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A review by erin_lawless
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
4.0
[I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
3.5/4 stars
Like a lot of people (especially YA fiction readers) I am suffering from extreme vampire ennui, so The Immortal Rules had an uphill battle from the off. I also tend to review more harshly the more marketing or industry fuss is being made about a book – and since I couldn’t quite understand why there were promotional postcards for this book in my local Odeon – that meant there were two strikes already.
Disease has wiped out most of humanity, forcing vampires to come out of hiding to protect their food source. The result is vampire cities, barricaded against the ‘rabids’ (think vampire zombies with rabies - eek!) with the uninfected humans ringed in like cattle. Most people choose to register themselves for routine blood-lettings to feed the vampire masters in exchange for food for themselves. Our protagonist, Allison, harbours an intense hatred of vampires and so refuses to register. She and other Unregistereds live as street rats in the Fringe, scavenging and stealing and just barely staying alive. One night, a foraging mission to retrieve food from the ruins outside the city goes terribly wrong and Allie is killed by the rabids. In her last moments of life, a vampire appears and gives her the option of some form of survival. As much as Allie hates vampires, she finds she loves her own survival more, and allows herself to be turned. The book – the first in a trilogy – follows Allison’s attempts to learn to be what she despises enough to endure, whilst maintaining a semblance of humanity. She becomes involved with a quasi-religious nomadic sect, wandering the ruins of North America looking for ‘Eden’, a fabled city where humans still hold control and research a cure to rabidism. Of course, they hate vampires…
Whilst the world-building could have used more background (hopefully this is just being held back and will be revealed in future instalments) it felt gritty and real and – strangely for a book about rabid vampire zombies! – like something that could actually happen. Julie Kagawa wasn’t afraid of appropriate levels of angst or bloodshed and – certainly in the latter part of the book – you’re always on the edge of your seat wondering if she’s about to kill off your favourite character. The answer is usually yes, she is…
The writing itself is above average – especially for the genre. I have heard good things about Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, but never really bit. Well, the first three are already in my Amazon basket awaiting payday after reading The Immortal Rules! Needless to say, I will definitely read the other books in the series.
Note: Only 99p for Kindle on Amazon.co.uk right now!
3.5/4 stars
Like a lot of people (especially YA fiction readers) I am suffering from extreme vampire ennui, so The Immortal Rules had an uphill battle from the off. I also tend to review more harshly the more marketing or industry fuss is being made about a book – and since I couldn’t quite understand why there were promotional postcards for this book in my local Odeon – that meant there were two strikes already.
Disease has wiped out most of humanity, forcing vampires to come out of hiding to protect their food source. The result is vampire cities, barricaded against the ‘rabids’ (think vampire zombies with rabies - eek!) with the uninfected humans ringed in like cattle. Most people choose to register themselves for routine blood-lettings to feed the vampire masters in exchange for food for themselves. Our protagonist, Allison, harbours an intense hatred of vampires and so refuses to register. She and other Unregistereds live as street rats in the Fringe, scavenging and stealing and just barely staying alive. One night, a foraging mission to retrieve food from the ruins outside the city goes terribly wrong and Allie is killed by the rabids. In her last moments of life, a vampire appears and gives her the option of some form of survival. As much as Allie hates vampires, she finds she loves her own survival more, and allows herself to be turned. The book – the first in a trilogy – follows Allison’s attempts to learn to be what she despises enough to endure, whilst maintaining a semblance of humanity. She becomes involved with a quasi-religious nomadic sect, wandering the ruins of North America looking for ‘Eden’, a fabled city where humans still hold control and research a cure to rabidism. Of course, they hate vampires…
Whilst the world-building could have used more background (hopefully this is just being held back and will be revealed in future instalments) it felt gritty and real and – strangely for a book about rabid vampire zombies! – like something that could actually happen. Julie Kagawa wasn’t afraid of appropriate levels of angst or bloodshed and – certainly in the latter part of the book – you’re always on the edge of your seat wondering if she’s about to kill off your favourite character. The answer is usually yes, she is…
The writing itself is above average – especially for the genre. I have heard good things about Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, but never really bit. Well, the first three are already in my Amazon basket awaiting payday after reading The Immortal Rules! Needless to say, I will definitely read the other books in the series.
Note: Only 99p for Kindle on Amazon.co.uk right now!