My CQY books

A great part of my Chelsea Quinn Yarbro books and some others as well!

"Night Pilgrims" review

Night Pilgrims by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

http://us.macmillan.com/nightpilgrims/ChelseaYarbro

 This 26^th novel in the Count Saint-Germain series takes place in Egypt and the Nubian desert in 1225, its timeframe between "Path of the eclipse" and "An embarrassment of riches".

After the 5^th crusade a group of pilgrims is going on a pilgrimage to the underground churches of Lalibela.  Forced by circumstances, Saint-Germain, now called Sidi Sandjer’min, accepts to travel with them as a translator, guide and physician. He is accompanied by Ruthier, his faithful manservant and long time friend!

 The members of the group have their own reasons for this pilgrimage, not all of them are religious ones! One of the pilgrims is the noble Margrethe. She is attracted by Sidi Sandjer’min. Her longing for him shows in her eyes, when she sees him, in her attitude when she is near him, but she refuses to succumb to his attraction, by fear of compromising her pilgrimage! As a pilgrim  for the sake of her husband,  she made a vow of chastity, like all the pilgrims, and the sentence is death by stoning.

And so Sidi Sandjer’min has to content himself with the blood of horses and asses to survive! Thanks to Ruthier’s cleverness, he can take what he needs in plain sight!

 It is a difficult voyage for all of them. They encounter many problems. Their greatest enemy is nature: the wild water of the Nile river, the burning sun, the heat and the sand, the wind and the rain, and not to forget, the crocodiles!

Some dreadful accidents do happen, and the pilgrimage is coming to an end. They never reach their destination. The pilgrims are going their own way and Sidi Sandjer’min decides to escort Margrethe back home, or so he intends to!

The counts vampirism has little influence to the story, only for himself and for us, readers, because we know, no matter how harrowing the events are that happen to him, he will get over it!

 This is a great book in a long series of novels. The historical background is as visual as a movie. And there are many interesting characters. The leader of the pilgrims is Sieur Horembaud. His dealings with the count are always something like a challenge! Micheu de Saunt-Foi is the protector, the fighter. I like his interactions with the count. Between Margrethe and the count is an underlying sensual tension, and Sorer Imogen has lost all connection with reality. For her the count is the devil, but for her every man is a demon!

Ruthier has a more prominent role in this novel. He is most concerned about the count and he is always present when he is needed!

And the count, yes, the count… He is the reason I love these books so much! The count’s loneliness is a constant feeling in this series, even more so in this book, and because of that he is more accessible than in some of the previous books! Living in so close a company, he cannot hide from them, nor withdrew to his library or work in his laboratory.  He is just a member of the group, doing his utmost for the welfare of the pilgrims.

These pilgrims don’t seem to care for each other, only their own goals are important.

 The letters in between are quite interesting. They explain many things: for once we readers, know more than the characters. We know what happened to the knight Lagaia was looking for and what became of the Aba’yam.

It would not be a real Saint-Germain novel without a harrowing ending with the return of the crocodiles and the count almost becoming the ravenous monster he hates so much! But the final letters are making up for it.

There is almost a happy ending for Margrethe and Lagaia, and perhaps sorer Imogen did find some peace in her cell!

 For me, this book was very satisfying! It is as magnificent as “the rippled elegance of the Japanese blade!” ( great expression!)