More Than Mortal [Mass Market Paperback]

Mick Farren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

Victor Renquist, centuries-old nosferatu leader, is called to England. Some archaeologists are excavating a burial mound, but what they will uncover is no Saxon warrior but the being once known as the Merlin. And he's not the kindly old duffer of The Sword in the Stone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The expansive vampire mythology Farren elaborated in The Time of Feasting and Darklost gets snagged in a holding pattern in this surprisingly sluggish third chapter in his Nosferatu chronicles. Nosferatu elder Victor Renquist is still rebuilding his decimated New York vampire enclave when he's summoned to Ravenkeep Priory, the English estate that's home to a female vampire "troika." Archeologic excavations at nearby Morton Downs coincide with strange dreams and visions transmitted to the Nosferatu ladies, and Victor deduces that the digging has disturbed the resting place of Taliesin, better known as Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend. Merlin is a member of the Urshu race which, like Homo sapiens and the Nosferatu, is one of several species created eons ago by the Nephilim as part of their biotech experiments in colonization outside their planet and his re-emergence signals a possible upset in Earth's balance of supernatural powers. Victor and other Nosferatu fret that their days may be numbered, and with little to do until Merlin hatches from his protective cocoon in a climactic finale, they spend most of the novel challenging one another to duels of honor, indulging in neo-medieval pageantry and launching internecine power struggles. Long on scene setting but short on plot development, this novel reads very much like a middle book in a lengthy series. Farren's fans will devour it, but other readers may wish they had the patience of immortal vampires to endure its longueurs.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Summoned to England by a trio of female Nosferatu, vampire lord Renquist investigates a mysterious presence within an ancient burial mound. His research leads him to the discovery that none other than Merlin sleeps beneath the ground, ready to awaken. When a group of Scottish vampires enters the picture and Merlin demonstrates his own ruthless agenda, Renquist finds himself questioning everything he once believed. Continuing his series featuring a cultured and humane vampire protagonist, the author of The Time of Feasting and Darklost has produced another vivid tale that should appeal to the genre's many fans. Suitable for most libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765342936
• ISBN-13: 978-0765342935
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Castles in the Night, November 9, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: More Than Mortal (Hardcover)

This is Mick Farren's third effort in a series that focuses on the adventures of Victor Renquist, the 1,000 year old master of a vampire nest in Los Angeles. Farren's vampires are the results of alien genetic experiments about 15,000 years ago, but are otherwise fairly traditional. While not particularly averse to religious symbolism, they can be destroyed by light and must sleep during the day. Taken as a subculture, they are a weird and degenerate group, ranging from Victor's suave style and manners to half insane Scotsmen who go on regular blood rampages. For the most part they are not 'evil' but they have no particular feelings of remorse about using people for their regular diet.

In this tale Victor is called to England to help with a curious problem that has overtaken a troika of female vampires. These creatures are Columbine Dashwood, a regency beauty who has a severe intelligence problem; Marieko Matsunaga, deadly as both Japanese courtesan and swordswoman; and, finally, Destry Maitland; who has spent much of both her life and her unlife as a mercenary. Destry possesses Dormandu, an Uzbek, the incredibly rare hereditary steed of the warrior vampires. The problem Victor has been called on for is that digging at a nearby archeological site has started to awaken something that has begun to affect the women's dreams, especially Columbine. Anything that can do that is a threat that can't be ignored.

Victor arrives to discover that the dig hides the resting place of an ancient Urshu, known as Taliesin the Great Merlin. The Urshu were a creation of the same aliens that bred the vampires. They were considerably more powerful than vampires, especially in powers of illusion and are able to work in daylight. Nor do they require the normal vampire diet. The Urshu were created to help protect humanity and so are often opposed to their vampire relatives. To add to Victor's problems, Fenrior, the vampire Laird of a huge clan of Scottish vampires is also much interested in the waking Urshu. He will stop at nothing to get control of the Merlin and discover its secrets.

Reader's used to the frantic action of the average vampire thriller will find Farren's work a bit of a different experience. "More Than Mortal" moves at stately pace and takes the time to dwell on its characters and the settings in which they move. I find this a refreshing change from the paperback that can be gulped down in a handful of hours and just as quickly forgotten. The lover of characters will enjoy the return of Lupo, the master assassin, the self-centered empty-headedness of the fair Columbine, as well as the cold, calculating Renquist. Not that there isn't plenty of action, it just doesn't all happen at once, if you know what I mean. It would never be considered dull or bloodless. The book stands well on its own, but the reader would benefit from having at least read the first in the series, "The Time of Feasting."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Renquist is back!, November 17, 2001

By 

Alan Robson (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Than Mortal (Hardcover)

In More than Mortal, Mick Farren gives us another instalment in the life of Renquist, the vampire. This third novel in the series appears to be a launching pad for an extended story arc and while it is complete in itself and is thoroughly enjoyable (this is Mick Farren after all) it is definitely a scene setter for whatever comes next. Renquist receives a message from Columbine, an old flame. She is living in a remote English village in an ancient priory with two other nosferatu Marieko and Destry.

Destry is mad about horses and at one point in the novel someone asks, "Where's Destry?"

"She's riding again," is the (inevitable) reply.

You have to admire the sheer nerve of an author who can put a joke as bad as that one into a novel.

Anyway - the point of asking Renquist to come to England is that Columbine has detected psychic radiation from an old Saxon burial mound near the priory. The mound is currently being investigated by an archaeological team and Columbine is a little frightened at what they might uncover. Renquist To The Rescue!

He finds things to be a bit more dangerous than he expected. The being in the burial mound is the extra-terrestrial who was once known to human history as Merlin. In that guise he played a large part in the Matter of Britain, and it seems that his ambition in this area is not yet satisfied. Renquist has his work cut out for him as he tries to foil both Merlin's plans and also the ambitions of a feudal clan of Scottish nosferatu who have their own secret agenda for the newly revitalised being. There is an ending of sorts, but it is nicely ambiguous. We haven't seen the last of Merlin.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Less than entertaining, January 14, 2002

By 

Kathleen C. Griffin (Bronx NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Than Mortal (Hardcover)

There is a good deal of suspension of disbelief when reading a vampire/nosferatu novel. Much depends on character and atmosphere. Mr. Farren has a real gift for presenting weak, flat characters and nonsensical atmosphere! The snobbishness and pretentiousness aren't a great problem. The difficulty is is remarkable silliness! He attempts to be "scholarly," and makes repeated errors. A great deal of emphasis is placed on Renquist's education and fluency in Latin, then he is impressed by dog-Latin in which he is called "brothers in blood." He seems to have been born to a Norman baron half a century before the Norman Conquest; Farren can't spell Norman or Saxon names. "Victor of Redlands" in 1000 AD is left with ONLY a sword, suit of armor, and cavalry horse capable of carrying a mounted knight; that's like saying the illegitimate son was "disinherited" with only $ 50,000, a car, and a military education! He thinks a priory is inhabited by a whole bunch of priors! It goes on and on!

This might have worked if Farren had stuck to the punk/grunge/ Goth style. As it is, he's thrown in everything from references to H.P. Lovecraft and Bram Stoker to his personal prejudices. The confusion, dull dialogue, stereotypes, and messiness are dreadful.