The Morganville Vampires book 1
The Morganville Vampires book 1A review by Elizabeth Manthos
- Format: Paperback, 368 pages
- ISBN-13: 9781921880063
- ISBN-10: 1921880066
- Publisher: Penguin Aus.
Glass Houses introduces protagonist Claire Danvers, prodigy college student at Texas Prairie University. Claire is stuck in a nightmarish dorm with violent girls who like antagonising her. When one run in with the girls turns into an attempted murder, Claire heads off campus to look for accommodation.
The room, situated in Glass House, doesn’t seem to be much better. Her new roommates don’t show many signs of life but they instantly have her back when Morganville’s deepest and darkest secret comes crawling out, for blood. Literally.
Being sceptical of new vampire novels after they’ve been through the wringer with sparkles, I thought that this series would be geared towards a younger audience. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these vampires were your proper vampire, no sparkles, complete with super strength and an aversion to sunlight. Proper vampires! Rachel Caine has written these vampires with such precision and horror that even I felt fear that they could be real.
This instantly perked my interest in the story and the characters in it. Claire was not your whiney protagonist that has popped up recently in the YA genre, she was a mix of sixteen year old genius and tough girl. It’s obvious to her she didn’t believe she could be as tough as she was. She tackled the situations presented to her in a way you wouldn’t think a sixteen year old could.
Claire’s roommates include Michael Glass, the eighteen year old owner of the house Claire lives in, Shane, the troublemaker with a hothead and Eve, a Morganville native with a penchant for dressing like a Goth. All three of these characters are well thought out. Far from one dimensional, they even have secrets you wouldn’t see coming.
With the announcement that Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires series had been part of a kickstarter campaign to adapt the novels into a webseries, I thought now was a good a time as any to finally delve into this series.
With Amber Benson (Buffy) signed on to play Amelie and Robert Picardo (Star Trek) signed on to play Oliver, I am looking forward to see the adaptation and how Rachel Caine transfers the book onto the screen.
I highly recommend this series to any Young Adult novel lover who is a fan of the urban fantasy subgenre.
Nalini interviewed Rachel Caine when she was in Melbourne.
