Vampire Marriage of V & V (3)

In here we see the workings of the Lancea Sanctum, and the development of Bishop Solomon Birch, the dangers he confront after falling one step closer to the vinculum to the Prince of Chicago... But what i found delicious is the descriptions and actions of Velvet, a younger Lancea Sanctum Daeva, how the blood lust and immortality afect her, how it affect one of his victims and what means to their lives and to that of the vampires of Chicago the appearance of a lonely vampire huntress. Very human... and inhuman were it must.

This is author Greg Stolze's second and the actual third of the novel line for VAMPIRE:THE REQUIEM. VAMPIRE is White Wolf's successful role-playing game where the characters, of course, vampires. The novelization is set in Chicago where the vampire prince Maxwell has maintained peace by forbidding the creation or destruction of vampires. His fellow vampires are considering forcing his hand to allow a night of indulgence. Other threads in this story include a vampire hunter's attempt to save a man who has been bitten, bishop Solomon Birch's attempt to save his position, and a vampire murder investigation. While Greg Stolze is a good author and MARRIAGE OF VIRTUE AND VICIOUSNESS is a good story, I found it less compelling than the first. A HUNGER LIKE FIRE had a strongly focused narrative with interesting contrasts and parallels; there were 3 main characters (Bruise, Perspephone, and Solomon) at different stages in their unlife (brand new, inexperienced, and very experienced) all trying to survive the political games that help to pass the time. MARRIAGE had too much going on with too many people with varying amounts of centrality to the story. The night of indulgence did feel like a tease, being discussed throughout the book but then handled in a few paragraphs at the end. It read like an editor chopped out a chapter or two. Also, the setup for a sequel at the end was really blatant. In summary, I enjoyed reading A MARRIAGE OF VIRTUE AND VICIOUSNESS but found some flaws toward the end. It doesn't seem unreasonable to like a work but wish that it could be better. Also, if you like A MARRIAGE OF VIRTUE AND VICIOUSNESS you might also want to read the previous two novels A HUNGER LIKE FIRE and BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT. There is also THREE SHADES OF NIGHT which has the same story from a Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage point of view. You can also get the roleplaying game VAMPIRE:THE REQUIEM and supplement CHICAGO which contains the same characters as the novels.

Thank goodness for this book! This is a MUST for anyone who loved "Hunger" but had to drag their way through "Blood In, Blood Out." Referring to some of the events and characters in the first volume of the Requiem series, "Marriage" brings the reader out of the ghetto and back into Kindred society, which is becoming quite a dynamic animal indeed. I read the last 100 pages without putting it down, even making me late for work in the process. I can't wait for the next volume in the series. All fans of the series will not be dissappointed. This volume redeems Chicago's Kindred.

This is the best of the Requiem novels. Though it focuses on a different aspect of the WoD, the political intrigue posed in this tale sets it apart.

After Blood in and Blood out i was mortaly afraid of the next novels quality, but i shouldn't not have been. Marriage rivals Hunger for quality and flow of story line, and character development. we are brought back to the tale of solomn birch, who as we re-call was forced into partial slavery to the prince, but what other readers may not have realised, this seriously threatens his standing in the Sanctum. We also have our first view of a vampire hunter, and the way the character is handled is unexpected, and shapes up the new WOD nicely.