How a Terrific Series *Should* End

Daylighters, the final book in the Morganville Vampires series, still keeps the action fresh and constant, and I think that's what I'm going to miss most of all about these books. Even though I believed that things would work out whenever I first picked this book up, it was still a long, twisted ride along the way, just as it's been through the previous fourteen books.

Daylighters opens with our vampire friends in grave danger from an organization that has arrived in town to "cure" the vamps. The tables are turned; no longer in control, Amelie and friends are herded up and held in an abandoned mall while they await a procedure that will rob them of their vampire status. Yes, this includes Michael, and no, Eve and Company are NOT HAPPY. While Claire and Shane work to help Eve, they discover that their beloved Glass House is in danger as well; meanwhile, Claire is accused of murder and taken away in handcuffs. Oh, and remember that strange dog bite Shane got in the last book? Yeah, well, it's the mark of the beast so to speak; at the bidding of Fallon (the head of the Daylighters, the group taking over Morganville), Shane goes hellhound and begins attacking vampires. It's a mess, made even worse with Police Chief Hannah Moses on the Daylighters' side, lots of lost clothing, and the fact that the "cure" has a less than 25% success rate.

I have grown to love all the characters in this series, with the possible exception of Eve. She's just never grown on me; it's as though she's never made it past the emo girlfriend in high school stage, always charging head first into situations without thinking things through, putting herself and others in harm's way. But even Oliver has grown on me; he at least never varied from his same general demeanor and he knows who he is inside. And Claire? Even Oliver remarks on her not being the mouse she was on the day they met. Truly coming into her own, this girl now knows how to survive, with or without her beloved Shane. I absolutely can buy into their relationship because it's mutual and built on a firm foundation, something I feel is lacking in Eve and Michael's. But it's Myrnin, as per usual, who steals the show. More manic than ever, more calculating and emotional, he rescues Claire and treats her as an equal. His slowly revealed feelings for Jesse bring more depth to him, and yet, when Claire is racing back to the lab, he reminds her to check on his pet spider, Bob. Myrnin is magical, and I suspect most of us adore him the most.

Daylighters begins strong and never lets up, even when I couldn't possibly see a way for our heroes to win. All of the major players in the past are back, including the vampires of the town of Blacke. Though at times some of the plot resolutions stretched my imagination to its skeptical limits, I was still enthralled, racing toward an end I really didn't want to see. The final chapter is a bit of a fluff ending, but it's nice and happy and I can live with it. This is a series that goes out on a high note, and I couldn't be a bigger supporter. Highly recommended!

~taminator40