The Immortal Rules, book one in the Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa, takes place in a post apocalypse world where the Red Lung virus has ravaged humanity, killing those who succumb to the virus and bringing them back to life as mindless rabids hungry for living flesh and blood. The order of our world as we know it today has long since fallen to a new order lead by vampires.
These vampires don’t sparkle in sunlight or even socialize with mortals, who they view as their blood cattle and nothing more. The vampires of this savage world are “vicious soulless demons” who wouldn’t think twice about ripping the throat out of some unfortunate human.
Cities full of vampires have replaced the cities that had once belonged to humans, and the human race has become the source that keeps these cities alive. The ruling vampires try to convince their captive “citizens” that they have kept every thing very civilized.
Registered humans get blooded twice a month to feed the vampires and to prevent messy deaths. “Except people still disappear from the streets all the time. Vampires are hunters. You can never take that out of them–out of us–no matter how civilized things are.”(The Immortal Rules, pg.383)
This is the harsh reality that seventeen year old Allison Sekemoto lives in. She has lost her family, her friends, and her dreams to this remorseless world, but she will never let it take her blood, or so she thought.
But when she is faced with a choice, to die and become a rabid or to die and become one of the very bloodsuckers that she has spent her whole life detesting, she isn’t surprised by her deep desire to survive nor the choices she makes to achieve just that.
Adjusting to the lifestyle, or more specifically the diet, of a vampire may be repulsive to Allison at first but she can’t control the fact that now she only craves human blood.
“The Hunger, it’s constantly with you. That’s what being a vampire is, unfortunately. You can’t be around humans for long and not want to bite them.”(The Immortal Rules, pg. 377)
Learning the rules that come with being immortal may prove to be harder for Allison then she anticipated, but with the help of Kanin, the vampire that sired or turned her, she may just be able to survive the twisted world she is part of. That is, if she can for get her past and keep her self from falling in love with a human.
Kirkus Reviews declares, “Kagawa has done the seemingly impossible and written a vampire book, the first in a planned series, that feels fresh in an otherwise crowded genre. She mixes paranormal and dystopian tropes to good effect, creating a world that will appeal across audiences. … Allie’s a smart, strong and compelling heroine, and readers will gladly join her for this adrenaline-rich ride.”
The Huffington Post remarked, “Katniss Everdeen better watch out because she has some stiff competition with Allison “Allie” Sekemoto of Julia Kagawa’s The Immortal Rules.”
To learn more about The Immortal Rules and the Blood of Eden series go to http://www.bloodofeden.com/index.html. To learn more about Julie Kagawa go to www.juliekagawa.com.
