[amtap book:isbn=156504889X]<\/p>\n
Set in the Toron\u00adto of White Wolf\u2019s orig\u00adi\u00adnal \u201cWorld of Dark\u00adness\u201d<\/em> game cam\u00adpaign world, this nov\u00adel is of two women, one strug\u00adgling to for\u00adget her vio\u00adlent past and one try\u00ading to escape her vio\u00adlent present. The fact that the first, Tan\u00adgo, is a Faerie Changeling who is pressed into search\u00ading for her kid\u00adnapped friend ( and fel\u00adlow Changeling ) Riley while the sec\u00adond, Miran\u00adda, is a Sab\u00adbat Vam\u00adpire involved with a Satan\u00adic cult leader com\u00adpli\u00adcates things.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Descrip\u00adtion:<\/em> Tan\u00adgo is in trou\u00adble: her friend Riley is miss\u00ading and she\u2019s been ordered to com\u00adplete his assigned task of orga\u00adniz\u00ading the Mid\u00adsum\u00admer fes\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adties for the Toron\u00adto Faerie court, a task she hates. But her search for Riley will lead her into areas and encoun\u00adters with some of Toron\u00adto\u2019s vam\u00adpires, espe\u00adcial\u00adly Miranda.<\/p>\n Miran\u00adda is in trou\u00adble: being a Sab\u00adbat vam\u00adpire means she should\u00adn\u2019t care about such pet\u00adty con\u00adcerns as moral\u00adi\u00adty, only pow\u00ader, but she finds her asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion with a Nephan\u00addi mage too much even for her. The mage\u2019s scheme to use his influ\u00adence to pro\u00advoke a riot of mas\u00adsive pro\u00adpor\u00adtions to demon\u00adstrate his pow\u00ader dis\u00adgusts her, but she can\u2019t oppose it on her own.<\/p>\n Toron\u00adto is in trou\u00adble: the machi\u00adna\u00adtions of a Satan\u00adic cult, sense\u00adless, ran\u00addom mur\u00adders, and an atmos\u00adphere of fear and des\u00adper\u00ada\u00adtion, all have set the nor\u00admal\u00adly sedate city into a pan\u00adic. No one feels safe, and ele\u00adments of the cult are fan\u00adning the flames of unrest and unreason.<\/p>\n Tan\u00adgo has to over\u00adcome her past and make her own peace with her\u00adself. Miran\u00adda has to escape her con\u00adnec\u00adtions with the mage in order to stop the mage and his fol\u00adlow\u00aders. And, with a lit\u00adtle help from the Faerie court, stop a city-wide riot from start\u00ading. All in one night. And when changelings and vam\u00adpires com\u00adbine, the results can be very unpredictable.<\/p>\n Near the end of the book, Tan\u00adgo res\u00adcues Riley, only to be unable to awak\u00aden him from the unnat\u00adur\u00adal sleep the cult leader has placed him in: the Glam\u00adour [the mag\u00adick\u00adal pow\u00ader of Faerie] she uses to heal her\u00adself refus\u00ades to work on him, and the only rea\u00adson she believes is that she some\u00adhow can\u00adnot con\u00adnect with him to make it work. Miran\u00adda thinks of a way around her dilemma.<\/p>\n \u2026 \u201cWhat if you thought Riley\u2019s body was yours?\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u00adgo stared at the vam\u00adpire. \u201cWhat? How?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI could hyp\u00adno\u00adtize you. You\u2019ve seen stage-mes\u00admerists make peo\u00adple act like they\u2019re some\u00adbody else? If you thought you were Riley \u2014 sort of like an out-of-body expe\u00adri\u00adence \u2014 maybe you could make the Glam\u00adour flow. A real\u00adly deep trance might be enough to make the con\u00adnec\u00adtion. It would be tricky. I\u2019ve nev\u00ader actu\u00adal\u00adly done any\u00adthing quite like it before.\u201d<\/p>\n Tan\u00adgo con\u00adsid\u00adered the idea skep\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly. \u201cWhat would it involve?