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Bob @ Beauty in Ruins
PLEASE NOTE: I'm rarely active here anymore, but please feel free to follow me on Goodreads, where I post regularly.
These are the chronicles of a book addict, a photo junkie, and an aspiring author, rewriting the very fabric of reality one page (and one snapshot) at a time. From the strange to the unusual; the abandoned to the abnormal; the haunted to the historic; the supernatural to the surreal; the forests of dark fantasy, the cemeteries of gothic horror, and the post-apocalyptic ruins of science fiction are the landscapes of my imagination.
Currently reading
Deathstalker Rebellion: Being the Second Part of the Life and Times of Owen Deathstalker
Progress:
298/508 pages
Viviana
Viviana is a short, self-published novella by Georg Freese that manages to succeed on several levels. It's a period piece, a love story, and a horror story, all mixed up and twisted into something unique.The writing here is what immediately drew me into the story, deftly capturing the feel and the sound of a proper period piece. Georg mentions Dangerous Liaisons as an inspiration in his afterword, and that appreciation for the classics shows. It's not just the setting or the costumes, it's the mannerisms, the personalities, and the language of the tale.
This is the tale of an exceptionally cruel, self-centered, selfish vampire who, although she can never lose her looks, nevertheless finds herself losing the affections of her lover, the father of their coven. Her frustrations are further compound by the introduction of a new girl into their midst, a timid sort who nearly brings down a witch-hunt upon them with her carelessness, before Viviana reluctantly agrees to tutor Nicoletta in the fine arts of vampirism - for a price. Unfortunately, that price only serves to further strain her already tenuous position, even before a successfully tutored Nicoletta begins coldly manipulating her way deeper into the coven.
Freese's vampires are quite traditional, in that they are amoral, bloodthirsty, and deathly afraid of sunlight. They live in stone coffins, deep within their mansion, and feed indiscriminately upon the nobility. Their class structure - the coven - is a bit better developed than in many stories, however, and there are a few subtle tweaks to the 'rules' about turning humans. While they can be as emotionally vulnerable as they are petty, Freese is careful to never let us forget their monstrosity. In fact, one of the most memorable moments for me was a casual aside about how, after gorging herself, Viviana drains the blood of a newborn babe to bring some colour to her cheeks.
Short, but beautifully imagined, Viviana has the potential to appeal to a wide audience.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins