Krista Reviews: Julie Kagawa's - "The Immortal Rules"

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.
Julie Kagawa who is is known for her Iron Fey series has taken a turn to the darker with her newest book The Immortal Rules. A new born vampire Allison Sekemoto is struggling from inner turmoil of having become what she hates most in life.
Set in a future world, the humans have become separated into those who are willing to become registered and the unregistered. To become registered means that you willingly provide blood to the vampire leaders who have overtaken the cities; housing, food, necessities.

Allison is an unregistered human when this story begins. She lives a transient life with 3 guys in which every day is a battle for food and shelter. Unregistered’s form small groups, usually to help each other gather necessities, but also fight off the rival groups that compete for the same reasources.

In this world the cities have been walled off. Huge fences surround the cities to fend of the Rabids that have come to occupy the outer lands. These Rabids are dangerous half breeds that are zombie-like in description and are known to attack the cities and can cause complete devastation if unconstrained.

After a food run to the outer limits of the city, Allison and her group are attacked by the Rabids and to save her life, a vampire offers to turn her. Choosing to live and in turn lose her humanity, she becomes a vampire. Her hatred for the vampires drives her to try to become a better, controlled vampire, but the need for human blood, and only human blood will change the way she thinks about vampires.In turn, maybe she can change the way other humans view them as well.

The reader learns that there is no Vegan in Vampire. In this world, it’s human blood and only human blood that a vampire can survive on. The drive is unbearable and the need uncontrollable. Soon Allison is forced out of the city to live among the Rabids. She comes across a group of traveling humans in search for the mythical city of Eden in which there are no vampires. They also search for a cure for the disease that wiped out most of the humans previously. Allison pretends to be human to travel with the group. She makes friends, finds a sense of family and love. But how long can this last, especially if she has to feed?

One thing that I have always enjoyed about Julie Kagawa’s writing is the constant flow of action happening. With The Immortal Rules, Allison is not only an extremely able newborn vampire with ninja-like skills, she actually prefers to fight with a Katana, which also ties into her Asian heritage. She is always in motion and keeps the story moving. With the emotional conflicts that Allison is having to endure over her decision to become what she most despises, and having to find a way to live without hurting those she loves, this is a twist on vampires that I enjoyed – and I think you will to.

Hardcover, 485 pages

Published April 24th 2012

Harlequin Teen

ISBN 0373210515 (ISBN13: 9780373210510)