The overall story of Gehenna is beyond the scope of any novel. That's what the game book is for. What fiction can do, and what this book does particularly well, is show what the big picture means to selected individuals. The vignettes give us a good compact sense of Gehenna's meaning to a wide range of Vampire characters, and then the main story targets in with the depth necessary to do justice to an individual's terminal struggle.

This is an altogether elegant and suitable last act, and I highly recommend it.


Poignant, hopeful, mysterious, enlightening...   March 15, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I have read most (if not all) of the narrative fiction produced for the Vampire line and this is another well-written addition to my collection.

Cainite society begins to unravel as elders grow weak and begin to feed on neonates, while thin-bloods rise to power in cities once held by the Sabbat and Camarilla. Ancient powers awaken and stalk the night, leaving behind piles of dust and stories of a scourging desert wind and a roaming darkness from the Abyss.

Certain signature characters from previous stories are brought back to face the coming Apocalypse together. Beckett, Theo Bell, Lucita, and even Anatole figure prominently throughout the book. Other notable characters are given cameos, which help to further the plot and add a bit of flavour. The rise of the Thin-bloods is interesting, in that they provide hope that there could possibly be a remnant that survives Gehenna to rebuild from the ashes of the old. This is something spoken of by Beckett, to Jenna Cross, the Last Daughter - leader of the Thinbloods.

There is one character that is introduced early in the story, who is unfamiliar, but ultimately someone very important. The process of this discovery is executed well, so it isn't until you're close to the end that the realization hits you between the eyes!

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, in that I too, wish the story could've been expanded on and potentially stretched out into a trilogy or series (like the Eastcoast Camarilla/Sabbat War).

I recently finished reading the Brujah Trilogy, which appeared to be a prelude to this book - so I half expected to see some of the plotline and characters from the end of that story to carry over to this one - but that did not happen. It left at least ONE question left unanswered for me. That isn't necessarily bad.

Certain characters from other Gehenna-Prophecy novels were noticeably absent here too. The Nosferatu, Kli Kodesh would've been an interesting character to have at end. The Cappadocian Archmage, Lameth would've been another enjoyable tie-in as well.

Anyhow, like I've often said before about these novels - the well-written stories can easily be taken out of the "vampire" context and dropped in the middle of a mundane, blunted world of normalcy and still pack just as much relevancy and interest. This is one of those stories. In truth, it's a collection of numerous short stories, all bound within the larger story about a mythical individual who travels in the company of one of his own descendants and learns that there are still redeemable qualities within his line and there is still more to learn and live through.


Ignore iconthor, this book is fantastic.   February 7, 2004
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I, too, have read every White Wolf novel published since 1996 (since 1994, truth be told), and I was positively blown away by Gehenna, the Final Night -- which was written, I might add, by MR. Ari Marmell. It satisfies on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin. Not only does it wrap up the nearly 13-year story arc established in the roleplaying game, but it also gives some much-needed insight into the motives and methods of some of the line's most enduring signature characters in these, the final nights. As a piece of gaming fiction, Gehenna, the Final Night is superlative. As a first novel, it's a remarkable achievement. Even those whose taste for the game runs tepid are sure to get a thrill out of this wonderful story.


Too much, too soon   February 17, 2004
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

First, I try to use a realistic rating system. Three stars is not bad it is average. If every book gets five stars, then there is no constructive rating.

I gave this book three stars because the writing is adequate and the story is engaging ... to a point. The author may have been given too momentous of a task. To handle all of Gehenna in one novel is ridiculous. Each clan deserves its own novel. Many of the characters that we have read about over the years are not even mentioned in this book. And some of the big ones who are mentioned are little more than foot notes (see Jan Pieterzoon and Victoria Ash). Even if we accept the premise that this is the end of the world and that all of these vampires are propably dead, it would be nice to read about their final deaths and more importantly how each character reacted to their fate. Did they accept their fate with grace, disdain, despair etc. ?

Finally, though the book tries to give a glimpse as to how the end of the world begins and more importantly the final truth about being a vampire, the length of the novel prohibits the writer from ever generating enough momentum to draw the reader into caring about the characters. Even the final revelation seems to be a little lackluster and succinct. I would have preferred to have waited another year or so and had more material to digest with an in depth look at those characters who have captured the imagination in former WOD books.


A bit disappointed   February 10, 2005
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I just finished reading Gehenna. This is the first Vampire novel I've actually read. Having read as much as I can about the metaplot from the roleplaying books, I was a bit disappointed in the ending.

Like a previous reviewer, I wanted more questions answered. I wanted concrete answers to all of the "myths" about kindred society.

That doesn't take away from the fact the author, in my opinion, did a great job with writing the novel. The descriptions he used, especially describing the beast and how it reacted to stressful situations, was great.