Book review: Eternal Hearts by Lucy Taylor
Catherine B. Krusberg
Crypt_ 21 (Spring 2000). The Vampire's Crypt web site is:
http://members.aol.com/MLCVamp/vampcrpt.htm
Lucy Taylor. Eternal Hearts: Vampire Erotica. Illus. John Bolton.
White Wolf, 1999; ISBN 1-56504-205-0; WW 2400; $19.95. 156 pp,
hardcover.
Vampires in the White Wolf universe derive no pleasure from the sex
act. So why write vampire erotica? The "Word from the Developer" in
which Justin Achilli poses that question never really answers it,
but it does note that as Lucy Taylor portrays them, vampires don't
_enjoy_ coitus, but use it as means to an end. And sex itself,
whether as the sex act or such trappings as nudity or passing
prostitutes, seems not presented for the reader's enjoyment either,
but as a means to an end -- to portray the World of Darkness as
darker still, to show the depths of the vampires' depravity (or the
heights of their creativity or craftiness, depending on your
perspective), or as an element of horrifying juxtaposition. (Seeing
a vampire enjoying herself with a headless corpse on a bed isn't
enough? OK, let's have the vampire force the human who interrupted
them to have sex with the headless body....)
As might be expected in a White Wolf novel, vampire politics play
a part. Lucita, a vampire mercenary, is in Washington, D.C., to
meet with some enemies of the prince -- and of course to earn her
pay by interrogating and then killing a human who is thought to be
part of the vampire-hunting Inquisition. But rioting outside and
sabotage from within end the subversive "Council of Ragnarok" and
place Lucita in alliance with a "sewer rat" -- Nosferatu Erasmus
Bonhomme, who suspects that a powerful and ancient vampire, Sascha
Vykos, is trying to start a Kine-Kindred war that will of course
end with the Kindred running things.
Sascha Vykos, like Stoker's Dracula, is a central mover and shaker
who seldom appears onstage but whose actions and aims resonate
through the book, whether in the struggles of cybersex addict Jean
Locklear (proof of the adage about being careful what you wish for)
or the fate of evangelist Emmett Vargas, whose congregation Vykos
sees as the seed of a new world order.
As might be expected in a contemporary horror novel, Vargas is the
head of a fascinatingly dysfunctional family. The death of his wife
inspired Emmett's participation in the vampire-hunting Society of
Leopold, although he has mixed feelings about the Society's methods
as well as his own participation. Emmett's adult daughter Becca
assists in his quest, although she voices the cynicism that Emmett
is afraid to do more than feel; not surprisingly, Emmett never
shares the whole truth with her or listens to her closely enough.
Emmett's chronologically adult son, David, is also a major player:
David is hung like Godzilla and wants to prove it to every woman
available, starting with Becca. But the vampires are also after
Becca -- although they, at least, will settle for her death rather
than a fate worse.
Rounding out the sometimes bizarre assortment of characters are
Emmett's assistant and surrogate son Tony DiAngelo, who can never
take enough risks as he goes undercover in a strategy of literally
fucking with the undead to infiltrate their nests, and Victoria
Ash, ennui-fearing Kindred and pop singer with a set of neuroses
that would make anyone else sympathetic. But on Victoria Ash,
they're, well, they're just sort of _there_.
And that represents so well why _Eternal Hearts_ didn't work for
me. It's more about plotting than plot, and not at all about
character. There is, literally, nobody to root for. Emmett is a
timid sadist, Lucita a shallow schemer, Victoria Ash a cardboard
cutout representing the shape of all she might be, and David a mass
of so many flaws and perversions that he defies labeling as
anything but a device. Even Becca, the nearest thing to a _person_
that _Eternal Hearts_ offers, is kept so much at arm's length and
made so much a pawn in the all-important advance of the plot that
empathy with her is as likely as Sascha Vykos actually realizing
its dream (come on, that's not a spoiler).
