Product Description

For hundreds of years Camarilla vampires have preserved the Masquerade -- an intricate dance of deception, misdirection and manipulation that conceals their nocturnal predations from mortal eyes.

Now the Sabbat are about to crash their party.

The Clan Novel series takes a sinister turn as the dread Tzimisce emerge from their macabre dungeons and laboratories to take a decidedly unhealthy interest in events.

Amid the rising nightmare, charismatic Sascha Vykos -- an Old World monster with a New World agenda -- brings both scourge and velvet glove to rally the fractious Sabbat forces. A great reckoning awaits the complacent Camarilla -- if only Vykos can preserve the volatile alliance and keep the Sabbat serpent from devouring its own tail.

This series is a monumental, 13-novel exploration of the forbidden world of the Kindred. What began in Clan Novel: Toreador continues here, and its ending will determine the fate of every human -- and inhuman -- being in the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330497 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 273 pages

Customer Reviews

Tzimisce are NASTY!
Eric Griffin should be commended. As a writer, he did the best thing possible, which was to tell an engaging story with some interesting characters. Seeing that this is the second book of a thirteen book series, there was again, as in the first Clan Novel, a great deal of necessary set-up for the meta-plot. However, Griffin, gave the main character, Sascha Vykos, a powerful purpose and made it one of the most disturbing and hideous creations in horror literature. The Tzimisce are one nasty clan of vampires! The infighting between the two Sabbat clans was also quite fascinating to read. I'll be interested in seeing what happens in CN:Lasombra.

Excellent characterization, easy reading and overtly disturbing, Clan Novel #2 - Tzimisce, is a very good read and highly recommended!

Hits the 3 criteria -- Clan definition, plot, and pace
Tzimisce may be nearly unpronounceable (though it's revealed as being pronounced as "Shimishay" in the 6th novel), but it meets the major criteria for the elements of this 13-novel set: a) does it tell you of and truly paint the world from the viewpoint of the featured clan? b) Does it have an interesting plot which it advances well? and c) does it move both quickly and clearly enough to be enjoyable reading.? I say yes. We are horrified by the propensities of the shape-twisting Tzimisce, so all is correct there... We see the overlay with the events of Toreador, but they are interesting, new and vital in their own right (though I wish the Camarilla came out of it with a bit more, but... ), and enough happens to keep the viewer interested.

Warning: this is White Wolf / V:TM Vampire fiction... meant for afficianados of that genre. Readers seeking non- less-niche-oriented vampire fiction are encouraged to seek out something amidst the broad spectrum of Ann Rice, Brian Lumley;s Necroscope, or P.N. Elrod's Jack Fleming stories. Fans of V:TS fiction, however, will find their expectations met and exceeded.

Molders of Flesh
While the Sabbat isn't noted for pleasantness, the Tzimisce are one of the grimmer clans. Specialists in the modification of flesh, they are feared for their whimsical cruelty and delight is creating pain and horror that is condemned to live changed forever (or until the next whim). Getting in a disagreement with a Tzimisce is an existence-limiting move. Sascha Vykos is from the hard old line of the European vampires and has been sent to the Sabbat council meetings about the future of Atlanta as the representative of Cardinal Moncada whose ambitions are great. Her presence is an offence to the New World Sabbat members, and all are quickly embroiled in the dense politics of the vampire world.

While Sascha gets her share of this novel, the story is really about the wider conflict, giving us our first glimpse of the world of the Sabbat. It is a place where even the faint respect for rules that mark the vampires of The Masquerade is completely missing. Fear and subterfuge are the means for power. Sometimes it is subtle and sometimes sudden but almost always cruel. Vykos and her Tzimisce have come to pursue a master agenda and both Sabbat and Camarilla have cause to worry.

The focus shifts from Sabbat to Camarilla, as what is to become a complete turnabout in New World vampire politics unfolds. Tzimisce, LaSombra, Settite and even Assamite assassins take their parts. Even Victoria Ash enters, obviously intended to be a key character.

The detailing is drawn fine, and you get a real flavor of what it feels like to be a vampire within the confines of the game. Eric Griffin is a more of an action writer than others in this series, and the story moves along at a good clip, replete with ghoulish moments. If you like horror, politics, and exquisite torment then enter the darkness here.