Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
![[5 stars]](../images/spots/1_splat_50.gif)
Dark of the Sun
Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Class/Genre: Mystery Fantasy Historical Vampire Horror
Series: Ragoczy, the Count Saint-Germain # 17
Tor, Nov 2004, $27.95, 464 pp.
Twenty-five hundred years old vampire Count Saint-Germain uses the name of Zangi-Ragozh in Yang Chou, China where he heads a shipping and trading business. With him is loyal ghoul five hundred years old Ro-Shei. Wen Emperor Yuan Bou-Ju summons Zangi-Ragozh and other merchants to come to Chong’en; none realize that half a world away Mount Krakatoa erupted and will change the world for several years afterward.
Zangi-Ragozh gets his first inkling of the change when the sun fails to rise above the volcanic ash that seems to be all over the atmosphere. Being out in daylight does not bother the Count as much, but along with this benefit comes the downside that travel to Chong’en is impossible. Crops fail and famine becomes the norm. Zangi-Ragozh returns to his place of birth by joining the caravan of the Desert Cats. He earns passage by bartering his medical skills, but is tossed out when the clan bans foreigners. They meet again in Tak-Kala where a magician who he trusts betrays him even as danger from the famished survivors mounts.
Never in the long running series has Saint-Germain come closer to the True Death than he does in this time of the DARK OF THE SUN. He has lost much of his native earth, willing donors are rare, and has a potentially lethal wound. The Krakatoa effect on the world adds depth and turns the novel in many ways in spite of a vampiric protagonist into more a historical than a supernatural tale. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro provides another fantastic reading experience for her fans.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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