Customer Reviews

Hotel Transylvania: A novel of forbidden love

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you like historical fiction, vampires and romance, you are in for a treat. Hotel Transylvania is the first in a long line of novels featuring le Comte de St. Germain, an exiled nobleman trying to survive in a world not ready to accept him. Old when Christ walked the earth, St. Germain is a compelling character presented with style, grace and a compassion. In this first novel St Germain meets the woman of his dreams. A woman compassionate enough to accept what he truly is and strong enough to embrace him.

For more than 20 years I have been a fan of this series. This is the first novel I took out from the library when I got my "Adult reader card" long long ago, and it's the one that got me hooked. Though many of the subsequent novels are set earlier in history and can be read out of order without losing anything in the story, this one starts the wheel turning. Each book also contains a little bit of St. Germain's history that none of the other's do. Trying to piece together the chronology of this character's life, where he has been and who he has known, is almost as much fun as the stories themselves. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.

I'm hooked on Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Comte de Saint-Germain series. Saint-Germain is just one of the many names our protagonist has gone by over the millennia. He is a vampire, you see. However, if you envision a being like those who people Anne Rice's or Laurell Hamilton's novels you will have a surprise coming. Just an aside here...I love many of Ms Rice's and Ms. Hamilton's books and characters. Ms. Yarbro's hero is simply different. He IS a hero, not an anti-hero. You won't find fangs, gore, horror and supernatural violence in "Hotel Transylvania." Our vampire is an exceptionally nice guy, sophisticated - quite civilized really - who just happens to have walked the earth since the beginning of time, practically. He does not personify evil, and, unlike other vampiric creations, he is able to stroll about in daylight as long as he carries soil from his homeland in his shoes. He does need blood to survive - but the human donor must be willing to give a pint or two or he won't drink. And true emotional attachments nourish Saint-Germain as much as the blood he takes. So the concept of "love" and affection figure strongly here. He is also extremely smart with a good intellect and love of the arts. As a matter of fact, he personifies the Renaissance man - with the added attraction of various super-human qualities.

"Hotel Transylvania" is the first novel in the series, originally published in 1978. I believe there are 16 Saint-Germain novels with a 17th due out soon. I don't know how important it is to read the books in order of publication as the stories do not take place in chronological order historically. I began with "The Palace" which is set in Renaissance Florence. "Hotel Transylvania's" setting is Paris, 1743, where Saint-Germain is a relative newcomer to the City of Light. He presents himself at court and to King Louis XV and makes a most favorable impression in the highest social circles. The rich and famous look upon him as exotic, foreign, mysterious and worthy of wooing. Prinz Ragoczy of Transylvania, is another name he goes by. However, only the members of the secret guild of sorcerers and alchemists call him so. The Prinz, (or Saint-Germain), has promised these men the secret of making jewels if they assist him in purchasing the Hotel Transylvania without bringing his name or identity into the transaction. The hotel is to be turned into a swank gambling establishment, with secret rooms set aside for the practice of alchemy, and, of course, rooms containing the soil from Saint-Germain's native land which he needs to survive.

Among the brightest attractions Paris offers is Madelaine de Montalia, an intelligent, beautiful ingenue just presented to society. She is immediately drawn to Saint-Germain. The feeling is totally mutual. However, the young woman is in grave danger as a cult of brutally sadistic Satanists have targeted her for their solstice ritual - a virginal blood sacrifice which is guaranteed to debase her and ultimately end with her death.

The author has done an extraordinary job of vividly portraying life in 18th century Paris with its glitter, glamour and political and social intrigues. Ms. Quinn Yarbro is truly a master at writing historical fiction. Her research is impeccable and the narrative is filled with fascinating period details. The character of Saint-Germain is actually modeled after a real person with the same name. Rumor has it he possessed an elixir of life and even when he reached the venerable age of one hundred years he appeared to be a man of 40-something. The actual Comte de Saint-Germain claimed to have lived centuries. Like our hero, he was an alchemist, said to be capable of creating gold and jewels. He was the confident of kings and queens and visited all the European courts, loving and leaving women along the way. He was a also spy, frequently involved in secret adventures. Ms. Quinn Yarbro took this actual figure of mystery and molded him into her protagonist.

