Stories of Old Friends: Reviewing Carrie Vaughn’s The Immortal Conquistador

I’ve been a fan of Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series for years, and I’ve always enjoyed her take on certain urban fantasy tropes. I was completely satisfied by how the primary series wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t jump at the chance to revisit the world and learn more about one of my favorite secondary characters.

The Immortal Conquistador (2020)
Written by: Carrie Vaughn
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 196 (Kindle)
Series: Kitty Norville #15
Publisher: Tachyon Publications

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book directly from the publisher for review at Speculative Chic.

The Premise:

Discover the deadly origins of the noble immortal Rick, ally to bestselling author Carrie Vaughn’s fan-favorite werewolf, Kitty Norville.

Ricardo de Avila would have followed Coronado to the ends of the earth. Instead, Ricardo found the end of his mortal life, and a new one, as a renegade vampire.

For over five hundred years, Ricardo has upset the established order. He has protected his found family from marauding demons, teamed up with a legendary gunslinger, appointed himself the Master of Denver, and called upon a church buried under the Vatican. He has tended bar and fended off evil werewolves.

Life for a vampire is always long, but for Rick, it is never uncomplicated.

No spoilers!


Discussion: For most of his appearances in the main series, Rick the vampire is a mysterious figure at the peripheral of Kitty Norville’s life. The vampire Master of Denver is a powerful friend, who refuses to answer pretty much any of her questions about his personal life. Including, and especially, how old he is. But we know he came to the New World with Coronado. We know he now calls the American West home. And we know he may have once actually met Doc Holliday.

This book, which is actually a connected series of four novellas, answers all the questions Kitty could ever think to ask, and many more.

Toward the end of the book, Rick says, “I have never been very good at being a vampire.” Over the course of his history, he bucks pretty much all the vampiric traditions of his world. First, due to lack of knowledge, and later, because he has no time and patience for the drama and intrigue. He’d rather live his life the way he’s settled into it, thank you very much. Though these stories remove much of this mystery that surrounds Rick, it made me appreciate him even more as a character rather than less. Vaughn has created a vampire as special as her very unique werewolf, and her care for the character and world she has created are evident in every page of well-researched writing.

I think this book could be read as a stand-alone, but it is best approached as part of the full Kitty Norville experience. This is especially true in the context of the final story. I laughed (and cried) along with Rick at the final dramatic reveal, and I’m not sure it would have as much impact if I had not also experienced the events of Kitty’s confrontation with evil and knew the full story of Rick’s involvement in it.

In conclusion: Not to be missed by fans of Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series, especially if Rick intrigued you as much as he did me. And yes, he did actually meet Doc Holliday.

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