The Mortal Instruments Trilogy

"The Mortal Instruments Trilogy" by Cassandra Clare is comprised of five books but only the first three are worth mentioning:

        City of Bones:  Clary Fray was in the night club Pandemonium when she watched three teenagers dispose of another being.  Now Clary's mother has been taken prisoner by a strange beast and she's found out that her mother has been having her memories erased by a warlock who lives in TriBeCa.  What?  Secrets and dreams are coming apart at the seams, and Clary's having trouble standing on her own two feet when a mysterious group called the Shadowhunters (prickly, pretty Isabelle; prickly and shy Alec; and prickly, egotistical and f-i-n-e Jace) come to help her fight the demons that are creeping up on all sides.

      City of Ashes:  Bodies of Downworlder children, drained with blood, have been found in dark, abandoned alleyways.  Idris and the Clave, the land and government of the Shadowhunters, has decided that its time to get involved, but it would be better if our heroes were left to their own devices because what they'll have to do to save the day won't be sanctioned by any book of regulations.  Clary's trapped in her own personal nightmare when she finds that she has more of a family than she ever could hope for -- if only her new-found familial ties didn't include him.  

      City of Glass:   Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and your family closest of all, because if their hands are in yours they can't stab you in the back.  Breaking several laws, Clary breaks into Idris, the land of the Shadowhunters, enraging the highest magical law on this world or any other.  While hiding out from them in their own country, Clary finds several secrets that she never thought even existed.  But time's running out if she's to stop her own flesh and blood from destroying all she's come to love.  

Let me tell you, these books are wicked.  Yeah, sure, there might be a bit too much romance in some places, but the demon fighting it pretty awesome.  And the psychology behind it all!  It's really quite astounding.  The other two books in this 'Trilogy' (should it be called a 'quintet'?  because, clearly, there are five books) are worth nothing because a) they are simply ridiculous (Just how many times can a person come back from the dead?  Cassandra Clare's got a bit of James Patterson in her.) and b) we get it.  Clary has a boyfriend.  Thank you.  You can stop illustrating your point for us now.

       I really liked the diversity of the characters in this.  Simon, Clary's best friend, is the source of a good chunk of the problems for the group, but, generally, he's a good natured guy and I admire him for that.  He is also a voice of stability and reason among all of the craziness and magic, which is always good in a book like this that can get caught up in the thrill of its own mystique.  Jace is an egotistical maniac, and I think that it's been established that I have a soft spot for that sort.  Isabelle is the ultimate femine fatal, complete with a miniskirt and a sword.  Alec is a lost and a little needy, almost, until he realizes who he is and how he (and him telling the world who he is is one of the most fantastic moments in the whole trilogy). Magnus Bane is a riot, but his majesty is sort of kept under wraps for fear of throwing the whole story overboard.  Clary is the perfect contemporary fiction heroine, with her cell phone and subway map.  Not exactly the cast of 'Spud,' but pretty darn close.

      The villain of the series, Valentine, is intensely complicated, but that doesn't make him seem any more human.  One thing that I don't like about villains in general (like I have only one thing to complain about) is that they're larger than life, and that keeps them from being human.  We can connect with the main characters, the protagonists, but we never feel what the bad guy is feeling.  This is a technique used to make us hate the villain, which is necessary for the story to work, but it still can be sort of . . . impersonal.  How can I hate Valentine if I don't even know the person he is?  You have to just accept that the bad guy is a bad guy and move on in this story.  

      A strong point of this story, other than the wonderful cast of protagonists, is the setting.  Modern New York City with an underbelly full of demons.  To fight the demons, there is a system of police called 'Shadowhunters' run mainly by teenagers because they're the only ones who haven't died yet.  In between the two groups are the 'Downworlders';  werewolves, vampires, Faeries, and other miscellaneous half-demon scum.  It is fantastic.  

      The books, even though they talk about killing demons and your own family members preach about accepting people.  The Shadowhunters hate the Downworlders because the Shadowhunters are part angel and the Downworlders are part demon.  But to win, they must join together.  It's a nice sentiment.

     Final messages:  The books are messed up.  Messed up messed up.  Like, 'oh, is this my brother I'm kissing?!' messed up.  So . . . The books also have a quite bit of religion in them.  Magnus quotes the Bible, at one point, and the whole thing of angels vs. demons is religious, though the demons come from different dimensions, not from deep down under.  Also, Alec is gay.  I, personally, find that pretty awesome because it shows his inner strength and conveys a new way of someone being who they know they are.  

