The Immortal Rules, Julie Kagawa

I know what you may be thinking. Another vampire book...REALLY? The idea of bloodsuckers in paranormal fiction is severely overused and I was terrified that this book would become just another typical clone of the millions out there already. Thankfully, it exceeded my expectations. Julie Kagawa, I praise you for your awesomeness. I don’t understand how you took this concept and molded it into something so perfectly original and brilliant, but you did, plain and simple.

The setting is set immediately,  ‘The Immortal Rules’ takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a large majority of the human population has been wiped out or infected by the Red Lung. Civilisation is thrown into chaos, nourishment is scarce and savage beasts plague the night. Those that remain, survive in dilapidated cities, kept from the dangers of the outer world by enormous walls blocking everything beyond. Here, vampires reign and the humans are their cattle, a fresh source of blood and labour to the vampires that dominate them. However, Allison Sekemoto is an unregistered. Unlike those that have pledged their allegiance to the undead, Allison is not provided food or protection, and scavenges desperately each day to survive. One day, she becomes so frantic for food that she travels underground to the other side of the walls - her greatest mistake. She is torn apart by the monsters that reside in the wasteland, but before she dies, she is given a choice. Allison can choose to die noble, as a human, or rise again as a monster. She decides to become those that she despises most, a vampire. Forced to abandon her entire human life, she flees the only place she’s ever known and ventures outside the walls of the city. When she meets and befriends a gang of humans searching for Eden, a place controlled by humans and free of vampires, she finds her vampire nature increasingly difficult to control. Allison learns that to conceal her identity and survive, she must suppress the monster inside of herself or she could go mad with bloodlust like the creatures around her.

Just to get a feel of the book itself, here’s a quote.

“It had been human once, that was the most horrible thing about it. It still had a vaguely human face and emaciated body, though its skin, nearly pure white and stretched tightly across its bones, looked more skeleton than human. The tattered threads of what had been clothes hung on its frame, and its hair was tangled and matted. Its eyes were white orbs with no irises or pupils, just a blank, dead white. It hopped off the car and hissed at us, baring a mouthful of pointed teeth, the two oversized fangs extending outward like a snake’s.”
- The Immortal Rules, pg. 71, Description of a Rabid

I was reading this lovely description at around 1:00 in the morning. I turned the main light on.

Needless to say, the creatures in this book are scary. Rabids are vicious predators that have gone completely mad with bloodlust and they will tear a victim to shreds in an attempt to obtain it. Those that survive after being bitten become infected themselves and lose their humanity completely. Vampires are, perhaps, even more frightening. Despite their human-like appearance, they are ruthless hunters. They have increased speed, strength and healing capabilities in comparison to the humans, but unlike the rabids, their mentality is intact. However, they may become insane if their hunger is not sated – only human blood will satisfy the demon inside. This is why they have the ability to easily blend in with the human population, so they use them as a source of food. Also, the additional information that Julie gave the reader about her vampires was interesting. For example, their lungs are not necessary, as they don’t need oxygen to survive. Her bloodsuckers don’t blink or breathe, so they can stay immobile in the shadows for large amounts at a time. They don’t drown either, as they don’t need the oxygen underwater. All these little adaptations make identifying a vampire and killing one near impossible.

Allison Sekemoto is a powerhouse. She’s a strong female character that knows how to adjust to her surroundings to survive. In the world she grew up in, everyone fought for themselves and people trusted no one but their immediate family members. She is negative, but it’s understandable that she views the world and humanity negatively due to her situation. Under vampire rule, she had to learn how to fight for her pitiful life and prevented anyone from getting truly close to her. Everything changes when she becomes a vampire. Allison is stronger than ever before and finally breaks free from the oppressed city, even if it wasn’t her choice to flee. When she meets Zeke and company she learns that there are good people left in the world, those willing to help others before themselves. She connects with some of those in the group, and helps them with their goal of reaching Eden despite the risks it poses her.

Other characters I liked were Zeke, Kanin and Darren. Zeke, albeit slightly flat, represents for Allison the good in humanity (as well as being her love interest). He is compassionate and caring, but he can still hold his ground with a machete. The problem I had with him was that he was a little too angelic. In the novel’s desperate and dangerous setting, no one can be that selfless and heroic. Kanin was my second favorite character in the novel – in the first quarter of the book he mentors Allie how to deal with being one of the undead (‘The Immortal Rules’ <--- where the title came from). Sadly he disappears, only mentioned by Allie near the end and isn’t seen at all in the latter half. I’m happy that Kanin didn’t become a love interest for Allison, he was simply her snarky (racist? XD Allison (Japanese descent): - chooses katana as weapon of choice- Kanin: “I had a feeling you would pick that one”), vampire teacher. Yes, there was no love triangle in this book (unless you count the ‘Ruth’ thing), and for that, I am eternally grateful.  

As for Darren, why did I like him, I have no idea? He’s a secondary character that really doesn’t add much to the story and I’m pretty sure he only has around five lines of dialogue. I think it’s because his reactions and personality seemed more real to me than some of the other characters. He’s able to fight, but in a situation where a rabid boar attacks him, he doesn’t go all ninja on the thing – he just kind of freezes. In reality, most people would flee or freeze if they saw something capable of killing them ready to pounce, instead of risking their own neck when there’s a good chance they could come out dead or infected. He’s also described as the outsider of the group, and unlike some of the others, isn’t brainwashed by the leader’s perspective of the world. He even defends Allison later on in the book, despite her vampirism, which is something he could easily get pummeled for by the chief.

Characters I hated:
Ruth and Stick
Both were whiny, selfish and cowardly. However, I think you were supposed to hate them anyways, so the author did her job well.

Julie Kagawa is harsh. Let me tell you, she lets her main character travel through hell and back, and certainly isn’t afraid to make the journey worse by killing other people along the way. Some of the scenes in the book are graphic and detailed, so if blood makes you squeamish, this is not the book for you. Most of the action takes place in the last half, but even if I found the first half slightly slow at times, I still enjoyed it due to the excellent world building and Allison’s vampire training with Kanin.

So in conclusion, Miss Kagawa I lift my hat to you. This is a lovely book and I will certainly be reading the sequel. 

Final Verdict: 9 - 9.5/10