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wannabekingpin's review against another edition
4.0
The rest is at [Night Mode Reading]: War rages across the whole of East Coast. Blood is running dry, heads of power are thrown around as trophies, and the worst nightmares are running around in the night. If you stand still and look up, at times it seems whole buildings are moving, enclosing upon this or that target in the dark of night, made ever thicker so with shadows of Lasombra clan, as they shed their physical forms to stand as one against the enemy. War ghouls, several great feet tall. Spidery creatures with more legs and arms than one should ever need. Beings with no sense, no mind, nothing but will to go on and destroy until they can no longer do so. And all that nightmare slowly engulfed in the flames, flames that cleanse the city of this carnage. Amidst it all stands Sasha Vykos, one of the most powerful Tzimisce still alive, her shape barely human by her own will. Tonight Sabbat will triumph, and Camarilla shall fall. Gehenna shall come, and clean the night of vermin.
It’s a beautiful book that juggles politics and torture via chapters as they go. Main protagonist is one of the “bad guys“, which is just more interesting to follow. They seem to reason it all out so well, at times leaving the reader rooting for the wrong team, that is, until someone gets their bones molded like warm wax, or skin polished into marble-shine. I admit, I wasn’t a great fan of Tzimisce before, even knowing that Dracula is apparently of this clan, but now I think they’re indeed one interesting bunch. On top of that, we learn more of the people at power on the Camarilla side too, witnessing some unions happening right there on the battlefield, for the need to survive is far greater than the hate one might feel for the other. I give this book 4 out of 5 for now, that is mostly because of the final chapters, the intro chapters to Gangrel clan book. They seemed just a little more intense, and therefor – interesting. But be assured, this one is very well among my favorites now.
It’s a beautiful book that juggles politics and torture via chapters as they go. Main protagonist is one of the “bad guys“, which is just more interesting to follow. They seem to reason it all out so well, at times leaving the reader rooting for the wrong team, that is, until someone gets their bones molded like warm wax, or skin polished into marble-shine. I admit, I wasn’t a great fan of Tzimisce before, even knowing that Dracula is apparently of this clan, but now I think they’re indeed one interesting bunch. On top of that, we learn more of the people at power on the Camarilla side too, witnessing some unions happening right there on the battlefield, for the need to survive is far greater than the hate one might feel for the other. I give this book 4 out of 5 for now, that is mostly because of the final chapters, the intro chapters to Gangrel clan book. They seemed just a little more intense, and therefor – interesting. But be assured, this one is very well among my favorites now.
shadowfelle's review against another edition
2.0
This book was going to be a challenge for anyone to write -- the Tzimisce are by definition inhuman, difficult if not impossible to understand, and horrifically sadistic. It ultimately fell short of my hopes. The narrative jumps perspectives so often that it's difficult to identify a clear protagonist, or develop any level of real familiarity with any one of the multiple viewpoint characters. I was even a bit disappointed by the lack of horror aspects. There's gore, certainly, which should be expected from a Sabbat-viewpoint novel, but it didn't quite hit the level of surreal body horror I was hoping for. Sorry, bone spurs and weird piercings by themselves aren't evocative enough for me.
Also, don't bother with this unless you're familiar with the Vampire: The Masquerade setting. I can't imagine this being comprehensible to anyone who isn't.
Also, don't bother with this unless you're familiar with the Vampire: The Masquerade setting. I can't imagine this being comprehensible to anyone who isn't.
frater's review against another edition
3.0
Much better written than the first novel in the series and well plotted, though the shift in perspective necessitated a low payoff for the open questions from the first novel. On the whole a better showing; though that's a pretty low bar.
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