- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Ace Books (Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0441011098
- ISBN-13: 978-0441011094
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.8 x 2.7 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,123,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Nocturne (Austra Series)
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12 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Fabulous cover...
8 Oct 2005
Format:Paperback
...and a pretty good read once I got into it. It isn't the instant, total, no-holds-barred seduction that I found in Daughter of the Night, which I still like best of all the Austra novels I've read. I started Nocturne a couple of times and put it down before finally settling into it for the duration.
Nocturne has the abduction motif that runs so strongly through all the Austra novels that I have read except Daughter of the Night, which I found so powerful because its major energy is focused on the surhuman, really alien qualities of the Austras - they are people who have different minds, not just different nutritional needs - rather than abductions, physical altercations, and chases.
If I'd edited Nocturne, I'd have encouraged more development of Irena Sava's hidden Austra qualities before she ever makes contact with the family. The life of a Romanian under Ceaucescu, then as an emigree in America, should provide ample pressures to bring out dark glints and suggestions of Austra nature. This kind of character development, applied to Elizabeth Bathory in Daughter of the Night, made for a scrupulous psychological accuracy and ferocious narrative drive. Elizabeth's vampyr heredity works itself out like swallowed shrapnel, in painfully believable ways.
The abduction/chase/physical combat business in Nocturne actually numbed down the narrative drive for me - an "Oh, no, more of this!" Perhaps, having been spoiled by such exemplary character development, I'm not content with mere battery and bloodshed.
In conclusion, Nocturne brings the Austra scions back to the Austra keep and Francis, the Old One, for me the most fascinating of the Austras. We discover that Francis has been gathering women who have some Austra ancestry there and siring more Firstborn children, which should lead to some interesting plot opportunities down the road.
Nocturne has the abduction motif that runs so strongly through all the Austra novels that I have read except Daughter of the Night, which I found so powerful because its major energy is focused on the surhuman, really alien qualities of the Austras - they are people who have different minds, not just different nutritional needs - rather than abductions, physical altercations, and chases.
If I'd edited Nocturne, I'd have encouraged more development of Irena Sava's hidden Austra qualities before she ever makes contact with the family. The life of a Romanian under Ceaucescu, then as an emigree in America, should provide ample pressures to bring out dark glints and suggestions of Austra nature. This kind of character development, applied to Elizabeth Bathory in Daughter of the Night, made for a scrupulous psychological accuracy and ferocious narrative drive. Elizabeth's vampyr heredity works itself out like swallowed shrapnel, in painfully believable ways.
The abduction/chase/physical combat business in Nocturne actually numbed down the narrative drive for me - an "Oh, no, more of this!" Perhaps, having been spoiled by such exemplary character development, I'm not content with mere battery and bloodshed.
In conclusion, Nocturne brings the Austra scions back to the Austra keep and Francis, the Old One, for me the most fascinating of the Austras. We discover that Francis has been gathering women who have some Austra ancestry there and siring more Firstborn children, which should lead to some interesting plot opportunities down the road.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Austra Family Lives
24 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
Nocturne
I all ways believed the next book in the Austra series would be about Patrick and how his ordeal as a toddler had affected his life.
It isn't.
Nor was I the least bit disappointed with story I read in Nocturne.
This book is not to be skimmed every page is a treasure to the story it is and to the continuation of the Austra family.
Nocturne is about Richard (Dickie), Patrick's brother, the woman he falls in love with Irena and their struggle to stay together. Along with a wonderful story line Ms. Bergstrom has captured the attitudes and suspicions of the fifties and sixties. She has presented us with the story of a unique young man and woman's and their coming of age. Richard and Irena deal not only with in comparisons modern Cleveland, Ohio but also with the splendor and despair that was Romania of the time and its archaic views of human (and woman's) rights and freedoms. Richard and Irena uncover a little known branch of the Austra family that is doing whatever needed to survive, even if their survival means the destruction of the core Austra family. This threat brings us to Francis Austra. We are given a taste once again of the enigmatic patriarch of the Austra family, Francis, whom I suspect if we mere mortals ever given more would choke on his vastness.
In the closing of her book Ms. Bergstrom states, "This book begs a sequel." I disagree, Nocturne DEMANS a sequel.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Great vampire saga
1 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
The Austras are a family of vampires who live among mortals yet stay true to their own heritage. They only number thirty because it is rare to find a mortal woman who can be turned and give birth to children that are vampires. Such women are cherished and when it comes to the family's attention that Irene is one such woman, the vampires keep a watch on her so that when conditions are favorable, a meeting can be arranged.
Richard Austra attends the same college as Irene and since they are both studying music they eventually meet. They fall in love and Irene soon learns what she could mean to the Austra family. Uncertain of whether she wants to be turned, she puts some distance between herself and Richard by traveling on tour in Romania. Once there an enemy of the Austras' kidnaps her. Richard comes to rescue her, but he finds himself in danger as well.
It has been a long time since an Austra novel has been published but it was well worth the very long wait. Elaine Bergstrom's vampires compare favorably to the ones in the Anne Rice universe. Readers will find themselves spellbound by these beings that are not evil, only different. NOCTURNE is such a compelling novel that the audience roots for the young lovers to triumph in the face of staggering adversity.
Harriet Klausner
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