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States Of Grace (A Novel Of Saint-Germaine) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
01/11/2006 . Source: Joules Taylor 
pub: TOR/Forge. 332 page hardback. Price: $25.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31390-1. Buy States Of Grace in the USA - or Buy States Of Grace in the UK  check out website: www.tor.com and www.chelseaquinnyarbro.com
For those who haven't yet discovered the delights of this series of books, Saint-Germaine is a vampire. Born two thousand years BCE, by 1530 when this book starts he's three and half thousand years old, the savagery of his origin gentled to a grave nobility. He possesses a somewhat world-weary acceptance of the ever-changing times, considerable intellect and skill in many spheres including alchemy and medicine.
He is able to walk in daylight by filling the soles of his footwear with his native earth and gains strength by resting over a chest of the same. He can be killed with difficulty and can certainly be hurt. He is also attractive and compelling, honourable, and only uses his supernatural strengths when his life or the lives of those he loves is threatened.
Each of the later Saint-Germaine books focuses on a different aspect of his life. In some, this deals with his personality, his flaws or the terrible loneliness his kind must endure. In others, an interesting, often less well-known facet of history is examined. In others, as in 'States Of Grace', it's the socio-political events of the time, seen from the point of view of the people forced to experience them.
'States Of Grace' focuses on the 'religio-political unrest gripping Europe in the mid-sixteenth century and the justification that was rigorously promulgated as part of it, as well as the volatile social conditions to which it contributed' (Author's Notes, page 7)
The book is set thirty years after a previous Saint-Germaine novel, 'The Palace', and is something of a continuation of that story. A 'new' incarnation of Saint-Germaine is living in Venice again. The Inquisition is now more powerful and more widespread and has begun to include printed books, other than religious or church-authorised works in its lists of sinful works, destroying the books, closing the presses and persecuting the staff and the owners. In this novel, Saint-Germaine always a proponent of learning and knowledge, owns a press in the Netherlands and when its publications and employees fall under suspicion of heresy, he is forced to undertake the long and dangerous journey to Amsterdam to defend his interests. Back in Venice, his protégé and mistress, the beautiful and talented musician Pier-Ariana, finds herself facing destitution as Saint-Germaine's Venice-born factor embezzles away his employer's fortune.
As always with Yarbro, the accurate historical details add realism to the story - the language, traditions and customs, weaponry, dress, food and drink. But over and above that 'States Of Grace' is an oddly depressing book, especially given the current situation in certain parts of the world, where the dissemination of knowledge and hard-won empirical information is under attack by the forces of religious fanaticism. Nothing much has changed since the time of The Inquisition it seems nor have the ultimate motivations of power and money.
'Money and faith, money and faith - what wonders they promise and what havoc they wreak.' (page 256)
There's an oddly world-weary tone to the book that echoes the feelings of the protagonist and I'd have to say that as a whole, the story is a little less compelling than some of the author's works. The language is a little stilted, too, and the use of very unusual terms, while appropriate in context, will have some readers hunting for their thesaurus. Not recommended for anyone other than Saint-Germaine fans.
Joules Taylor
http://www.wavewrights.com
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