"Virtual feast"

In 1400 AD Timur-i leads his Mongol hordes across Asia, taking control of much of India. In Delhi, the world order changes, as the foreigners no longer have their special status. Those foreigners foolish enough to remain behind in Delhi are either insane or in desperate straits because the city is no longer safe for them.

Saint-Germain the vampire has lived in Delhi under the name of Sanat Ji Mani. He knows he must flee before the Mongol horde ends his undead life, but he cannot leave yet because his honor requires he must care for his beloved Avasa Dani. Eventually she manages to escape the city, but the Conqueror detains Sanat. Timur-i needs Sanat's medical skills, but refuses to accept night calls only. He demands twenty-four hour healing coverage, which the vampire knows means sunlight and death for him. If somehow he survives, Sanat worries about his cherished Avasa, a woman alone except for a servant in a world gone mad.

The latest Saint-Germain novel, A FEAST IN EXILE, is a virtual feast for fans of the series and historical novel buffs alike. The tale brings to life India around 1400, showcasing Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's vast research into the time and place. By installing her hero in Asia, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro refreshes him so that the audience observes Saint-German in a different scenario, which turns A FEAST IN EXILE into one of the best books in one of the superior vampire series.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 23, 2001

Summary

A Feast in Exile draws readers back to the time when the Mongol hordes of Timur (known in the West as Tamerlane) swept across fourteenth-century India and Asia. Delhi's civilized veneer crumbles along with its walls. Foreigners, which the vampire Saint-Germain-here called Sanat Ji Mani- surely is, lose their positions, homes, wealth, and sometimes their lives, if they cannot escape the falling city.

Before he can flee Delhi, Sanat Ji Mani must ensure the safety of Avasa Dani, his beautiful ward, who has been abandoned by her husband. Sanat Ji Mani's love has awakened Avasa Dani's every sense; even she will become a vampire upon her death, but she finds no terror in this fate.

Avasa Dani and Rojire, Sanat Ji Mani's servant, successfully make their way out of Delhi, but Sanat Ji Mani himself is trapped. His life is bought by his skills with medicine, but, at Timur's command, he must travel-by day, and exposed to the sun-with the conqueror's army. Crippled and unable to escape, he knows that his vampire nature will soon be revealed, and then...

Avasa Dani, with a worried Rojire at her side, considers her options as a woman without a visible male protector in a land and time ruled by men. While one of Sanat Ji Mani's allies searches desperately for the missing vampire, Saint- Germain and a young acrobat, with whom he has escaped from Timur's forces, make their slow and painful way to freedom. The journey changes them both forever.