The Cainite Conspiracies (World of Darkness) by Monica Valentinelli

The Cainite Conspiracies (World of Darkness) Reviews

• 
  Gianfranco Mancini

  
  
  Mararah stared at the smoldering ashes of his sire. “I’m sure Octavius saw you as some sort of prodigy and Embraced you with the misplaced notion you would be strong and worthy. All I see is a mongrel lord masquerading as a true Ventrue.” Mararah bristled. “I. Am. Ventrue.”
  
  Young, Gifted, and Ventrue by Maurice Broaddus ☆☆☆
  
   Family is Family By Renee Ritchie ☆☆☆☆
  
   Acts of Cruelty By Justin Achilli ☆☆☆☆☆
  
   A Quest for Blood by Russell Zimmerman ☆☆☆☆
  
   Sand and Dust by Andrew Peregrine ☆☆☆☆☆
  
   Incarnadine Seas by Catherine Lundoff ☆☆☆
  
   The Last Spark by Eddy Webb ☆☆☆☆☆
  
   The Hidden Stars by Jacob Klunder ☆☆☆☆
  
   Omen’s End by Ree Soesbee ☆☆☆☆
  
   Eighty and Nine By David A. Hill, Jr. ☆☆☆☆
  
   Ghosts of Chorazin By Alan Alexander ☆☆☆☆☆
  
   Orfeo’s Plague By Richard Dansky ☆☆☆☆
  
   Veil of Power By Danielle Lauzon ☆☆☆☆
  
   Goat’s Nails By Neall Raemonn Price ☆☆☆☆☆
  
  
  
  "Every Brujah has a cause. What you have just seen is mine. I am preserving the history of my line and the history of my city because others spit upon it or would see it washed away or twisted to corrupt ends. I will destroy any Baali who dares poison our legacy. Carthage was destroyed, but it must never be forgotten."
  
  I've played tabletop pen and paper RPGs for more than 30 years, White Wolf's Vampire: the Dark Ages, a spin-off of Vampire: the Masquerade,  was one of my most favourite ones with its storytelling based system, the gothic-punk atmosphere, and its setting: a perfect blending of historical fiction, horror, and urban fantasy genres, giving birth to a  World of Darkness filled with decadence, cynicism, and corruption, were humans are unwitting victims or pawns of vast secret organizations of vampires or other supernatural creatures.
  
  
  
  Tipping back its wrist, the monster willed a bone spur to emerge from beneath its flesh, serrations forming along its length. The monster then peeled the flesh from the bloodless holy man — flensing it in one unbroken paring, like a parent peeling an apple for the benefit of an astonished child — and draped itself in the skin-raiment of the dead man.
  
  My Storyteller days are sadly over, but I still love to read novels based on Vampire: the Masquerade and the World of Darkness, a game that exploded into hobby games in 1991 and inspired a generation of fans the likes of which the game industry had never seen before, giving them hours and hours of fun.
  
  
  
  “So you need an assassin.” “I am looking for a problem solver.” The Prince smiled as he drank deeply from another goblet. “One who knows where his loyalties lie.” An expendable one as well, Rodrigo suspected, not as glorious as a Ventrue, Brujah or even a Salubri warrior. “I will do what I can, my Lord,” he replied.
  
  This anthology inspired by the 20th Anniversary edition of the game was a blast of a read for me, with its various and different tales starring Cainites from all low and high Clans, such a shame dear old Archbishop Monçada was the only famous iconic character from the game popping up without Lucita, Anatole, or other ones making an appearance too.
  
  
  
  The last bell of midnight faded as the woman spoke. “Forgive me, Most Reverend Father, but I have been tempted by one of the walking dead.” Archbishop Ambrosio Luis Monçada looked away from the confessional partition and wiped his hands on the edge of his fine robes — an old habit from his mortal days a century ago. The candlelight glittered off his rings as he hid a smile.
  
  Besides that, a few average stories, and some annoying typos like the one turning the Giovanni into Giovani, this anthology was a real entertaining read for me and some tales included here were shining bloody gems.
  
  
  
  After Alienor left, I sat contemplating the plan. Elaheh wanted my power, wanted me dead, and planned to destabilize the city to gain that power. I could have just killed her, but her favor among the court stayed my hand against a public attack. She had too many powerful allies for such a bold move. Instead, I needed subtlety.
  
  
  
  Give it a try.