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Read Tempting Fate (1982)

Tempting Fate (1982)

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Series
Rating
4.16 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0451118650 (ISBN13: 9780451118653)
Language
English
Publisher
signet

Tempting Fate (1982) - Plot & Excerpts

I am really enjoying these books about a 4000-year-old world-traveling good-guy vampire, even if the rather florid writing keeps me from actually recommending it to other people. If you like historical fiction and the idea of a kind-hearted vampire, and you don't mind some melodrama, you might like these.This book begins with Saint-Germain's escape from Russia during the 1917 revolution. He encounters an impoverished Russian duchess who offers him shelter (with benefits), and he also rescues an abandoned little girl and takes her to Germany where he raises her as his daughter.The blurbs for this book are entirely misleading, by the way, particularly the one which insinuates that Saint-Germain develops romantic/sanguinary designs on the girl. He actually never feels anything but paternal affection for her.The book takes place mostly in Germany during the 1920's, which is suffering under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and witnessing the rise of the Nazi party. Saint-Germain befriends a Jewish family as well as a German noblewoman who has fallen on hard times.Madelaine de Montalia makes an appearance in this story. She's an old lover of Saint-Germain's who became a vampire in early 18th-century France and seems to spend most of her extended life on archeological digs in various places around the world. There is a spin-off series about her which did not sound interesting at first, but I liked her in this book so I will check those out.Anyway, this book is long and meandering, with plenty of historical detail. We spend a lot of time on the trials and tribulations of the Russian duchess and the German noblewoman, and also on the adventures of an American reporter who becomes Madelaine's lover. Eventually personal tragedy strikes Saint-Germain, and when in his grief he begins to engage in dangerous behavior, his friends call on Madelaine for help.

an old favorite, one I now have in more than one format, like so many old friends.

What do You think about Tempting Fate (1982)?

This was the first Saint-Germain book I had read since "The Palace" a few years ago. Frankly, I just didn't like "The Palace." It seemed to me that Yarbro was aiming her book squarely at the Renaissance Pleasure Fair crowd at the expense of plot and characterization. Every other chapter was swamped with detailed descriptions of clothing, to the point where I felt that 2/3 of the material could have been excised without any damage to the plot whatsoever. It was a maddening read because I have loved so much of this author's shorter work - in particular "Disturb Not My Slumbering Fare."And so now, twenty years after it was written, when we are awash with good vampires who don't drink human blood - I wonder if Saint-Germain glitters in the twilight? - I wasn't expecting much."Tempting Fate" was a terrific surprise/ I enjoyed every paragraph of this story, which I kind of imagined as Dr. Zhivago meets The Undead.This is a straightforward, serious novel examining the horrors of pre-world war Germany and the rise of the Nazis. Saint-Germain is the perfect viewpoint character because, through his eyes, this dark epoch is put into historical perspective and compared to similar historical events. I felt the writing style was perfect for the material, no wasted verbiage, no over-writing although Saint-Germaine himself is portrayed as a well-educated aristocrat and expresses himself accordingly. I won't ruin the plot by giving you a synopsis - but I will warn you to keep a box of Kleenex nearby. If you're a touch, macho kind of guy -- well, you may want to draw the blinds, or read it when you've got some time to yourself - away from the the wife and kids.Highly recommended.
—Chuck Briggs

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