VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE: WALK AMONG US is the first and possibly last
World of Darkness novel we’re likely to see since the end of the Old
World of Darkness in 2004. The premise for Vampire: The Masquerade is
that the world is secretly ruled from the shadows by a variety of
supernatural beings (chiefly vampires) and they are constantly feuding
for power like mafia bosses. It was an immensely fun premise if you were
a counterculture Goth kid or just a guy who enjoyed playing edgy
antiheroes, both of which described me. In 2018, the Old World of
Darkness was revived with Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and the
results have been controversial ever since.
Walk Among Us, in
it’s own way, is the perfect encapsulation of why the design philosophy
of 5th Edition has been hit or miss. The book is three novellas by
Genevieve Gornichec, Caitlin Starling, and Cassandra Khaw (the latter of
mine is a personal favorite). The authors are each incredibly talented,
create a believable World of Darkness, and write stories that are
excellent pieces of horror each. This out of the way, no shade upon
their writing abilities, I kind of hate this book. Walk Among Us is
something that represents pretty much everything I don’t want out of the
New-New World of Darkness.
The Old World of Darkness was, in
simple, a comic book. Specifically, it was a very Nineties comic book.
You were a dark and brooding antihero who sat on rooftops next to
gargoyles and surveyed the corrupt city full of rival supernaturals as
you pondered your lost humanity. There’s a reason that Underworld is a
guilty pleasure and Blade is probably closer to Vampire: The Masquerade
than it ever was the character from Tomb of Dracula. Yes, you feasted
upon blood, but the power fantasy was also present as was the romance.
Walk
Among Us reflects the 5th Edition mindset that being a vampire is not
just awful. You aren’t just tormented with generic angst and tragic
backstory. No, worse, being a vampire is not cool. The protagonists of
these three stories are some of the whiniest most unlikable vampires in
fiction. So much so that Louis of Interview with a Vampire would say
they’re a bunch of losers. This is perhaps the ultimate in unforgivable
sins and why I cannot endorse these three disgraces to Caine.
It’d
be alright if these vampires whined because they didn’t want to be
murderers, they lost their families, or even mourned the loss of the Sun
in some tragic Gothic way. No, they’re all scumbags with no morality to
offend against. It’s the fact that being a vampire doesn’t make them
any less annoying than the kind of jerks they were in life.
“A
Sheep Among Wolves” protagonist, Clea, starts sympathetically enough but
her primary concern once she’s joined a radical student activist group
is to make sure the leader continues to like her even when she’s
committing arson/murder for no apparent reward. She doesn’t even have
any politics, she just feels really lonely on campus. Being a vampire
just is another label to her and not one that invokes any curiosity. My
wife shares some of Clea’s issues but found her equally frustrating.
“Fine
Print” follows the world’s dumbest Ventrue. Duke negotiates a contract
with his sire before his Embrace, apparently assuming this is legally
enforceable, and is obnoxious the entire way through. He also doesn’t
bother to learn that he can’t eat food beforehand, that sunlight forces
him to sleep, or that vampires like him need special kinds of blood to
drink. This probably my favorite of the stories and Duke really should
have been staked for the Sun on his first night.
“The Land of
Milk and Honey” follows a Toreador Anarch who runs a commune of
blood harvesters that raise their own food as well as animals. Leigh is
among the absolute worst kind of lifestyle advocates who basically keeps
her subordinates as animals to harvest but insists on it being the more
humane alternative. Its blackly funny that other Kindred seem to think
of her as an extreme pro-vegan type in-universe but listening to her
ramble on about her ideology the entire time just makes me want to see
the Sabbat arrive.
This is the heart of perhaps 5th Edition’s
biggest flaw as there’s nothing particularly fun about being a vampire.
Walk Among Us‘ vampires are not sexy, cool, or particularly powerful.
They have no torment from the fact they’re good people forced to be evil
by hunger or circumstance. Christof may have been a somewhat cliche
example of a reluctant vampire, but he was interesting as a Crusader
turned monster. Lucita may be evil, but she had tragedy, pathos, and sex
appeal. These guys are like the obnoxious lady at the supermarket being
turned into Kindred.
4/10
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