The return

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Die Wiederkehr (published 2003 ) is a historical and fantastic novel by Wolfgang Hohlbein and the fifth volume of the Chronicle of Immortals . The story of two vampires in search of the secret of their origins takes place during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529.

action

The search for someone who can explain the secret of their vampire identity to them has led the Transylvanian sword master Andrej Delãny and his Nubian companion Abu Dun to Vienna , where they hope to find the scholar and medicus Franz von Breiteneck. At the same time, however, the Ottoman army of Sultan Soliman has arrived at the city and begins a siege that will last several weeks. Without further delay, the two vampires are drawn into the bloody defense of the city, where their superior martial arts - and immortality - are of enormous value.

Count Niklas von Salm , the aged commander-in-chief of the Viennese defense lawyers, invites the two of them over and thanks them for their help. However, he also becomes suspicious of the special abilities of his guests. They thankfully decline his offer to help them with their search. On the same evening, a boy named Marco approaches her in an inn and tells Andrej that Breiteneck is in town, but has gone into hiding because he believed he was being followed. Marco leads Andrej into an alley in the poor quarter, where an ambush awaits the sword master: He is grabbed by two men and knocked unconscious.

When Andrei wakes up, Abu Dun, who was also attacked, is with him. They are in a dark dungeon and are trying to free themselves when Breiteneck, accompanied by Marco, appears. He questions them and is amazed that they don't want to kill him. He is about to ask Andrej more closely when suddenly a stranger attacks the house. A brutal fight ensues in which Andrei is fatally injured and rescued at the last minute by a stranger who appears strangely familiar to him.

Later Andrei wakes up alone - and to his horror not completely cured - on the street in front of the inn. Abu Dun has disappeared. Shortly thereafter, Andrej was ordered to see Count von Salm, who was in the city prison . The old soldier asks him about the previous night and shows him Marco's body. Andrei is only now finding out that there have been some unexplained deaths, and the dead show clear traces of a vampire attack. Then von Salm leads him to a neighboring room where Abu Dun is being held prisoner. He serves as a hostage while Count Andrej informs him of his suspicions about the murders : As a child, he watched with his own eyes a young woman from his home in Belgium who was sucked out by a vampire. Andrej does not react to his suspicions and von Salm explains that he would let them both go if they save the city in return. He leads him to a church when a grieving mother causes a crowd . At this moment Andrej senses the presence of another vampire and spots a hooded man who appears familiar to him, but immediately loses sight of him. Inside the church, von Salm and the monk Benedikt lead him into the catacombs of the city and the count explains his request: Andrej should use secret plans to penetrate the corridors to a hill outside Vienna and kill the sultan.

background

This band takes place during the first Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529 , during which the troops of Sultan Suleyman I besieged the city from September 27th to October 14th. On October 12th, the Ottomans blew a particularly large breach in the Viennese city wall, which resulted in the largest Ottoman attack to date. It can be assumed that Hohlbein refers to this attack in the novel.

The Return is the first volume in the Chronicle of the Immortals, the plot of which is clearly dated by reference to a historical event . Also, some time seems to have passed since the last volume, as Abu Dun has already got used to his vampire existence and Breiteneck refers to the events in The Downfall as "an old story".

For the first time since The Vampire , Andrej's former companion Frederic appears in this volume, in whose body the soul of Count Dracula is still hidden.

expenditure

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