Burning

Behold the new Queen of the Vampires

The Queen (of the Vampires) is dead long live the Queen. Paraphrasing the old royal address, I adapted it into a play on words using Anne Rice¿s Queen of the Vampires title. Rice has finally--so she says--gotten rid of Lestat. That is punishment to Rice. Lestat was Rice, or maybe better said, Rice was Lestat. He permitted her to handler her own demons. He was her vehicle to vent her pain and fears, oddly enough, similar to how the Japanese love Godzilla. Her life changed with the loss of her daughter, now her husband, so I think in doing away with Lestat is a form of penance for her. Most her readers however rarely looked past the stories to why she wrote them, they just loved them, for the most part. They felt let down she has abandoned them. The Queen of the Vampires is ¿dead¿ so behold the birth of the new Queen--Susan Squires. Squires has for several years, being penning an original concept, one I see being copied over and over by newer writers--the origins of the vampire disease. But she has always gone past the romance, past the story to provoke the reader. It¿s my firm belief she doesn¿t do what is ¿nice¿, but what makes the reader THINK. Her first two of this trilogy for St. Martins Press, were stunning evoking not only matching the depth of history and emotion of Rice¿s early vamp tales, but she adds a touch of passion that truly transcends ¿Interview¿ and those that followed, and draws the reader in. Rice liked sex, but often her tales has an emotional distance that keeps the reader at arms length. Squires goes past that and touches on the fact romance, love, passion are timeless. It sucks the reader in and is so addictive. In this tale, Ann Van Helsing is curse with the power of psychokensis--the mere touch of her hand on a person and she knows all, their darkest secrets. This power is nearly driving her mad and the only way she can survive is to shun human contact. She lives a reclusive existence in Wiltshire at her uncle¿s remote estate, but often must take to the sanctity of the woodlands nearby. Only there is she safe from the thoughts of others that so torment her. That sheltered life is about to take a nightmare turn. Arrogant, brash, Stephan Sincai once set loose upon the world and ancient evil that can bring mankind to the brink of destruction. As punishment, he is sentence to become a hunter, a vampire who must search all of Europe and destroy the abominations made by others of his ilk. After a battle with his last target, he is left dangerously weak and injured in the woods that Ann frequents. Ann comes upon him, near death, and despite her loathing of touching anyone, she must to save him. With her powers, she sees his life, his long history as a vampire, how he was made, how he must atone by killing other vampires, a curse that reached back to the 12th Century. Oddly, Ann is not repulsed by the creature Stephan, but is drawn to the man, and despite it being a taboo, Stephen cannot help falling in love with Ann. Only the ancient evil is waiting to he set loose upon the earth is waiting to take its vengeance, and in loving Ann, he has given the weapon that could be used against him, destroying them both. The Companion and The Hunger are the first two and both were powerhouse, knockout novels. However, I felt in The Burning, is where Squires truly inherits the mantle of Rice. The story is strong action, strong passion. The Queen of the Vampires is ¿dead¿, long live the new Queen--Susan Squires. Very highly recommended.

A terrific paranormal tale

By 1822 anyone in England especially in the Wiltshire area who knows of Ann Van Helsing assumes she is insane as she avoids human contact as if everyone else suffers from the plague. However, Ann¿s shunning of human contact is actually self-preservation when she touches someone she immediately learns everything about that person even their deepest desires hidden from themselves. Thus Ann hides at her uncle¿s estate, but principally in the nearby woods and caves.----- In Transylvania his arrogance led to his making an evil action that placed his world on the brink of extinction his punishment is a millennium as a hunter. Thus vampire Stephen Sincai roams Europe searching and destroying those abominations made by others of his species. However, his last prey has left Stephen severely injured and bleeding in the woods frequented by Ann. When she finds him seemingly near death, she cannot stop herself from touching him. Now she knows his frightening history including that he is a vampire who has been cursed by his people for what he wrought back in the twelfth century. Instead of being repelling, Ann is attracted to Stephen, who though it is ataboo taboo reciprocates her feelings. As they fall in love, his evil transgression is near ready to destroy her creator and his beloved.----- The third Susan Squires¿ historical vampire romance (see THE COMPANION and THE HUNGER) is a terrific tale due to the full blooded lead couple. The story line is action-packed with readers anticipating a high noon (make that midnight) showdown between the hero and the malevolent one. Still this tale belong to the fine lead pair whose forbidden love is a double edged sword as the most powerful tool in their repertoire and their most vulnerable Achilles¿ Heel when the confrontation occurs.----- Harriet Klausner

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