Having enjoyed the first two books in this series, I anticipated another enjoyable page turner with good characterisation. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed: the plot seemed to be rather a rehash of the previous volume, with a great deal of it being a travelogue as James Asher travels across Europe in the company of Don Simon, the 16th century Spanish vampire, while Lydia Asher pours over documentation in pre-Revolution Russia to track down information on a particular woman who has vampire traits but can walk in daylight without instantly burning up.

It is understandable that Simon keeps James away from the vampires in the various cities they visit in search of information that would uncover a plot to create vampires as the perfect killing machines for the Kaiser on the brink of what became World War I given the terrible injuries James has suffered from such encounters in previous books, yet it meant that a lot of the action took place off stage with James just kept up to speed with notes Simon left for him to read in daylight. The action doesn't really take off till about two thirds through when both Ashers fall into the clutches of various villains. For me this volume was a disappointment after the suspenseful writing of the first two so I can only award it an OK read of 2 stars. ( )

Centuries ago, the ancient vampire Don Simon Ysidro fell in love with a mortal woman. Entranced by the idea of eternal life, Lady Irene managed to get turned into a vampire as well. It was only then that she discovered the truth of Ysidro's warnings--that upon becoming Undead, all interests and morals are overwhelmed by the seduction of killing human prey. She and Ysidro have had little contact since...until she hears a rumor that the war-mongering Kaiser has recruited a vampire. Ysidro enlists the help of James Asher, formerly of the Queen's Secret Service, to accompany him on his search for answers.

This is a beautiful book. Hambly's stories of the Ashers and Ysidro (which began in the equally superlative [b:Those Who Hunt the Night|176261|Those Who Hunt the Night (James Asher, #1)|Barbara Hambly|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1223642807s/176261.jpg|1229981]) are always the very best that vampire fiction can be. Her grasp of history is sure and faultless. Her characterizations deep and multi-faceted. And her vampires are the creepiest, scariest, most seductive creatures of the night I've ever read. ( )

I probably say this every time I review a Barbara Hambly novel: I've loved her books for years. She wrote vampire novels before they were clichéd, the series that began with Those Who Hunt the Night, of which this is the third book.

Her use of metaphor and simile is one of the loveliest things I know of in fiction. "The woman put back her veil – champagne-colored point-lace that wouldn't have stopped a glance, let alone sunlight". "Ellen bridled like a coy percheron." There are few authors who can come close to matching her, and none can surpass her. Her sentences are things of beauty which create miracles of character and setting. In a sea of mediocre freebies and ARCs, she is utterly reliable. "Reliable" may not be one of the sexier compliments one can give – but when it comes to reliable enjoyability, reliable skill, reliable wonder, reliable joy … every author should be so complimentable. ( )

If you're nauseated by sparkly, angst-ridden teenage vampires, and you like your dark suspense with wit and political savvy, check out Blood Maidens, the third in Barbara Hambly's turn-of-the-century vampire novels. It's as much mystery as it is adventure or spy novel or horror, both fast-paced and literate. It stands well on its own, although the previous two are highly recommended.

Hambly's vampires are neither sparkly nor nice. They're dark and dangerous, and on the eve of World War I, the Kaiser would very much like to enlist them as his agents. Not that this is any concern of the vampires themselves, existing as they do in their own separate, hidden world, one in which even the pleasures of the mind eventually wear away into apathy. (One of the most poignant images in the novel is a once-beloved harp, so long disused that its stings have turned to rust.) Enter James Asher, ex-British spy and former uneasy and unwilling ally of the Renaissance vampire, Don Simon Ysidro. Asher's search for Ysidro's missing friend takes him to St. Petersburg, from its daylight fads for the supernatural and spiritualism, fueled by Rasputin's utterances, to its nightly contest between two claimants to the mastery of the vampire population, to a mysterious woman who by all reason must be a vampire...except she appears in public in daylight. Hambly neatly connects the belief in spontaneous human combustion to the fate of vampires exposed to sunlight.

One set of questions gives rise to the next, with the threat of a German-vampire alliance overshadowing the landscape of Europe, all tempered by Hambly's deft and humane touch. ( )

As always, Barbara Hambly turns in a strong, well-crafted genre novel. Despite the involvement of vampires, it more closely follows a mystery novel set-up and development than a traditional horror or romance. Clever characters with a meticulously researched setting made this a fun read. ( )