The Vampire Genevieve (Warhammer Novels) [Paperback]

Jack Yeovil (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warhammer Novels | Publication Date: December 20, 2005

Evil has a new enemy...one of its own. Meet Genevieve Dieudonne. She's beautiful, powerful, resourceful and courageous - and over four hundred years old. In the dark forests and cities of the Warhammer world, she and her unlikely companions battle the forces of evil and insanity. However, the vampire blood running through Genevieve's veins means she must constantly fight the urge to surrender to the evil within her. "The Vampire Genevieve" collects together all the tales of Genevieve and her unlikely companions into one volume. It contains the four fabulous novels "Drachenfels", "Genevieve Undead", "Beasts in Velvet" and "Silver Nails". Jack Yeovil is a pseudonym for popular nevelist Kim Newman. The Genevieve books were first published by Games Workshop in the late 1980s and quickly gained a cult reputation amongst Warhammer and fantasy fans alike. Now all four novels are available in a superb value collected volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Kim Newman is always a treat - The Guardian Engaging, breathlessly clever - SFX Strong and highly atmospheric fantasy - Starlog Jack Yeovil keeps up the high standard of excitement and entertainment - Enigma Most imaginitive writing; recommended - Interzone Yeovil excels at the macabre and grotesque - rpg.net Yeovil delivers a tale with bite and just a little humour that will keep you gripped from the moment you enter his world until you're spat out breathless and hungry for more at the end - Enigma

About the Author

Besides his contributions to the Games Workshop Warhammer and Dark Future series, the seldom-seen Jack Yeovil is the author of a single novel, Orgy of the Blood Parasites, and used to fill in occasionally as a film reviewer for Empire and the NME. Kim Newman seems to have Jack under control at the moment, but the stubborn beast flesh occasionally comes creeping back.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Games Workshop (December 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844162443
• ISBN-13: 978-1844162444
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A taste of Yeovil.. more darkly disturbing than most Warhammer fantasy., July 23, 2008

By 

C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vampire Genevieve (Warhammer Novels) (Paperback)

Collecting all four of Jack Yeovil's Warhammer novels, this omnibus edition is well worth the price. Yeovil is known for his darkly disturbing, yet cynically humorous, style, and it is in full display here. The characters he creates in these novels are for the most part excellent, especially Genevieve herself. The way she is portrayed makes her impossible not to love, and its hard not to get frustrated when she is left out of a tale. You do not need to have any knowledge or interest in the Warhammer Fantasy world to enjoy this book, which could really be passed off in nearly any generic fantasy setting. One thing I would recommend: don't read this omnibus volume straight through. Give yourself breaks between the books to break up the occasional repetitive-seeming parts and to keep the freshness of the stories alive.

The first book, Drachenfels, was my personal favorite of the series. The book takes the form of a dark and gritty mystery (without the reader being sure of what the mystery to be solved really is) with classic elements of fantasy and spoof comedy. The characters are rich and believable (for a fantasy) while the storyline progresses smoothly without slowing down from the beginning to the dramatic conclusion (which has a totally unexpected and thrilling twist). The basic premise consists of a prince of the realm sponsoring a theatre production telling of his famous defeat of the dark and evil Constant Drachenfels. Genevieve played a role in the original feat and is invited back to participate in the play version. Twists and turns and mysterious happenings plague the production as hilarious characters scheme and plot for their own agendas. Yeovil keeps the reader engaged throughout the story. [5-stars]

Genevieve Undead, the second book in this volume is my least favorite of the four. It is actually composed of three independent short stories only loosely tied together. The three short stories don't develop to the same scope as DRACHENFELS. Nevertheless, this book is very enjoyable and won't disappoint Warhammer fans who're looking for something a bit darker than you get from most fantasy books. Many of the scenes here are downright disturbing. Still, this novel is mildly disappointing, not having much depth and not really contributing too much to Genevieve's character or the greater story of her life. [3-stars]

The third book, Beasts in Velvet, is a rather generic murder mystery and hardly involves Genevieve at all. The principle character is Johann von Mecklenburg, an aristocrat that you meet in previous books. The story involves Johann and a few other characters trying to solve the mystery behind a spree of gruesome murders. Suspicions are spread around a number of side characters, keeping the reader guessing as to who may be the real killer. While you get some pretty graphic violence and a unique look into the psyche of some twisted individuals (something that Yeovil is so good at), this book just didn't grab my attention. Predictable and with somewhat flat characters, BEASTS IN VELVET doesn't live up to Yeovil's other work and is a bit out of place in this omnibus. [3-stars]

