"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 PNR Group Member
Posted October 23, 2001
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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.
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