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Solomon Birch, you are no Sasha Vycos
In fact, the entire cast of this novel is a big disappointment. Linda Moore-whiny brat. Prince Maxwell-angsty brat. Bruce Miner-ugly, whiny brat. Solomon Birch-religious nut case brat.
This book is supposed to be the big beginning of the new World of Darkness. A lot of it feels just like more of the same. Vampires being petty and vain, plotting against each other over inane nonsense. At least in the old WoD, you could get behind the characters. Sure, Jan was a bastard, but he was a CHARISMATIC bastard. Sasha was a monster, but he/she/it was a CHARISMATIC monster. Even when you hated them, you still had that little dark part of your soul cheering for them. These characters all feel like caricatures instead of fully developed beings. They make me even miss Victoria Ash. At least she was a bitch worth hating.
It’s not just lack of character development. The author is trying too hard to be witty or something. First, the novel is written in the first person, but each chapter is a different person. This is confusing and poorly executed. Who are they narrating to, anyway? Is this a “dear diary” sort of narrative? If so, why are they all trying so hard to explain vampire society to us? And they ALL do. We keep getting little sidebars explaining the new rules system…excuse me…vampire culture. Actually, I had it right the first time. This book is an object lesson in how the new versions of the clans and factions are supposed to interact. It’s like a Vampire 101 primer.
The dialogue feels contrived. Again, a lot of it appears more as a lesson on how vampires talk to each other instead of actual plot-driven conversation. Even the plot is pretty dull. The Prince embraces a mortal “by accident” even though he has forbidden anyone else from embracing (gee, there is a surprise). His buddy/Primogen/confessor Solomon Birch plots to get rid of the childe by sending her off to that perennial vampire city of New Orleans. Meanwhile, a rogue has embraced the hapless loser named Bruce Miner in a nearby suburb, getting everyone’s panties in a knot because he almost broke the Masquerade. Haven’t we already seen this whole thing before?
Maybe I’m just expecting too much. I loved the old clan novels. I loved the mood and feel of them. But this just doesn’t live up to what I was expecting. Sure, maybe my expectations were too high, but if you’re going to destroy everything your fans love, you better replace it with something equally delicious and exciting. This book isn’t it.
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