      "The City of Bones" is a movie that comes out on August 23, 2013.  The complete series is, in the order as listed, "The City of Bones," "The City of Ashes," "The City of Glass," "The City of Fallen Angels," and "The City of Lost Souls."  So. The last two books do have their own charms, by the way of you getting to see a side of the characters you didn't get to see in the other three books, but they are so not the best.  Especially not "The City of Fallen Angels."  Just sayin'.  

      Is it fine to tell a white lie for the safety and well being of a person that you love?  But when the lies collapse, the person you lied for might not be as well off as intended.  

This link is better than most book links:  www.mortalintruments.com  The illustrations of the characters are lame, though.  None of the people look like that, I swear.  

This is the link to the movie trailer, which I watch at least once a day: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538403/   My favorite part is when Clary says "There's too many of them!"  and Jace says "Have a little faith," because Jace is so full of himself, it's rather amusing.  This is the cast list to the movie, which is cool; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538403/fullcredits    Magnus is awesome.  

Department 19

"Department 19," Will Hills, has been published with the tag line:  "Battling Vampires since 1892.  Now it's time to raise the stakes."

       Jamie Carpenter's father died under the bullet of a subatomic machine gun after strange things surrounded the Carpenter house.  Jamie's mother was kidnapped after a strange girl tried to kill him in the park.  Now Jamie's the only Carpenter left, and it's his turn to go after the biggest, baddest vampire since Count Dracula, and, of course, to rescue his mother.  Luckily, he'll have the power of Department 19, Britain's top secret vampire-hunting agency, at his back -- Only if past grudges can be put aside, and Jamie makes it out to the hunting grounds alive.

If you liked "The Slayer Chronicles," featuring Joss McMillan (Vlad Todd's, like, arch-enemy/best friend) by Heather Brewer, you will love Department 19.  It's crazy fast-paced action full of twists and turns that you'll never see coming.
        The plot is very intricate.  Trying to follow it is like trying to untie a length of fishing line that has been nested in by a bunch of animals all winter long.  And then dragged through the woods. Only after someone deliberately tied knots in it.  But, through all those tangles, you could never see the plot twists coming, which is a bonus.  It's the first time in a long time that I've been surprised by a book.  That, like, never happens.  So I was duly impressed.
        Of course, even the best action-thriller has it's problems.  First off, there are too many people.  Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.  I don't know.  But I know I got the "Blacklight" operators mixed up so many times that I couldn't remember if the people who died had any significance (oops, sorry, spoiler . . . but you knew it was going to happen).  Also, it jumps back and forth in time.  This could be considered a plus, because it gives you back story and more information on characters, but it gets a bit confusing at times.  So, the main problem with this book is that it's confusing until you get to the mid-point.  After that, you're over the hump and it's smooth sailing.
         Also, I just don't get the character of Jamie Carpenter.  He changes from a listless boy who's still mourning his father to an angry young man who can kill vampires in the space of, like, 60 pages.  And 25 of those pages are devoted to telling about a man who was in New York City in 1928.  So, where's the transition for Jamie Carpenter?  In a dynamic character, the change generally happens over the course of the book.  In this character, this book, the change happens, nearly in the turn of a page.  He watches a video on Blacklight, and boom!, he's a vampire slayer.  Okay, then . . .
         I do enjoy the character of Larissa, though.  Plenty of books try to go against the grain by pointing out that vampires aren't bad, they're just tortured souls. She is a good-ish vampire, and she doesn't try to deny it.  That's nice for a change, that a vampire can flinch while sucking down blood, but still does it anyways.  Because all of these contemporary vampire types were getting me worried-- do we have to be perfectly in control of ourselves all the time?  Quite frankly, do we have to be perfect all the time?  If Larissa heard that question, I'm pretty sure she would say "no" too.
           There are also several random characters.  I won't say names (uh, Kate) but they were random.  And didn't really add anything to the plot.  Yeah, sure, they step in and save the main character a few times, but that wasn't really necessary.
           It is advised that you have prior knowledge about the book "Dracula," Bram Stoker.  The classic one, yes.  This book ties into that one.  In fact, it might be considered a bit of a modern day sequel.  I've never read the classic book, so I wouldn't know, but . . . As one of the Blacklight operators ( I finished it two days ago, and I've already forgotten which one it was)  says, "The book 'Dracula,' isn't fiction.  It's a history lesson."  Yeah, okay.  There is a very interesting back story on Bram Stoker, though . . .
          I bet that I will read the next book when it comes out.  I mean, it was a very engaging story, full of blood and gore and all that good stuff.  So, Jamie Carpenter, I will remember you and read you again for your vampire-slaying skills and pure adrenaline rush.  Not your literary significance.

