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Classic World of Darkness Fiction
Prince of the City
The Price of Power
At the height of the American Revolution, Virginia aristocrat Vannevar Thomas fell victim to a rogue vampire. The newly Embraced Vannevar was taken in by a secretive organization of vampires known as the Camarilla and sent to San Francisco in 1849. Here Vannevar found a newborn, vibrant city, ripe for the taking – but other powers also cast covetous eyes on the growing town.
Ascending to rulership of San Francisco's undead, Prince Vannevar soon finds himself beset by enemies. Not only must the newly crowned Vannevar thwart the schemes of the mysterious Asian vampires known as the Family, he must contend with treachery among his own ranks. He is destined to learn that the price of power is steep indeed....
At the height of the American Revolution, Virginia aristocrat Vannevar Thomas fell victim to a rogue vampire. The newly Embraced Vannevar was taken in by a secretive organization of vampires known as the Camarilla and sent to San Francisco in 1849. Here Vannevar found a newborn, vibrant city, ripe for the taking – but other powers also cast covetous eyes on the growing town.
Ascending to rulership of San Francisco's undead, Prince Vannevar soon finds himself beset by enemies. Not only must the newly crowned Vannevar thwart the schemes of the mysterious Asian vampires known as the Family, he must contend with treachery among his own ranks. He is destined to learn that the price of power is steep indeed....
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First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 23, 2024
PRINCE OF THE CITY by Keith Herber is both a prequel as well as sequel to the book DARK PRINCE by the same author. It is one of the early VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE novels that is set in the WORLD OF DARKNESS where supernatural entities live among us, hiding their existence so they can prey upon us better. Dark Prince was a fantastic novel with a hard gritty street-crime edge and a loathsome protagonist that, nevertheless, manages to undergo serious character development. It introduced the character of Vannevar Thomas and I was interested in seeing where this book would take him as Prince of the City stars said supporting character.
Prince of the City is a very different book from Dark Prince despite so many crossover characters and including Vannevar’s perception of the events in the latter. It’s a credit to Keith Herber that he’s so dramatically able to shift his style. If I had to compare it to any other book, I’d say it’s most similar to Interview with a Vampire as it’s essentially a centuries-long biography of Vannevar from his days as a Revolutionary War soldier embraced by his deranged uncle to his rise to power as one of the early residents of San Fransisco.
One of the first things to note is that Vannevar Thomas is a far more likeable protagonist than Sullivan. He’s a vampire and feeds off the living but all indications are he’s about as nice a person as you can probably be and still survive in Kindred politics. He’s a progressive minded fellow that rescues a black man from being lynched (making him his ghoul), supports California joining the Union during the Civil War, and shows unexpected mercy that occasionally pays off. This makes him far easier to root for but does take away some of the book’s edge. Really, the worst thing that Vannevar does is turn a blind eye to all of his much-much nastier fellows’ doings.
Keith Herbert obviously did a lot of history of San Fransisco and the book is a decent travelogue of the city through its various changes across multiple centuries. We follow the city from its days as part of the Wild West and Gold Rush to its transformation into an organized city as well as its ultimate fate as a counter-culture mecca. Vannevar trying to figure out what the hell hippies are saying when tracking down his LSD-blood drinking childe, Margaret, is one of the rare humorous parts of the story.
Keith Herber really “gets” the early Vampire: The Masquerade handling of Kindred as the book is filled with dozens of unique vampires interacting off one another. The politics in the city frequently change and we often get characters who are fully realized, only for them to die or be replaced within a few chapters. A deranged sea captain Malkavian that rules the docks and frustrates Vannevar? Dies in the great earthquake.
A union leader Brujah that has ties to the Inner Circle of the Camarilla? Executed along with a previous prince. Vannevar’s archenemy for a century? Shuffled off after an opportunity to kill him pays off. There’s no canon fodder and the colorful personalities illustrate both how long Vannevar has been at this and the kind of unique weirdos vampirism creates. Undead politics are a dangerous business and we watch Vannevar manage to weather them better than most across his long-long unlife.
