Review: The Immortal Conquistador

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Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series (EBR Archive) is popular for good reason. Excellent heroine. Fun storytelling. Interesting worldbuilding. And engaging characters.

Enter Rick. He’s a vampire. He owns a nightclub in Denver where Kitty lives, and despite the typical werewolf-vampire antagonism, Kitty and Rick get along. You could even call them friends. You see, Rick isn’t your typical vampire. He prefers living on his own, without a seethe. Even though he’s powerful enough to become a master and have his own entourage, he finds turning others distasteful. And instead of considering humans the next meal, he makes them his friends.

Vaughn’s fans wanted to know more about Rick’s history, so she obliged with THE IMMORTAL CONQUISTADOR. Why is he called Conquistador de la Noche? Was he really part of Coronado’s invading army? Why was he the master of Santa Fe for only a month? So many questions to answer in such a short book, but the short stories are all fun and showcase Rick’s personality.

For example, how he’s able to escape the clutches of his own maker–definitely a good story. Also entertaining is the story surrounding his takeover of Santa Fe. He may be a reluctant hero, but he’s a survivor, and his cleverness in a tight spot is worthy of admiration. Most vampires would think him weak for befriending humans. But it’s that very ‘weakness’ that has helped him survive all these years.

If you haven’t read any of the Kitty Norville books, you could probably read THE IMMORTAL CONQUISTADOR without any trouble following along. It’s a quick and entertaining read with an interesting take on vampire lore and what it means to be different. But be warned, if you do read this book, you’ll probably want to read Kitty’s series and it’s a 14 book commitment. But if you like IMMORTAL you’ll have lots of fun with Kitty, too.