Customer Reviews

Dark of the Sun: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain

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Twenty-five hundred years old vampire Count Saint-Germain uses the name of Zangi-Ragozh in Yang Chou, China where he heads a shipping and trading business. With him is loyal ghoul five hundred years old Ro-Shei. Wen Emperor Yuan Bou-Ju summons Zangi-Ragozh and other merchants to come to Chong'en; none realize that half a world away Mount Krakatoa erupted and will change the world for several years afterward.

Zangi-Ragozh gets his first inkling of the change when the sun fails to rise above the volcanic ash that seems to be all over the atmosphere. Being out in daylight does not bother the Count as much, but along with this benefit comes the downside that travel to Chong'en is impossible. Crops fail and famine becomes the norm. Zangi-Ragozh returns to his place of birth by joining the caravan of the Desert Cats. He earns passage by bartering his medical skills, but is tossed out when the clan bans foreigners. They meet again in Tak-Kala where a magician who he trusts betrays him even as danger from the famished survivors mounts.

Never in the long running series has Saint-Germain come closer to the True Death than he does in this time of the DARK OF THE SUN. He has lost much of his native earth, willing donors are rare, and has a potentially lethal wound. The Krakatoa effect on the world adds depth and turns the novel in many ways in spite of a vampiric protagonist into more a historical than a supernatural tale. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro provides another fantastic reading experience for her fans.

Harriet Klausner

One of the most recent in the St. Germain series and also one of the most satisfying to read. Set in the early Sixth century (can you name one thing that happened in the Sixth Century?) with the cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa, blotting out the sun for nearly two years. The effects on the entire world were profound, since nothing was able to grow. Like other books by Yarbro, I feel as though I had slipped through a small window into this world and could experience what was actually happening. Also, this was historically I period I had no knowledge of whatsoever, which added to the mysterious quality of the novel.

For me, the St. Germain series has always been a guilty pleasure, with an emphasis on the pleasure. There is something slightly old fashioned about the writing, but not stilted. It is true that much of the book is dialogue between St. Germain and his (eternal) companion. But I did not find that to be a problem. All in all, Dar of the Sun is a far better book than some of the other "historical" novels coming off the factory lines recently (you know what I mean).

This book is easily one of the best Saint-Germain books. Even though the last "documented" appearance of the Count is in the 1980s (Chronicles of Saint-Germain), I actually found myself worrying about whether or not he and Roger would make it to the end of the book. My favorite of the Saint-Germain books are always the ones where we get to see the friendship between Saint-Germain and Roger. Dark of the Sun has the eeriest feel to it: a constant, low-level worry that was nerve-wracking to read. It isn't often that Saint-Germain is at a loss to understand what's happening around him, and he was here--both with what was happening in the world around him and judging whether or not he could trust a friend. Yarbro always shows us the advantages, and disadvantages, of partial immortality, but she outdid herself with this book. It was great to learn more of Saint-Germain's mortal life. For those of you who normally skip the letters in these books, don't. There's a wonderful comic side-plot in the letters from about half-way thru the book to the end. It gives me hope for future Saint-Germain novels.

The violent mega-eruption of Krakatoa in AD 535 threw enough volcanic matter into the earth's atmosphere to blot out a huge portion of the sun's rays, and this was the start of several years of almost ice-age-like conditions. Written records and other tangible evidence exists from China to the Americas of the tragic effects this event had on humans everywhere. Crops failed, famine came to pass, stillbirths increased, disease became rampant, trade slowed, and internecine wars were waged for food and also out of a paranoid sense of horror. Most of all humans became reactionary and turned to their gods for answers and for comfort. From Byzantium to India, Saxon England to Coptic Ethiopia, xenophobia reigned, foreigners were persecuted as possible offenders of the gods, and order disintegrated on a frighteningly vast scale. Life across the globe was disrupted as by the tens of millions people wondered if they were truly witnessing the end of the world.

This is the scene of Yarbro's seventeenth Saint-Germain novel. In the pages of Dark of the Sun, the perpetually-exiled Carpathian nobleman goes from a prosperous life as a merchant in Liang-era China to the life-threatening undertaking of traversing the Silk Road, a journey of three-years' duration, in order to return to the west. With Saint-Germain, as always, is his faithful companion Rogers, and along the path of the dauntingly perilous expedition west, Germain witnesses a world gone mad in the wake of unimaginable cataclysm.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro revives a global catastrophe we had somehow forgotten, and uses it as a backdrop for a slow but detailed novel that takes her readers on a trip across nearly the whole of east and central Asia, from China to the Carpathians, sparing no detail or sociological observation along the way.

This is a GREAT story, Chelsea is back up to form, and I really enjoyed the book. But as I'm reading along, at a point of high action in the story, Saint Germain does not bleed. Also in this book, as he is snuggling with a lover, his heart does not beat.

Those two points took me out of the story, because SG *does* bleed in many other stories (Madeleine even sweats in Out of the House of Life), so now I need to know, why Chelsea, why? Why didn't he bleed? Was he all out because he was living on small amounts of pony blood? And why no heartbeat? Why?

