An Embarrassment of Riches - (St. Germain) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

More than two decades strong, the Saint-Germain cycle is one of the most compelling works of dark fantasy and horror of our age. Historically accurate, often involving key events or figures from throughout world history, these deeply emotional novels have a devoted readership. Each novel is written as a stand-alone and they are not chronologically consecutive, so readers may enter the saga with any book and move backward or forward in time as they choose, from Pharaonic Egypt to Paris in the 1700s, from the fall of the Roman Empire to World War II Europe.

In An Embarrassment of Riches, the vampire Count finds himself a virtual prisoner in the Court of Kunigunde in Bohemia in the 1200s. Rakoczy Ferncsi, as Saint-Germain is known, passes his days making jewels to delight Queen Kunigunde and trying not to become involved in the Court's intrigues. In this, the vampire fails. Handsome, apparently wealthy, and obviously unmarried, he soon finds himself being sexually blackmailed by Rozsa, an ambitious lady-in-waiting. If he does not satisfy her, she will denounce him to the priests and he'll be burned at the stake, resulting in his True Death. Despite his care, the vampire makes more than one enemy at the Bohemian Court, and by the end of An Embarrassment of Riches, the Count can see only one road to freedom...through death.

Review Quotes

"Meticulous attention to historic detail and vivid writing bring an ancient era to life. Unlike most generic vampire novels that can be quaffed in a quick if entertaining gulp, this book should be savored like fine wine." --Publishers Weekly, starred review on Roman Dusk

"Quinn Yarbro is one of our finest writers and craftpersons, incapable of a slack paragraph, or a fuzzy thought. Everything is perfectly focused, everything is expertly accomplished. The Count remains a vibrantly original character, one of the greatest contributions to the horror genre." --Peter Straub

"A heady, intoxicating blend of historical fiction and subtle horror. The love scenes display the same lush sensuality for which Anne Rice's vampire fiction is known." --VOYA on Communion Blood

About the Author

CHELSEA QUINN YARBRO has been nominated for the Edgar, the World Fantasy, and the Bram Stoker Awards. She has been named a Grand Master of the World Horror Convention and a Living Legend by the International Horror Guild. Author of many novels of horror, dark fantasy, mystery, and more, Yarbro lives in Berkeley, California.