The Vampire Diaries Omnibus (Vol 2, Bks 3 & 4)
Author:
Genres: Teen & Young Adult, Horror
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Teen & Young Adult, Horror
Book Type: Paperback
In this second compilation from L.J. Smith, readers are presented with The Fury and Dark Reunion -- books 3 and 4 of the Vampire Diaries.
I was thrilled by the first half of the book (The Fury), and thought it provided a bittersweet but satisfying conclusion to her Vampire Diaries "trilogy." For the sake of remaining spoiler-free, this last installment of the originally planned series follows Elena and Stefan (and Damon) full-cycle through their complicated relationship, including some genuinely unexpected plot twists and surprises that I didn't see coming. The character development is at its best in this book, with all of the main players showing growth and much more likeablity. I am a huge Damon fan, but then again, I always did have a thing for bad boys. ;-)
However, I can't offer the same praise to the second half of the book, originally the fourth installment called Dark Reunion. In a classic case of "jumping the shark," LJ Smith deconstructs the emotionally charged resolution of the trilogy (probably at her publisher's insistance) and relaunches the story line with a silly and unnecessary addendum. The whole plot of this fourth book feels like an afterthought. Instead of the love triangle and romantic tension taking center stage in Dark Reunion, the entire book plays out like an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with all of the supporting characters of the previous three books becoming "Scoobies" and banding together to fight evil in Fall's Church side by side. Unfortunately, the formula change didn't work for me, not at all. And the Big Bad Evil that is thrust into the story just seemed like an example of further shark-jumping.
I'm happy that the "reset" opens the doors for LJ Smith's spinoff series The Vampire Diaries: Revisited (which I believe "stars" my favorite Salvatore brother, Damon), but I wish that the author and publisher could have found a better way to set the stage for new stories without compromising the impact of the original Diaries.
I was thrilled by the first half of the book (The Fury), and thought it provided a bittersweet but satisfying conclusion to her Vampire Diaries "trilogy." For the sake of remaining spoiler-free, this last installment of the originally planned series follows Elena and Stefan (and Damon) full-cycle through their complicated relationship, including some genuinely unexpected plot twists and surprises that I didn't see coming. The character development is at its best in this book, with all of the main players showing growth and much more likeablity. I am a huge Damon fan, but then again, I always did have a thing for bad boys. ;-)
However, I can't offer the same praise to the second half of the book, originally the fourth installment called Dark Reunion. In a classic case of "jumping the shark," LJ Smith deconstructs the emotionally charged resolution of the trilogy (probably at her publisher's insistance) and relaunches the story line with a silly and unnecessary addendum. The whole plot of this fourth book feels like an afterthought. Instead of the love triangle and romantic tension taking center stage in Dark Reunion, the entire book plays out like an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with all of the supporting characters of the previous three books becoming "Scoobies" and banding together to fight evil in Fall's Church side by side. Unfortunately, the formula change didn't work for me, not at all. And the Big Bad Evil that is thrust into the story just seemed like an example of further shark-jumping.
I'm happy that the "reset" opens the doors for LJ Smith's spinoff series The Vampire Diaries: Revisited (which I believe "stars" my favorite Salvatore brother, Damon), but I wish that the author and publisher could have found a better way to set the stage for new stories without compromising the impact of the original Diaries.
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