If I have any complaints about the book, it does go for “fridging” as a means of giving Vannevar emotional pain. One of Vannevar’s love interests across the centuries suffers a horrific assault that leaves her insane, another dies horribly during a riot in Chinatown, and a third, well, almost rather comically dies when they run out into the sun while high as a kite. Remember kids, drugs are bad. Still, this is a really solid book and probably the second best of the V:TM line.
Prince of the City is a very different book from Dark Prince despite so many crossover characters and including Vannevar’s perception of the events in the latter. It’s a credit to Keith Herber that he’s so dramatically able to shift his style. If I had to compare it to any other book, I’d say it’s most similar to Interview with a Vampire as it’s essentially a centuries-long biography of Vannevar from his days as a Revolutionary War soldier embraced by his deranged uncle to his rise to power as one of the early residents of San Fransisco.
One of the first things to note is that Vannevar Thomas is a far more likeable protagonist than Sullivan. He’s a vampire and feeds off the living but all indications are he’s about as nice a person as you can probably be and still survive in Kindred politics. He’s a progressive minded fellow that rescues a black man from being lynched (making him his ghoul), supports California joining the Union during the Civil War, and shows unexpected mercy that occasionally pays off. This makes him far easier to root for but does take away some of the book’s edge. Really, the worst thing that Vannevar does is turn a blind eye to all of his much-much nastier fellows’ doings.
Keith Herbert obviously did a lot of history of San Fransisco and the book is a decent travelogue of the city through its various changes across multiple centuries. We follow the city from its days as part of the Wild West and Gold Rush to its transformation into an organized city as well as its ultimate fate as a counter-culture mecca. Vannevar trying to figure out what the hell hippies are saying when tracking down his LSD-blood drinking childe, Margaret, is one of the rare humorous parts of the story.
Keith Herber really “gets” the early Vampire: The Masquerade handling of Kindred as the book is filled with dozens of unique vampires interacting off one another. The politics in the city frequently change and we often get characters who are fully realized, only for them to die or be replaced within a few chapters. A deranged sea captain Malkavian that rules the docks and frustrates Vannevar? Dies in the great earthquake.
A union leader Brujah that has ties to the Inner Circle of the Camarilla? Executed along with a previous prince. Vannevar’s archenemy for a century? Shuffled off after an opportunity to kill him pays off. There’s no canon fodder and the colorful personalities illustrate both how long Vannevar has been at this and the kind of unique weirdos vampirism creates. Undead politics are a dangerous business and we watch Vannevar manage to weather them better than most across his long-long unlife.
If I have any complaints about the book, it does go for “fridging” as a means of giving Vannevar emotional pain. One of Vannevar’s love interests across the centuries suffers a horrific assault that leaves her insane, another dies horribly during a riot in Chinatown, and a third, well, almost rather comically dies when they run out into the sun while high as a kite. Remember kids, drugs are bad. Still, this is a really solid book and probably the second best of the V:TM line.
May 31, 2021
I think someone knows about my inability to leave a castoff book without a reader and is trying to push me over the edge. For my own protection, I have to stop feeling sorry for lonely books that someone leaves on the kitchen table at work. This book was so bad that I couldn't stop reading it. It was a literary train wreck, not the usual kind where five people die and the rest are kind of shook up, but the kind where the train's picked up by a tornado and smashed to slivers on the prairie. The preceding metaphor was better than this book. It wasn't even proofread.
April 13, 2025
Fun to read if you like the Vampire the Masquerade setting, but I'm not sure it's strong enough for a casual reader. It was fun to see how the book moves through time, tying San Francisco's colorful history to this supernatural one.
October 10, 2022
Honestly this is one of the best Vampire the Masquerade novels. It traces the exploits of Vannevar Thomas, Prince of San Francisco, from the 19th century into the modern era. Taking place in various time periods, the story links a variety of characters, historical figures, and real events surprisingly well. Technically it's a pseudo sequel to Dark Prince according to info on it out there, but I'd consider it more of a companion work because it eventually connects to events in the other novel and finishes the story. Prequel would be more accurate, but it's slightly necessary to read the other first. Either way, fun read throughout.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews