Synopsis
A Gilded Age, A Gaslit Horror
Regina Blake believes her mother to be the victim of murder and conspiracy. Forgoing caution and propriety, she tries to uncover the truth and bring the culprits to justice. With every step, however, she uncovers more and more evidence of a secret world of danger, sensuality and sin. With the beautiful Victoria Ash as her guide, she peels back layer after layer of this benighted world, until the true horror of it all stands exposed.
Will discovering the truth be worth damning her soul?
Review
VICTORIAN AGE VAMPIRE: A MORBID INITIATION by Phillipe Boulle is a spin-off of the popular Vampire: The Masquerade series. It was never as popular as its counterpart but it’s easy to see the appeal of playing one of the undead in the time of Dracula and Carmilla. A Morbid Initiation is the first of three volumes that follow the story of a young woman, Regina Blake, and her initiation (see the title) into the world of vampirism.
The premise is Regina is a spirited young woman with an unusual heritage: partially British aristocracy and partially wealthy Eastern European merchants. Such unions weren’t unheard of but is still something to note marks her unusual. Fans of the roleplaying game will note her last name’s importance, Ducheski, immediately. Regina is impressively normal for a World of Darkness protagonist, eager to marry her cavalry officer beau, and perhaps only slightly more passionate than is proper for a young lady.
Unfortunately, for Regina, her mother, Emma takes ill and ends up dying suddenly. Regina’s family home is flooded with her Slavic relations who have strange customs and are determined to keep the body separate from the day. The secret of what is going on is obvious to readers but something that confuses and troubles dear Regina. She determines to investigate the circumstances of her mother’s death, suspecting something far more mundane than vampires, and gets pulled into the dark underbelly of London Camarilla politics.
Fans of the Vampire: The Masquerade signature characters will be pleased to note there are several of them spread throughout the book. The most prominent being Beckett, Hesha Ruhadze, and Victoria Ash. Victoria Ash, Toreador socialite supreme, forms a secondary protagonist as she takes an interest in Regina before deciding to make her a lover. The queer content of A Morbid Initiation is extremely tame, PG-13 by modern standards, but still surprising for early 2000s White Wolf.
The big question for readers is probably whether someone unfamiliar with the tabletop roleplaying game? I think that this, like Dark Prince, is one of the rare books that can be enjoyed by newcomers to the World of Darkness. Those familiar with vampirism in general will be able to understand the kinds of characters, themes, and ideas conveyed without being lost in the jargon. Obviously, those with a passing familiarity with the Thirteen Clans will get slightly more out of it, especially if they know characters like Ms. Ash or Mithras the Methuselah.
A Morbid Initiation is a book that is heavy on mood, world-building, and character development. As a result, it is far better than the majority of game fiction out there. It functions as a novel first and a adaptation of the tabletop game second. The book is atmospheric and successfully captures an updated Gothic atmosphere with more spice as well as violence than the classics but familiar enough to be enjoyed. It may well be my favorite of the White Wolf novels from the Nineties and I’m glad it’s been reprinted.
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