Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chantaal 's review for:
The Immortal Rules
by Julie Kagawa
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
The Immortal Rules is everything I wanted and didn’t get out of Julie Kagawa’s popular Iron Fey series.
In a post-apocalyptic, vampire-ruled future, we’re introduced to Allison Sekemoto, a human fighting to survive in a city where starving is just as popular a death as being drained by a vampire. She’s incredibly fierce and strong from the word go, willing to do anything to keep herself and her crew alive. Which leads to a decision that gets them all killed (bad luck there, girl), and while Allie is on death’s doorstep, a vampire offers to help her by turning her. Though she hates vampires, she fears death even more, and accepts.
I knew from the very moment she admitted she’d rather be a thing she hated than face her fear of death that I would love Allie. While she’s very strong and incredibly principled, she still has a vulnerability to her that’s easy to relate to, and she doesn’t overdo the “I’m a vampire, woe is me” angst too much. Julie Kagawa struck the perfect balance here.
Also perfect is the pacing and action. While we do spend time with Allie as she learns what being a vampire entails, everything still moves at a whip crack pace; the seeds of vampire politics are sown, and when she’s suddenly thrust out on her own into the unforgiving world at large, it makes sense. From there it’s scene after scene where everything’s always moving at the perfect pace — slow enough for characterization and tension build up, but fast enough that you’re never bored and keep the pages turning.
The secondary characters were drawn nicely, though some more than others. Zeke turns out to be a wonderful romantic foil for Allie, though he did seem a little too perfect at times. Jeb, the leader of the wandering humans Zeke belongs to, is just as strong a presence as Allie is. Also great is Allie’s sire, Kanin, who leaves a strong impression with what page time he has. The rest of the characters sort of blend together, apart from the one catty girl who hates Allie just because she’s in love with Zeke, too. It’s the one aspect of the novel I hated, simply because it didn’t need to be there.
All in all, The Immortal Rules is an explosive start to a vampire series, with a main character who holds a ton of promise. Everyone should check this one out.
The Immortal Rules is everything I wanted and didn’t get out of Julie Kagawa’s popular Iron Fey series.
In a post-apocalyptic, vampire-ruled future, we’re introduced to Allison Sekemoto, a human fighting to survive in a city where starving is just as popular a death as being drained by a vampire. She’s incredibly fierce and strong from the word go, willing to do anything to keep herself and her crew alive. Which leads to a decision that gets them all killed (bad luck there, girl), and while Allie is on death’s doorstep, a vampire offers to help her by turning her. Though she hates vampires, she fears death even more, and accepts.
I knew from the very moment she admitted she’d rather be a thing she hated than face her fear of death that I would love Allie. While she’s very strong and incredibly principled, she still has a vulnerability to her that’s easy to relate to, and she doesn’t overdo the “I’m a vampire, woe is me” angst too much. Julie Kagawa struck the perfect balance here.
Also perfect is the pacing and action. While we do spend time with Allie as she learns what being a vampire entails, everything still moves at a whip crack pace; the seeds of vampire politics are sown, and when she’s suddenly thrust out on her own into the unforgiving world at large, it makes sense. From there it’s scene after scene where everything’s always moving at the perfect pace — slow enough for characterization and tension build up, but fast enough that you’re never bored and keep the pages turning.
The secondary characters were drawn nicely, though some more than others. Zeke turns out to be a wonderful romantic foil for Allie, though he did seem a little too perfect at times. Jeb, the leader of the wandering humans Zeke belongs to, is just as strong a presence as Allie is. Also great is Allie’s sire, Kanin, who leaves a strong impression with what page time he has. The rest of the characters sort of blend together, apart from the one catty girl who hates Allie just because she’s in love with Zeke, too. It’s the one aspect of the novel I hated, simply because it didn’t need to be there.
All in all, The Immortal Rules is an explosive start to a vampire series, with a main character who holds a ton of promise. Everyone should check this one out.