Synopsis
Vampire Cannibalism — The Ultimate Crime
Sullivan was a working stiff, a before-the-mast sailor, when he was taken in by the Family almost 150 years ago. They gave him immortality — and an undying hunger for human blood.
Since then, Sullivan has been on the prowl. And what better place for a night creature than modern San Francisco, its streets crowded with runaways, drifters, tourists, violent gangs, and nameless punks? Food is plentiful. Even food for the darkest hungers of the inhuman heart.
But San Francisco is more than just a hunting ground. Known as the Casablanca of the World of Darkness because it is home to so many competing vampire clans that have heretofore existed in relative peace, it is on the verge of becoming the locus for many schemes of immortals both within the city and beyond. And when Sullivan falls victim to their plots and is accused of diablerie, vampire cannibalism, he discovers how easily the hunter can become…the hunted.
Review
DARK PRINCE by Keith Herber has a unique distinction of being the first World of Darkness novel. Way back in the far off era of 1994, the World of Darkness was still only a few game lines and there were plans for other ones but it was still riding the wave of fame that it had gotten from 1st and 2nd Edition’s fantastic green marble and rose cover volumes. It was also years before Revised (1998) let alone the twenty years it would be until the present 5th Edition.
Dark Prince is primarily about mood and engaging in the kind of gritty street level storytelling that was popular then but get ignored by later books. It is the kind of book that I strongly recommend for people unfamiliar with the World of Darkness but one probably best appreciated by those that are already invested in the property. Some of the details in the book are out of line with where the canon went, particularly regarding Eastern vampires, but it still holds up remarkably well.
The premise is suitanly grim: Sullivan is a pimp and vampire as well as not a particularly good-natured example of either. People looking for a “good buy” protagonist will probably be immediately put off by what a scummy individual Sullivan in and how he abuses people. He is a servant of a group of Chinese vampires that Embraced him in the 19th century but finds himself expendable when they decide to make a move against the Prince of the City, Vannevar Thomas. Sullivan soon learns there’s much worse in the night other than him and does his best to survive even as he is a pawn in a much larger game.
Sullivan will put off a bunch of readers with his nastiness at the start of the book. Those patient enough to enjoy the entirety of the story will note Sullivan going through absolute hell throughout the book as well as experiencing a not insignificant amount of character development. You just have to accept where he starts and that’s a guy who deserves a wooden stake through the heart. Sullivan may not be a great leading man but you’ll pity the poor bastard by the end even if you don’t like him.
San Fransisco is vividly realized in Dark Prince with all of the vampires coming from a different period in the city’s history or representing a different subculture. A Spanish conquistador, a member of the gay community during its activist years, It really feels like a living city with all of the humans’ conflicts contributing to the culture of the vampire conflicts. Sullivan gets a pretty large introduction into the city’s nightlife as he is chased from area to area by the people who want to punish him for his diablerie (eating another vampire).
Part of what I enjoy about the novel is that it really does give a decent mystery despite the fact Sullivan is pretty thick in the head. Astute readers will be able to pick up on what’s really going on with the various plots, counterplots, and schemes going on around our (anti)hero. This includes the Prince, the Family, the Anarchs, and the Sabbat. While a lot grittier and more visceral, it has themes of film noir and that’s always entertaining
The World of Darkness books were out of print for decades but Crossroad Press brought them back a few years ago, re-releasing them on Kindle, paperback, and audiobook form. I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this and suggest that it’s the best way to enjoy this story. It won’t be for everyone but World of Darkness fans are bound to love it and if you want to try it, this is a good place to start as I mentioned. A few of the characters are a bit dated with the Family falling into stereotype at times but I overall liked it and it is nothing worse than anything found in Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Fans of LA by Night will also recognize Thomas as a character.
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