| |
| Author: | Lucy Taylor |
| Development | Justin Achilli |
| Editor | Anna Branscome |
| Art Director | Richard Thomas |
| Layout & Typesetting | Ron Thompson |
| Interior Art | John Bolton |
| Front Cover Art | John Bolton |
| Front & Back Cover Design | John Bolton, Ron Thompson |
| Publisher: | White Wolf Publishing, Inc. |
| Imprint: | Black Dog |
| Published: | 1999 |
| Pages: | 156 |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Publication #: | WW 2400 |
| Reference #: | ISBN-13 978-1565042056; ISBN-10 1-56504-205-0 |
Eternal Hearts, sometimes mislabeled as Eternal Heart, is an erotic novel based on Vampire: The Masquerade.
Summary
From the back of the book:
- Eternal Hearts features:
- * New prose from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy Taylor
- * Illustrations by Books of Magic and The Vampire Lestat artist John Bolton
Plot
The book opens describing the violent embrace of a young woman by Tzimisce who is then buried. Meanwhile Lucita finds out that Jan Pieterzoon, for whom she works, is missing. Victoria Ash is under surveillance by hunters while she kidnaps and ghouls a fan. The hunter group's head's, Emmet's, son David plans to rape and kill his half sister Becca who is also a member of the hunter group and responsible for bringing David into a clinic because he was addicted to alcohol, drugs and sex. When David arrives in Becca's apartment he finds the headless corpse of Becca's girlfriend Francine as well as Isabel Giovanni who forces David to have sex with her and the corpse. Isabel believes that it is Becca's corpse and does not find out the truth until Sascha Vykos appears and notices it. Sascha rapes David and forces him to work for him.
In the meantime Victoria sends her ghoul Odette to find out something, but Odette is kidnapped by Emmet who wants to save her from Victoria. Becca, who by now knows about Francine's death, discovers them and interrupts the brutal interrogation. She lets Odette go and her father tells her about Becca's mother's death; she was killed by Kindred.
Meanwhile Victoria is in a club looking for a specific vessel. She finds her with a young Brujah and takes both home with her. Odette however notices that the Brujah is actually a human named Tony and a member of the hunter group that kidnapped her. This leads to a fight. One of Victoria's ghouls kills Tony, but Victoria suffers a gunshot wound. To be able to heal undisturbed and because she is afraid of neighbors who might have heard shots, she heads to Jan Pieterzoon's mansion.
Meanwhile Sascha resorts to Emmet's church and Lucita meets the Nosferatu Erasmus who tells her the location of Jan's mansion. After killing several fleshcrafted ghouls she meets Victoria who tells her that Jan is obsessed with raped women and that he has met a young woman who he liked exceptionally and with whom he went to Emmet's church. This woman is Becca who was raped multiple times by David.
Becca returns home and is surprised by a mentally disturbed person who gives her a drawing of David's face and tells her that he had seen him the night of Francine's death. Unable to reach her father by phone she hurries into the church and finds Emmet in the catacombs underneath caged by Vykos. Emmet warns her about Sascha and Becca flees with the intention of getting help. On her way she finds Jan in a kind of gigantic aquarium. His presence puts a spell on her and she tries to free him. During this action she loses a bit of blood, provoking a Frenzy in Jan and ending the spell. She flees.
On the run she meets David who rapes and tortures her until Lucita appears, knocks him out and asks Becca about Jan. Becca says she does not know where he is and Lucita feeds on her. David and Sascha, who appears in that moment, seize the opportunity and stake her. David goes into the chamber where his father is held prisoner, talks to him and admits killing Becca's mother and raping Becca. Emmet suffers a heart attack.
Sascha promises David the embrace before they leave the catacombs and arrive in the church where people are already assembling for a church service. The kine are mesmerized by Vykos' supernatural presence and David tells him about the coming of the angels whom they will give their blood and who will protect them in turn. During this speech the woman who was embraced and buried at the beginning appears and turns out to be a childe of Sascha. He kills her and David realizes that fate holds just that in store for him. He flees into the catacombs, frees Lucita and presses her to promise him the embrace. She does so and defeats Vykos in a battle. Meanwhile David finds Becca and throws her into the aquarium. Jan embraces Becca and they free themselves. Later Becca tells the kine that a demon claimed the life and the soul of her father and her half brother but was killed by an angel. David meets with Lucita to demand the embrace. She tricks him however and David is embraced by the Nosferatu Erasmus instead. After he finds out he walks into the sun.
Background Information
The opinions about this book are very divided. Many fans liked the idea of an erotic novel but the contents were often criticized. The plot was too weak, the characters shallow degenerates and many scenes too pornographic and "overdone"; especially the necrophilia scene with Isabel and David was met with refusal. Other people however think that the explicit nature of the book is a must and to be expected since this is Vampire and Black Dog to boot. The illustrations were also received with praises, even though they are not subtle and often very graphic.
Memorable Quotes
| “ | You just fucked the dead body of your sister, but I disgust you? | ” |
| — Sascha to David after he sees him for the first time | ||
Characters
- Sascha Vykos, schemer and fighter for Cainite rule
- Victoria Ash, famous singer
- Lucita, hitman for hire
- Jan Pieterzoon
- Emmet, member of the Society of Leopold
- Becca, Emmet's daughter
- David, Emmet's son and half brother to Becca
- Tony, a member of Emmet's hunter group
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