A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (St. Germain) [Paperback]

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books (September 30, 2008)
• ASIN: B001H90NV4
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best in the series to date, October 2, 2008

By 

Inanna Arthen (Pepperell, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (Hardcover)

*A Dangerous Climate* is the twentieth novel centering on Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's benign vampire hero, Count Ferenz Ragoczy Saint-Germain. I've been a fan of Yarbro's Count for thirty years, and this is one of my favorite of the novels so far.

The foundation of every Saint-Germain novel is a vivid and meticulously researched portrait of one or more times and places in world history, often one that is not commonly presented in fiction. *A Dangerous Climate* takes us to the year 1704 and the founding of the Russian city of Sankt Piterburkh by Tsar Piotyr I, or Peter the Great, at the mouth of the Neva River on the Baltic sea.

In the first chapter, night watchmen discover Saint-Germain right after he's been beaten so severely that he can't remember exactly what happened. A living man wouldn't have survived. Since Saint-Germain does, he spends the rest of the book trying to determine what happened, who wants him dead and when they'll make another attempt. The opening chapters describe his slow recovery, complicated by his need to conceal how well he's really doing from the physician and healers who are treating him.

We soon learn another unique aspect to Saint-Germain's situation in this story: he is not in Sankt Piterburkh as a lone "foreigner." The Count is visiting in disguise, pretending to be Arpad Arco-Tolvay, Hercegek Gyor, the missing husband of a Polish aristocrat, Zozia, Ksiezna Nisko. A gifted diplomat and spy for the Polish monarch, Augustus II, the Ksiezna must be escorted by a male relative in order to move freely among the foreign dignitaries in Sankt Piterburkh.

Saint-Germain's beating directly leads to his acquaintance with the independent Ludmilla Borisevna Svarinskaya, a Russian matron who has been rejected by her husband and is running a care house in Sankt Piterburkh. She earns Saint-Germain's admiration and respect, and eventually a closer relationship. But even as he juggles clandestine liaisons and extremely delicate politics, Saint-Germain is confronted with a crisis in his own affairs. While he has gone underground to impersonate the Ksiezna's husband, he learns that somebody else is impersonating him. His title, property and estates, under the care of a steward who sends regular reports to him in Sankt Piterburkh, are being claimed by an impostor. Now he has another problem to untangle, without unmasking his real identity to Piotyr and the other residents of Sankt Piterburkh or threatening the Ksiezna's mission.

The complications don't stop there. *A Dangerous Climate* features more in the way of complex puzzles and elaborate maneuverings than raw action. The plot spins out against the finely described backdrop of newborn Sankt Piterburkh--crude, muddy, cold and inhospitable, and yet filled with high born diplomats and ambassadors displaying all the luxury expected in a royal court, because Piotyr insists upon it. By the end of the book, we feel as though we've lived in Piotyr's city ourselves. As often is the case with Yarbro's novels, we're also deeply grateful that we don't live there now. But the conclusion of *A Dangerous Climate* is less grim than some of the other novels. Fans of the Count and new readers alike will thoroughly enjoy this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Plot Execution, December 19, 2009

By 

N0tt0N - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (Hardcover)

I really liked the earlier books in the series. They explored the implications of having eternal life in a new and unique way. Unfortunately, the last two releases have so disappointed me that I feel I have to write this review. They almost appear to be ghost written as they are unidenifiable when compared with the writing style of the earlier works. The tedious focus on the details of the characters dress at the expense of actual character development itself is only eclipsed by the total lack of plot development. Reading the other reviews here I almost feel like I must have read a different book. I felt no tension of characters, didn't sense the loneliness and weight of the years, and almost hoped he would be uncovered as a fake or a vampire just so something would happen!

When reading the novel description you are left hungry for the twists and turns of an espionage plot at a critical moment in history interwoven with an impersonation triangle that promised so much. Throw in a switch of royal sponsors that should split the spies one against the other - especially since they are presenting themselves as husband and wife - and this would have to be one of the most exciting books ever written. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing happens in the book! Nothing! There is no espionage. No secrets that could change the world as Russia, Sweden, Poland, and the Hapsburgs struggle for European supremecy. Nada. Nothing results from the split of sponsors as Augustus II is replaced by Stanislas as King of Poland. The triple layers of imposters results in nothing! No blackmail or power plays as one is forced to concede important objectives to avoid being unmasked - in fact the climactic meeting of the two fake Grofok Saint-Germains occurs in the form of a letter and not even a scene in the book! It is like the author went out of the way to have the plot executed without it ever being relevant to the story - very strange and what leads me to think someone else wrote the last two books.

In fact, the Author's notes at the beginning are the most interesting part of the novel. Otherwise it is a twenty page pamphlet about the building of early Saint Petersburg and a twenty page pamphlet on the fashions of the time stretched out over three hundred pages of "Do you want me to get your medicines", "Yes, they may prove helpful", "Ok, I will get them", He goes to get them, "I have them here", "Thank you, old friend". Such stilted, lifeless writing makes me think it is time for the 'True Death' for this series. Sad to see it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A subtle treasure, March 24, 2009

By 

Mythadventures - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (Hardcover)

This is the 21st novel in Yarbro's long running Saint-Germain series. I've been reading the series since the very first one was published back in 1978. I would venture to say that after so long I know the Count well. Throughout the series he is a monster, and yet he is truly the one that is humane. Humans are the true monsters. What we do to each other far exceeds the depravations of any monster.

In this installment the Count is sent to Saint Petersberg at the behest of the King of Poland. The one wrinkle is that he isn't going as himself, but posing as the Hungarian husband of a spy and diplomat, who's real husband has been missing for some time. As a woman though she cannot venture to the burgeoning city on her own, but must be accompanied by her husband or other male relative.

The story opens with Saint-Germain being found by the Watchmen. He's been beaten so badly he can't even remember his attacker. If he wasn't a vampire, he probably wouldn't have survived the attack. He's taken to the care-house where he meets Ludmilla (forgive me for not giving the full name. I don't have the book in front of me and would probably end up misspelling it.) and Van Hoek. Saint-Germain must conceal how well he is healing while keeping his somewhat capricious "wife" happy. His position is somewhat compromised when Stanislaus replaces Augustus on the Polish throne, and his "wife's" brother is sent to Saint Petersberg. Saint-Germain moves into the care-house to make room for the brother in the Polish household. Besides helping with the functioning of some of the construction equipment he takes on the care-house as a project to help. To add to his problems an Hungarian comes claiming to be Saint-Germain's heir. Saint-Germain can't refute the claim without jeopardising his mission with the Polish crown. He asks Niklos Aulirios, Olivia's former companion, to impersonate him, and refute the claim.

Yarbro's attention to historical detail make the time period come alive. It is true that some things must be altered for the sake of narrative flow, but overall the feeling is one of authenticity. Some may quibble about the amount of time taken to describe the clothing and such. The details though serve to show how difficult the environment was in the burgeoning city. Nobles used to the pomp and circumstance of palaces and manner estates were forced to endure living in houses barely above the level of a shack while keeping all the conventions diplomacy required. They were dealing not only with the intricacies of court politics, but had to deal with gang violence as well. The founding of Saint Petersburg was a difficult period.

Yarbro's convention of taking a monster, in this case a vampire, and showing the creature to be the hero was unique at the time the books were first published. Through the eyes of this monster we see that the real atrocities are inflicted by humans against humans. Yarbro has explored religious intolerance, racial inequality, women's rights and other themes where humans will visit upon each greater horrors than one creature drinking blood to survive could ever conceive.