Sustenance

October 13, 2014
Not even the vampire Saint-Germain can avoid the paranoid tendrils of the early Cold War in this detailed period piece that’s heavy on history but light on speculative elements. The latest in Yarbro’s long-running series (after Night Pilgrims) finds her undead protagonist doing his best to ease the pain of a “coven” of American expats; the collective term sadly has no tie to actual witches, which would have enhanced the otherwise minimal supernatural elements. Soon Saint-Germain falls for one of the group’s members, Charis Treat, a woman cut out of her life by both her husband and her country. Alternating points of view and epistolary sections paint a vivid description of fear, threats, and power during a time when not even fleeing to Europe could prevent persecution. Watching Saint-Germain’s careful web protecting his secrets (and his new friends) fray in the face of increased government scrutiny should give longtime fans and history buffs plenty to consider after reading.

November 1, 2014
It would not occur to most readers how natural it would be for an immortal vampire to take up the publishing of history texts as a day job. Now that this idea has flourishing life in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count St.-Germain series, one wonders why it hasn't already long been a common trope of vampire fiction. Such obvious but clever insight showcases the intelligence that drives Yarbro's new novel, the latest episode in Count St.-Germain's 2,000-year-long life in which he helps American academics fleeing to post-WWII Europe in lieu of anti-Communist witch hunts back home. History fans will be drawn by the book's fixation on studying and hypothesizing the past, and vampire fans will certainly come for the simmering romance promised by an enigmatic creature of the night. Regardless of the elements that surface, though, this is primarily a series for history buffs. While the romance is wonderfully tense and human, impatient readers might give up before reaching it if the history and political intrigue don't hold their fancy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)