A Flame in Byzantium (Paperback)

~ Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yarbro's romantic, colorful cycle of historical horror novels (Hotel Transylvania, Blood Games) focuses this time on Olivia, the noble Roman lady who became a lover of the vampire Count Sanct' Germain in the time of Nero. Hundreds of years later, in the sixth century, Olivia is forced to flee Rome as war flares. In the more repressive and vigilantly Christian city of Constantinople she is suspect as a foreigner and an unmarried woman of wealth. When her patron, General Belisarius, falls out of favor with Emperor Justinian, she has no protection from the zealous Court Censor. Although the fact that Olivia is a vampire makes little difference until the end, the book has a real, cumulative power as a portrait of an intelligent, cosmopolitan woman caught in a paranoid web of politics and religious persecution. Particularly striking are its connections between the personal and the historical, the most moving of which is the reaction to Justinian's ordering the burning of the Library of Alexandria, with its thousands of irreplacable ancient texts.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In A.D. 545, when Rome is sacked, Olivia Clemens, a wealthy Roman citizen, flees to Constantinople. Accustomed to liberal Roman ways, Olivia chafes under the restrictions of Constantinople's narrow society; as a foreigner and a thinking woman she finds herself victim of an Inquisition-like plot. A skillful blend of history and fiction, this novel is a romantic tale of intrigue, given added spice by the fact that its heroine happens to be a 500-year-old vampire. This is the first in a new series from Yarbro , known for her novels featuring the vampire Saint Germain. It is not a horror novel; any horror stems not from vampirism but from human acts in an age of religious persecution. Olivia's vampirism is a very minor subplot in an excellent historical about a strong and sympathetic woman. Highly recommended. A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Comm. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tom Doherty Assoc Llc; First Thus edition (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812528042
• ISBN-13: 978-0812528046
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,203,053 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Olivia, vampire heroine, is a spin-off of St. Germain series, December 31, 2000

By	R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Flame in Byzantium (Hardcover)

Those who already know that they like vampire novels, anything at all that features a vampire, can skip this review, and likewise, those who hate the whole idea of vampires can skip it. But for those trying to decide whether or not to read more of this genre, or whether the one vampire novel you've already read was a fluke, it may help if we have some ways to categorize these novels. Thus: BunRab's Standard Vampire Elements. First, most authors of vampire novels approach from one of the main genres of genre fiction; thus their background may be primarily in romance, or in science fiction/fantasy, or in murder mysteries, or in horror. Second, many vampire novels come in series; knowing whether this is one of a series, and where in the series it falls, may be helpful. Then we have some particular characteristics: - Is the vampire character (or characters) a "good guy" or a "bad guy"? Or are there some of each? - Are there continuing characters besides the vampire, through the series? - Are there other types of supernatural beings besides vampires? - Can the vampire stand daylight under some circumstances, or not stand daylight at all? - Does the vampire have a few other supernatural characteristics, many other supernatural characteristics, or none other than just being a vampire? (E.g., super strength, change into an animal, turn invisible) - Does the vampire have a regular job and place in society, or is being a vampire his or her entire raison d'etre? - Does the vampire literally drink blood, or is there some other (perhaps metaphorical) method of feeding? - Is sex a major plot element, a minor plot element, or nonexistent? - Is the entire vampire feeding act a metaphor for sex, part of a standard sex act, or unrelated to sex? - Is the story set in one historical period, more than one historical period, or entirely in the present day? - Does the story have elements of humor, or is it strictly serious? - Is the writing style good, or is the writing just there to manage to hold together the plot and characters?

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's series about the vampire St. Germain starts from the historical romance genre, and is a continuing series. Olivia, the heroine of this book, is a woman of ancient Rome whom St. Germain has turned into a vampire; this book is one of several written about her rather than about St. Germain. St. Germain and Olivia are definitely good guys, using the knowledge they've gained in hundreds of years of living to help others. There are a few characters that continue from book to book besides these two. Ghouls are the only other supernatural characters who appear in these books. Olivia can stand daylight with the right preparations. She has unusual strength, but not limitless, and unusual wisdom, but there are no other overt magic powers. Olivia has an occupation of being an aristocrat and landowner, insofar as that was a full-time occupation through most of history. Yarbro's vampires do not literally drink blood; they feed on emotions, usually during erotic experiences, but sex is nonetheless only a minor plot element, rare and very discreet. The series as a whole covers 3000 years, from ancient Egypt to the modern day; each book is set in a span of a particular period, usually 20-30 years. The writing is serious, but not self-important; the writing quality is excellent, and Yarbro's abilities as an author qualify these books as literature rather than "merely" genre fiction.

This particular book is set in the Roman empire of Justinian, as run from Constantinople, or Byzantium, in 545 C.E. The major elements of conflict come from the tension between the remnants of Rome, the remnants of Greek civilization, and the influence of the Near East and even the Orient. Political treachery is the order of the day. Olivia's bondsman, Niklos, is a hero of major importance; it is thanks to Niklos' saving Olivia's life that we can look forward to the next book in the series. Because this is one of the later-written books in the series about St. Germain and Olivia, it might be helpful to a newcomer to read a couple of the others first. _Blood Games_, the book set in Nero's Rome, is the one in which St. Germain first meets, and "converts," Olivia; it would be a good one to read as a preliminary to reading _Flame in Byzantium_.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, July 13, 2005

By	Tiffanie Cross "fschiana2002" (Holly Hill, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Flame in Byzantium (Hardcover)

If you are looking for a good strong heroine Olivia is your woman. And unlike most "historical" books you might read. Yarbro did her homework well. the description of costumes and culture are right on. this is absolutely one of my favorite books, and it is the one that got my hooked on yarbro.

5.0 out of 5 stars Olivia Clemens and Belisarius, noble heroes in a corrupt world, October 5, 2008

By	Ventura Angelo (Brescia, Lombardia Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think this is a marvelous historical novel one of the rare kind of novels that give you the FEEL of the era. Olivia Clemens is a vampire, abnd also a very humane, sympathetic character. Vampires are felt as dangerous, nothing is more dangerous that the nest of snakes that's the byzantine court. Insidious plots intertwine, and meanness, greed, jealousy and bigotry characterize such a society, beginning with the Emperor itself. But a character who sparles here is Belisarius, noble, honest, brave, and loyal even in the direst situations to an Emperor who doesn't deserve the loyalty of such a man.
The Belisarius of CQY stand the paragon with the Belisarius of Robert Graves. CQY, strangely, alters a bit the historical reality, for antonina survived Belisarius, albeit by few years.
Anyway, a great novel!