The website is department19.org   The video is overly dramatic, but, whatever.  It's pretty hard to make an action video for a book like this without actually injuring someone . . . 

The Otherworldlies

This new series by Jennifer Anne Kogler gives yet another view of vampires--but one that doesn't involve 'vampires' in the traditional sense.
      All Fern McAllister ever wanted to do was to be normal.  Because her pale skin blisters easily, her stomach is not the most suitable for everyday living, her eyes hurt in direct sunlight, and she is dark-haired and skinny while the rest of her family  is blond with a good build, she is the subject of a lot of torture at school.  But then she learns something incredible:  She isn't human.  She is an Unusual, one of a group of eleven otherworldlies who were born all on the same day.  The Unusual Eleven all have powers beyond most 'normal' otherworldlies comprehension, and Fern finds herself the subject of much desire among people who want to harm and potentially kill her, to one of her fellow Unusual who is trapped with no way to escape.  Navigating seventh grade is hard enough when you're perfectly human, but Fern McAllister is quickly finding out that it's no breeze no matter what species you are.

Okay, so, as I've already said I'm going to major in Grim-Reaper-stuff, but I'm going to minor in Otherworldly-ness.  So . . . I'll be an otherworldly Grim Reaper?
     One of the really good things about this book is that it's set in middle school.  I'm in middle school, and all you ever find is book after book about people in high school.  Vladimir Tod, Billi SanGreal (I'll get to her story next post), Riley Blackthorne, Cassel Sharp, Lexington Bartleby . . .  all the contemporaries are in high school.  And others, Eragon and such, who are of high school age but don't go to high school because they're, like, olden-timey people.  Oh, sure, there are middle school characters in other books, but they're lame. They just don't seem . . . like they could amount to anything.   But Fern McAllister does.  She could probably beat Vladimir Tod up.  She probably would, too, if she needed to.  And that is why I like her.
    Also, you get enough of blood-sucking vampires.  Sure, Suck it Up was cute, but it all amouts to the same thing--vampires who are trying not to suck blood.  Yes, this problem does present itself in the world of the otherworldlies, in the faces of Blouts and Rollens (blood-drinkers and non-blood-drinkers), but it isn't that much of a temptation.  Like, Fern never has some abstract desire to rip into a jugular.  I appluad her, and Jennifer Anne Kogler, on that. 
      The characters are believable and realistically confusing.  The only one we get a real good look at is Fern, but we have enough to look at through her.  As I said before, she is strong in mind despite her weak body, savy and suspicious despite her relatively innocent upbringing, and you find yourself rooting for her.  Sam, her brother, is empathetic and jealous, the perfect mix of emotions, what one would expect to be feeling in a situation like that.  The Lins are the real confusing ones--what are their motives?  They must want something from Fern, or at least, Lindsey wants something from her if her parents don't.
       A lot of questions are left unanswered and unperfect. Like, do Sam and Fern really share the same birthday, March 10?  If the Lins are great Hyperions, and their family has great renoun, then wouldn't only one have the great renoun because the other had to be married to them?  And then, of course, there are the questions that you were meant to ask like, Who are the other Unusuals?  Can the Vampire Alliance really be trusted?  usual what not.
      I just liked this praise-thing found on the back of the book, so I'll put it in.  "Brimming with action and other colorful characters, The Otherworldlies brings you a gusty heroin who must learn to embrace her 'Unsusual' talents.  You've never seen vampires like this before."  Laura Ruby, the author of Bad Apple and The Chaos King, said this, and I agree with her quite throughly. 
       The series includes the titles The Otherworldlies and The Siren's Cry at the moment,or, at least, those are the only ones I've read as of right now.  I will be keeping an eye out for more of her stuff. . .

Her website is:  www.jenniferannekogler.com  It has all of her updates on the latest books, and her old books too.  Duh.

Suck it Up

Suck it Up, by Brian Meehl, is another great story about why being a vampire, well, sucks. 
       Morning McCobb has never been the greatest vampire.  Skinny and nerdy, and the most well-accomplished reader of Marvel comics in the IVLeague (International Vampire League), he doesn't fit human's, and most vampire's, ideals of a good vampire:  beautiful, sleek, and intelligent.  But the IVLeague wants to integrate their members with the world of humans, and Morning McCobb has been chosen as their new poster boy.  Assigned public relations agent Penny Dredful, Morning meets her daughter, Portia Dredful, and gets a reminder of what it's like to be human.  Fighting envy and himself with every public appearance, Morning gets a taste of what it's like to be an actual hero, something he's wanted since before he can remember, and a taste of what it's like to fall to the dark side.

