Commedia Della Morte by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Book Review

Title: Commedia Della Morte (Saint-Germain # 25)

Author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Publisher: Tor

Publication Date: 13th March 2012

Pages: 429

Format: Hardback

Genre: Paranormal / Historical

Source: Bought Copy

 

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's modern classic, Hotel Transylvania, introduced the Count Saint-Germain and his beloved, Madelaine de Montalia. The Count is one of the most critically acclaimed vampire characters ever created, with dedicated fans who have followed his adventures through more than twenty novels, dozens of short stories, and thousands of years of human history. But of all the women the Count has loved, the most popular is the beautiful, ever-youthful Madelaine.

In Commedia della Morte, Saint-Germain learns that Madelaine—now a vampire—has been arrested by France's Revolutionary Tribunal and is soon to lose her head. Desperate to rescue her, the Count sneaks into France with a troupe of actors led by the glamorous Photine, who soon becomes Saint-Germain's mistress. Photine's teenage son, driven by jealousy and revolutionary fervor, betrays the Count. Now Saint-Germain's life, as well as Madelaine's, hangs in the balance, in this darkly romantic historical vampire novel. (Goodreads Synopsis)



Now, it is no secret that I am a huge fan of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint Germain series of books. It will therefore come as no surprise to you that I awarded this book five stars.

But, I must say that I found this book one of the best out of the last few releases by Yarbro. While I like all the books in the series, this one particularly appealed to me; perhaps since it was set during one of my favourite historical periods - the French Revolution.

The cast of characters features a number of old favourites such as Roger and Madelaine as well as interesting new characters and the odd historical figure. As always, the historical detail is accurate and beautifully woven into the story. The plot moves at a good pace - faster than some of the other books in this series - and held my interest throughout.

One of the great things about this series is the fact you do not have to read them in the order they were written and I think this one would be a good 'first read' for someone new to Yarbro's writing.

Roll on book twenty-six is all I can say!