For years campaign setting tie-ins have been a cash cow for RPG companies such as TSR and well...WotC. White Wolf has tried repeatedly in the past to duplicate the success of the gawd-father of gaming corporations success with tie in novels, usualy with limited success. The greatest success story White Wolf was the Clan Novels series in 1999. The novels took the time to document several of the changes from 2nd edition to Revised in Vampire: The Masquerade using the gimmick of one plot and one perspective for each clan. The experiment had mixed results with some books focusing too much on the meta-plot to the exclusion of the clan activities and some the reverse. Clan novel: Tremere was one of the ones which focused more or less exclusively on it's clan but it's ambiguity in several areas made it's characters seem both more intriguing yet unsatisfying in their final fate's description.
Clan Novel Tremere Trilogy book 1: Widow's walk told the story of Ailsing Sturbridge, an insane Regent of a Tremere Chantry who had narrowly survived a massive mystical ritual gone horribly wrong in her household. It also told the story of her disciple Antigone who, despite having almost no mystical power herself, was desperate to use it to protect a man wrongfully accused of a hideous bombing. Widow's Weeds was delayed several months due to the content of the original novel which had the unfortunate fact it contained a vivid description of the Empire State Building being bombed just a few short months before the World Trade Center was destroyed. The second book in the trilogy opens with a two page letter from Eric Griffin describing his own feelings on the matter and the delay which is touchingly poignant. Part of his artistic integrity requires that this book continue his original plans for dealing with the aftermath, though only a few scenes touch upon the bombing's results and the World Trade Center attack is not "inserted" anywhere.
The book is surprisingly coherent which is a distinct change from the heavy metaphor and mysticism which populated the first book and original clan novel. A few strange symbolism ridden scenes do exist including a Cambellian descent into the Underworld and a bizarre scene where we see a Tremere confront the wife he murdered not so long after his embrace. These scenes are perfectly understandable in their context however and a number of nagging plot points from the original novel are finally cleared up. The most specific mystery resolved is the identity of what "The Children Down the Well" exactly are. Those who've read the previous two novels have heard of them and it has been occasionally highly annoying that they are referred to in a hushed whisper by EVERY single Tremere, yet only in these books have we actually heard of them. I was also less than pleased that the head-honcho of the Tremere, who made a cameo in the previous book, did not show up in Widow's weeds. Since the book ends with a glimpse of the main chantry in Vienna I am confident that next book we will finally see the Council of Seven in action.
A novel thrives on it's lead characters and both Ailsing Sturbridge and Antigone are excellent female heroines with strong personalities, sharp wits, along enough emotional baggage to fill a train car. There is an annoying tendency for the Regent of the Chantry to talk down to her superiors and on occasion physically assault them with no repercussions. As a former Tremere player I can tell you this is a mind numbingly stupid thing to do and while I'm very glad they didn't kill Ailsing Sturbridge on the spot I am hard pressed to believe that she so utterly lacks fear of those higher in the Pyramid than her. The novel does allude to the fact that she has "something" (I shant spoil) in her that would seriously remove her respect of every person in a higher position than her, so I am willing to forgive it this time. I want to leave on the point that had this been a player I would have squashed her character like a bug for less than half the things she does in the novel no matter how much I liked her.
Aside from a few nagging points such as this the book does give a very good idea of what it's like to be a member of the Pyramid Clan and also a heady sense of some of the dangers being a vampire entails. I personally recommend this novel and hope to read the next one as soon as it is off the presses. 6/10
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