[BOOK REVIEW] Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6)
By Richelle Mead
Published by Razorbill; December 7, 2010
Hardcover, 594 pages

Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice.

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose—for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back... and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you? (from Goodreads)

Review:

Reading Last Sacrifice felt a bit like reading the final Harry Potter book-- the first 3/4 is mostly dull descriptions of the characters running around and searching for clues rather than the excitement and action you would expect in a finale. There were plenty of things going on-- Lissa's tests as a candidate for the throne, Rose's friends trying to solve the mystery of Tatiana's murder, Rose and Dimitri reconnecting with each other-- but author Richelle Mead wove all of the plotlines together in such a clumsy way that everything just felt flat. And while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had a decently satisfying ending, Last Sacrifice finished with a ridiculous deus ex machina that completely derailed the personalities of some of my beloved characters and left a lot of loose threads.

It's always a problem when Lissa and Rose split up since Mead hasn't figured out a better way to tell Lissa's storylines without using her and Rose's bond as a cheap plot device. I wasn't bothered by it in Spirit Bound where it was used sparingly, but like in Blood Promise, this book has Rose constantly checking in on her best friend using the bond in order to tell Lissa's side of the story. Perhaps it would have been less annoying had Lissa's story been even the least bit interesting. Lissa's tests to become the next vampire monarch were of the most formulaic kind-- a survival test, a test of fear, and a riddle. Each one followed a very predictable structure and their outcomes were predictable as well, although I did like seeing Lissa's growth as she went through each test. I saw the final result of who would be crowned long before it happened.

In addition to the constant use of Rose and Lissa's bond, there was a lot of abuse of the dream walking abilities that spirit users have as well, with Rose being visited by spirit users every time she fell asleep. These sections were used to let the reader know what was occurring in the other subplots that Rose wasn't involved in. Unfortunately, due to the nature of these spirit abilities/plot devices, much of these sections depended on Mead telling us what was happening rather than showing us the scenes. Rose can conveniently access Lissa's memories to find out what happened since her last check-in, so she ends up explaining to the reader what has occurred. Similarly, any spirit user who visits Rose in a dream ends up relaying information through dialogue. What we end up with is a lot of talking about and telling of events that happened rather than showing it. Isn't one of the cardinal rules of writing "tell rather than show"? These spirit abilities may have provided Mead with an easy way to deal with the limited first person perspective, but she ended up writing herself into a corner. And what a badly-written corner it is.

There was a lot of new information introduced in this book about the Vampire Academy world, which was clearly meant to set the stage for the spin-off series Bloodlines. The substantial amount of time spent on the Keepers was a compelling and unexpected expansion of the VA world but it had absolutely zero significance to Last Sacrifice's storyline. The whole section felt like filler, dragging the story out needlessly (seriously, is Mead paid by the number of pages she writes or something?), to only be dropped for the rest of the book. Many other aspects of the plot were left unresolved as well, presumably to be picked up in Bloodlines, and while that makes for a good marketing scheme, as a reader I am annoyed at the lack of resolution.

Speaking of resolutions, we do see the conclusion of the primary mystery of the book-- but the identity of Queen Tatiana's killer is a disappointing and infuriating revelation. The culprit's identity was unpredictable, but only because Mead pulled a deus ex machina on us. It felt like she took stock of all the characters in the series and picked the least likely candidate, only for pure shock value, regardless of whether or not it even makes sense for the character to commit murder. She gave poor reasons for it, and in doing so, destroyed a previously respected character in one fell swoop. A character who had always been described as intelligent and strong, has now turned to a petty, jealous killer.

Oh but Mead wasn't satisfied with destroying only one character. The boring and obvious romantic subplot has also ruined any likeability Rose has left. The way she handles things with the two men in her life makes her out to be a selfish and inconsiderate person who leads other people on for her own benefit. When called out on her actions, she says she's sorry without acting sorry at all and even turns it back on the other person, who is completely justified in their anger, saying that it was the person's own fault for the way things turned out. I guess Rose shouldn't be held responsible for her own morally reprehensible actions? (And we're supposed to view her as a heroine to be looked up to?) And no matter how much she tells us she's sorry and she actually cares, I remain unconvinced that she cared about the other person at all, and frankly, it seems to me that the leftover person in the love triangle dodged a bullet here.