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA deep trance, a lot of sug\u00adges\u00adtion.\u201d Miran\u00adda shift\u00aded a bit. \u201cAnd you would have to trust me enough to let me do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tan\u00adgo is ini\u00adtial\u00adly reluc\u00adtant, because her trust in Miran\u00adda was severe\u00adly shak\u00aden by events ear\u00adli\u00ader, but for Riley\u2019s sake she even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly consents.<\/p>\n Miran\u00adda looked like she was about to say some\u00adthing more, but stopped. Gen\u00adtly, she lift\u00aded Tan\u00adgo up to sit on the edge of the pool table. Then she caught her gaze again. Abrupt\u00adly, Tan\u00adgo found her\u00adself falling into Miran\u00adda\u2019s eyes. It was like div\u00ading into a warm swim\u00adming pool at night. The sen\u00adsa\u00adtion was com\u00adfort\u00ading, embrac\u00ading. She did\u00adn\u2019t fight it. Instead she dove deep\u00ader into the shad\u00adows. Miran\u00adda was speak\u00ading to her, the vam\u00adpire\u2019s voice a dis\u00adtant, eerie mur\u00admur of com\u00admand, encour\u00adag\u00ading her to remem\u00adber every\u00adthing she knew about Riley, all of the expe\u00adri\u00adences they shared. Obe\u00addi\u00adent\u00adly [sic], Tan\u00adgo remem\u00adbered. The recent evening in Pan\u2019s. Win\u00adnipeg six years ago. Boston before that. A wild road trip in the ear\u00adly eight\u00adies. The first time they met, 1978 in Mon\u00adtre\u00adal. Things she\u2019d thought she had for\u00adgot\u00adten: post\u00adcards, Christ\u00admas gifts, tele\u00adphone calls.<\/p>\n \u201cNow,\u201d instruct\u00aded Miran\u00adda\u2019s ghost\u00adly whale-song of a voice, \u201cimag\u00adine all of that from Riley\u2019s point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n The imag\u00adin\u00ading came eas\u00adi\u00adly. Riley\u2019s end of the tele\u00adphone calls. Riley writ\u00ading post\u00adcards. Riley laugh\u00ading uproar\u00adi\u00adous\u00adly as he steered the car off the road and they went jolt\u00ading into the rough desert in the wilds of New Mex\u00adi\u00adco, with her grab\u00adbing at his arm and yelling at him.<\/p>\n \u201cBecome Riley,\u201d Miran\u00adda said. \u201cYou are Riley. You are \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n \u201cJust a lit\u00adtle longer,\u201d hissed the vam\u00adpire. Riley [Tan\u00adgo] con\u00adcen\u00adtrat\u00aded, the rip\u00adple of Glam\u00adour becom\u00ading a rush.<\/p>\n His oth\u00ader body opened its eyes. \u201cTan\u00adgo?\u201d he asked himself.<\/p>\n The vam\u00adpire smiled. She turned Riley\u2019s head to look back into her deep, dark eyes. \u201cTan\u00adgo, come back.\u201d Riley blinked.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There are oth\u00ader episodes of direct vam\u00adpir\u00adic mes\u00admerism but this is the most inter\u00adest\u00ading and most drawn-out exam\u00adple of the whole book.<\/p>\n Com\u00admen\u00adtary:<\/em> As I expect to be spend\u00ading a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant por\u00adtion of my week\u00adend attend\u00ading a gam\u00ading con\u00adven\u00adtion, I thought it appro\u00adpri\u00adate to write about a nov\u00adel tak\u00aden from a gam\u00ading product.<\/p>\n Rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> One of the best of the solo game adap\u00adta\u00adtions from White Wolf, writ\u00adten by Don Bass\u00adingth\u00adwaite and well worth seek\u00ading out and pick\u00ading up even if the read\u00ader isn\u2019t famil\u00adiar with the cam\u00adpaign world. The first chap\u00adter of the book can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Adden\u00adda:<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\n
\n