I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Fall of Night
by
Rachel Caine
urban fantasy in Hardcover edition that was published by New American Library (NAL) on May 7, 2013 and has 352 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Undone, Unknown, Ghost Town, Rachel Caine, Bite Club, Dark and Stormy Knights, Devil's Bargain, Devil's Due, Last Breath, Unseen, Hex Appeal, Unbroken, Black Dawn, Working Stiff, Two Weeks' Notice, Bitter Blood, Kiss of Death, Daylighters, Kicking It, Prince of Shadows, Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, Ash and Quill, Killman Creek, Honor Among Thieves, Smoke and Iron, Honor Bound, Honor Lost
Fourteenth in the Morganville Vampires urban fantasy series for Young Adults in which Claire goes off to college — out of Morganville, gasp!
My Take
Damn, it was a good story, but I’m still disappointed with the ending. I had visions of Claire experiencing life at MIT for a few years. And I was so happy that Shane was heading there, okay, it was behind Claire’s back, but he just wanted to be there, to protect her. I sure felt better about it when I found out about Derrick! Only, it’s a Morganville story, so life just doesn’t turn out the way we want it.
An odd points-of-view combination with Shane as a first-person POV, and Claire is the omniscient-limited. It works though and was very easy to read.
The start of this is pretty funny and a bit bittersweet as Claire worries about saying good-bye and what MIT will hold for her. It’s both freedom and anonymity.
Oof-duh, I do not like Elizabeth! She’s got some weird values and no clue on where not to intrude! It gets easier to understand once you get further in, but still…
I do like Myrnin figuring out how to send Claire an email…! Then there’s Shane’s video to her. It was so sweet and made me cry.
Oh, lord, something’s happened to Shane. And he’s taught Claire a lot about fighting — I had to laugh reading about Claire calculating her moves in bad situations.
Damn, LOL, it’s old home week in Cambridge with a rush and everything…!
It’s good with lots of drama and tension, and you don’t see who the bad guys are until it’s too late. Except. Except for why doesn’t Claire jump right out with the information she has on Dr. Davis. I mean, what the heck? Claire isn’t stupid. And she knows enough to get info right out in front…???
It’s also terrifying. I was with Claire in her initial thoughts. MIT would be so great. No vampires. Just research and learning. Humans everywhere. Only, one also believes that humans will be, well, humane.
The Story
Claire is nervous. She’s finally getting out of Morganville, but she’s experiencing all the first-time jitters of any college-bound teen. She’s been a major part of saving Morganville with all the notoriety and what protection it’s earned her, and she’s suddenly worried about being, well, average. Not the smartest kid in the room. She also needs to find herself — away from Myrnin and Shane.
Only, it seems that Morganville is on its way to Cambridge.
The Characters
Claire Danvers has been so useful to Myrnin as his assistant that Amelie is willing to allow Claire to head off to MIT. With certain restrictions, leaving Michael and Evie and Shane living in the Glass House. Shane Collins is Claire’s boyfriend and very loving and supportive of Claire, but with a strong jealous streak, and he has to let Claire leave Morganville without him.
Elizabeth was Claire’s best friend in high school; now she’s her roommate. Changed and pushier and more stubborn than Claire can believe! Derrick is an old, unwanted boyfriend of Liz’s. Viva Adewah is another new student caught up in the Orange Tour. Nick is another student, a sweetheart.
Michael Glass is a vampire married to the Goth-loving Eve Rosser (Black Dawn, 12) who drives a hearse and works as a barista. Myrnin is a mad-scientist with no clue as to proper dress; he’s better suited for meeting up with Mozart or hangin’ on the beach in Hawaii, maybe… And he’d do anything for Claire. Bob the Spider is one of his pets.
Dr. Irene Anderson is Claire’s new, super-secret mentor at MIT — she works for and with some scary government types. She was another of Myrnin’s assistants, and Amelie set her up with her lab to run check on Myrnin’s experiments. The oily, manipulative Dr. Patrick Davis is Elizabeth’s professor with an itch for girl students.
Mick owns Florey’s Bar & Grill where Roger is the chef and Bridget his second. Jesse is a vampire, a bartender at the bar, and does oversight on Dr. Anderson for Amelie. Pete is human and a bouncer at the bar.
Amelie is the Founder of Morganville. Her policy towards humans after Black Dawn was one of implementing equal rights between vampires and humans, but events in Bitter Blood, 13, may have her re-thinking this. Oliver has been Amelie’s nemesis in the past, and now he’s banished from Morganville for his actions in Bitter Blood.
Hannah Moses is back to being the chief of police (perfect with her military background). Gramma Day is Hannah’s grandmother. A very smart lady. Hal is one of the cops who knows how to wrangle these strange new “dogs”.
VLAD is the Vampire Leveling Adjustment Device. The Daylight Foundation is an anti-vampire organization; their members are referred to as Daylighters.
The Cover and Title
It’s a sassy Claire on the cover. She’s determined in a deep royal blue knit top, looking over her shoulder. I do like that metaphor for the Ivy League with the clutch of ivy in that upper right corner.
The title is a metaphor for the end of this particular tale as it is the Fall of Night.
