Tempter

Novel by Nancy A Collins (USA) 1991.

Adam Rossiter is a fallen rock star who had his moments in the late sixties and fell from grace. He has spent much of the following years in search of spiritual enlightenment, joining one cult after another. He finally reaches New Orleans and gets involved with local voodoo practitioners, one of which - a beautiful young black priestess - has a book which opens his mind to what he has been searching for. Unfortunately, it also opens his mind to Donatien Legendre, a decadent colonial vampire - now known simply as 'Tempter' - contained in his burnt out mansion by the power of voodoo. Rossiter is his key to releasing himself. It falls to Jere Sloan, an schoolfriend of Adam's and whose girlfriend Adam has now stolen, to stop his old friend and keep Tempter from being released.

This branches off in different directions to Sunglasses After Dark, yet keeps much in common. Although not another Sonja Blue novel, Collins sets her second novel in the same world and concentrates on the same species: vampires. Morgan, the aged vampire from Sunglasses After Dark, makes another appearance here, and Collins, in true Lovecraftian tradition, continues with the use of her own imaginary book, the Aegrisomnia: the work Sonja Blue uses to learn how to master her talents in Collins' debut novel becomes the catalyst to releasing Tempter in her second. Not as universally hyped as its predecessor, this is nevertheless a better book. Collins furthers her own mythology whilst creating a new one in Adam Rossiter, peppering his fictional history with real-life characters and even including his obituary from Rolling Stone magazine. A consistent, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable read.