"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for." -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads
Hmmm.... Ok, I'm still not sure about this book. There are plenty of things to love: a tough as nails Japanese-American vampire heroine (with a katana, no less), a well-developed and intriguing post-apocalyptic setting, vampires that are depicted as monstrous (yes, even the "good" ones), and a set of vampire rules/logistics that make a good amount of sense and haven't been seen in this combination before. Oh! And a human/vampire relationship where the vampire is female. It makes for a very nice change of pace.
But on the other side of the coin, there's the bland and Too Good Male Lead, the fact that Allie is basically Supergirl, especially when compared to the Lesser Females in this book, a sometimes dragging pace, and the length. 500 pages. Oof.
Is this one worth your time? Well, that depends. If you like vampire stories more along the lines of Vampire Hunter D, Blood the Last Vampire, I Am Legend, and Daybreakers than Twilight or The Vampire Diaries, and don't have a "to read" pile one hundred books deep, then, sure, go for it. It's a pretty solid adventure and hits a lot of popular notes (dystopian, post-apocalyptic survival, vampires, etc). Speaking of which, I wouldn't be surprised to hear about a film/tv adaptation of it sometime in the Not Too Distant Future.
If, like me, you've just got too many things to read already, you can safely give this series opener a pass.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment