A review by read_late
Trials of Death by Darren Shan

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It's never been PC, and I've tried hard to overlook this as it's nice to study a vampire series where the vampires aren't sexual predators and a vampire's bite isn't a metaphor for orgasm. 

But... this is the book in the series that, were I still the age of the target reader, I would have stopped reading. 

First, there are some action scenes where it's hard to suspend my disbelief--mostly scenes with animals. 

More importantly, the take on women (especial female vampires) is dismal. The most damning thing, the reason I gave this book such a low rating, was the premise that there are few vampire women because vampires can't have children. The subtext, that females are for breeding, and all (or at least most) females want offspring... is.... misogynistic at best. 

Ugh.

This book would have frustrated and annoyed me as a kid.   

As an adult, I'm reading this for research and literary analysis purposes, not for pleasure, but if the misogyny keeps up, or gets worse, I'll walk away from this series and find a different vampire series to study.