Just Finished Reading... Prisoner Of Midnight by Barbara Hambly

 This is the eighth in the James Asher series of vampire novels. If you haven’t read them I do recommend them. The first one was called Immortal Blood here and Those Who Hunt The Night in the US. In it, James Asher, a British spy, is approached by members of the London vampire community who want him to find out who has been killing their friends. They make threats against his wife, Lydia, a doctor, but Lydia is more than capable of looking after herself, and is very good at research; she finds out where the vampires live. Far from being angry, they are impressed.

One of them is Don Simon Ysidro, a sixteenth century Spanish nobleman who came to England with Phillip of Spain, during the reign of Mary Tudor. He and James track down the vampire killer, who isn’t a hero! They become friends - and Simon falls in love with Lydia. As a result, in each of the novels that follow, he helps them for her sake. There is no sex involved, of course, because dead, right? No blood flow. But he can still love. And she cares for him, despite knowing what he has to do to stay alive. 

In this novel, Simon has been kidnapped by a nut case American millionaire who wants to use him to assassinate trouble makers in his various businesses - union leaders and strikers and such. And there is someone who has developed a drug to keep him obedient. They are on a ship headed for the US, dodging German u boats(this is 1917). Fortunately for him, Lydia got his telepathic message and went aboard the ship, with her dreadful aunt Louise. 

Although James has his scenes, trying to find the scientist’s  formula to send her, having fun and games questioning Paris vamps, avoiding them  killing him, much of the novel is Lydia’s, as she tries desperately to find Simon - and wonders whether she really wants to help him, or kill him before he starts hunting in New York. And somebody is killing third class passengers’ children vampire style - is it him? Or is there another vampire aboard? 

I thought it interesting that in this novel we find out that vampires look as they did in life only by illusion, which can’t be maintained while they are on running water, except for about fifteen minutes each side of midnight. 

I have always liked Lydia, a strong, no nonsense lady, and quick-thinking. It’s nice to give her a novel of her own. 

It does have a rather cheeky ending which I won’t share with you, because spoilers. It is going to be interesting to see what the author does with it in the next novel.

I’m not usually into horror fiction, but this series is good. It’s not so much about people being killed by vampires but about what do you do if you actually like one? And he saves your life over and over? And you know that he is a serial killer who has murdered thousands of people over the centuries and you still like him? Love him, even? 

Hambly’s vampires don’t like looking at themselves in the mirror because they can see what they really look like, not because they are invisible. They are all volunteers, who wanted to change for the immortality thing, so had to be terribly selfish people to begin with. And crosses don’t harm them, but the silver content in them does. All these are the things that fascinate me about this series. 

 If you have been following it, it is worth chasing this novel up. If not, why not start with the first one and see what you think? 

I borrowed this from the library, but I’m sure it is available to buy at all your favourite web sites.