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A review by auroranoir
The Van Helsing Paradox by Evelyn Chartres
3.0
Despite the fact that I gave the book 3 stars (would really give 3.5 but alas it's not an option) I quite enjoyed it. The premise of the book is very interesting. I like the take the author has on vampires and other creatures of various mythologies. And it's such a different take on the hunters and how they're trained. It's dark fantasy with a bit of sci-fi/technology thrown in though that aspect is not fully developed. It also sticks to the roots of the church being involved in hunting however the protagonist isn't fully into the ideals of the church and relishes her freedom. I enjoyed reading the book and I wasn't bored at any point.
However despite the fact that the book has promise...it felt very disjointed to a degree and lacking a smooth transition from one chapter to the next sometimes. The book follows the life and story of Clara. And that's what it does almost to a fault. We are introduced to other characters who fade away at some point and then reappear and we have no idea what really happened with them in the interim (eg Edith). The ending as well was strange in the way the transition happened. Maybe it's just the way I read it but to me some scenes were really good and then others were too abrupt. Parts of it reads like...well this happened and then this and then this. And then even the end where it was supposed to give closure to the reader.....I didn't really get that feeling.
I think the plot of the book tried to take on too much. She introduced several things that were not ever fully developed. They were thrown in there and we get hints of it but they aren't fleshed out. I honestly think she either needed to turn this into a short series or make it a longer book. Clara is also quite a static character. We don't have any dynamic characters really. From beginning to end the protagonist didn't have any real development. Sure she grew more powerful...but she had the instincts to become powerful from the beginning. She was also a pretty cold character. Which is good for her line of work but sort of...doesn't really add up to what she is at the end. She was quite a strong character though to an extent.
However despite the fact that the book has promise...it felt very disjointed to a degree and lacking a smooth transition from one chapter to the next sometimes. The book follows the life and story of Clara. And that's what it does almost to a fault. We are introduced to other characters who fade away at some point and then reappear and we have no idea what really happened with them in the interim (eg Edith). The ending as well was strange in the way the transition happened.
Spoiler
Clara fulfills her mission of killing Drusilla....dies with her and lands up in heaven and becomes an angel. But by the end Clara literally has nobody in her life not even friends. She just eats, breathes, and kills. When she dies it's sort of...abrupt. Then we cut to her being in heaven and coming back to Earth to help them out.I think the plot of the book tried to take on too much. She introduced several things that were not ever fully developed. They were thrown in there and we get hints of it but they aren't fleshed out. I honestly think she either needed to turn this into a short series or make it a longer book. Clara is also quite a static character. We don't have any dynamic characters really. From beginning to end the protagonist didn't have any real development. Sure she grew more powerful...but she had the instincts to become powerful from the beginning. She was also a pretty cold character. Which is good for her line of work but sort of...doesn't really add up to what she is at the end. She was quite a strong character though to an extent.