Out of the House of Life

An account of the early life of the vampire Le Comte de Saint-Germain describes his life in ancient Egypt, his sojourn in the grim Temple of Imhotep, his transformation from demon to wise and powerful immortal, and his first encounter with his beloved Madelaine

From Publishers Weekly

Learned, lustrous-haired Madelaine de Montalia, dead over a century but reborn to the vampire life, joins an expedition of French antiquarians to excavate Egyptian ruins at Thebes, 1825-1828, in this ponderous novel, the seventh featuring the Count of Saint-Germain, the immortal vampire ( Hotel Transylvania ). From offstage, the Count sends letters to his adored Madelaine, recalling his thousand-year stint in ancient Egypt when he labored first as a captive demon (chained in Judea and given to Queen Hatshepsut) in the House of Life--a hospital/mortuary--then as slave, servant, physician and, finally, as "Sanh Zhrman," high priest of Imhotep. Madelaine imbibes the fluids of men she visits in dreams as well as (discreetly and in the flesh) those of her lover, the blue-eyed German Dr. Falke. Meanwhile she is besieged by lecherous misogynists and by the bribery of local officials, the theft and sale of choice treasures, the blatant plagiarisms that are all part of the game of archeology. Unfortunately, these promising story materials founder in a plotless narrative, talkily expressed in pseudo-Victorian style. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Yarbro is best known for a series of historical novels about the Comte de Saint-Germain ( Blood Games, LJ 2/1/80; Hotel Transylvania, LJ 1/15/78), a scholarly, humane, and centuries-old vampire. Here she alternates the story of his early life in Pharaonic Egypt with that of Madelaine, a 19th-century French beauty, herself a vampire, and lover of the count. Madelaine joins an archaeological expedition in the hope of discovering the ancient site of the House of Life where Saint-Germain toiled for 800 years. Usually Yarbro easily evokes a sense of time and place. Unfortunately in this novel, the rich history of Egypt never comes to life. Worse, the Muslim characters who populate the modern period are little more than caricatures. A disappointing book from a writer who has done so much better.- Patricia Altner, U.S. Dept. of Defense Lib., Washington, D.C.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reviews

News