The novel is rich in characters and storyline. I highly recommend it. I liked it enough to order books three and four in the series. ENJOY!

JANA

Everything Chelsea Quinn Yarbro writes will hold youspellbound. You can't help but fall in love with her vibrant prose andrealistic characters. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA is the first book in theSaint-Germain series of vampire novels. Thanks to Stealth Press, it'savailable once again in a beautiful hardback edition.

Le Comte deSaint-Germain. A charismatic and mysterious aristocrat in mid-18thcentury Paris. Women can't resist him, men are suspicious ofhim.

Madelaine de Montalia. An intelligent, beautiful young womanwith a sharp mind and wit, making her debut in Parissociety. Immediately, she is drawn to the Comte. While other young menvie for her affections she only has eyes for the alluringSaint-Germain.

Madelaine's past is not so innocent as she mightbelieve. A father's indiscretions mark her for sacrifice in a satanicritual run by a group of aristocrats known as The Circle. This is thedarker side to Paris life.

Faithful fans of the adventures ofSaint-Germain will surely fall in love with these characters all overagain. New readers will see how easily Yarbro's writing cancaptivate. Order a copy of HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA and allow her to lureyou into her romantic and seductive world.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro isthe author of more than 40 novels in the fantasy, science fiction andhorror genres...

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Hotel Transylvania (Signet, 1978)

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has been doing her thing for quite a while now, and doing it rather successfully. Nothing has brough her more success, or a wider readership, than the Comte de Saint-Germain chronicles, a series of books about an ageless vampire set against different timeframes. The whole series is well-known for its attention to detail and stunning descriptions of life at the various times and in the various places where Saint-Germain (and the main characters in the spinoff series that have sprung from this) has his adventures.

The series' first novel in set in France in 1743, as Saint-Germain meets one of the great loves of his life, Madelaine de Montalia. Madelaine's reaction to Saint-Germain's rather bizarre history isn't the usual fainting-and-horrified-looks one expects in a vampire novel, and thus the framework here lends itself more to gothic romance than it does to straight-out horror. However, the horror elements find their way into the book in a subplot involving the renewal of a thirty-year-old enmity between Saint-Germain and another French petty noble, Saint Sebastien.

While there is certainly enough going on here to make Hotel Transylvania a stand-alone novel in itself, it's obvious that Yarbro was gearnig up to make Saint-Germain into a series character, and so many passages in the book have the sense of being a setup for a larger picture. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though other authors have drawn out the necessary setup into more than one novel to make it less obtrusive. The longstanding success of the series shows that the fans don't have a problem with it; it's doubtful readers of horror fiction new to Yarbro and/or Saint-Germain will, either. *** 1/2

I picked this book out on a whim when out doing some shopping. ...The letter's made me feel as if I was sneaking around looking over the charters shoulders or reading there diaries. ... I love a clean love story that has life around it. The fight scenes were not long and drawn out, Nor was there a love scene every time you turned a page. Though the hero is immortal there are ways that he could be killed, and the last fight makes you wonder as you turn the pages. I enjoyed the ending because it doesn't leave yea feeling as you just read A Cinderalla Story with them riding off into the sunset with the They lived happily ever after type of feeling. The charters are left with so much more to go beyond the pages of this book. If you are looking for a bloody vampire story then this book might not be for you. If you enjoy becoming one of the charters or love a personnly relationship with the charters in a book then you might find this book a Great Moonlight read... I myself will be looking for more Chelsea Quinn Yarbro books and books about the Vampire Le Comte de Saint Germain.......

Stealth Press specializes in publishing out-of-print and back list titles in high quality hardcover editions. A superb example of their publishing agenda is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Hotel Transylvania, originally published in 1978 and introducing the very popular Saint-Germain Cycle of vampire novels that has strongly influenced this horror fiction literary subgenre ever since. Yarboro is a master storyteller and this new, collector-grade hardcover edition features an original cover painting by Miran Kim. Long out of print, this newly published edition will admirably serve to reintroduce an impressive fantasy writing talent and a compelling character to a whole new generation of readers. Yarbro fans can look forward to other highly recommended titles with planned and forthcoming Stealth Press editions of The Palace, Tempting Fate, and Path Of The Eclipse.

