SABELLA tanith lee

Sabella is one of the earliest vampire books that I read, and it is written at an fairly accessible YA level. The basic story is of Sabella struggling with her desires and guilt over her victims. She does not understand why she is different from everyone else, but does what she can to survive--including using sex to exploit men. The setting is on another planet with all those rich, exotic details that Lee writes so well.

[SPOILERS FOLLOW]

My reaction as a young girl is pretty much the same as it is now. As viable as the ending might be, the solution to Sabella's problems is literal subordination to a man of her own kind. She is cows down to him, or goes on killing other men--these are her only options. This just makes me acutely uncomfortable. I guess Sabella is just the Twilight of my generation.
[END SPOILERS]

I give Sabella 3/5 for the readability and quality of writing. Sabella is a real vampire to the point that she kills to live and struggles with her own morality. But it would be an 4 if I hadn't hated the ending so much--which is just a visceral thing and most other people would probably not react to it like I did.

RATING: 3/5

Amazon: 4/5

RUNNING AVERAGE: 3.5/5

A Self-Promotional Interlude

Strangely enough, I have been posting on this blog for a while and not yet mentioned any of my own vampire fiction. Bad author, missing a chance for self-promotion. Of course there will be no review and no rating, but here is the cover and blurb.

The Wicca Man: Tongue-Tied
by Emily Veinglory

When Sean, a conservative psychology professor, is cornered one night by a very buff creature of the night, he does the first thing he can think of. Casts a spell. Not just any spell. A love spell. And it works.

Now the vampire, Thane, is head over heels for Sean and causing chaos in his life. Even worse, Sean’s falling in love with him, too. But is it real or just the magic?

The witches are pissed Sean used coercive black magic. The vampires want Thane back. And Sean knows, if you love something, you’ve got to set it free. If it comes back, it’s meant to be, right? The only problem is, the being he’s setting free is a bloodthirsty vampire, and there’s a lot more at stake than just matters of the heart.

...I am currently working on the sequel: The Wicca Born II--Blood Borne