This book was eh.  Funny and fresh in many ways, but predictable in many others.  Yeah, guy falls for girl.  Vampire slayer wants to kill guy, and uses girl to get at him.  Oops, did I just give away some of the plot?  Ah, well, it doesn't matter, you would've seen it coming anyway.
      The sarcasm is great though.  I loved the line, "I am going to be a solider in the 501st legion and march in the Rose Bowl every year!", which was declared by Morning McCobb himself.  Fellow nerds, unite.  So, it's pretty funny.  And the kitchen people who try to use the stake, wooden, meant for killing a vampire, as bread?  That was smooth too.  There's also this vampire, Birnam, who makes really cheesy vampire puns nearly every time he talks.  The author really isn't afraid to poke fun at his characters. 
     The story does shed yet another light on the dozens of vampire myths.  Every modern writer tries to take a different angle on what vampires really are, and each of them have a different theory.  That can get bland sometimes, and it's no different in this book.  Though, at least here the vampires aren't trying to live in secret--they are trying to be accepted.  I can buy that.
       Anything else?  Oh, yeah, book does not have as many swear words as one would think, considering the title.  They are all skirted around in a very smooth manner. The theme of being a superhero is a very strong theme in the book, and what does or does not make a person a hero is looked at closely. 
        So, if you're looking for a good, short, and humorous read to sink your teeth into, I'd check this one out.  It may not be oozing with blood, guts, or gore, nor is it over sentimental or romantic, but it should satisfy your need to feed until you can get yourself another fix of something more . . . meaty.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

The Cronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer is a rumination on what it would be like for a vampire to try to blend in with  mainstream students.
      Vlad Tod is not your average teenager.  He's unpopular and bullied, but he's friends with the most popular and well-liked guy in the school.  He likes one of the prettiest girls at school, but he can't figure out if she likes him back.  He's a vampire, but he tries to act human.  Life is full of ups and downs as he completes middle school and goes on to Bathory High School, ups but mainly downs that include trying to find out why his parents really died, who killed his English teacher, a boy who is determined to prove to the world that Vlad really is a vampire, fighting one of his best friends to the death, his growing need for fresh blood, an insane vampire who keeps trying to kill him or steal his blood (it varies from book to book), and trying to figure out the legend of the Pravus.  It seems that the more questions Vlad asks the more answers he needs, and the greater the lengths people will go to to keep him from finding out the truth.  When his home and life gets ripped apart, and Bathory seems close to drowning in the blood of its townspeople, he has to cast aside what he thought he knew about the person he trusted the most in this world and make a choice that will tear him apart.  Being a vampire really does bite.

Vlad Tod is medicine for the Twilight-sickened soul.  The books offer a great insight into a teenage boy's mind, and the view of a vampire that you'd never thought of before.  Yeah, sure, we all know that they're bloodthirsty creatures of the night, but what happens when they're forced out of their nocturnal habits?  Sleeping in class, of course.  And how do they get their blood fix?  Blood packets in Hostess cakes.
       The ultimate villain, the one that betrays Vlad at the end, confuses me.  I can't criticize it more without giving anything away, but it just doesn't make sense.  His reasons for doing as he did are lame, and I feel justified in calling the person who should've seen through them but didn't an airhead.  Of course, this is in retrospect, but . . . Also, I have complaints in the romance department.  I don't like Meridith.  Even from the beginning, I didn't like her.  I mean, she's a blond and he's a vampire.  She wears pink and he wears black.  Tell me how that was supposed to work out?  Let Joss have 'er.  I like the other girl much better . . .  She's awesome.  I imagine her wearing, like, six-inch black leather platform boots, for some reason, and I wonder if her name is derived from that Hot Chili Peppers song. 
        The writing style is very good.  Eight Grade Bites was Heather Brewer's first book, and it was surprisingly well done.  The boys are regular comedians, and even though there are some parts that are of no consequence, that add nothing to the plot line, they don't subtract from the overall storyline.  But be on the look out for small details . . .  they might mean something later on in the book, or even later on in the series.  It's all fast paced, though, and a quick read (I finished the first book, 110 pages of it, in a half an hour), but you're hooked to the very end.  Even at the end of Twelfth Grade Kills you're left wondering what's next?.  Hopefully her next series, The Slayer Chronicles, will help sort that out. 
         The books come in the order of Eight Grade Bites, Ninth Grade Slays, Tenth Grade Bleeds, Eleventh Grade Burns, and Twelfth Grade Kills.

This is the URL for the website if you're interested in looking into it a bit more:   http://www.vladtod.com/#/news