires and takes the coward's way out at the end.
But those are not fatal defects.
As always, Romkey interweaves historical fact with fiction. For example, Medusa is close friends with da Vinci and takes credit for some of his work. She also claims that Shakespeare plagiarized her diary to write Hamlet. The device is not believable, of course, but it is entertaining.
The other half of the book takes place on a cruise ship, the Atlantic Princess, renovated from an earlier 20th-century luxury liner by Lord Godwin, a British magnate. Under pressure from his financial partner who has influential and dangerous ties to the Yakuza, Godwin cuts some corners to meet the date for the ship's maiden voyage from Florida to England across the North Atlantic.
Naturally, the Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa is along for the ride, as well as a morose and depressing David Parker, who actually tries to kill Medusa earlier in the book and fails. Medusa starts doing her thing on the ship and the copious bloodletting begins. It's all quite fun.
The only flaw is the myriad cast of characters. Romkey introduces too many in the space he allotted to the cruise part of the book. At times, it's hard to keep them straight, and it's impossible to tell, until the end, even who the protagonist is (it's not Parker, as in the previous two books). So there's a lack of focus through some of the story. And Parker is disappointing. He doesn't do much to stop the other vampires and takes the coward's way out at the end.
But those are not fatal defects.
December 30, 2010
Fiction - Vampires
4.5 stars
Michael Romkey's older series of non-related vampire books are simply outstanding. Imo, the hold up beautifully against any of the books since the genre has exploded in the last 5-10 years. Each has been a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend them.
I kept thinking while reading this book (orig. published in 1996) "this is like Titanic meets Dracula". But there is so much more to this book!
The featured vampire in this book is Princess Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa. She is not a nice vampire - she's a predator, a very, very ancient vampire.
As a current day story unfold aboard an ultra-luxurious ship on a "transatlantic voyage" (do NOT call it a cruise!), we meet many different people - some passengers, some crew members. Strange goings on and murders occur *no spoilers*.
Princess Nicoletta recalls her experiences throughout her life at many different points in history, all interesting from a historical viewpoint.
Characters and subplots, as always with this author, are engrossing.
4.5 stars
Michael Romkey's older series of non-related vampire books are simply outstanding. Imo, the hold up beautifully against any of the books since the genre has exploded in the last 5-10 years. Each has been a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend them.
I kept thinking while reading this book (orig. published in 1996) "this is like Titanic meets Dracula". But there is so much more to this book!
The featured vampire in this book is Princess Nicoletta Vittorini di Medusa. She is not a nice vampire - she's a predator, a very, very ancient vampire.
As a current day story unfold aboard an ultra-luxurious ship on a "transatlantic voyage" (do NOT call it a cruise!), we meet many different people - some passengers, some crew members. Strange goings on and murders occur *no spoilers*.
Princess Nicoletta recalls her experiences throughout her life at many different points in history, all interesting from a historical viewpoint.
Characters and subplots, as always with this author, are engrossing.
February 3, 2008
This story chronicles the new, ultra-luxurious, ultra-expensive Atlantic Princess on its maiden voyage. The Principessa Nicolleta Vittorini di Medusa is on board with her companion and fellow vampire David Parker. Parker refuses to believe that killing is necessary when drinking from humans, and Principessa tries to show him otherwise. She tells him that if he does not begin to kill, she will unleash terror on board the Atlantic Princess. The story flows back and forth between modern day and Principessa's diary, as we learn how her life once was, and how she became the creature she is today. Other characters are ship owner Lord Godwin, his business partner Keiko Matusoka, former cop Jack Ketch, physician Dr.Carrie Anderson, hacker and amateur private investigator Alex Fox, little Ricky McCormick, and a host of others. The story gets a little cheesy towards the end when everyone is being turned into vampires at the blink of an eye. Overall, good story. Took me about a week.
February 13, 2017
1st Read: June 22, 1996 - June 27, 1996
Vampires aboard the Titanic! Some parts of this story were really good, while others dragged on and on, losing me in the process. It wasn't my best choice of books to buy. However, I normally give books a second chance and I'm re-reading many of them in the future to decide their fate every month as it is. Many of these books will stay, but some will leave my collection.
Vampires aboard the Titanic! Some parts of this story were really good, while others dragged on and on, losing me in the process. It wasn't my best choice of books to buy. However, I normally give books a second chance and I'm re-reading many of them in the future to decide their fate every month as it is. Many of these books will stay, but some will leave my collection.
June 20, 2008
this one was good too. i wanted to be like her.
February 22, 2019
More solid work from Romkey
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November 4, 2009Vampire Princess by Michael Romkey (1995)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews