Bookworm's Lair - Thomas Staab

"Vampire's Waltz" (Crazy Wolf Publishing, Paperback, First Edition, 1999, read: January 01)
"Christine Ferranti never asked to be pregnant. There had to be a million times she wished her child had never been conceived. Now something is after her unborn baby. Something that wants to use her daughter to destroy humanity and usher in the Age of the Vampire. Christine must make a choice: turn her back on a child she never truly wanted, or fight to save her daughter no matter the consequence."

Of all creatures on earth humans are the weakest and least important. Vampires, Immortals and Guardians are, each in it's own way, by far more powerful and fight each other without pity. Nevertheless its a human baby which may be the rescue to the dying race of Vampires. To get this baby and with it secure the dominance of her race Glynis, the head-vampire, turns Manhattan to ashes and turns almost the whole population into blood slaves. Only a shape-shifting guardian and an immortal, each the last of it's kind, and three humans remain. While these five fight against Glynis for their survival and the baby the reader slowly discovers a fascinating background-story which developed over centuries.

The story is complex because it contains many flashbacks. And these flashbacks almost seem to be a little bit short because they give hints of a story which in it's own is worth a whole book. Maybe the author will do us the favor and sometime tell us more about the past of Armondo, the Immortal, Glynis, Aldrew and the thirteen houses of the Vampire-clans, the Firefall and Pastore, the last Guardian. It would be a real treat!
But nevertheless just like it is it's a thrilling novel which no fan of vampire-storys should miss. And somehow one can't avoid the impression that the ending is open and there may be a sequel.
[Dorothée Büttgen, March 01]

"Heart of Ice, Blood of Fire" (Crazy Wolf Publishing, Paperback, First Edition, 2000, read: May 01)
"Throughout history love has driven men to madness. Men have started wars, razed cities and built monuments for love. Some write poems and paint portraits. One man has been pushed beyond insanity by love. He's torn a hole through time and space to be with the woman he loves, so he can kill her, again and again ..."

Patrick Sweeny is obsessed with his love to Angela. She is the only woman who ever turned him down. And he can't understand why she could resist him so easily. When their first date ends with Angela's violent death he has to find a way to repeat their meeting and to make it better next time. But this is more than a pact with the devil. Patrick found a way to move from one parallel reality to another to conquer the woman of his dreams again and again .... and to fail again and again. Now finally he thinks he can do it right because in this reality something is different with Angela. Something that hasn't been there before. But he doesn't notice that because of this change she has the chance for the first time to end Patrick's goings-on.

In his second novel Thomas Staab tells a complex story with astonishing characters. They are as complex as the realities in quantum theory. This novel plays with the reader's perception. Did one notice all names and descriptions? Then some storylines might be clear earlier. But normally one catches oneself thinking that it should have been obvious what's coming up but one didn't want it to be true. How can there be more than one man loving Angela who couldn't rescue her from her fate?
In some chapters the violence is described rather graphic. Some scenes remind of Poppy Z. Brite or Bret Easton Ellis but it isn't really too much. The rest takes place in your own imagination and how graphic that gets is your own responsibility. A definite recommendation for everyone who can take a bit. And who doesn't shrink back from complex mind games.
[Dorothée Büttgen, July 01]

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