Better in the Dark
Review by Christine Hawkins, submitted on 9-Oct-2001

Better in the Dark (Tor 1993)

*****WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD*****

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro published two vampire books in 1993: _Darker Jewels_ and _Better in the Dark_. Both deal with her romantic vampire hero, Le Comte de Saint Germain. Of course, Saint Germain, though always the same character throughout Yarbro's books, often wears different names and titles in different surroundings.

In the second of the books, _Better in the Dark_, Saint Germain, this time calling himself Saint-Germanius, is shipwrecked off the coast of 10th century Saxony. There he is rescued by the Gerefa of the local fortress, a very insecure and unhappy young noblewoman named Ranegonda. Saint Germain also gets caught up in webs of intrigue, woven by the Gerefa's sister-in-law, Pentecoste.

If you think the two books sound alike, you are right!

Yarbro, as usual, is meticulous in researching and re-creating the past in these two novels. She manages to convince the reader that this is how the Germain series is truly absorbing.

However, I have serious objections with these novels as _vampire_ stories.

Saint Germain's vampirism seems to have become ever more nebulous as the series progresses. By this time the very _word_ is never mentioned. His necessary diet is glossed over, and constraints on him - established at the beginning of the series - are largely ignored. The fact that he is a vampire is not necessary to the plot of either book. One could be excused for not realising that Saint Germain is a vampire after reading these novels.

I also have fairly strong objections to the way in which women are portrayed in these novels. Saint Germain's role of "rescuer" has led him to only associate with women who need to be rescued. Yarbro makes their weakness and self-hatred virtues. Any woman who does not display this lack of self-confidence becomes a villainess and is duly punished for her transgressions - as, for example, is Pentecoste in _Better in the Dark_ who winds up captured and raped by vikings. However, the heroines in Yarbro's novels are in the end little better off. Both Ranegonda and Xenya die before the close of _Better in the Dark_ and _Darker Jewels_ respectively, leaving Saint Germain to mourn them. Just for once I would like to see Saint Germain romancing a tough, feisty peasant!

These things aside, I found _Better in the Dark_ and _Darker Jewels_ to be entertaining, well plotted novels. While they are not among the best of Yarbro's books, they are certainly not among her worst, and will certainly be enjoyed by her fans.

-- Christine Hawkins.