So what exactly was the titular last sacrifice in this book? I'm thinking it was Rose's likeability as a character. (Thank god she won't be the main character of Bloodlines!) Or maybe "last sacrifice" refers to all the sacrifices every major character except Rose and Dimitri had to make in order for Rose to have her happy ending with the person she loves. For myself? I certainly sacrificed a lot of precious time that could be spent on other books to read this awful volume and it was not really worth it.

1 star out of 5

[AUDIOBOOK REVIEW] Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy #5)
By Richelle Mead
Published by Razorbill; May 18, 2010
Audiobook, 13 hours and 11 minutes
Read by Emily Shaffer

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa Dragomir. It's graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives outside of the Academy’s cold iron gates to finally begin. But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri. He's out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever.

But Rose can't forget what she learned on her journey—whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic inextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose's prayers, but not without devastating consequences. Now Rose will have to decide what—and who—matters most to her. In the end, is true love really worth the price? (from Goodreads)

Review:

Spirit Bound was a big improvement over the somewhat lackluster Blood Promise. The story begins with Rose back at St. Vladimir's Academy, getting ready to take her trials to become a full-fledged guardian. After she passes with flying colours and graduates from high school, she shifts her attention to finding a way to heal Dimitri, based on a rumour she came across in Siberia. The book moves at a steady pace with plenty of conflicts and revelations, all written in Richelle Mead's clean and crisp humour-infused style. Many familiar characters return as the much of the book takes place at the Moroi royal court, including Adrian, whom Rose has begun a relationship with, Christian, Tasha, and Dimitri.

The many unpredictable plot twists make Spirit Bound a novel that is difficult to put down. Throughout the Vampire Academy series, Mead has always been able to surprise me with completely unexpected events in the storyline that change the plot significantly. In Spirit Bound, one plotline leads to another through fast and shocking reveals that drive the story and raise the suspense. Lots of things are stirring up in the Moroi royal courts and Rose finds herself in the middle of it, dealing with the work and expectations of being a new guardian, navigating the royal court's social scene, and even facing Queen Tatiana, ruler of the vampire race.

I grew increasingly annoyed with Rose as the story went on. It's understandable that Rose would be concerned about Dimitri, but her constant thoughts about him throughout the book, while conveniently forgetting her boyfriend Adrian's existence, doesn't make me like her all that much. It makes me feel sorry for Adrian, whose sweet and caring side is revealed in this volume. He's so dedicated to Rose and it irritates me so much that Rose does not truly appreciate what a great guy he is. Rose repeatedly says that she has come to care deeply for Adrian, to the point that she can't imagine not having him in her life and expresses that wish for their relationship to work out. She keeps telling us this throughout the narrative yet her actual behaviour betrays an intense fixation on Dimitri. It makes any romantic moment she has with Adrian not believable in the least. As a reader, I am no longer interested in the outcome of Rose's love life because, no matter how much Richelle Mead tries to convince us that there is a tense love triangle here, it is obvious that Adrian was never a real contender at all.

Lissa and Christian's love story is equally frustrating. I am still not quite clear as to why they broke up in the first place, but the possibility of them getting back together is constantly dangled in front of the reader's face in all of their interactions. It's exasperatingly obvious they'll end up together anyway and I just wish Mead had them make up quickly so we can get on to the more interesting parts of the book.

Emily Shaffer's voice really suits Rose in the audiobook. Her narration could have been a little more nuanced but she uses plenty of emotion that had me hanging on to every word even during slower scenes. She has fairly distinctive voices for all of the main characters, though it was an odd choice to give Adrian a British accent when I'm pretty sure it's never been mentioned in the book that his character speaks like that. It was a little distracting at first but I got used to it. More distracting though, were the different music and sound effects that were played every time a spirit user used their powers and every time a Strigoi showed up. I'm not sure what the audiobook's producers were thinking when they decided to add in these audio effects. They added absolutely nothing to the narration or the story and were incredibly jarring.

Despite the unengaging romantic entanglements, Spirit Bound kept me engrossed with its drama and political intrigue. I could not tell where the story was heading at all and a big twist at the end of the book has me eager to read Last Sacrifice, the final book in the series. I can't wait to see what's next!

4 stars out of 5

[BOOK REVIEW] The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
By Julie Kagawa
Published by Harlequin Teen; April 24, 2012
Hardcover, 485 pages

"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. (from Goodreads)

Review:

There have been a number of YA books with a dystopian or post-apocalyptic theme involving vampires popping up lately, so when Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series was first announced, I was a little wary. Still, Kagawa's Iron Fey series was a fairly original idea among the multitudes of YA paranormal series so I was hoping she'd put an interesting twist on vampires as she did with fairies. While I was certainly not disappointed, I felt like the first book of the Blood of Eden trilogy, called The Immortal Rules, left some things to be desired.

