Saturday 28 April 2012

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Blood of Eden, #1)

from goodreads
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.
review

The Immortal Rules isn't your average story with beautiful vampires and angst for the sake of angst. In fact, The Immortal Rules would probably laugh at the thought of vampires as sexy and alluring! In the world of The Immortal Rules, vampires are thought of as nothing more than bloodsuckers who now rule over most cities. Most humans are registered under them and as a result given meal tickets as long as they attend scheduled blood lettings. Humans who do not register themselves are not as lucky. They are called Unregistered and face prosecution if they are found stealing food and other resources controlled by vampire cities.

I loved how strong the world building was. This is the first book I've read by Julie Kagawa and I was so impressed with the world she created and how she built on it! Kagawa doesn't just give you a comprehensive picture of the world where vampires rule, a result of the Red Lung disease that was wiping out the humans and one idealistic vampire who we get to meet in person, but also leaves traces of life as it once was. Reading is forbidden to most humans and humans are reduced to beings desperate for survival, the most basic need and nothing else. But Allie, the protagonist, was taught by her mother to read and has a book about "four children who go through a wardrobe and into a strange new world."

Little details like this and ruins of hospitals and museums made me wistful and made the world Julie Kagawa created all the more realistic. And there were the vampires themselves who couldn't go out in daylight unless they wanted to waste away in the sun. They had to feed on human blood and in the words of Kanin, the Master vampire who Turned Allie, "Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being, accidentally, or as a conscious, deliberate act. It is unavoidable. The question is not if it will happen, but, when."

Kanin, Allie's creator turned out to be right about a lot of other things. He plays a pivotal role in this story and I wonder what's in store for him in the later parts of this series. He definitely piqued by interest. There are so many amazing characters in The Immortal Rules- it's not just the protagonist that is well developed! Though Allie is someone you'll grow extremely attached to. She's this kickass newly turned vampire (and she, previously an Unregistered, chose to be Turned due to unavoidable circumstances) who wields a katana! Can it get better than that?

Allie's journey is also not an easy one. It was wonderful to watch her grow beyond a fierce Unregistered fighting for survival to someone who had so much more to fight for and had to make some difficult decisions. Zeke, who Allie eventually falls for, also fascinated me! Ezekiel "Zeke" Crosse had such a complex past that I'm still trying to figure out and rather than ruining him, it made him into a caring, kind person who dares to hope and have faith. The story was filled with characters hardened by the world around them and Zeke was like a breath of fresh air. He is sure to make you weak in the knees!

Towards the end, there was one vampire cliche that had me rolling my eyes a bit and aside from that, I still can't fathom the concept of vampires crying blood tears, but The Immortal Rules mostly, definitely, truly blew me away! Mainly because of the complex and unimaginable world it was set in. Also because of the characters, each with back-stories that fully made them what they were. I couldn't stop reading this book until I reached the last page. Even then, I was left wondering about where Allie and Kanin and Zeke were headed. If you haven't picked up The Immortal Rules yet, I strongly urge you to give it a try! It's post-apocalyptic vampire YA fiction! How is that anything short of ingenious?

Publication date: 24th April, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: NetGalley (A big thank you to Harlequin! I never thought I'd get approved for this one. I last-minute requested it and was so happy when I got approved on the 17th!)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8 comments:

  1. Love your review..i loved this book and totally agree with you opinion of the world-building.

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  2. Thanks for the great review! I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

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  3. Wow, brilliant review! I enjoyed this book too and am a huge fan of Julie Kagawa's writing. You should definitely check out her Iron Fey series when you can. :)

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  4. Brilliant review....and i totally agree with the comment section you need to check out her Iron Fey series too...

    check my review of the immortal rules here

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  5. Oh promise me you will read Iron Fey, the world building in that series is phenomenal. Fantastic. I have this on my blog tomorrow. I agree about Kanin and I was disappointed when he exited the story. I agree about the bloody tears and I am not a fan of the cover but all in all a strong read.

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  6. I loved this. It's better than Kagawa's prior books, but you should still read them. The Iron Fey series is great, although the first book is definitely the weakest. I didn't realize blood tears was a cliche. I haven't seen it before. I thought it was kind of cool, but if you've seen it before I can see how you'd get tired of it. Great review!

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  7. I'm really intrigued to learn more Kanin. I have a thing for guys who cross the dangerous line LOL! ;) Julie Kagawa sure has a gift in writing, her world-buildings are always awesome! You might want to check her Iron Fey series. The first book was the hardest for me since the heroine is exasperating, but I grow to like the series. :)

    Fantastic review like always, Ajoop! <3

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  8. @Kimba Yeah, the world building was the best part :D

    @Ashley I hope you do! And thanks so much for stopping by my blog :)

    @Sam I definitely will, Sam! Everyone seems to have loved the Iron Fey series and that makes me want to check it out asap :)

    @Aparajita The Iron Fey series is definitely on my TBR now :)

    @Heidi Don't know if I commented on your review but I LOVED it. Totally agree with you about Kanin exiting too soon (but I can't wait for Allie to meet him again) AND wanting more about life in the vampire city as well. I loved the world building and the characters were phenomenal though :)

    @Alison Whoops, bloody tears wasn't the cliche I was referring to. Edited that part of my review to make that clear. Bloody tears just felt weird to me but I guess it was something new all the same. Thanks for stopping by, Alison :)

    @Hilda Haha. I know, Kanin had me intrigued from when he ran into Allie in the tunnels! I really need to check out the Iron Fey series. Everyone's been raving about it!

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HI. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment. :)