The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

I told myself I was only going to spend my time reviewing books I actually enjoyed, but the cover art on this one was too good not to share. I mean, just look at that contrast shadow and the adorable vampiric smiley face! It's pretty much awesome. Unfortunately, that's where the excellence ends.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is a series that has apparently been going for a while now, as this is the fourth book in the series (with a release date of 2-9-10). If you're already a fan I have no doubt you'll like this one as well, but it's a hard sell to newcomers. The main character is a moody teenage vampire, Vlad, who is apparently less romantically appealing than Edward Cullen but with the added bonus of being much less annoying. Vlad is also half-human and in the subject of a vampiric prophecy. I would like to thank author Heather Brewer for writing a book about a teenage vampire that actually has a plot. And bloodsucking. Vampires who don't drink blood are no fun. Vlad avoids killing people by selecting drudges, or servants, to feed off, in deference to his human side. Other vamps just kill people, which has led to a society of slayers. The inclusion of slayers also earns Brewer bonus points, but she promptly looses them for naming the most prominent slayer Joss. I would have thought of Buffy at the mention of slayers anyway, but making her creator the namsake for your own slayer is not cool.

I only read the first several chapters, a smattering of pages in the middle, and then the last three chapters. And yet I had no trouble following the story (aside from references to events from the previous books in the series), which makes me wonder what all the rest of those pages were there for. Also, Brewer should perhaps be reminded that titling the final chapter of a book "An Unexpected Ending" pretty much ruins any sense of surprise she was hoping to achieve, since the twist was hinted at in only the previous chapter.

In short, I have read worse books about vampires, and this series certainly has more potential for actual plot development and is therefore less annoying than Twilight. But that's really not saying much.