VtM - WhiteWolf: Genealogy

VtM - Review: Vampire Diary: The Embrace
plus samples of some of the finished pages. What follows is a review of Vampire Diary: The Embrace as
a work of fiction, with a few general comments about the artwork (what little of it I've seen) thrown in.
That's all it is.
Vampire Diary: The Embrace tells the story of Auston Jacobson, a bartender at Neverland, a trendy
(aren't they all) Los Angeles nightclub. For reasons which are never explained, Auston has decided to
keep a diary. In it he records his deepening relationship with Danya, a young woman he met at the club
(at last Auston has found his true love). He also writes down the nightmares he's been having, as well as
his on-the-job adventures: how the club's manager is a dick & a petty thief; how he gets promoted to
being the club DJ, then the manager; how the club is owned by a vampire (aren't they all);and how said
vampire bites him (or gives him the Embrace, to use proper games-related terminology).
As a work of fiction, Vampire Diary: The Embrace pretty much fails on every level. It's generic, by-thebook
vampire fiction, right on down to having a tragic vampire hero (he's still a nice guy, even if he does
occaisionally lose control and kill people) who we're all supposed to feel sorry for.
The plot of Vampire Diary: The Embrace is paper thin, predictable from start to finish; anyone with even
the most limited knowledge of the genre will be able to guess the "surprises" long before they actually
occur. And as for the "authentic, intimate, frighteningly real evidence that vampires do exist" which the
book supposedly contains, I'm afraid I couldn't find any. Yeah, I believe in vampires. I also believe that
Elvis lives in the apartment above mine, that Cthulu can be summoned if you try hard enough, and that
the government is my friend.
There were three things in particular which bothered me about Vampire Diary: The Embrace . First,
nothing is resolved at the end; everything is left hanging, leaving the door wide open for the inevitable
sequel. Were you aware that there's a Vampire: The Masquerade TV movie currently in the works (See
The Good News in AFRAID #28 for more info on it)? Well, there is, and Vampire Diary: The Embrace is
kinda-sorta tied in with it, which, when you get right down to it, is why there isn't an ending; things have
to be left open for the hope-for weekly series where Auston, our tragic vampire hero, overcomes the
terminal angst which threatens to drive him mad, gets his life back on track, and challenges ancient evil
on a weekly basis.
Also, while we're on the subject of the ending, there's a big logic/continuity flaw just before that nonending
occurs. Auston makes mention that he's going to send the diary to his brother care of his father,
since he's lost touch with his brother and doesn't know where he is. But, the very first thing you
encounter when you open the diary is a letter from Auston to his brother, a letter which bears an L.A.
address. If Auston knew where his brother lived, why did he mention that he hoped his dad would pass
the package along? And if he didn't know, then how did he address the envelope? It just doesn't make
sense.
Second, Vampire Diary:The Embrace doesn't read like a stand-alone piece of fiction, but a hook with
which to snare unwary readers in hopes of luring them into buying other Vampire: The
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