Parallel by Lauren Miller
Review: Black Dawn by Rachel Caine
It would have been better if he’d screamed.
Michael Glass didn’t scream. Instead, he made a terrible keening noise in the back of his throat, arched his back, and began to flail violently inside his zipped-up sleeping bag. Fabric shredded under vampire strength, and insulation bulged out of the tears as he fought his way free, but even once it was off him he just kept… flailing.
Not even 5 pages in, and my heart was already hinting at the intense beating my emotions were going to get while reading Black Dawn. In the world of Morganville, Texas, Black Dawn is the twelfth book in Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires series.
I am a relatively new fan of Rachel Caine, having only powered through the entire Morganville Vampire series in the first week of June 2011 (and then eagerly anticipating the release of the then soon-to-be-released Bite Club!) New fan or not, the universe Rachel Caine has created continues to make the reader invest in the wellbeing of its characters.
Black Dawn does not begin quietly. In fact there are very few moments in the story where you are not fearing for one or more of the characters lives.
Claire Danvers describes the situation in Morganville best in the opening chapter:
There were things out there in the world, things that vampires feared, and now those things were here. She was only seconds out of a very light, fitful sleep, but she knew that the nightmares had followed her effortlessly right into the real world. The draug. They weren’t vampires; they were something else, something that moved through water, formed out of it, dragged vampires down to a slow and awful death.
Last Breath left us with the draug having infiltrated Morganville, feeding off the vampires and bringing a new fear to the towns inhabitants. Black Dawn continues right where Last Breath left us; in the middle of the pain and confusion that yes, the vampires in the Morganville Vampires universe do have a reason to fear for their continued existence. Claire, Shane Collins, Michael Glass and Eve Rosser are once again uncomfortably allied with Oliver, Myrnin and the other vampires to destroy the draug and try to save Amelie’s life.
I could not choose just one hero from this book – Claire, Eve, Michael, Shane and a few surprise characters all brought their best baddassness to the fight. The dialogue between characters, particularly Shane and Michael, and of course Myrnin, had me laughing aloud (which may have gotten me a few looks on the train). It felt familiar to read their comfortable banter, and it was an enjoyable respite from the more intense situations dominating the storyline. While the main premise of Black Dawn follows the fight to survive the draug infestation, Rachel Caine absolutely delivers on the relationships between Eve and Michael, and Shane and Claire – and the complications that Myrnin presents.
As with Last Breath, we not only follow the story through the eyes of Claire, but other central characters Shane, Michael and Eve take us through their story fighting the draug, the political unbalance and the betrayals that will leave you on the last page anticipating the next adventure in Bitter Blood (Book 13 of Morganville Vampires)!
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Australia for providing me with a copy of this novel for review. Black Dawn is released tomorrow, the 1st May 2012.
Rating 
| Author | Rachel Caine |
|---|---|
| Book series | The Morganville Vampires: Book #12 |
| Genre | Paranormal Romance / Young Adult |
| Publisher | Penguin Australia |
| Published | May 2012 |
| Source | Netgalley ARC |
| More |
Black Dawn by Rachel Caine at Goodreads Black Dawn by Rachel Caine at Amazon Black Dawn by Rachel Caine at The Book Depository |
4 Comments:
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Cara says:
Great review! I’ve never read this series but it sounds really good. is it a bit like the Sookie Stackhouse books?
Isabela says:
I really love this series and I finished this book in about 24 hours. In Bite Club (Morganville Vampires, Book 10), Shane gets involved with a new gym promoting martial arts training and winds up in over his head. Claire, Michael, Eve and the usual suspects all have to fight to get him out of trouble before Amelie exterminates everyone involved in a secret that threatens to expose Morganville. In many ways, this installment felt like the middle of a trilogy or something. The main story line was basically resolved by the end, but it left open a lot of unanswered questions and possibilities. Some old villains resurface, including Gloriana from the short story Drama Queen’s Last Dance, found in Eternal: More Love Stories with Bite. While the vampire-related dramas seem to come to some conclusion, the human dramas seem to be building up. Claire and Shane’s relationship is strained by the end of the story, and Michael seems to be harboring doubts about Eve. I strongly suspect that in the next Morganville Vampires book, the main focus will be on the relationships, with vampire enemies falling second. I could be wrong, but that’s how things felt to me at the end of Bite Club (Morganville Vampires, Book 10). Overall, I enjoyed this book. The characters are very interesting and it’s been nice seeing how they have developed over the course of the sirees. Claire, in particular, seems to really come into her own strength in this story, although at the cost of some of her innocence. Shane seems to find more of his inner demons, more than he is truly able to explore in this story. As I said, the ending of this story really leaves a lot of emotional issues unresolved I hope that there is some closure in the next installment Last Breath: The Morganville Vampires due out in November 2011.
Month in Review: May 2012 | Tea, Daydreams & Fairytales says:
[...] Black Dawn [...]
Amber @ Fall Into Books says:
I could not finish this book. It bored me to death. To me, it seemed like a lot of the same. So I went and read spoilers so that I could try again with the next one. However, I’m glad you enjoyed it more than I did. Your review is great!