The Godforsaken [Paperback]

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1983

As the Inquisition spread its fiery fingers across the land of Spain, holding kingdom and king in its terrible grip, a new horror would rise to challenge even the invincible power of the Grand Inquisitor. A curse on the house of King Alonzo that came from the very Devil.

Product Details

• Paperback: 393 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books Inc (Mm); First Edition edition (May 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446301027
• ISBN-13: 978-0446301022
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,529,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Curse and the Inquisition, March 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Godforsaken (Paperback)

Ms Yarbro again displays her deft touch in creating a tapestry woven of rich characterizations and exquisite historical detail with just a touch of the supernatural. The story centers around a young Spanish nobleman at the height of the inquisiton. Bound by the strictures of his station and tortured by a dying woman's curse, he must try to find a way to happiness.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars gripping, December 5, 1999

By 

Christina Menard (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Godforsaken (Paperback)

Apart from Ms. Yarbro's St. Germain series, I think this is one of her best works. Again we see a 'monster' transformed into something other than a blood thirsty demon. Instead of the monster, we read of a man tormented by a curse and can actually identify with him and feel for his torment. The book also depicts the awful onset of the Spanish Inquisition that is very believable.

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring. Too much exposition. Not enough werewolf, December 15, 2011

By 

Tim Lieder "Founder of Dybbuk Press" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Godforsaken (Paperback)

One of the first problems with this book is that it is a werewolf book, yet the author decided to gloss over the werewolf scenes - at least in the parts that I read. Instead the prince (the cursed prince) wanders around feeling tired and cranky under the full moon. And then there's someone dead. And then there's a priest because this is supposed to be Inquisition era Spain (yet there are still Muslims hanging out in the country and it's apparently not unified under Charles V) and so they come by, say something that sounds like Jerry Falwell and annoy people.

The characters are flat and interchangeable. Besides the werewolf prince, the rest of the characters just kind of hang around and speak inanities. The prose is boring. However, the main problem is the fact that the exposition monster comes in every few paragraphs. No one can go to the bathroom without some unimportant fact about their past coming to the forefront. I know that the cliche of "show, don't tell" is not an ironclad rule in fiction, but there's a point where the whole thing seems to be an exercise in telling.

Maybe if I didn't know about history, I would be more patient with this book; however, the Spanish Imperial power was the beginning of modernity and doesn't lend itself to medieval trappings. Furthermore, the priests have absolutely no flavor to them. They are simply stand-ins for religious intolerance and the main character is supposed to be sympathetic but he's just too bland.

I would say that there are no decent werewolf books, but that's not true. Tanith Lee's Heart-Beast is really amazing. And there are decent urban romances. So Yarbro could have written a good book. She just didn't.