I had polished off all the Anne Rice books (actually read them through several times), several non-fiction books about the real Count Vlad, and was looking for other vampire-themed material when I stumbled across this book.

First of all, let me say on a positive note that there were several interesting subjects that the author brought out in her book. For example, the point she made that St.-Germain (our leading vampire) was, when alive, considered average height, even tall. But now, on account of his preternatural inability to change, is below average height, with small hands and feet. Interesting point, since it is well documented that humans, as a whole, are indeed increasing in average height over the centuries. There are several other examples of interesting tid-bits that are woven into the story. Bravo to the author for some good research and application.

Unfortunately, however, these spots of interest were few and far between. On the whole I found the book's characters to be flat and unentertaining and the plot ludicrous (even for a vampire novel). The story line revolves around a cult of devil worshipers who are intent on sacrificing St.-Germain's beloved, Madelaine, in order to imbue themselves with power. While the descriptions of their debauchery is certainly colorful, it's also completely unbelievable. And despite the graphic picture we are painted of their rapes, murders and collusions, the cult never really gives off a believable air of menace. They are third-rate bullies who should have been killed off in the first chapter. Instead they are allowed to rampage through the entire book - mostly because the main character and vampire-not-so-extraordinaire, St.-Germain, is a complete "woose", with no backbone, and no menace.

The folklore image of the vampire is partially defined by his menace, his otherworldly power, his edge of danger and, yes, to some degree evil - even if that evil is tempered and restrained. That is part of what makes the vampire lore so magnetic - he, the vampire, is a creature beyond human limitations, morality or restraints. But author Yarbro seems to have taken the exact opposite approach. She has produced a vampire character who is more limited, less powerful, less menacing...more human. But the attempt is not carried off with any success. Instead you find yourself sighing, rolling your eyes and wishing St.-Germain would act like the vampire he is supposed to be.

Let me put it this way...Lestat would have eaten these so called cultists in the first paragraph then gone on to bigger and more interesting things. St.-Germain procrastinates, hides, hesitates and all but allows them to kill both him and Madelaine. He is a pathetic excuse for a vampire who is, in the end, only worthy of a yawn.

While not the best, this first St Germain story sets the basic "Back Story" for the series.

... and I have paid for it by buying every other book in this series ever since.

This is the first of a series of novels of historical fiction which are linked by one central character - the Comte Saint-Germain (or sundry variations on the theme depending on the locale), scholar, artiste, alchemist, humaitarian and vampire.

Please understand that the vampirism is definitely a fairly minor part of the story - do not expect scenes of rabid bloodlust and slaughter, of necrophilia and excessive time periods spent among the decaying bones of past victims - you won't find them.

You will find the depiction of a very human (and humane) man, his relationships with a well drawn and believable supporting cast, in a well researched and believably presented historical setting - and this is the feature of the entire series. No transformations into bats or mist, no bloody battles with an army of vampire hunters - but the tale of a good man and his loves set against historical events spanning the centuarys.

This series has all the hallmarks of good historical fiction, without the 'occult' aspect intruding into the story's innate believability.

If I have one complaint about this series it is, that after 20 years reading it and many hints dropped over that period, that it is time for Ms Yarbro to finally write the tale of the Comte's pre vampiric life - I am still dying to KNOW!!!

Read this - it won't disappoint.

Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Stealth Press) Hotel Transylvania is a classic of vampiric fiction and the first of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's long-running and popular series. Long out of print--and previously poorly served with inappropriate cover art -- it finally has the hardcover edition it deserves. Author Yarbro introduces the beguiling Le Comte de Saint-Germain in Hotel Transylvania--the first truly romantic vampire, a creature of culture, intelligence, and honor who was far more humane than the humans around him. The Count's initial adventure is set in the court of Louis XV and Yarbro deftly blends history with romance and chills (as she has done in all the books series). Saint-Germain is well worth re-meeting or encountering for the first time...