Any readers with ideas as to why he didn't bleed, please post them so we can solve this. It's bothering me.

Also, how come Roger never gets a love interest? He sounds attractive.

Fans of Saint-Germain will be absolutely delighted at this addition to the saga of the legendary vampire. It is the year 535 AD and Saint-Germain, aka Zangi-Ragozh, is a successful merchant in China. Called to wait upon the Chinese Emperor, Zangi-Rogozh starts to cross China with a small caravan and his faithful servant, Rojeh, when distant Krakatoa erupts in a mighty volcanic explosion that is even heard in distant Peking. Following the eruption, tsunamis destroy coastal towns and much of the shipping. (Shades of what recently happened in that area.) Tons of ash and sulfur are thrown into the atmosphere, ringing the world and causing severe weather changes. The sun dims. Burning sulfur rain and yellow snow fall. There is no spring, no summer, crops fail, famine and fevers plague not just some of the world, but everywhere. Many people believe that the end of the world is coming. Zangi-Ragozh decides to return to his homeland, the book covers his long and perilous journey.

Those who know the series will find the glimpse afforded into Saint Germain's beginnings fascinating and the trials and tribulations that the hero must overcome interesting reading. Those new to the series may be surprised, for this series certainly is not like any other. Be prepared for a rich historical novel where the hero just happens to be a vampire rather than a vampire novel. There are no bloody animalistic feeding frenzies. While Saint-Germain does enjoy sex with his food, the heightening of emotions increases the power of the blood to sustain him, the stories lack the elaborate sexual fantasies of the typical vampire romance. And while Saint-Germain has his past anguishes, he is no brooding hero living in the throws of despair. In fact, having lived 2500 years has made him rather cautious and conservative. He tends to plan for the worse and believes in taking extra precautions. Still, he is very much a hero for the kindness and generosity that he displays, especially towards women, making him much more human than the humans around him. Nor have his vampire powers made him something of a super hero battling evil. No extraordinary powers such as an ability to change form or control minds. He possess the usual strengths, imperviousness to cold, excellent night vision, and an amazing ability to heal himself. But he is not dead to the world during the day nor does he burst into flames when touched by sunlight. He is weakened by running water and sunlight, but that can be countered to some extent by his native soil, which he keeps in the heel of his boots, stuffed into his saddle, and in a crate to sleep on. But Saint-Germain is more than a mere vampire. He is an intellectual, an Alchemist capable of changing lead into gold and making precious jewels, and a healer, who makes what he calls the sovereign remedy out of moldy bread. While we care about Saint-Germain, the author tells more than just his story as she blends letters from various ship captains, merchants, and friends to tell the story of the people he comes in contact with and the world in general during this time of crisis. This is not a fast read, but it is an interesting read, giving the reader a feel for a time and place from long ago. It is a worthy addition to what may possibly be the longest vampire series.

Reviewed by Linda Suzane March 20, 2005

[...]

If you are reading the reviews of this novel, most likely you already know the Saint-Germain series. This is an excellent addition to your bookshelf. Who but Yarbro would research the social history of the lands along the Silk Road as they were in the aftermath of a natural disaster that caused world-wide famine--and then share it with the rest of us in such an entertaining and haunting fashion? It's hard to say at this point whether I read these novels--and I read the first one to come out all those years ago and every other since then-- because I love the Count or the History. This one serves up both in gourmet style.

Or seventeenth, if you don't count the spinoff series centering on Olivia and Madeline, two secondary characters introduced in the Saint Germain series proper.

This is one of the best of a very good series. The series is historical fiction, set at various periods during the "life" of a 4000 year old vampire (4000 in the twentieth century, that is; in this book, that makes him about 2500, as it's set in the sixth century.) The historical background in this one is the eruption of Krakatoa, which caused two years of almost continuous winter virtually worldwide, as volcanic ash blotted out much of the sun's light. As usual, the historical research seemed, to this novice, to be very thorough, and the writing was quite good, better than in some of the other books in the series which were somewhat sloppy. The characters, as always, were quite compelling.

After more than a dozen novels of the life and times of Count Saint Germain, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro still manages to make his story both relevant and spellbinding. Her beautifully written stories are masterpieces of historical fiction -- being meticulously researched and finely told -- and I never fail to learn something new about the world, and about St. Germain.
In this newest adventure, the Count is a trader in Yang-Chau (Shanghai) China in 535 A.D., a year known as the Year of the Dark Sun. It was named this due to the eruption of Krakatoa -- a rare, once in a millenium scale event that blocked the sun to varying degrees around the world, and caused starvation and panic where ever the clouds of ash prevailed. A fine novel, full of energized plotlines and well rounded characters. Highly recommended.

This novel is so much better than her last St. Germain novel. In this one, he actually connects with a number of people. When he is wounded, the action does not "cut away" only to return when he's all better. Our reward for going on his long journey with him is more details about his human past than we have ever known.

Thank you CQY, for returning to the fact he's a vampire and letting us enjoy his "true nature" and all the problems that can bring.