The humans come to ironic ends that would be tastier if they
weren't so transparent, especially in their profusion: _everybody_
gets his just desserts, which is taking fantasy a bit far. The
principal vampires, conversely, survive to continue their endless
politicking. (Although in a nice twist, one of Vykos's mistakes
catches up with it, demonstrating that there can be devastating
consequences to playing cyber-pervert, even when you have the upper
hand.) But although we know that the World of Darkness will be
perpetuated in more fiction, _Eternal Hearts_ gives readers no
inspiration to share in the bloody, unfeeling further adventures of
its principals.
John Taylor's illustrations are suitably vivid, explicit, and
horrific, with breasts and blood, beasts and genitals. You _really_
don't want to get caught reading this one during class (the back
says "adults only" and means it). Unfortunately, some of the
captions contain spoilers; in most cases, an apposite quote would
have served better than an explanation that's several pages or
even a few chapters too early. The illustrations' lack of
correspondence to text descriptions is also disconcerting at
times. Nosferatu Erasmus Bonhomme is painted as a Max
Schreck clone rather than the lumpy creature the narrative makes
him out to be, and Sascha Vykos, although almost invariably
referred to as "it" because he has fleshcrafted himself to
androgyny, is an amply endowed he in Taylor's interpretation.
_Eternal Hearts_ is an attractive book with upscale design
elements: the full-color illustrations, the decorative frame on
each page, the subdued colors and graceful typefaces of the cover.
And some people like it: Edward Bryant gave it a favorable review
in the February 2000 issue of _Locus_, viewing it as a tasty
metaphor for the goings-on in its Washington, D.C., setting. If you
like the World of Darkness and prefer plot and irony to character
and resolution, maybe you'll like it too. But don't say I didn't
warn you.
The Mad Bibliographer
Cathy Krusberg
Internet: ckb...@ix.netcom.com
Daoist
plat that a crappy porno has: Just enough to string the book from sex
scene to sex scene.
Of course, it could be just 'cause I was skimming to get to the sex
scenes. ;)
dang it, I snipped the whole darn thing ;) Catherine complains about how
the pics dont match up with the book, thats true for the most part, the
pics are in general too-soon. However, Vykos can not only appear
androgynous, bu tcan shift sexes at will. So, it can go from andro to
girlie to manly as the situation calls for.
Honestly, would Sascha Vykos pose for a nudie in anything less than a
huge Phallus and more piercings than your average tattoo parlor has on
display? I think not ;)
"Catherine B. Krusberg" wrote:
>
<snipped huge well-done book review>
>
> The Mad Bibliographer
> Cathy Krusberg
> Internet: ckb...@ix.netcom.com
--
-daoist
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~daoist
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Catherine B. Krusberg
> dang it, I snipped the whole darn thing ;) Catherine complains about
> how the pics dont match up with the book, thats true for the most
> part, the pics are in general too-soon. However, Vykos can not only
> appear androgynous, bu tcan shift sexes at will. So, it can go from
> andro to girlie to manly as the situation calls for.
I've been trying to figure out how to deal with this. In my initial
draft of the review (posted elsewhere) I indicated that Vykos is
usually referred to as "it," but nobody ever says why. A kindly
White Wolfite told me it had fleshcrafted itself to androgyny,
hence "it." But if Vykos's shapeshifting ability includes being able
to take on sexual attributes of whatever sex, I guess the pic isn't
inappropriate after all. (So now I gotta rewrite, again.)
Obviously, there are parts of the White Wolf universe that I know
about only second-hand. Equally obviously, Vykos is among them.
This is ironic, since not too long ago I wrote a book review
fussing about someone writing an essay about a work set in the WoD
although they clearly had no background in it. What goes around has
come around. :-(
> Honestly, would Sascha Vykos pose for a nudie in anything less than
> a huge Phallus and more piercings than your average tattoo parlor
> has on display? I think not ;)
Pose? Oh, I'd prefer to think of it as a candid shot.... ;-)=