MORGANVILLE THE SERIES - WORLD PREMIERE

This weekend Rachel Caine and Geek & Sundry will be presenting the World Premiere of Morganville: The Web Series based on the Best Selling YA book series Morganville Vampires at London Comic Con.

Despite recent posts of a more sombre nature this Blog is happiest when I’m writing about cool books and cool shows so imagine how happy I get when the two combine and it works out. This weekend over on this side of the Atlantic down in London Town we have London Comic Con, I don’t have the time or the proper knowledge to tell you everything that is going down there but one thing I am really interested in is the World Premiere of Morganville Vampires: The Series.

I’ve been a fan of this ever since I randomly saw a post about it on another books forum and thought “a town run by vampires, colour me INTRIGUED” so a trip to a well known online store and some listening later (I can’t recommend the first four audiobooks enough) and I knew I would be a fan till the end which was great because I had a lot of books to get caught up on.

What is Morganville Vampires about well I would tell you it is about a super smart and somewhat sheltered but brilliant young girl scared out of her dorms who stumbles on the secret her college town is hiding when she moves into the town proper. It is run by Vampires.

With the help of her three friends Claire Danvers struggles to survive and grows up in ways she couldn’t imagine as she delves into the secrets of Morganville. It has crazy science, horror, friendship and some of the best dialogue I have read in a YA novel.

I freely admit I was late to the series after Harry Potter, Twilight and Alex Cross reminded me that reading was awesome. I had a look and this was the first time I properly mentioned Morganville Vampires in my blog.

To give you some idea of my love of all things Morganville, Texas I have linked some reviews I posted on my blog.

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #01) Review

Dead Girl's Dance (Morganville Vampires #02) Review

Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires #03) Review

Feast Of Fools (Morganville Vampires #04) Review

Bitter Blood (Morganville Vampires #13) Review

Daylighters (Morganville Vampires #15) Review

You can find out about Rachel Caine’s appearance along with some of the cast from the show here

Well enough waffling from me check out the Trailer below then if you can’t get to Comic Con make sure to check it out on its Geek & Sundry Premiere on 27^th October.

BOOK REVIEW: Daylighters By Rachel Caine

Daylighters is the 15^th and final novel in the long running YA urban fantasy series Morganville Vampires written by Rachel Caine. The series is the subject of a new webseries that was funded through a Kickstarter campaign like the Veronica Mars movie. 

Daylighters was released on the 5^th of November by Allison & Busby and the ISBN is 0749012714.

PLOT

Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated - vampires from humans - they realise that the changes definitely aren't for the better.

It seems that an organisation called the Daylight Foundation has offered the population of Morganville something they've never had: hope of a vampire-free future. And while it sounds like salvation - even for the vampires themselves - the truth is far more sinister and deadly. Now, Claire, Shane and Eve need to find a way to break their friends out of Daylighter custody, before the vampires of Morganville meet their untimely end ...Includes a brand new and exclusive Morganville short story.

WHY I BOUGHT THIS

Morganville Vampires is one of the best YA series I have ever read, it is one of the few series around that maintains it level instead of having one excellent instalment then several mediocre ones. The quality of the writing continues through the series which is impressive given the length of the series.

WHAT I THOUGHT

It has all been all leading up to this, it is amazing to think about the character growth of the main cast of Morganville which when I consider is around a dozen or so characters is very impressive. Rachel Caine is an amazing writer with the ability to breathe real life into characters and make them something other than what you expect.

That probably wasn’t very clear, to explain think of the last few YA books you’ve read then think of how many times you’re introduced to The Bully, The Heart throb, The Queen Bitch and The Nerd but do they ever rise above that, sometimes one or two might but generally they just stay one dimensional.

Claire Danvers is the most realistic protagonist I have ever read in a YA book, hands down. I am not saying all other protagonists are bad it is just that some of them become too much of an ideal or superhuman. Claire starts out unsure of herself and meek but full of potential, potential that she achieves because of her friends you can’t get a better message then that.

Shane has always been a bit of a strange case with me I don’t necessarily like him but I certainly respect him rising above a terrible past to become someone who can support and respect Claire. That is another thing that comes through within Morganville gender parity which comes through less than you might expect in a lot of YA I read though some of that is intentional to show female leads challenging patriarchal systems but I digress. Shane and Claire work they seem to be two sides of the same coin.

The way vampires are represented is also interesting to say the least and goes through somewhat of an arc. They begin as the de facto face of evil and pretty much represent everything that is wrong in the world of Morganville. You slip on a pavement blame a vampire, the weather is crappy blame a vampire. As we move through the books we see things aren’t that simple and that the humans of Morganville and beyond can be just as ruthless and destructive as the vampires.

Daylighters was a very nice way to see out the end of Morganville Vampires putting the YA series above the top for a portrayal of one girl’s journey into womanhood complete with crossbows, extinguisher grenades and a lot of blood.

BOOK REVIEW - Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

This review is part of the Morganville Reading Challenge 2012 which you can learn about here.

Midnight Alley is the third book in the best selling Morganville Vampires series written by Rachel Caine. It was originally published on October 2^nd 2007 by Signet.

PLOT

Morganville is such a nice place to live... And die. If you don’t mind that sort of thing.

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. 

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

WHAT I THOUGHT

Have I mentioned I loved the Morganville Vampires series it is so much more than just ANOTHER vampire book. One of the ongoing themes in MV is secrets. All too often Claire and co have held back on something of importance either out of fear or wanting to protect others. This time it is Claire’s turn. In this instalment of MV we do a little more exploring of the town itself which is very welcome and we get to add to the cast of characters that we have met so far. Once again we see that in the world of Morganville everything isn’t black and white and Vampire does not always mean Evil as Human does not always mean Good.

This book like all of the Morganville series happens directly after the previous which is refreshing and allows the book to flow as one long saga so this is one series were you HAVE to start at number one or you’ll find yourself all at sea.

Claire continues being Claire strong yet fragile and always fun. The wonder she shows when learning about the slightly less fatal aspects of the town have the same inspiring effect on the reader. Shane can be a bit of a jerk but he can be very gentle and someone who can be relied upon in a pinch and I have a lot of respect for him. Michael I’m not so sure about I think him a little too perfect in a lot of ways but that may change. Eve is at her sarcastic best and we get a lot of insight into what makes her tick in this book and it is a truly scary look into her past.

Amelie and Oliver are something else I swear if MV had been started a little earlier I would have sworn they inspired the Lannisters and the Starks. They are the heads of the two most powerful factions in Morganville and their clashes are guaranteed to cause a lot of collateral damage. Then we come to Myrnin who is quite an enigma, a man who has sold his sold in his thirst for knowledge (foreshadowing for Claire herself perhaps) and he is an excellent mentor for her if it wasn’t for those homicidal tendencies of his he would be absolutely perfect.

In Midnight Alley MV steps things up to a new level and Caine continues to write a compelling story full of realistic multi-faceted characters.