Creatures of the Night

 So, I randomly ordered all four books of Mick Farren's Renquist Quartet a while back, and finally finished The Time of Feasting this morning. I'd honestly forgotten how much fun these are.

This, the first book, introduces us to Victor Renquist and his colony of Nosferatu in lower Manhattan as the Time of Feasting is set to begin. Basically, vampires in this setting get by on blood bag infusions to eat, but every so often, the urge to actually eat a human takes over, and the Feasting begins. Renquist's idea for this outbreak is to do his best to make sure that everything looks like the work of a Satanic Serial Killer. 

The colony is facing internal drama as Victor's creation from the mid 1930's, Julia, has created her own progeny, Carfax. Carfax used to front a thrash metal band, and is now undergoing what amounts to the Nosferatu version of the Terrible Twos, challenging Renquist's authority and flaunting his nature while killing indiscriminately. Julia is creating problems of her own, vying for Renquist's affections from Cynara, Victor's long term flame. (Julia from what I remember in later books is a really fun character, acting as both ally and foil.) Oh, and a drunken defrocked priest is able to see through the Nosferatu illusions and see the colony as it is. 

Add into this another group of Voudon practitioners, annoyed with the fact the killings have unleashed 1990's style NYC police work on their population and basically telling Renquist they'll help Renquist with Carfax as long as the colony leaves New York within 48 hours and you have a really over the top Vampire novel that's both readable and fun. 

While the later three books delve deeper into the creation of Nosferatu, this one lays tantalizing hints of aliens creating vampires and creating death rays that kill them back before recorded history, and gives us Dietrich, the old master of the colony, who not terribly long ago walked away to meditate in isolation. 

I've played enough White Wolf games to place most of the colony in Clans and assign disciplines, but frankly, half the fun is in the little bits of irony that come out as the characters occasionally realize exactly how ridiculous the entire thing is. (Yes, it was the 90's.)

Highly recommended reading.