Saltwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar
My rating: 4/5 cats
i am pretty much a fan of any revisionist history that blames human atrocities on monsters. we gotta save face, right, and that’s what monsters are for, to hang all our shortcomings upon.
so this book is about this.
the slaughter of innocents for personal gain. oops. but by blaming it on vampires, it takes some of the sting out of it. vampires can’t help it—they have an innate need to mutiny and feast. but what happens when these wacky seamen from 1629 mess with some australian teens in modern times? well, you know aussie teens—they aren’t going to take that shit, hey?
and i really liked it.
although like Raw Blue, there is almost too much detail about surfing. it’s probably something that bookish surfers appreciate, but for the landlubbers among us who havenever willnever surf/ed, the attention to detail is simply mystifying.
apart from that, i thought this was a genuinely gripping vampire story, and i am someone who is rarely interested in vampire fiction.
the mythology was solid, the contemporary characters felt realistic, and i thought the story flowed really well, even though it was not really a quick read. i appreciated the density to it; it never felt that story was being sacrificed to pacing, the way some YA can.
i had a couple of issues with the lurve/relationship elements, but those parts are usually the parts i am enduring to get to the good stuff anyway, so the occasionally bewildering decisions and lack of communication by our characters in their social relationships didn’t bother me the way they probably did for some readers.
i was just there for the vampires. and they did not disappoint. they are not feel-good vampires who are looking for a clumsy teen girl to love—these vampires are all about the power and enhancing their immortality. and it is good, good stuff.
i am eagar to read another book by her.
groan…
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