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An Embarrassment Of Riches (2011)

by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0765331039 (ISBN13: 9780765331038)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Tor Books

series

Saint-Germain

review 1: Twenty-ninth in the Saint Germain series, twenty-fourth if you don't count the novels that center around Atta Olivia Clemens and Madeline de Montalia, Saint-Germain's two long-term lovers and fellow-vampires.The Saint-Germain series is a series of "historical romances" set at various different times, in various different settings, featuring a main character who is functionally immortal. He is officially a vampire, although if you prefer your vampires to be traditionally super-powered, you may find this series somewhat disappointing; other than his longevity and a bit more strength, speed, and durability than a normal human would have, there is very little to distinguish Saint-Germain from a fabulously wealthy, urbane, elegant, handsome and educated man. Also, there is noth... moreing of the anti-hero about him; by the standards of most fictional vampires, he is practically a boy scout. He is most definitely a traditional, clear-cut hero, unless you object to your heroes having sex lives.This is one of the stronger offerings in the series; there isn't much action in it , as has been true in many of the last dozen or so of the novels, unlike the early offerings that basically involved Saint Germain being a James Bond style action-romantic hero. But the characterizations in it are interesting, and it addresses an issue that had bothered me in earlier books; we have often seen Saint Germain refuse a lover because she was "too young", in spite of the fact that in any century prior to the twentieth, she would have been considered a perfectly beddable age. This struck me as odd and unreasonable, since there is no reason for Saint Germain to have 20th century reactions to age of consent 500 years or more before such attitudes would develop. In this book, he takes one 15-year-old lover, and refuses another because she is "just a child", and when questioned, explains that it is basically a matter of a subjective judgment as to the relative maturity of the individual. This is an explanation that works for me. This book is set in the mid-thirteenth century in Bohemia, and the historical research that creates the setting for the story is, as in all of the books in this series, marvellous. And while there are a few sloppy proofreading mistakes to be found, more than I care for, there are far fewer of them than there have been in some of the books in the series. This is fairly weak as a four-star rating, but too good to be reduced to three stars. Call it three point seven stars.
review 2: In all fairness, I had no idea this book is #24 in a series - perhaps if I had read from #1, I may have enjoyed the book more - as it was, while vividly researched and chock full of fine detail, I found it extremely difficult to stay with it - the storyline seems to move extremely slowly - I've read close to a third of the book and don't seem to have gotten anywhere with it. I plan to read on a bit more though at this point, it is highly likely that this one will be returned to the library unfinished. less

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