Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #850309 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 278 pages

Customer Reviews

Working Class Heroes
I read this book in one afternoon. I wasn't frantically turning pages but it held my attention and kept me coming back. It starts with a murder mystery and spins out elegantly from there into a war novel developing the Camarilla's counter-offensive against the Sabbat. The book brings a lot of threads from earlier in the series together- the Malkavian visions, the leaks to the Sabbat, etc.

Although the book is very well written with compelling characters and situations, at this point, knowledge of the earlier developments in the series is probably necessary to really appreciate what's going on if not to follow the action. There's also a very big surprise revelation here. If you just want to dip into the series to see how you like it, don't start with this book because it will be a spoiler. (The story arc involved starts in TZIMISCE and is developed in VENTRUE and LASOMBRA.)

It's overall a good treatment of the Brujah clan and captures their rough, generally lower class culture and their noble concerns with equality and justice. The Brujah rage and rebellion is there but it's mostly handled as an internal reality. Some may be disappointed to find that there don't seem to be any of the flamboyant, head-banger anarch characters that originally characterized the clan. This book portrays the Brujah as tough and confrontational but reasonable. This doesn't slow the pace of the action, tho and it establishes a clear contrast with both the Ventrue and the Sabbat.

I did have a few small problems with this book. First, perhaps in order to keep the Sabbat unredeemably villainous, Fleming also has made them, well, kinda stupid. It's rare to find something in his writing that doesn't ring true but, for me, this didn't. Remember, Vykos is about 1,000 years old and Polonia is a notorious survivor. Together, they conquered most of the southeastern United States. But, as portrayed here, it seems improbable that they could have done that because obnoxious blunderers like this would have died Darwin-award winning deaths centuries ago. Yeah, I know, if the Sabbat didn't make certain crucial mistakes, it wouldn't be the same story. Still, there's a difference between not letting supposedly smart characters have a clue and just not letting them figure everything out in time because their flaws blind them.

Second, there are pesky little mistakes. A Lasombra casts a reflection in a mirror and no one even remarks on it. Elsewhere a character is refered to as "Brujah" and then as "Malkavian" in the same paragraph.

I don't want to make too much of this stuff, however. Despite these minor problems, BRUJAH is a very good read and a credit to the CLAN NOVEL series.

Excellent read
Gherbod Fleming's Clan Novels are among the best in the series. This is the way they should be written. It felt like it was telling the story of a Brujah, rather than the story of a stereotypical Brujah. Would not recommend the book to anyone who has no experience with White Wolf's World of Darkness... unless of course you were willing to read the Clan Novel series (a fairly good introduction to the gaming universe). I'd also recommend reading The Masquerade of the Red Death trilogy, which is probably an easier introduction to the World of Darkness.

Now this was a great story
This book hooked me right from the start. It had great action with enough discription to put you there, but no to much to drag the story down. It also had some good cloak and dagger guessing and reguessing as facts continued to become clear. But over all it was a fast paced ride that never let me down.

Also this book while dealing with other plots from the other books, keeps them in small quantity, and really packs the story from the Brujah stand point.

I had to delete several more things I was going to say as I hate to do spoilers and ruin stuff for others. So please forgive the shortness... 3 more paragraphs had details better left read from an author that paints a scene I would have butchered trying to retell.

I would have to say that this was one of my favorite in the series, and would have to say that no matter what you thought of the other books, you will like this one.