The Morganville Vampires Drama Continues in "Fade Out"

Vampires are big literary business. If you think of teen novels with vampires, the "Twilight" books are probably the first ones to come to mind. There are plenty of other choices out there though. Another popular series of young adult books with vampires is the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

Morganville seems like an ordinary town at first. However, the town is actually run by vampires, and is inhabited by a mixture of vampires and humans. The series follow the residents of the Glass House: Claire, Eve, Shane, and Michael.

"Fade Out" is the seventh book in the Morganville Vampires series. Life seems to have settled back down to normal for the Glass House gang. Claire is still super smart, enjoying school, and working as vampire mad scientist Myrnin's assistant. Her boyfriend, "bad boy" Shane, has managed to get and keep a steady job. Goth girl Eve is thrilled to have landed a lead role in the town's upcoming play, and her boyfriend, Michael, is coming to terms with being a vampire and finding success with his guitar. However, in Morganville things never stay "normal" and safe for long. Soon they find themselves once again at the center of stress and danger.

The problems start with the introduction of Kim. An over-the-top character, everyone except for Claire seems to like her. For Claire, however, Kim brings issues of jealousy and feelings of inadequacy to the forefront. Just as Claire starts to reconcile herself with Kim, she discovers proof that Kim is not all the she would seem. Meanwhile, Myrnin's former assistant turned computer Ada is jealous of Claire and her importance to Myrnin. Ada seems determined to sabotage their work and kill Claire. The usual Morganville tensions (homeless vampires who want to eat people; power struggles with Oliver and founder Amelie; etc.) of course crop up as well.

Overall, this book was exactly what you expect from a Morganville Vampires book. It is a very quick and easy read (I finished it in a day). It's entertaining and involving without being too thought requiring. The characters are all suitably in character, and it's a good continuation of the Morganville series. There were a few moments when the book faltered (especially at the ending when Kim is conveniently and quickly taken out of the picture), but overall it's exactly what I expected. No, it's not fine literature. It is, though, an entertaining young adult novel with vampires and influences from steampunk and reality TV.

If you enjoy "Fade Out" by Rachel Caine, I recommend reading the rest of the Morganville Vampire series, the House of Night books, and Kelley Armstrong's young adult books.