The Immortal Rules is about Allison Sekemoto, an orphaned human teenager living in the outer region of a city ruled by vampires. In order to survive as an Unregistered human, she must go out and search for food while avoiding being caught by both the city's blood-sucking rulers and the crazed Rabid vampires that have succumbed to their beastly desires and lost all control of their reason. It is on one of these scavenging trips that she is attacked by Rabids. On the brink of death, she is approached by a mysterious vampire who tells her that her life can be saved in exchange for her mortality. Allison, clinging desperately to life, chooses to become of the the blood-sucking monsters that she hates most.

One of Kagawa's strengths is her excellent worldbuilding. Her vampires are the frightening soulless creatures of traditional vampire lore. They are not necessarily beautiful or elegant, and they are very very deadly. Her vampire "science" includes details about their lack of breathing, what happens to their flesh and blood when they heal themselves, and she really tries to explain what it's like to be a vampire through Allie's perspective. The setting, like the vampires, is terrifying as well. The first 100 or so pages detailing Allie's life as an unregistered human gives us a close look at the harrowing conditions she lives in. The descriptions are gritty and visceral, and Kagawa paints a starkly grim picture of a broken down society clinging to the last dredges of life, where even cannibalism is an option for the most desperate.

The characters, on the other hand, were a little lacking. Allison is a good heroine for the most part; she's strong and self reliant from years of living on the streets, depending almost solely on herself for survival. She's a little bit cookie-cutter, though. Like most urban fantasy heroines, she's stereotypically "kick-ass" in that she can fend for herself and doesn't let anyone boss her around. I do like that, in a world where books have been banned, she has a desire to learn how to read and believes that the information and ideas in books hold the key to saving humanity. But this side of her is too underdeveloped at this point to flesh her out much more as a character. The other characters were also rather archetypal, although I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kagawa included some important religious characters.

It was an unexpected decision to include the religion in the book, as I don't often see it as a theme in popular YA paranormal fiction and I hope it gets elaborated upon in the sequel. Kagawa presents it in a non-judgmental way that is fitting for the story. It is also pretty rare to find a devoutly religious love interest as well. I suspect he'll abandon his beliefs by the end of the series, but I sincerely hope not, because it'll be interesting to see how his beliefs play out and if/how they affect his relationships with people, particularly Allison.

Although most of the plot twists were predictable, I was engrossed in the story. There were, however, some parts that I felt could have been edited out, and I felt the book did not need to be as long as it was. The pacing was also quite uneven, most noticeably in the last third of the book. After the big climactic event, I felt like the story should have ended faster, but instead it dragged out at a weird pace. I understand the reasoning for it-- Kagawa wanted to end this book at a specific point, and she had to get to that point, even if the climax was long over-- but it definitely slowed the book down at the end.

On a final note, I want to point out that Allison is described as being Asian. Her last name suggests that she is of Japanese descent (though I'm pretty sure Sekemoto is not an actual existing Japanese surname) and she is described as having "squinty eyes" and called an "Asian doll" by other characters in the book. I am very pleased to see that Kagawa, who is of Japanese background herself, wrote a book wherein the main character is of a non-Caucasian race and I'm happy to see that Harlequin Teen published it. I'm even ecstatic that Allison's characterization doesn't follow any sort of Asian stereotype (for example, being demure or servile).

So, why, Harlequin Teen, did you pick a white girl to represent her on the cover?! I know book covers don't often reflect accurately on the content inside but I can't help but think that this is probably a case of deliberate whitewashing by the publisher in order to sell more books. As if we wouldn't notice that the protagonist is described as Asian as soon as we cracked the book open. Seriously.

Overall, The Immortal Rules is an enjoyable enough read. Kagawa's writing is direct and functional, with few flourishes, and makes for a solid narrative style that drives the story. However, the book doesn't really add anything to the existing number of vampire and post-apocalyptic fiction already out there but I may be speaking too soon. Kagawa's Iron Fey series wove together fairy lore and technological progress in an interesting and creative way, but these themes were developed over the course of the series and were not entirely evident in the first book. Perhaps Blood of Eden will be the same.

3 stars out of 5