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The Superiors (2000)

by Lena Hillbrand(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Paranormal Fantasy

series

The Superiors

review 1: In the future humans have become little more than cattle while the world is ruled by three levels of vampires. Reduced greatly in number and serving only as a food source, treated as pets by some and abused terribly by others, humans are viewed as stupid and mindless. Draven, a vampire of the Third - and lowest - order, bounces from job to meaningless job. His natural talents mean little due to the social order he was reborn into. His ration of blood is enough to keep him going and keep him strong, but not enough to sate him. His first meeting with Aspen - later renamed Cali - introduces a desire for a specific human. She is young the first time they meet, running away from Confinement, but Draven never forgets her. Then he meets her again. And again. And she fig... moreures largely in his relationship with a Second Order vampire... although Draven doesn't know exactly how largely she looms. This is not a typical vampire story, nor is it something I would place in the horror genre. It's a truly unique take on the vampire mythos, where they have taken over the world, but are portrayed not as super-humans, but far more human than they would like to admit. Especially since they tend to loathe humanity. There is corruption and decay, relationships both stable and crazy, an upper-class leadership and poverty; all within the vampire world itself. The age of Aspen/Cali disturbed me. She is 11 when the story opens, and is still a teenager later on in the main part of the story. Her age did make it an uncomfortable read. Draven is a well drawn character, his development throughout the story is done very well. I also thought the character of Byron, the Second Order vampire was well drawn as well. There was not as much development to him in the story, but it suited the fact that he was a fairly remote and higher-class being. The facts about his past as given fit in perfectly with some of his quirky behaviors earlier in the story. I started this book in the mood for a horror story, but stuck with it and read it quickly even when I figured out that it was truly not horror. Considering how frustrated I get when I decide I'm in the mood for a turkey sandwich and all we have in the frig is bologna, the fact that I didn't toss the story down and stomp off to watch the movie Prince of Darkness for my horror fix speaks volumes about this story. It's fascinating.
review 2: Superiors is an interesting take on the vampire myth and the author has presented a well developed dystopian world. I liked the gradual building of the relationship between Draven and Cali, especially since it didn't go down an obvious route. However, this is more of a 2.5 star rating for me because the pacing was a little hit and miss - it would have been good if the first half of the book had matched the pacing of the second half and I didn't feel a strong sympathy or connection to the characters - though I did find Draven well rounded and intriguing. I do think that now the characters and world have been firmly established, the second book in the series has a lot of potential. less

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