For us readers used to vampires dripping with evil and bloody gore or anguish suffering, guilt ridden heros in search of a woman to save them, Saint-Germain comes off as almost too civilized. For he likes what he is and he definitely isn't evil. In fact, he is definitely one of the good guys, always kind and gentle and respectful of women and those in need, tolerant of differences in a world that isn't always very tolerant. Sometimes you almost forget he is a vampire because there isn't any flashy showing off of his powers. He is just trying to fit in the best he can, living with his handicaps that sun and running water weaken him and the problems of finding a food source. He prefers to fed on the dreams and emotions of willing women with just a little blood, but can survive for long periods of time without, on the blood of animals and the strength provided by his native soil. His traveling companion Roger is a ghoul, a creature without Saint-Germain's handicaps and strengths, but basically immortal and only able to eat raw meat. There aren't too many vampires in Saint-Germain's world, only those who he has created, for we learn he is the last of his breed.
Fans of the series love the care with which Cheslea Quinn Yarbro tells her story, not just of Saint-Germain, but of the time and the place. These books are full of interesting historical detail that make the era come alive. They are for the most part long books and relatively slow reads meant to be savored and enjoyed. Some readers who like their vampires more dramatic and bloody may not enjoy the series, but it is worth investigating.
INTERVIEW
1. When HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA was first published in 1978, extremely few vampire novels had been published. Anne Rice had only just published INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE in 1976. So remembering back, was writing a story about a vampire a selling point or a hindrance in getting your book published?
CHELSEA QUINN YARBRO: It was a bit of both since I sold Hotel Transylvania before Interview was published: Signet bought it late in 1975, then, the following spring, sold hardcover rights to St. Martin's, which delayed the publication of Hotel Transylvania by a little over a year, so that instead of coming out in early 1977, it came out in '78. At the time Hotel Transylvania was bought, the market had not been established, and although Interview was being talked about in the business, it was still an unknown, and a fairly significant gamble for the time. My editor at Signet asked me to read Interview when it came out and tell her if there were any "troubling" similarities. I read it, and said that there was nothing that ought to "worry" them. Incidentally, that is the only Rice novel I have read. I don't want to risk cross-contamination, which is why I don't read vampire novels when I'm working on a vampire novel.
