General Information
Genre: Historical Fiction, Military Fiction, and more
Publish: 2004
Book Summary (Per Amazon)
In Lord John and the Succubus, English soldiers in combat are rattled by a lethal creature that appears at night, and Lord John is called to investigate.
**from Wikipedia**
**from Wikipedia**
The novella Lord John and the Succubus was originally published in the 2003 Del Rey Books anthology Legends II: New Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy (edited by Robert Silverberg),[7][13][14] and later collected in Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007).[2][7][10]
- Plot
Set in 1758, the story finds Lord John in Prussia serving as the English liaison officer to the First Regiment of Hanoverian Foot. Briefly stationed at the town of Gundwitz with a group of English and Hanoverian soldiers, Major Grey is at first skeptical when he receives reports of a local succubus victimizing a number of men and murdering a Prussian soldier. Accompanying the town Buergermeister to a graveyard in his search for the creature's resting place, Grey stumbles upon the corpse of an English soldier, which only feeds the superstitious fears of the soldiers and townspeople. While attempting to solve the mystery, Grey tries to navigate his perhaps-mutual attraction to the dashing Hanoverian Captain Stephan von Namtzen, as well as to deflect the advances of the beautiful young widow Louisa, Princess von Lowenstein, at whose castle both men are staying.[5][6][7][10][13]
My Thoughts
Meghan there are two different covers in this post you say...Why yes, yes there is. I am reading the story about the succubus, but it is located in the Lord John and The Hand of Devils. I wanted to share both because it is a stand alone novella, but it is located with two other novellas in this collection with a note before each one explaining when, why and how the story came to fruition. On Goodreads and other sources you will see that they are labeled Lord John .5, 1.5 and 2.5. Full all intents and purposes the Succubus story is Lord John 1.5 and if you are reading in chronological order like I am it comes after Lord John and the Private Matter (Lord John 1). If you would like you can find my review on that story here.
This is my third Lord John story and I must say that thus far it is my favorite of Lord John's antics. I am starting to get a feel for who he is, how he thinks and the people surrounding his life. I adore his valet. I hope we get to see more and more of Tom because he is hilarious and so relateable. I also felt like this novella told a whole story. It answered/alluded to the Hanoverian officials intentions, Lord John was able to act on and answer the riddle, it kept the war at the forefront, it kept history, mythology, relationships and science all in the storyline (which is what I love and enjoy the most with Claire and Jamie's stories!). My favorite part though is the final understanding of who and what the succubus is...it made sense but still was done with brilliance that I could see playing out on a show. I would love to see the makeup, costumes and passion in the character who is the "succubus" at the end!
While I am enjoying reading the Outlander series in chronological order. If you are just starting and pick up a Lord John book, I would recommend this be one of the first. It flowed well, had a bit of many genres in it and came to a nice close that left me wondering what was next for our Lord John and dear Tom!
While I am enjoying reading the Outlander series in chronological order. If you are just starting and pick up a Lord John book, I would recommend this be one of the first. It flowed well, had a bit of many genres in it and came to a nice close that left me wondering what was next for our Lord John and dear Tom!
Disclaimer~ I borrowed this book from the library. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
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