Palace, The

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Summary: Religious hardships for Saint-Germain in the Renaissance
Review: The Palace, the second novel in the Saint-Germain series, provides a look at the religious and political hardships in Renaissance Italy. The book focuses on the underlying struggles of the Pope in Rome and the renegade priest Savonarola, as well as the political up's and down's of the era. Our hero, the ever-elusive Francesco Ragoczy da San Germano, is caught in the middle of these conflicts to the point where he has to flee the city for his safety.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Saint-Germain is a Vampire, but not in the way we have come to know of them through other books and movies. He shares many of the same characteristics of the Vampires we know but to a lesser degree; without the flash, the magic, and evil we are accustomed to. He comes from a royal background, has a great scope of influence, is very wealthy, has a strong intellect, and due to his kind and caring nature, attracts the ladies of the time.

This novel is rather a sad one, since it focuses around the political and religious pain and torment people had to endure in order to survive. Italy, while in a glorious Renaissance, still was under the strong influence of the Church as well as local changing politics. Being called a Heretic, whether true or not, meant certain death, in a savage and cruel way. It is under these conditions that Francesco Ragoczy has chosen to live and this novel follows several lives within the government, the Church, the local builders, and artists.

If books with historical themes interest you, then you will certainly enjoy this book. If you're already a fan of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, then you're sure to love the book.

Rating:
Summary: Quite an Experience!
Review: This the first book that I have read in the Saint Germaine series. As I understand they don't have to be read in any particular order as each book doesn't take place in chronological order.
In The Palace, Francesco Ragoczy da San Germano, alchemist and humanitarian, builds a grand palace in Renaissance Florence or as it is refereded to here, Fiorenza. He befriends many people in the city, including the painter Botticelli and Laurenzo Medici himself. But all is not well in this wealthy, enlightened city. A mad preacher named Savonarola is slowly gaining popularity because of his fierce piety and fire and brimstone condemnation of the arts and learning. His ability to terrify the populace and the help of a demented visionary woman named Estasia, who also happened to be Ragoczy's former nymphomaniac lover, allow this man seize power after Laurenzo's death. He starts a reign of terror in the city that threatens to swallow all Ragoczy holds dear- first and formost, Demetrice, his young apprentice, who has been accused of heresy.
Overall I was very impressed with this novel. It's story can be slow at times and sometimes pivotal happenings are desribed in correspondances between characters but the climatic ending is really zippy. The atmosphere was very well done, especially when Yarbro describes how oppressive Fiorenza had become when Savonarola had taken over with his horrific brand of religious fervor. There are a couple of scenes were he or Sister Estasia would really get crazy and the hair on the back of my neck would raise up.
I think the blarbs and such on the book's back over are really misleading. They make it sound as if this is vampire romance novel but it isn't. Although San Germano seemed to fall for Demetrice, that's just a subplot that happens in the last third of the book. In fact Demetrice is introduced in the second chapter but doesn't reappear until the half-way point. San Germano doesn't really act like a vampire as they are often imagined in most kinds of fiction- he isn't evil or a broody goth-type. We never even get to see him drink blood. His vampirism doesn't even effect the story at all until he must find a way to save Demetrice.
San Germano isn't even really the most vibrant or forceful character in this novel. Until the last third, he is reactive rather than proactive, basing his actions on what happens to him because of more forceful characters rather than making things happen on his own. His is very much a wall-flower until then. In the earlier portions of the book, I got a much better sense of the characters of Laurenzo Medici and Estasia and other various supporting characters. San Germano reveals very little about his past in this book so that kind of keeps him from being overly interesting too.
Still, it's hard not to be enthralled by the rich or desperate atmosphere that Yarbro creates as she weaves a story about fervent mad little preacher and the lives he destorys with his fanatacism. I'm very glad that I had the next book in the series. Hopefully, more details will be revealed about this elusive vampire named Saint Germaine.