The final book, Silver Nails, finishes off this volume nicely. Made up of loosely-connected but still individual short stories, this book can be read one story at a time, or all together. These stories actually serve to connect all of the previous Genevieve stories contained in the omnibus. Some occur before, between, or after the stories in the other three books. Many of the characters from the rest of the series play prominent roles here, and the stories themselves are (mostly) top notch examples of Yeovil's writing. Adventure, mystery, and humor are intertwined with frankly disturbing scenes of love, evil, and just plain weirdness. You even get a cameo of the intrepid Gotrek and Felix in this one. The book ends with a rather disappointing conclusion to the overall story of Genevieve, but the main meat of this one is excellent. [5-stars]

Overall, this omnibus should be enjoyable by most fans of fantasy. Much different than most Warhammer books, this one doesn't require any interest in that world. Fans of dark mystery and vampires will especially like this one, but really anyone will find it enjoyable. Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vampire stories without any real vampirism in them, February 16, 2009

By 

Mijat Vujacic "Giganthrax" (Belgrade, Serbia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Genevieve the Vampire (Hardcover)

"The Vampire Genevieve" is a collection of novels and stories written by Kim Newman, the author of "Anno Dracula", "Bloodred Baron" and "Dracula Cha Cha Cha". It is set in the Old World, the setting of Warhammer Fantasy tabletop games.

When it comes to writing modern vampire tales, mister Newman deserves the title of grandmaster. His style is both ornate and easy to read, his plots are complex and engaging, and his ironic humor and real-life references add an unique flavor to his works that I can describe only as "Newmaneskue". Perhaps the most glaring thing about mister Newman's writing is his expert use of flamboyant, deliberately silly characters. "The Vampire Genevieve" is full of such personas and, depending on your disposition, each can be viewed as either lovable or absurd. The writer knows this, and offers no apology. In other words, he doesn't explain the joke - you either get it, or you don't.

Drachenfels - 4 Stars - As the author himself states in the introduction, Drachenfels is a deconstruction of that most classical of tales; a hero and his darling embark on an epic quest to destroy an evil sorcerer. Except that the entire quest is just a prologue, and the main story deals with what happens twenty five years later, when the said hero commissions a theatric adaptation of his epic deed. The best part of the novel lies in its delightfully one-sided and deliberately self-parodying characters. Not for a moment do we believe that real human beings can be as self-loving as Detlef Sierck, as mindlessly mean as Lilli Nissen, as villainous as Constant Drachenfels, or as noire as Anton Veidt. Yet they work so well within the context of the story that we can't help but enjoy every moment we spend with them. While above-average, Drachenfels is not a perfect novel. Its shortcomings lie in the wrong presentation of the setting (vampires and even chaos mutants are allowed to live unopposed in human cities), as well as a sudden decline in Detlef Sierck's personality traits - about halfway into the book, he stops being a lovable egomaniac and becomes more-or-less faceless. Another problem is the presentation of Genevieve's vampirism and its overall significance (more on that later).

Genevieve Undead - 4 Stars - This is a collection of three novellas; "Stage Blood", "The Cold Stark House" and "Unicorn Ivory".

"Stage Blood" is a sequel to "Drachenfels". It tells the tale of the Great Enchanter's posthumous revenge on Genevieve and Detlef. It's a great story; well thought out, fast paced and very entertaining. It is dominated by the villain (an authentically soulless being) and its polar opposite - the trapdoor demon. Although Detlef's narcissism is still nowhere to be found, his character has gained much depth, going a long way towards making the reader care about him. I disliked the entire "Genevieve's influence creating a darkness in Detlef's soul" theme - I felt it was convulsed and rushed.

,,The Cold Stark House" is a weird tale about a cursed manor and its insane inhabitants. Throughout the novella, you'll be wondering what the hell is going on, until the truth is revealed and all the crazy events start to make sense. The story was too drawn out for my taste, often bombarding the reader with unimportant names, titles and backgrounds. Also, why Genevieve bothers rescuing a pair of complete strangers (she never even talked to either one of them) is a mystery.

"Unicorn Ivory" is the shortest of the three novellas. Genevieve is blackmailed into agreeing to assassinate a powerful graf and his son. In order to make their deaths appear accidental, she infiltrates their household and is soon pulled into a web of lies and family secrets.

[ SPOILERS START HERE ]The problem with "Unicorn Ivory" is that its main villain isn't nearly as evil as the writer is trying to make him. Okay, graf Rudiger loves to hunt for fun and acts semi-harsh to his son - that's bad by 21st century standards, but it was really nothing out of the ordinary in ancient times. He supposedly hates women and has killed his wife because she cheated on him with his best friend - this should make us hate him, but it doesn't. The thing is, the graf still keeps his wife's portrait in his dining hall and all his mistresses resemble her - meaning that the graf truly loved his wife and probably still does. Thus, he becomes a tragic, pitiable villain whose only real crime was an impulsive act of a cheated lover, rather then cold blooded murder. That the graf can forgive his friend, and then go on to raise his friend's bastard son as his own, shows he has a lot more heart then we're pushed to believe. The writer obviously wants us to loathe Rudiger, going so far as to turn him into a complete monster that kills its best friend because of a vague assumption (this part of the story is both rushed and far-fetched - basically, Rudiger manages to fetch the trophy horn, kill two people in a very messy way, and wipe the blood off himself before the extremely-fast Genevieve catches up with him). Overall, Rudiger feels like a complex antihero who has been transformed into a brainless villain for the sake of the plot. That Genevieve, who has had terrible things done to her by characters much worse then Rudiger, apparently hates the graf way more then she did Drachenfels is not only ridiculous, but contrary to her personality, too. [ SPOILERS END HERE ]

Beasts in Velvet - 4 Stars for the story, 1 Star for the false advertising - First off, this novel is not a vampire story. Genevieve has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot and only appears in a cameo. As such, "Beasts in Velvet" has no reason to be in a "The Vampire Genevieve" collection. It's just plain dishonest marketing.

That being said, "Beasts in Velvet" is an enjoyable, fast-paced mystery novel. A serial killer known as the Beast is on the loose, and evidence suggest he/she/it is an aristocrat. A group of revolutionists sparks a civil uprising in Altdorf, throwing the city into chaos during the "worst fog ever to fall on Altdorf". The murderer's identity managed to be both predictable (there are dead giveaways in the first chapter) and shocking (the killer's true nature WILL surprise you). Rosanna's scrying is an exotic and important part of the story - sadly, its efficiency varies depending on the needs of the plot [SPOILER - she can basically read people's minds and feel their emotions, and yet she spends an entire night in the close proximity of the Beast and doesn't notice a thing - SPOILER].

Silver Nails - 3 Stars - A collection of five short stories. The titular bloodsucker appears in only two out of four stories. "Silver Nails" creates some embarrassing contradictions; in "Drachenfels" it's stated that lady Melissa has been in the convent of the Order of Eternal Night and Solace so long that she has no clue on what's going on in the outside world, while in "Silver Nails" she's traveling near the fortress of the Great Enchanter. Also, if Genevieve knew about the true nature of Yefimovich, why didn't she try to stop him in "Beasts in Velvet"? "Ibby the Fish Factor", while entertaining, has such an incoherent finale that I can only shrug and forget I ever read it. "Silver Nails" is an overall okay short story quartet, but not nearly as good as the rest of "The Vampire Genevieve" collection.

For me, the greatest flaw of "The Vampire Genevieve" collection is the idealized way in which it depicts vampirism. Genevieve isn't damaged by sunlight, doesn't have to drink blood often, doesn't have to sleep in a coffin, and can swim in running water all she wants. She looks sixteen, has great strength and endurance, excellent night vision, can mutate her teeth and fingers into fangs and claws at will, and doesn't have to kill anyone when feeding - her "victims" actually relish the experience. She can walk unopposed among humanity, parading her eternal youth and overall superiority as she wills - the only inconvenience she experiences is that she occasionally runs into a vampire-hater who will, at the very worst, tell her to steer clear of him/her. One has to wonder; why aren't there more vampires about? Why would anyone say no to a socially acceptable immortality that has no downside to speak of?

This lack of weaknesses makes the entire concept of vampirism pointless. Genevieve might as well not be a vampire at all. Replace her great strength and claws-on-demand with martial expertise and give her a set of pointy ears, and you'd have an elf adventurer. The stories (except maybe "Ibby the Fish Factor") would play out the same.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, witty, not what you expect from a vampire or a Warhammer book, November 25, 2008

By 

Kid Kyoto (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Vampire Genevieve (Warhammer Novels) (Paperback)

As I said in reviewing the hardcover, the editorial description implies you'll be getting a typical fantasy novel but don't believe it for a second. Genevieve is filled with pop culture references, clever twists and mercifully devoid of fantasy cliches.

The first novel in the collection Drachenfels opens with a group of mismatched heroes heading for the evil wizard's tower (YAWN) however they are messily killed in the first few pages and the story then skips ahead ten years and focuses on the big-budget play being produced to celebrate their triumph where the hero is a vain director and self-proclaimed genius.

The entire book is like that, what seem to be typical fantasy stories soon focus on daily life in a medieval world.

Pick it up you won't be disappointed.