Widow's Walk is a book by Eric Griffin which is the first of the new series of Clan Book Trilogies being released. The basic idea behind the Clan Book Trilogies is to continue the stories of the Clan book characters introduced in the popular Vampire Clan Novels series which followed the Sabbat attacks on the West Coast, the retaking of New York, and the recovery of an artifact called the Eye of Hazmiel. The Clan Book Trilogies however are intended to explore more deeply the mindset of the individual characters involved in the namesake clan.
Widow's Walk is the first book in the Tremere Trilogy which follows the aftermath of events in Clan novel Tremere. Clan novel: Tremere was one of the more controversial books in the series due to the fact the author deliberately tried to make the book as ambiguous as possible in what truly happened. The idea to quote the author on the forums was to create a "interactive novel" where the mindset of the symbolism behind the Tremere has to be explored by the reader. Unfortunately this proved unpopular with readers who wished to receive more concrete answers about what happened as the next to last book in the 13 novel series. Does Widow's Walk recant on the idea of an interactive novel and fill in the blanks left behind in the original novel? Yes and no.
The book first of all does not "star" Ailsing Sturbridge who was the original star of Clan novel: Tremere though she is certainly a co-star or perhaps strong supporting character is a better word for it. This disappointed me because Ailsing Sturbridge was an enigma to me in the Clan Novels in a character that was both mysterious and attractive without deliberately attempting to be sexy. Ironic that the cover shows the dignified librarian/regent of the New York chantry in such a revealing pose but the author defends it as metaphoric. Instead the story more properly stars Antigone who is a Tremere security expert with a great deal of magic about her but unfortunately a complete inability to use any of it. Furthermore there is another star named Felton who is not a Tremere at all who fits the standard template for PCs in a former mercenary who carries on his trade. Felton was surprisingly likeable so I won't complain about his appearance.
The mood of Clan Novel Trilogy 1 is still highly symbolic, metaphoric, and laced with mysticism as well as Irish Folklore (which is something Mr. Griffin excels at) as the aftermath of the events of Clan Novel Tremere are dealt with and the very real possibility that Ailsing Sturbridge has lost her mind. There is however an event that is dealt with in the middle of the book which delayed the book's sequel by some month. I will discuss it below but if you prefer to remain unspoiled I will simply say that the new Trilogy of the Tremere promises with the surprise appearance of one of the most famous Tremere of them all to answer all the questions of the first book but only create new ones in the process. All in all this is a book that I highly recommend 7/10.
*SPOILERS*
Though the book was written some months before the events of the World Trade Center's destruction, Eric Griffin utilized the current chaos wracking WoD New York to create a plotline which centered around Felton being framed for a bombing that destroyed the Empire States Building in said region. While the casualties were not particularly high as far as I could tell and the event is only dealt with from a Vampire Point of View as opposed to a humans it is still something that I felt should be warned against. Oddly enough reading the book over and it's sequel gave me a curious sense of continuity I found comforting in the time.
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(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)