To Sift Through Bitter Ashes

I'm new to V:tM but find myself swept away with a fervent intellectual passion for the material. If you're a hardcore gamer, a follower of vampire literature, interested in religious history, or simply like a well-written story - then this series will spark your interest. It takes place around the time of the Crusades and follows one possible backstory of the Knights Templars. You'll be introduced to the V:tM Vampire clan known as the Lasombra and an enigmatic duo(I will let you figure out who I'm referring to) which engage in a millenia encompassing fencing match of immortal chess. All sorts of questions come up in regards to Occult history, etc. It will entertain you and pose questions to those of us who have an open mind and an appetite for knowledge.

This book of the Dark Ages series is one of the best and it speaks clearly of the vampires and quest for it's own needs. I recommend this to anyone.

If you like vampires, fantasy and the crusades then this is the book for you. it is well written and has a great story line.

I was pretty darned impressed with this book, I couldn't put it down. I was a little hesitant to pick up a book that was based on an RPG, but this proved to be a great story. The characters were auprisingly well developed and the flow of the storyline was outstanding.The story is one of a power-crazed servant of the La Sombre clan that embarks on a quest to find the Holy Grail and return it to his master, Claudius Euginio, and bring power back to his clan. The historic relic was fabled to be protected beneath a mosque in the city of Jerusalem. The story shows how easily the brotherhood of the night can manipulate mortals to do as they wish. The ending left you with a few extra questions, but overall, it did a good job of setting you up for the second novel.Montrovant...an interesting character filled with an overly arrogant nature for his kind. I loved the characters in this book. I have played all the White Wolf RPGs, and I love being able to follow the story that follows some of the legends of the RPG books. For those of you that haven't played White Wolf, do not fret - this novel is very easy to read as long as you do have a little bit of knowledge involving the vampire.

First off, Wilson exhibits a love for the English language that one rarely sees. He does amazing things with his sentences, but sometimes he runs on, and not in an effective way. These long, labrynthine sentences slow down the reader, but otherwise Wilson pulls you along, and the novel goes by smoothly. The story is interesting, especially if you're a World of Darkness fan (though I don't think it's required to enjoy it). Kli Kodesh is a great antagonist, and most of the book's best dialouge belongs to the dark Father Santos. All in all, I think "To Sift Through Bitter Ashes" is a book that is worth a look at: it's got an engaging story and fresh, creative writing. Check it out.