Despite some occasionally awful cover art, Yarbro's vampire-hero Count Saint Germain remains one of my favorite characters. It has been a continued pleasure to follow him through five millennia in these amazingly detailed historical novels.
While ostensibly vampire-horror novels, as the series has progressed the stories are more and more historical novels where the main character is, almost as an afterthought, a vampire. It doesn't make them any less interesting, but thankfully it does move Yarbro's books out of the realm of vampires ala Ann Rice.
These are eminently readable, engrossing novels - I usually read them in one sitting.
Many of the books have been out of print for a number of years, and are very hard to come by. They show up in used book stores every once in awhile, but I learned the hard way to buy them the moment they show up.
Book list
This is a listing of the St. Germain novels only - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has written a number of non-fiction books, and children's books, and other series. Since I haven't read most of them (and my bookshelf contains only her vampire novels) they aren't listed here.St. Germain
- Hotel Transylvania. New York: St Martin's, 1978
- The Palace. New York: St Martin's, 1978
- Blood Games. New York: St Martin's, 1979
- Path Of the Eclipse. New York: St Martin's, 1981
- Tempting Fate. New York: St Martin's, 1982
- The Saint-Germain Chronicle. New York: Pocket, 1983. Incorporates "Cabin 33", "Renewal", "Seat Partner', and "The Spider Glass."
- Out of the House of Life, Orb 1990
- Better in the Dark (Tor, 1993, Orb, 1995)
- Darker Jewels (Tor, 1993, Orb, 1994)
- Mansions of Darkness (Tor, 1996)
- Writ in Blood (Tor, 1997)
- The Vampire Stories of Chelsea Quinn Yarbo (limited Edition, Transylvania Press, 1994)
- Blood Roses, Tor Books; 2nd edition (October 6, 1999)
- Communion Blood, Tor Books (October 6, 2000)
- Come Twilight, Tor Books (September 22, 2001)
- A Feast in Exile, Tor Books; 1st Trade edition (October 18, 2002)
- Night Blooming, Warner Books (September 1, 2003)
- The Dark of the Sun, Tor Books (November 1, 2004)
Olivia
- A Flame In Byzantium. New York: Tom Doherty, 1987.
- Crusader's Torch. New York: Tom Doherty, 1988.
- A Candle for D'Artagnan (Tor, 1989, Orb, 1994).
Short Stories
- "Cabin 33" in Shadows 3, edited by Charles L. Grant. New York: Doubleday, 1980.
- "Renewal" in Shadows 5, edited by Charles L. Grant New York: Doubleday, 1982
- "Seat Partner" in Nightmares. edited by Charles L. Grant. New York: Playboy, 1979
- "The Spider Glass" in Shadows 4. edited by Charles L. Grant. New York: Doubleday, 1981
Links
Pseudonyms
- C.Q. Yarbro
- Terry Nelson Bonner
- Quinn Faucett
- Vanessa Pryor