Dark Ages Malkavian: Book 7 in the Dark Ages Clan Novel Saga

In the skies over Paris a comet flares in the skies and on the streets below fear reaches the hearts of human and vampire kindred. Rumors that Cain has returned to save his faithful and damn the rest run rampant, creating a nightmarish atmosphere that sets vampire against vampire and tests the faith of both the righteous and the heretical. Into this turmoil comes Anatole, determined to oppose the Cainite heresy, and Zoe, his adopted childer, who desires to understand the sources of Anatole's belief as she struggles with her own nature. Alexander, prince of the city, finds himself caught between the comet's effect on his consort and his duty to his court. He has allowed Anatole to return and permitted a heretical bishop to give a series of lessons, little suspecting that the result would be disagreement, debate, and even riot. Among the pilgrims outside the city the same strife is echoed as Malachite welcomes his followers into safety and then finds that his own quest is driving him in unexpected directions. The dream awaits the dreamer as the sky burns. Having lived through one novel told from the point of view of a Malkavian, I have some qualms in picking up this one. But Ellen Kiley has opted for a portayal of Anatole that is often considerably saner than the vampires around him. In fact, his defense of his faith in the face of a powerful Lasombran bishop is a lesson in clarity. Zoe is gradually coming into her own powers, and the two of them always seem to fine a way to carry through a maelstrom of events. This is very nearly a perfect World of Darkness novel. All of the characters are interesting, many themes find a temporary resolution and then move on, and there is action aplenty. My one complaint is that the theological argument between Anatole and Bishop St. Lys is overdone. On the one hand I appreciated the added understanding of why Anatole and Malachite are at odds with the heretical Cainites, but I could have lived without all the fine grained details of the argument. I found myself occasionally skipping around. But theology aside this is a very good chapter in the story of vampires as they lived before the Masquerade - before kindred and kine became more of a business than a dark and terrible story.