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A review by alexampersand
The Vampire Prince by Darren Shan
4.0
I think this might be the best-written book in the series so far, from a character standpoint at least. I feared the opening of the book would be dull with no characters and no dialogue other than Darren talking to wolves, but it was actually engaging and insightful, and makes me wonder if maybe Darren Shan is just bad at writing three-dimensional characters with believable dialogue.
Later in the book, Darren seems to actually mature into a reasonable and adult character, quite a marked change from the slightly childish and impulsive person we've seen in the previous books. I really enjoyed him scolding Seba about the ways of the vampires - especially because I too have had issues with the mindless and insensitive ways the vampires seem to interact with each other. I just hope this is actual character development from Darren, and isn't just going to be retconned immediately within the next book.
The plot itself wasn't exactly my favourite, but I'll forgive those weaker elements due to the fact that the over-arcing narrative of the saga appears to be kicking into high gear, and because this character development, as well as some scenes that actually felt vaguely emotional and as though they carried some weight, actually made this book feel on a higher level than any of the previous books in the saga.
Later in the book, Darren seems to actually mature into a reasonable and adult character, quite a marked change from the slightly childish and impulsive person we've seen in the previous books. I really enjoyed him scolding Seba about the ways of the vampires - especially because I too have had issues with the mindless and insensitive ways the vampires seem to interact with each other. I just hope this is actual character development from Darren, and isn't just going to be retconned immediately within the next book.
The plot itself wasn't exactly my favourite, but I'll forgive those weaker elements due to the fact that the over-arcing narrative of the saga appears to be kicking into high gear, and because this character development, as well as some scenes that actually felt vaguely emotional and as though they carried some weight, actually made this book feel on a higher level than any of the previous books in the saga.