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Title: Clan Novel: Lasombra by Richard E. Dansky ISBN: 1565048075 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44
Rating: 5
Summary: Best in the Series
Comment: This Clan Novel has everything in it. While the others may have focused too much on the political aspects of being a Cainite, this novel has equal amounts of political planning and fighting. Talley is, in a word, awesome. The fact that he is Lucita's equal (if not her better) makes the fight between the two of them very interesting, and I actually found myself hoping Talley would win. I guess it was because he wasn't interested in the whole political situation, his Cardinal had assigned him with a task, and he was going to do it. He has the mentality of a Vampire on either The Path of Honorable Accord or The Path of the Feral Heart. Also, Talley was portrayed as being tough. I mean, the guy hunts Lupines! How many vampires have encountered Lupines and survived to tell about it, and this guy goes off and hunts them basically in his own free time? Wow.
Also, you get to see the functioning of the Sabbat on a nightly basis...while Clan Novel:Tzimisce maybe have gone into detail about the actual planning of the siege, this novel shows how those plans are actually carried out. Granted, CN:Tzimisce had the attack being carried out, but this novel shows more than just one attack; it shows the entire Sabbat offensive unfolding.
While Lucita was the main focus of this book, I like the fact that other vampires' actions were detailed as well. For instance, showing how Moncada plotted against his rivals was well done. It was obvious how ruthless and cunning he was based on what he said, which you need to focus on to demonstrate the qualities of a 1,000+ year old vampire who's only salvation from the Beast is his desire for power.
Overall I would recommend this book above all others in this series. If you're a fan of the Lasombra you will take special interest in it; if you're not, you'll enjoy the book for being what it is -- fun to read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth the $5.99
Comment: This is a very entertaining book, some of the best parts being the glimpses of the Sabbat war council "in session." Vykos and Polonia are entertaining personalities, and Talley is as intimidating and predatory as a Lasombra assassin (albeit bodyguard at the time) can be - his presence is ominous even when he isn't doing anything. The devious Monçada is such a twisted, twisted creature that I can't help but find him fascinating. Even Borges manages to (inadvertently) amuse in his own blustering, bludgeoning way as the brunt of the other archbishops' moderately-concealed disdain and general derision.
Now, Lucita being an assassin-for-hire and all, this novel has several scenes with examples of the profound fragility of the mortal (or immortal) human frame when it's hit/kicked by a preternaturally-strong Lasombra. (The Sabbat war council meetings are in no shortage of violence (or preternaturally-strong Lasombra), either.)
Things start to really pick up momentum near the end of the novel. Of course, you'll probably enjoy the novel more if you've read all the previous ones in the series, but I don't think they're absolutely necessary to enjoy Clan Novel: Lasombra.
Rating: 5
Summary: Clan Novel: Lasombra
Comment: I must confess; I don't like the Sabbat. I know that there are folks who are partisans for this sect; I know that there are people who love the Sabbat for its anarchy, its bloodthirsty brand of egalitarianism, it's in-your-face carnage and destruction. I'm just not one of them. So it was with a bit of dread that I picked up a copy of Clan Novel: Lasombra. But the most amazing thing happened - because while reading this novel, I found myself warming up to the Sabbat. Because you have to say one thing about the Sabbat, for all their monstrosity and inhuman ferocity, at least they have the Lasombra. The Lasombra have style, poise, and an almost preternatural arrogance about them. The Lasombra are, in one word, cool.
Clan Novel: Lasombra's main protagonist is all about cool. Lucita is her name, the only progeny of an ancient and powerful Lasombra, and she inspires fear in both the Camarilla and the Sabbat alike. For if the vampire Kindred see themselves as predators amongst mortal humans, then Lucita is a killer of killers, an undead assassin possibly without parallel. And Lucita has just accepted a new commission - to kill an Archbishop of the Sabbat.
Archbishops are no slouches either; somewhere between a political title and a military rank, Archbishops are powers in their own right, possessing centuries of experience and a masterly command of their vampiric abilities. And Lucita has her work cut out for her; her target is one of three Archbishops leading a campaign on the eastern coast of the American continent against the Camarilla. Which of the three is Lucita's target is part of the fun of the book, the target deliberately left in the shadows, so to speak, for the reader (and the characters in the novel) to discover.
As part of a 13 book cycle, the war on the American east coast is one of overarching plots across the entire series. Some readers may find it difficult to understand, and some plot points may seem particularly cryptic, especially when they refer to events that take place in other Clan Novels, but don't be discouraged. The novel has its own central storyline that stands by itself and surprisingly, makes the Sabbat palatable, even enjoyable.
For one thing, there is the guilty pleasure of watching Lucita at work, stalking her prey and almost artfully weaving her way through the eastern seaboard with insouciant grace. Through her eyes, we can understand what motivates her behavior and even come to cheer her sheer audacity (Lucita can be forgiven for her innate self-confidence because it's not arrogance if she really is that good). Another even more remarkable thing is that it gives us a view into the Sabbat (who by all rights should degenerate into a mob slavering over each other) and how they can and do function as a political entity in their own right (although the Sabbat give the phrase, "taking a head count" a whole new meaning). And finally, there are the side characters who are, although they are not the main focus, almost steal the novel whenever they grace the page. Some of the more fascinating include the grim and supremely professional hunter-turned-bodyguard Sir Talley, the brusque but oddly compelling Archbishop Polonia of New York, the deliciously devilish Archbishop Vykos of Washington, D.C. and the conniving plotter in the shadows, Cardinal Moncada, whose presence seems to lurk in the background of all the Sabbat's actions. Add to the mix, furious action sequences, engaging political machinations and one or two little twists and you have yourself a jam-packed novel that's just plain fun to read.
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Title: Clan Novel: Nosferatu by Gherbod Fleming ISBN: 1565048350 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: 20 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Clan Novel: Ravnos by Kathleen Ryan ISBN: 1565048083 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: February, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Clan Novel: Malkavian by Stewart Wieck ISBN: 1565048199 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Clan Novel: Giovanni by Justin Achilli ISBN: 1565048261 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Brujah by Gerbod Fleming, Gherbod Fleming ISBN: 1565048253 Publisher: White Wolf Publishing Inc. Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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